Horse racing betting is really all about the odds, if you want your bankroll to grow.
If it was easy anyone could do it, but the fact is that making a profit from the race track is a very difficult thing to do.
Then again, if you're reading this article about horse racing, you've probably already figured that out.
There are several ways to look at the problem of making your next bet pay.
It all boils down to two very simple probability problems.
First there is the probability, expressed as odds, that your horse will win.
We'll stick with the win bet since it is the simplest and usually, in the long run, the one bet you might make a profit from.
So out of ten races run under the same conditions with the same runners, how many times do you think that your horse, we'll call her Flora Belle, will win? If she is a very speedy horse who has the will to win and a competent jockey who can stay out of trouble, let's say her chances are that she could win four out of ten or forty percent of the time.
That is a little better than the average of the favorite at most tracks where the bettor's choice usually wins about a third of the time.
That means that Flora Belle deserves to be the favorite, but it also means there is still a break even point on the wager.
To place a $2 win bet on her will cost you $20 to cover all ten hypothetical races.
That means that she must return $20 in four wins in order for you to get your money back.
Anything over that will be a profit and that is exactly what we want to see.
Let's find out what that break even amount is and we'll work from there.
So our second probability problem is a mathematical equation.
20/4 = X.
That means that our girl has to pay at least $5 for each win in order for you to break even on your wagers.
As you probably know, a horse who wins at 3-2 odds pays $5.
If you bet on her at less than those odds you're going to lose money in the long run.
If you get better than 3-2 odds, you'll make a profit.
Now you know how to figure out if a bet is profitable, but you still have the problem of handicapping the race and accurately assigning odds to each horse.
How do you go about doing that? Practice and feedback.
Practice is no good without feedback because you never know if you're making progress unless you have some way of measuring it.
Therefore here's what I recommend.
Find a good handicapping method or system and use it to handicap the program for your favorite track every day for several months.
As you go over each race, put the odds of winning beside each horse.
Then, and this is where the feedback comes into play, keep records of which horses win and what they pay.
As you follow your own progress, look for strengths and weaknesses in your methods.
Are there certain kinds of races that you are more successful at handicapping? After a few months you may start to make some progress.
During that time I recommend paper bets or very small bets.
Don't invest any serious money until you have learned how to handicap successfully.
When you're ready to bet, remember this, horse racing is risky business and you should never wager more than you can afford to lose.
There are no guarantees in life and especially when gambling on horses and humans.