The most consistent horse racing systems have to have the basics and a handicapper must understand the basics. I have been around horse racing for 50 years including as an owner. Without the basics the rest is not going to do any good. If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to http://williewins.homestead.com/truecb.html and get the truth. Bill Peterson is a former horse race owner and professional handicapper. He comes from a horse race handicapping family and as he puts it, "Horse Racing is in my blood." To see all Bill's horse racing material go to http://williewins.homestead.com/handicappingstore.html , Bill's handicapping store.
If you have been handicapping horse races for a while you have probably heard of progressive betting systems as a method for making a profit wagering on horse races. The idea behind a progressive betting system is that there is something called the "laws of probability," and therefore, sooner or later, a certain event has to happen. An example of that would be that the favorite wins about a third of the time so therefore, if three races are won by horses other than a favorite, the favorite is "due" to win.
This is nonsense. There is no law of probability and even if there was, who would enforce it? I have seen race programs with 9 races and not a single favorite won. As far as I know, there were no arrests and none of the favorites that were due sued anyone for their just desserts. The fact of the matter is that statistics and probability do hold up quite well, but only in large samples.
Large samples do not support progressive betting schemes because you simply cannot bet enough to cover your losses and make a profit when the racing gods decide it is time for a nice long spell of no favorites in the winners circle. Please notice that I called progressive betting a "scheme." That is what it is and even though progressive betting is technically a form of money management, it is an example of bad money management.
Good money management means keeping track of your resources and adjusting your bets so that you win more and lose less and never lose your entire bankroll. Just because there are some bad money management schemes out there, don't give up on money management. As I often say, "Good money management will get you through times of bad handicapping better than good handicapping will get you through times of bad money management."
Speaking of handicapping and systems, just how much can they help you to win? The truth of the matter is, there is no system on the market that can really guarantee you a profit because horse racing is so risky. True professional handicappers work hard and use a systematic approach and still only make a small percentage of profit. In the real world, a ten percent profit on all your bets over the course of a year is a good profit.
The most important thing you should know about the pros is that they use both a good handicaping system and money management. Furthermore, they had to tweak the system to make it really profitable and to work for them according to their own strengths and weaknesses and personal tastes. I can guarantee that they learned the lessons about discipline and money management from experience, and I speak from my own personal experience when I say that.
So the best advice I can give you is to be realistic in your expectations of how much money you can make and also, don't depend strictly on either money management or a horse racing handicapping system to be successful. You have to use both tools and practice, practice, practice.
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