How long does it take you to handicap a card?
 

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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!

The Two Second Handicapper
 

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.