Curious as to how long it takes to handicap a PP

[Jae_cubed]

I recently had someone post the following in a different thread, "I look at 30-100 races a day. It only takes me 15-30 seconds to spot a horse I'm interested in." This got me thinking:

How long does it take "on average" for you guys to handicap 9 or 10 races? I'm new so this seems like it's something that is going to take a bit of time. On top of that I'm assuming you might only find 1 or 2 races worth betting during that day. I guess I'm just curious and hopeful that this process becomes quicker over time.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[Stillriledup]

I don't have time to handicap all 10. It takes me 4 to 5 hours just to handicap the pick 6, so, i'll just handicap those races. This way, i can have the pick 6 and the late pick 4 thoroughly handicapped. I'll let everyone else handicap all 9 races and spread themselves thin while i'm handicapping just 6 specific races. Usually at most racetracks, the last 6 races are the best quality races on the card.

[jeebus1083]

It depends on the races. Some races are easier to examine than others. Some days, it takes less than an hour, other days, it may take 3 hours...

I recently had someone post the following in a different thread, "I look at 30-100 races a day. It only takes me 15-30 seconds to spot a horse I'm interested in." This got me thinking:

How long does it take "on average" for you guys to handicap 9 or 10 races? I'm new so this seems like it's something that is going to take a bit of time. On top of that I'm assuming you might only find 1 or 2 races worth betting during that day. I guess I'm just curious and hopeful that this process becomes quicker over time.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[dav4463]

If I spend more than 5 minutes on a race; I start second guessing myself. I know what I am looking for most of the time. If not, there is another race on the next page. I am primarily a longshot player.

[salty]

It depends on how many maiden races there are. My guidlines on maiden races are very particular so it only takes a couple quick scans to spot a possible winner or just throw the race away. It also goes quicker when there is a standout horse in the 1 spot. I'm not going to lie, that amazing 12 horse hiding by itself on the last page comes back to kick my butt just a little too often. They really need to change that since the Form costs so much, is it too much to ask that all the horses are grouped together better.

[trackcat]

I have 2 software programs that I use and I also get to see full pp's for the horses. They help alot for me in handicapping and time wise also. Eight race card at So Cal about 2hrs, sometimes less. If just a single race during a card......if it's 2 minutes to post and i'm still scratching my head Ill pass. Yes I've forced a play before and lost. An education cost you money where ever you get it.

trackcat

[Knowclew]

In most cases, I can tell in 2-3 minutes if I am interested in a particular race.
If it peaks my interest, I probably spend an ave. of 10 minutes handicapping, and looking at dd and p3 options as well. At that point, I either make exotic wagers, or set what I think acceptable value for a win or w/p bet.
If they go too low, I will pass.

[Robert Goren]

Judging from bank statement last month, Not long enough.:(

[ezpace]

With CJ's or HTR print outs about 3seconds a race some say ; )

[MNslappy]

It depends a lot on the track and the card that day. Races at Prairie Meadows should take you about 5 minutes. Races at Tampa might take you 30-40 minutes if it's 12-14 horses.

I will throw this out there, once you find your comfort zone and know how long it usually takes you to analyze a race, if you find yourself taking a lot longer than normal, it's usually a sign to pass. Whenever I find myself scratching my head and looking at things over and over and over, I have to force myself to pass.

Learning to pass races you've already put time into is one of the very hardest things I've had to learn. And I'm still not completely over it.

[cnollfan]

It depends on the kind of race. Certain things that I am looking for are apparent in a minute, but a good, deep, competitive race may take a half hour. That is not necessarily a sign that the race is unplayable.

[boogsley]

Depends on how many horses are in the race, but usually 20 to 30 minutes. Some races at Gulfstream would take me 45+; some of their races would have 12+ horses, with 6+ that I could consider competitive. Also would take me longer sometimes since I do vertical wagers (trifectas, etc.) and would have trouble figuring a 2nd or 3rd place horse.

For the Derby/Preakness/Stakes, you could probably add all the time I spend looking at news/PP's/etc and make it like 5 hours per race? :D

[Producer]

I generally bet between 3 to 6 tracks per day depending on what tracks are running and the weather conditions at those tracks. First thing I do is immediately look for races that qualify, meaning races with 8 or more runners, very few if any first time starters, and not to many big class droppers.

Once I narrow it down to those races I MIGHT bet on, I generally take between 15 minutes to a half hour depending on the race. Then throughout the day I tweak my initial thoughts taking track bias and changing track conditions, if any, into consideration. By the time the race is approaching I am generally just watching the tote board to see if the odds warrant a bet. Most of my handicapping is done the night/morning before the races start.

[highnote]

One friend of mine would spend a weeks handicapping one race. He was like Pittsburgh Phil. He would go the paddock and post parade and get to know all the horses by sight and then predict which races they would enter next. He only followed stakes horses and up and coming stakes horses, (i.e., allowance horses). When the past performances came out for a horse he was interested in, he would do in-depth analysis on all of them. Then on the day of the races he would would bet his horse to win and sometimes a straight exacta with a horse he felt would run second. He never boxed his exactas nor did he bet place or show.

[Casino]

Judging from bank statement last month, Not long enough.:(

:lol: great line RG

[Steven Kolb]

The "best" horse in a race is often easy to spot. However - the "best" horse is not likely to win over 66% of good racetrack races. We handicap to find the hidden gems. That 8-1 shot that had trouble in his last two races - with a clean trip - he may just clean the field and the 8-5 ML favorite. It takes time to break down a field of ten horses to come up with a hidden gem. --> Take the time - if you have it - to handicap. If you don't, only wager "chump change" for fun. sk

[grant miller]

my hore guru(SP?) was a trip handdy capper he told me to look at the horses that gaind ground in the strech-that works .im a haress man -class @ trip are my clues any thing over 5 mins on a harness race is a no bet unless my lady likes a horse(dammit she right alot!!) I think your intewiton(gut feeling) can help ya too-good luck!

[pondman]

I recently had someone post the following in a different thread, "I look at 30-100 races a day. It only takes me 15-30 seconds to spot a horse I'm interested in." This got me thinking:

How long does it take "on average" for you guys to handicap 9 or 10 races?

It takes me about a minute to read through a card. I can do an entire week at GG or SA in about 5 minutes. I consider myself a class handicapper, who also looks at the works. It's either there or it's not. I've been doing this for years.

With the exception of horses which have just broken their maidens I don't look much at past performances. I don't break fractions or consider beyer calculations. (In other words I will bet lower level claiming races if the horse has just broken their maiden.) Other exception would be maidens on grass and grade 1 races. Both of these classes I want to see recent performances.

It's the record keeping that takes a little more time.