Although considered somewhat controversial, horse racing continues to be one of the most exciting sports in the country. It’s a nice way to earn some extra cash or if you belong to the lucky few who win on a regular basis, but how exactly do you win big in a race track?

The first thing you should learn if you want to win big is to handicap the thoroughbreds. Handicapping refers to the process where competitors are given advantages or disadvantages as a way to even out the chances of winning. Horses are judged based on their speed, pace, weight, distance, and other factors to determine the best pick. The most favored to win—i.e. previous thoroughbred winners—is not necessarily the best pick, and this is where handicapping becomes useful.

There are several books dedicated to handicapping thoroughbreds and this led to the development of handicapping software products. One of the first kinds of handicapping software dedicated to thoroughbred racing was developed by novelist Jay MacLarty. Since then, many handicapping experts have developed their own software programs so they impart their knowledge to people who want to win big.

Thoroughbred handicapping software increases the likelihood of winning because it calculates data based on previous races and uses a number of computations to come up with the most logical pick. However, you should still know how to bet if you really want to win big because safe bets rarely yield big payouts. The biggest payout would either be on a straight up bet or hitting the whole trifecta: betting on who will place first, second, and third in exact order. Keep in mind that these are very risky bets; make too many bets like these and you’ll probably end up losing a lot of cash, software or otherwise.

Another good tip in horse racing handicapping is to determine which running styles suit a particular race. According to one handicapping website, sprint races are favorable as far as speed is concerned. Most of the winning thoroughbreds in sprint races are usually within two to three lengths of the lead.

Most people who bet on race tracks don’t consistently win big since there will always be good days and bad days. Utilizing software for thoroughbred horse racing can help increase the chances of winning, but it still boils down to chances and probabilities. You can check out the following websites for handicapping tips to help you pick the best bet: wisegeek.com/what-should-i-consider-when-betting-on-a-horse-race.htm and ehow.com/handicapping-horse-racing.