Horse Racing Handicapping for the Serious Bettor Who Wants to Win.

Millions of people bet on horse racing throughout the world every day. For many of them it is a lighthearted attempt at having some fun, and a diversion from their daily life. We'll call them casual bettors, since some of them don't even handicap, they just bet. Some serious handicappers might look down on them for their lackadaisical attitude toward betting real money on a race, but the same critical handicapper might also buy a lottery ticket with no way to improve his or her odds, and think nothing of it. For some people, a horse race is as much a random event as drawing lottery numbers and they don't want to have to work at it to win, they just want to be lucky.

There is nothing wrong with considering a horse race a random event because if you don't know how to handicap a race, that is all it is to you. The outcome is a mystery with little or no clues. I have overheard more than one couple or group at the race track, discussing their bets and talking about the odds board, and I realized they didn't even know how to read the odds correctly. I have also watched those groups win on many occasions.

So if you happen to be a casual bettor, this article isn't for you. This article is for the person who considers a horse race an event that may be handicapped, and presents an opportunity for financial profit. If you consider yourself a serious handicapper, let's see just how serious you are.

Let's start with money management. Can you answer these simple questions?

1. Do you have a betting bankroll that you keep separate from the rest of your money?

2. Do you have a method, like Kelly betting for instance, to determine the amount of your bets?

3. Do you know exactly how much you won or lost in your last day of betting?

4. How much are you ahead or behind for the week, month, year?

If you can answer each of those questions, then you are probably a very serious handicapper and also practice good money management, an essential part of making a living off horse racing.

Next, how do you prepare and maintain your own personal health so that you can be sharp and compete with other handicappers? This question will get many gamblers who are notorious for bad health habits. This isn't meant to be critical, just a realistic look at where you are in your horse racing handicapping career. Handicapping horse races is an intellectual sport. Mental sharpness can be affected by poor health.

I find that meditation and long walks keep me relaxed, and with good aerobic fitness so that my brain is supplied with plenty of oxygen. That may sound funny to some people, but it is a fact. If you have unhealthy habits they will impact your ability to think and your stamina as well. Tired people make mistakes and that can be critical when picking winners. How many mistakes can you afford to make before your profit becomes a loss?

What would you, or have you done to be a winner. Are there distractions in your life that are keeping you from devoting enough time and energy to handicapping to be a winner? Or are you just using those distractions as excuses? In some very extreme cases people have been known to walk away from relationships and even their families to handicap and bet on horse races. Some of them have a gambling problem that ruins their lives while others have a desire to win that is found in other top athletes who give up a social life or even meaningful relationships in order to be competitive.

My advice is, before you go making any changes that will affect your future happiness and security as well as the security and happiness of others, make sure that is what you truly want and that the sacrifice will indeed make the difference.

By now, some people are reading this and can't believe what they are reading. They may be thinking something like, "Can this idiot be serious? Give up family, friends, relationships for the chance to be a successful handicapper?"

Well let me ask you this, do you think that there has never been a professional golfer, bowler, poker player, chess champion, or NASCAR driver who hasn't had to make sacrifices, and some of them personal, in order to compete on a top level? How many tennis pros have had to sacrifice having a social life in order to be at their best? It happens all the time in other sports, why not horseracing handicapping? I certainly am not advocating that you shirk your responsibilities to your children or other dependents, but there may be some relationships in your life that are distracting you and costing you dearly as a handicapper.

So to wrap this up, are you willing to :

1. Be financially responsible?

2. Physically disciplined?

3. Emotionally tough enough to sacrifice to win?

If so, my friend, you may be one of a very few select individuals in this world who can call her or himself a professional horse racing handicapper.