How long does it take you to handicap a card?

[stu]

In a recent post, someone mentioned it took roughly 3hr/card to handicap. How long does it take you to handicap a card?

[garyscpa]

I answered 1 hour, but my New Year's resolution is to pay more attention to detail, so it should start to take longer.

[point given]

Of course it depends on the card. Hollywood with 5-6 horses a race not long, Tampa or Fairgrounds with 10-12 per race and lots of cheap and / or state bred races alot longer.

[stu]

Of course it depends on the card. Hollywood with 5-6 horses a race not long, Tampa or Fairgrounds with 10-12 per race and lots of cheap and / or state bred races alot longer.

Point Given,

All of your points are valid. Perhaps the better question would have been in terms of time per race or time per horse. I just think about it on a different scale.

[rusrious]

I break down the whole Daily (DRF) in about 15 minutes..

Sometimes quicker, something slower, but usually right around there..

[ezrabrooks]

I haven't handicapped a 'Card' in years. I use a Custon Card, and only look at certain types of races, at all Tracks running..


Ez

[BELMONT 6-6-09]

I handicapped a card last month using the actual DRF instead of the downloaded PP's and I must say that I enjoyed the different scrawls and checks and dots and the other stuff that marked my form. It's been a long time. Ah the old days.



http://thehitandrunpunter.blogspot.com

[BombsAway Bob]

A lot depends on WHEN you can get a paper DRF...
if I can get a copy a day in advance (usually Friday/Saturday in winter),
I'll spend about 2hrs/track and work on Horizontal wagers on NYRA/Cali.
if I get a paper on the morning of the races, I'll spend 5min/race scanning
to see which track to spend the most effort on, & look to bet Tris/Supers.
This time of year, with many tracks cancelling due to weather,
I also buy the online DRF monthly PP plan, 20 cards for $31(decent deal)...
allows me to "pick & choose" tracks w/out spending the $6 a paper DRF costs!

[Greyfox]

"Handicap a card?" Just 2 seconds thank you.
Kick him in the knees. The last thing we need after a loss is a joker.

[CincyHorseplayer]

It takes me about 3 hours.Just to add my profile and race notes takes about an hour.And I took the advice of Steve Davidowitz a long time ago,to look through all the horses running lines to see where and how it has evolved or declined.It's time consuming but I have a better understanding and feel for a race and entrant capabilities by doing so.That makes me feel better and not be timid when it's time to bet.That's "Synergy" to me.Confidence=cash=more cash!!!!!

I envy you guys who say it takes 15 minutes to handicap 5-6 racecards.I'm skeptical as hell,but if it makes you money,more power to you.

[Premier Turf Club]

About 3 hrs for me using multiple sources of data. I know poeple that can do it faster but if I'm not methodical I find I miss things like blinks on/off, first gelding etc.

[miesque]

A lot depends on WHEN you can get a paper DRF...
if I can get a copy a day in advance (usually Friday/Saturday in winter),
I'll spend about 2hrs/track and work on Horizontal wagers on NYRA/Cali.
if I get a paper on the morning of the races, I'll spend 5min/race scanning
to see which track to spend the most effort on, & look to bet Tris/Supers.
This time of year, with many tracks cancelling due to weather,
I also buy the online DRF monthly PP plan, 20 cards for $31(decent deal)...
allows me to "pick & choose" tracks w/out spending the $6 a paper DRF costs!

You bring up an interesting point in terms of when PPs are available. I may be the only one, but I hate it when tracks release entries only two days prior because I am not one of the fortunate people who can handicap the entire card in 15 min or less and I feel most confident when I get at least three hours in total prior to walking into a track and having an extra day to fit that into my schedule makes a big difference.

[2low]

I picked 30 minutes, but i'm done with a card usually in about 20 minutes. I don't look at them all though - probably average 4 races per card.

[oddsmaven]

3 hours if I don't rush - I include projecting my own line, which takes about 20 minutes per race, though I don't bother assigning odds beyond the first 5 or 6 contenders.

[ryesteve]

One thing to keep in mind is that it's not just how long you spend handicapping a card, it's also how long you spend doing work that supports and contributes to the way you handicap. Eg, a db guy might handicap a card in 30 seconds, but he might be spending 5 hours a day researching, evaluating and coding his spot plays.

