Whats more important?

[TheStageIsSet]

"Is it more important to know the horses we bet on,OR TO UNDERSTAND THE HORSE PLAYERS WE BET AGAINST?"

Liftin claims each is as important as the other,IMO its more important on which horses im wagering on..Thoughts...

[Stillriledup]

Both are very important. YOu need to know the athletic ability of each racehorse and you need to know the tendencies of how the public likes to wager.

I feel one of my biggest strengths as a handicapper is accurately projecting, the night before, the odds as they'll unfold.

If you love an 8-1 morning line horse and go to the track and think you are going to GET 8-1 and you get 2-1 instead, you are in trouble because you haven't had enough time to convince yourself that the horse you've loved for the last 15 hours is not going to get your money. If you know the night before that you're not getting 8-1, you can be mentally ready to handle that when it happens. If not, players can get flustered and are making decisions at 1 minute to post "what do i do??!! HELP!!"

A player who's not prepared for this might bet the horse anyway, after all, it was his pick the night before, he loved the horse in the morning, he loved the horse on the way to the track, he loved the horse until he saw 2-1 first flash"

[Overlay]

Along the lines of Stillriledup's post, I'd say that taking wagering value (and the reason for it) into consideration (along with performance data) can address both areas sufficiently.

[kenwoodallpromos]

What about the horses we bet against?

[proximity]

"Is it more important to know the horses we bet on,OR TO UNDERSTAND THE HORSE PLAYERS WE BET AGAINST?"
...

knowing and understanding ourselves is maybe more important than both of these things combined....

[therussmeister]

One thing about knowing the people you bet against; you will less likely be surprised by late money odds drops. It also helps a great deal if you play bets like the trifecta, where you do not get to see potential pay-outs before betting.

[JohnGalt1]

Different days attract different types of players.

Friday nights at Canterbury they have live bands and young crouds--betting a few bucks every race and having a good time. Like a $2-4 poker game.

Afternoons at large tracks--CA, NY-- probably have more knowledgable and are serious players. Like a $50-100 poker game.

Who would you rather play against?

Your hidden 8-1 gem might go off at 8-1 against casual players, but might be 7-2 because the sharpies see what you saw.

[CincyHorseplayer]

Both.

But I'd include "Know thyself" too.


I could separate my successes and failures simply by race conditions!!


Playing to your own strengths,knowing what you are good at and have beat is key IMO.