Using Clocker Reports for Horse Racing Handicapping is All About …

Horse racing handicapping factors usually have two determining filters that have a direct effect upon their relevancy and strength.  The first is time.  I don’t mean time, as in how fast a horse gets around the track, though that certainly matters.  I mean time as in how recent something happened.  We often think of how long ago a horse raced and try to fit it into a form cycle.  We do the same thing with workouts.

We look at time to see how long ago a horse worked and how regularly it worked.  In the case of a maiden first time starter, we want to see a series of works separated by no more than a week.  Of course we look to see progress in the works as well, but a series of slow works over enough distance will still help to give the runner some “bottom,” stamina.

The second filter that matters is time.  I know, I already used that one, but this time, if you’ll pardon the expression, I also mean time.  The time it takes the horse to get around the track or to cover the distance in a workout.  If a horse works three furlongs in 36 seconds flat it is usually considered a useful work.  The old 12 seconds per furlong seems to hold up for most works.

Of course, clocker comments can help, too.  If the clocker notes the horse breezed in 36 flat and adds the comment, “Never asked,” it means the horse was not pushed at all.  On the other hand if the clocker says something liked, “Needed urging,”  it may mean the horse had a reason, such as lameness, being unfit, laziness, for not wanting to work that fast.

Therefore, it is very important to look at both recency and speed when judging workouts to find a good bet.  The purpose of looking at races or workouts with these two filters is obviously to gauge a horse’s competitiveness in a race and to compare it to the other runners.

In part two of this discussion we’ll look at two more filters that make a world of difference in horse racing handicapping.