[strapper]

It takes me 3 hours, sometimes more if I do my own line on a card.

[point given]

This all begs the question of whether all this time consuming anaylsis is a reason why folks arenot drawn to the game. Casinos offer quick action with little thought and preparation. Is our sport a victim of its very nature ? Those who enjoy baseball and golf might enjoy racing more than the football , basketball fans. Of course the simulcasting of multiple tracks with races going off every few minutes is an answer, but its at a simo facility and doesn't get people to the live track. I'm always amazed when I go to the track and so many people are there sitting in front of tvs while the live racing is happening outside. So, Stu, time to divulge your reasoning in putting forth this poll. Do you want to change the time between races at your track ?

[stu]

So, Stu, time to divulge your reasoning in putting forth this poll. Do you want to change the time between races at your track ?

Nope. None of this has anything to do with time between races. IMO, a player should have all his prep done before getting in the car to head to the track.

The rationale for my thread was based in another thread (http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53468). I was surprised at the length of preparation Nmytwenties put into his set of Monday cards.

When I was only horseplayer before I became an official, I learned that I reached a point of diminishing returns after about an hour per card or 5 minutes a race. So for me the saw 'study long, study wrong' was true. My style of play was closer to what ryesteve described as a db player.

The math of Nmytwenties didn't work for me. 24 hour day less 8 for sleep and less 5 for the race card left 11 hours assuming that you did nothing else during the day. I didn't see how he got 16 hours of handicapping in.

If a set of people are taking 3 hr/card to prepare, then most can't have time to follow/play more than 3 circuits. At my tracks, I am left thinking to grow our simulcast market we have to convince people that we should be within their top 3. It seems like a tough task for any of the smaller tracks.

If another set of people are taking 1 hour or less per card to prepare, then most can't have time to follow/play more than 6 circuits. At my tracks, I am left thinking to grow our simulcast market we have to convince people that we should be within their top 6. It seems like an easier task to market to the 1-hr group than the 3-hr group.

[cj's dad]

Using my sons pace figures 3-5 minutes per race.

[point given]

" If a set of people are taking 3 hr/card to prepare, then most can't have time to follow/play more than 3 circuits. At my tracks, I am left thinking to grow our simulcast market we have to convince people that we should be within their top 3. It seems like a tough task for any of the smaller tracks. "

Seems that Tampa has done this, but, they had Gulfstreams crack team to help them shoo winter players their way. But, for smaller tracks it would seem , what days, what time of day, competition at those times would play strongly into it. Do your tracks have a turf course , I would guess not, but i think Tampa did well after they started having turf races and also going on a Tuesday when gulfstream was dark. What is your avg field size and purse size, avg payoffs etc. Now, I only play one or two tracks at a time, so i'm not your racetrack roulette type bettor .

[Overlay]

With all the data available today, locating the one most likely winner of a race (irrespective of odds) can be done in relatively short order. Assessing each horse in a field from a winning probability/wagering value standpoint is what accounts for any added time from my perspective.

[dav4463]

I can handicap a card fairly fast (20-30 minutes), but I've found that I cannot concentrate on more than two cards at one time while betting.

[Nmytwenties]

Stu - I never slept 8hrs, more like 2 hours and on some occasions I just pulled a all nighter if it were 10 to 12 tracks. I would start at noon but I wouldn't get uninterupted work done until my business's doors close at 4pm, sometimes 5pm. I took about a half hour about 2am to eat. I didn't need much rest to operate the next day as all I needed to do was amend my selections if there were relevent scratches and make the wagers. It worked for me even if it took a bit longer than most people do.

[Dan H]

Using my sons pace figures 3-5 minutes per race.

This begs a rhetorical question (no malice intended) ...

Are you still "handicapping" if you simply apply your own value judgement to another's figures?

It takes me 3-5 minutes to often decipher race conditions.

Dan H

[Dave Schwartz]

Are you still "handicapping" if you simply apply your own value judgement to another's figures?

Yes.

One could apply the same question to almost any handicapping tool.

Your question is akin to Martha Stewart saying that everything must be made from scratch. When Oprah asked her where she got the sprinkles for her cake she answered, "I made them!" When asked where she got her honey, she said that she got it from her hive. (All a bit absurd if you ask me.)

