I think you have to study hard.
You have to grasp the form, using many key fundmentals, such as each horses effectiveness over: ground, distance, course, on the current mark.
You also sometimes have to take into account the draw, the handicap weight, jockey bookings, trainers form and history. & loads of other things.
Watching videos of horses past runs is also an effective tool.
You can do this on At The Races for free or on Racing Post webiste for 10p (Racing uks courses are not covered on At The Races video).
Its a good idea to take notes of horses in races and consider them for the future if something catches your eye. Not neccessarily the horses flashing home, because everyone notices that and the price on the next run is adjudged accordingly, things like the jockey not working too hard, or the bad draw being the factor in the bad run etc etc.
A system that i kinda like (altho systems are for mugs) is making a note of horses whove been gambled on and havent performend as they often win races in the next couple of starts. The webiste you can use to track horses and make notes of them using a Notebook is
www.turftrax.com You can ask them to email you declarations of when your horses will run which is a fanastic feature. I have over 300 horses in there atm. And this is free.
Basically, you have to put shit loads of work in, often for little reward.
If im going to the races and i want to win a lot of money, i will expect to put in at least 5-6 hours of study for just 7 races, and im often only going to find 2 or 3 good bets.
Saying this, i think my edge on most people concerning betting on horses is my memory of horses and their runs. I watch pretty much every race in the UK and can usually remember horses previous performances well. If i go to York races and theres a 16 runner handicap over 5f, i am going to know most details on most horses.
Poker is easier anyway. Although not as much fun.
This is a very good post, full of lots of pieces towards completing the jigsaw of becoming a winning punter.
But, imo Brent has missed the most important factor:
The shape of a race for betting purposes.
Betting each way in 8 or 9 runner races when there is a very short priced favouritem esp one which you can envisage getting beaten.. For example: Tonight at Leicester Steel Free opened around 8/15. He was wearing bandages which suggested he had delicate legs and his only previous run was with cut and tonight was on firmish ground. Added to this, his only run was in race which hadn't worked out form wise and he looked a vunerable fav at the price. By far the buggest danger was Zero Money who had form in the book and looked rock solid for a place so by betting him each way at 5/1 you were getting evens a place which mathmatically was outstanding and meant the win portion was free if indeed he placed.
Also, if you bet each way in handicaps with 12, 16 or 17 runners you often find bets which mathmatically give you value for money.
Don't be afraid to back horses as short as 2/1 each way.
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