I am a pen and paper handicapper, and I use speed and pace analysis in order to make my selections. To form my opinion on a horse, I look at three things:
1.) THE HORSE'S FINAL-TIME SPEED RATINGS...to see how fast the horse is capable of running the distance when the conditions of the race are favorable, or adverse.
2.) THE HORSE'S FRACTIONAL TIMES...to see if there are any sudden bursts of speed within the race, which might indicate that either the jockey failed to properly ration the horse's speed, or that the horse is showing an improvement in form.
3.) A QUIRIN-TYPE SPEED/PACE RATING FOR THE RACES THE HORSE COMPETED IN...because I believe that the quality of the race itself has a lot to do with the individual performances of the horses involved.
I combine these three factors, and come up with speed/pace ratings for all the horses in the race. I then convert these speed/pace ratings into "power ratings"...and use these to structure my superfecta and trifecta wagers.
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"Theory is knowledge that doesn't work. Practice is when everything works and you don't know why."
-- Hermann Hesse
Last edited by thaskalos; 01-27-2012 at 12:32 PM.
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