Racing Tips to Use With Handicap Horse Racing

This article will look at how you can profit from handicap racing, plus I will cover the differences between handicap racing and conditions racing, as not everyone will know the difference.

In fact the writing of this article came about from a request from one of my members, and so I thought that maybe you would also benefit from looking at how handicap racing differs from conditional racing, and how not knowing the difference could potentially cost you money.

Confusion Can Lead To Disaster So Don't Make These Mistakes

As you may know, I am a real advocate of information being power when it comes to betting on horse racing. So with that said, if you want to drastically improve your chances of taking money from the bookmakers with your racing tips, you need to arm yourself with as much quality and relevant information as possible.

And this is where some novice punters fall at the first fence (pardon the pun), because before you place any cash on a horse you need to make sure that you know what kind of race you are betting on. That is to say, is it a handicap race or a conditions race?

And if you've been to watch live racing before, then you'll know what its like. If you haven't by the way, you really should its a great day out, and this will explain what you can expect when you go for the first time.

You're looking at the different races and who's riding on what. You get to the parade ring and there are already whispers going around about this horse and that horse. It's easy to be influenced by what you hear. And everyone thinks they're an expert when it comes to horse racing tips don't they?

And so with all the jargon and gossip that you hear at the racecourse, is it any wonder that punters end up getting thoroughly confused, and betting on a horse simply because they like the name, the way it walks, the colour of the jockey's silks or because they overheard someone in the pub mention that it had a chance?

I've seen it many, many times, but the truth is it doesn't have to be like that it really doesn't.

Your Horse Racing Tips Are Useless If You Don't Know This

So the key is having a bit of background knowledge, even just the basics, which will enable you to get started. This will ensure that you are a bit more savvy than the average punter, and therefore you will have a little advantage that will hopefully give you that edge over the bookmakers.

So having given you that bold statement, what are the most important factors to consider when betting on horses? Of course, there are many, many variables that affect the outcome of a horse race, and there's no way that I could cover all of them in this article, but let's start with one of the fundamentals of horse racing. Handicapping.

This could be perhaps the biggest error that punters make, as they have no idea what kind of race they are betting on. In the UK, all races come under one of two categories. The first category is a handicap race, and the second one is called a conditions race.

The reason that distinguishing between these two different classes of race is important, is because the bookies pay different amounts on each-way bets gained in the two different types of race.

So for example, in a handicap race of less than 16 runners, you are paid one-quarter the odds on the first three finishers for an each way bet. You are also paid for the first four places in a handicap with 16 or more runners, so this in itself is worth knowing.

In conditions races however, you are only ever paid one-fifth the odds for finishing in the first three places, so can you see where I am coming from now? It's crucial to be able to tell what type of race you are betting on.

Handicapping Explained

Essentially the handicap that I'm referring to, is additional weight that is allocated to a horse based upon its ability. The better the horse, then in theory the greater the weight that is carries compared to its fellow horses. This is done so that each horse potentially has an equal chance of winning the race.

The British Horseracing Board meets each week to look at each qualifying horses form and to assess its rating. Not every horse in the UK qualifies for a handicap. At the time of writing this, a flat horse for example must have either won a race, or participated in three races, to enable the handicapper the opportunity to look at the horse's form.

To the layman, the details of the ratings system may be a bit confusing, but essentially it boils down to the higher the rating, the better the horse. Of course, the reason that we don't just go and lump our money on the best rated horse is that it will be carrying the most weight, so from our point of view as punters, the key is to loom at the weight as just one factor of a horse's potential in winning a race.

It doesn't need to be any more complicated than this to being with. You now have some background knowledge of the differences between handicap races and conditions races and I hope this will stand you good stead when looking at the list of races in the paper tomorrow.