Making a profit from horse racing handicapping is very difficult and risky.
For some people who work hard and have a knack for it, there are rewards.
If you're one of the lucky ones who will work at it and also have enough discipline to sit out races that don't offer real value, then you might make money betting on horses.
The amount of effort that people invest in picking winners spans the scale from betting on lucky numbers to working for hours with data bases and complicated algorithms.
Let's look at a simple handicapping method that might help you to find a good bet or even a best bet for the day.
It all starts with probability and the odds at post time.
Find a horse that is more likely to win than the odds reflect and you have just found a wager that will make you a profit over time.
You won't win every time you make a bet, but if you stick with it and the numbers are on your side, you'll increase your bankroll.
The key is knowing how likely a horse is to win a race.
How do you do that? You can learn how to handicap and spend years developing the skill of evaluating the runners in a race.
That may be the best way and probably how most pros do it.
On the other hand, it doesn't hurt to take some advice from time to time and to use the expertise of others.
The first and foremost source of info is the morning line.
It's usually written by a pretty good handicapper who is trying to estimate the public's opinion of the horses at post time.
One easy handicapping method is to look at the jockeys and trainers and to find successful combinations.
Then look at the horses they have entered on today's program.
Any live horse that the better J/T combos have will be bet down to ridiculously low odds and offer little to no value.
On the other hand, sometimes they'll have a horse with enough unknowns or knocks against it to be at long odds in the morning line.
So look for J/T's with horses at long odds in the morning line.
Now remember this, the best trainers and jockeys can win with horses that don't always look the best especially when they are racing them for the first or second time.
Good trainers often find ways to dramatically improve a horse from its last race.
Find a good J/T with a horse at long odds in the morning line that's on its first, second, or even, possibly its third race.
They often present the best value in the pools and good trainers don't waste time on duds so there's a reason that horse is racing for that trainer.
Just make sure you et good value in the pools.
I look for at least 6-1 odds, but you may set your own limit.