My point is that you do not have to collect the data at the track yourself to be called a "handicapper.".


Handicapping is the art/science of putting all the ingrediants togther to make assessments.

Of course, if all you are doing is taking the top last figure for each horse and betting the best in the field, you really aren't handicapping anyway.


Regards,
Dave Schwartz

[Overlay]

Of course, if all you are doing is taking the top last figure for each horse and betting the best in the field, you really aren't handicapping anyway.


As I see it, in order to be properly called "handicapping", there has to be an assessment of winning chances / wagering value involved for at least one horse (if not more) in a race.

[W2G]

It takes me 4-6 hours to conduct an initial assessment of a 10-12 race card: producing a probable pace scenario in each race, designating contenders for the win, contenders to consider underneath, etc. I have no systematic approach and consider each race a puzzle to slowly piece together.

On top of that are final selections and tweaks made on race day after changes, scratches, and track condition are known.

Then, finally, wager construction (which I suppose is technically not handicapping).

So it takes me some serious time to do it right, which is probably why I focus on spot plays for the most part.

[cj's dad]

My opinion:

The figures almost immediately eliminate 75% of the field. After that, conventional methods such as class drop, odds value, and a few other details. But the figs do give me most of the info I need. I do however still have to interpret the meaning much like using the form, only I find it much less cumbersome than the DRF.

Btw- as I have posted before, the figures work better for me than any other method I have used, and as other cj users know, he does not make selections, that is still up to the individual.


This begs a rhetorical question (no malice intended) ...

Are you still "handicapping" if you simply apply your own value judgement to another's figures?

It takes me 3-5 minutes to often decipher race conditions.

Dan H

[slewis]

It's not unusual for me to spend 2 hours plus on 1 RACE if I feel I have an angle or edge.


On the other hand, It takes me less then 2 minutes to determine if a race, for me, is unplayable.

All this then changes again if, upon inspection of the horses, I see something I really do or don't like.

[Norm]

I voted for 3+ hours, and that's only for dirt sprints which are the only races I work on at this time. While I can do a MSW or Md Cl in 5 minutes with good results, most races take much longer to analyze conditions, apply elimination factors and screen for class, speed, form and pattern recognition.

[cmoore]

I took a speed reading class last week and can handicap a race in less then 30 seconds..Look at fairgrounds race 2 today...I did that one in less then 5 seconds..It's amazing how good that course helped me..:lol:

[jimmy m]

For some reason all my life i just cant handicap the night before and there are are just a few tracks like all the so cal tracks and then maybe Gulfstream or Churchill i can sit at night or in the morning and study the card.I just like to handicap in between races.I only play about 2 tracks a day.I mostly play Mountaineer so with the weather the way it is this time a year i like to see how the track plays thru the night plus i want to hear Nancy and marks comments when i play Mountaineer too Jimmy

[Horsefan]

Utmost admiration for handicappers, how do you do it? I don't bet, I'm trying to teach myself to enjoy reading the past performances (tiny writing) because I want to really know how to judge my favorite Triple Crown contenders early each year. If I had to do a full card it would take me forever. Do you guys also depend on keeping ongoing records on individual horses- that is my goal. To have the pps constantly updated on a nice big sheet of notebook paper, something that's easy to read.

I think that this point means everything, I cannot see the younger generation wanting to learn the craft of handicapping. I hope that I am wrong-

This all begs the question of whether all this time consuming anaylsis is a reason why folks arenot drawn to the game. Casinos offer quick action with little thought and preparation. Is our sport a victim of its very nature ?

That and not enough of the big races on regular television to give the everyday person something to fall in love with.

[A. Pineda]

This all begs the question of whether all this time consuming anaylsis is a reason why folks are not drawn to the game. Casinos offer quick action with little thought and preparation. Is our sport a victim of its very nature ?

The time-consuming analysis is the main attraction , at least it is for me. The instant gratification, if you were correct in your analysis and made an appropriate wager, is nice too.

Since I search for one playable race daily, I have plenty of time to handicap, and usually spend three hours on that race, and then proceed to structure my wager.

If I had to answer your question, I would have to say, "yes." The not-so-subtle effect of the high takeout is soon evident to the novice, and is another contributing factor.