Top Five Tips to Winning at the Racetrack

Using an artificial intelligence machine, known as Catie, we've analyzed several hundred factors that influence the outcome of a horse race. Here are the top 5 tips for picking winners based on the data.

Best time in the Last Six Races:

This honour can be bestowed on only one horse in the race. As the saying goes, "if you're not the best, you're one of the rest". Furthermore, a horse can have five very poort times and one stellar race time: bet that horse to win.

Easy Win:

It's all about the last race. The most likley horses to repeat are those that are racing in the same class and won easily (by more then four lengths).

Winning Favourite With Excuses:

What have you done for me lately! Again, take a look at the last race for each horse. If they won, look a little deeper. If they were favoured and behaved as such (went to the front, or ran the outside) there is a strong possibility they will perform well again. It is important to ensure the winning effort was in a race - not a qualifier - and that they have not moved up in class.

Money Earned in the Last Two Races:

No really, what have you done for me lately? Horses race to pay their bills. Trainers enter the horses where they are most competitive (can make the most money). Horses and trainers that have consistently made money for their owners will continue to do so.

Beaten Favourite with Excuses:

If the horse was a favourite in the last race and lost, look again. Was there a reason? Where they caught outside, boxed in or otherwise interfered with? Most importantly, horses attain favourite status because the vast majority of the public have a reason to believe in the tem. If they lose, they quite often atone for themselves in the following race.

These tips were garnered out of harness racing data from Woodbine and Mohawk Racetracks. Slight variations apply for the smaller tracks but we'll cover that in a future blog. In the meantime here are some good links to understand the lingo and get some background to horse racing.

Hello Race Fans: Check out the handicapping and basic information sections. Focused on Thoroughbred Racing.

USTA Fan Site: From the US Trotting Association, good background explanation of the sport of harness racing.

Standardbred Canada: The premier Canadian site for harness racing fans and owners. It features lots of news about the sport. You can also find explanations of racing jargon, how to read the racing form and how to bet.

Horse Player Interactive: This is a Canadian membership site for online wagering, but even non-members can find lots of useful information about race schedules and racing in general. See the Learning Centre tab on the main page.

Photo Credit: Linda Dougherty

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