I don't know the first thing about betting on horses, but would be willing to learn more if it can be profitable in the long term. Can anyone give me the easy answer?
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I will make this as simple & as Easy as I can ...
Pick more Winners than you do Losers!
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gambling on any sport can be profitable if you know your sport. The majority of wagers are made by amateurs and that's why the house always wins. Not every gambler researches their wager. If they did the house wouldn't take bets. The house takes bets because the average gambler does not research the wager. And even with research a wager isn't a sure thing. Even the pro's have hard luck.
So read up on the sport and have fun. You'll win some, you'll lose some. Don't bet more than you can afford to lose.
just have funComment -
if you are an action whore, this is not that game for you.Comment -
Horses are for suckers, no one wins period.Comment -
jjgold bets yonkers and dover downs. thats why he doesn't make any money.Comment -
You can make money. Don't buy into anyone who tells you that "systems" work either. You can be a complete idiot (me
and still pick winners.
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only bet super high fives, and pick 7's.Comment -
Depends if you pick winers.Comment -
horse racing has a huge pool takeout it is only profitable as you are luckyComment -
You can make money if:
1) Stay away from chalk, if you like the fav, pass the race.
2) I prefer Pick 3s and Pick 4s where the takeout is spread over several races and is usually better valve than a parlay. You should only play these wagers at tracks with decent handle.
3) Only pound short numbers or spread with longshots..... never play multiple horses with favorites.
I prefer Northfield, The Meadows, Meadowlands, Santa Anita, and sometimes NYRA.Comment -
If you play horses with your online sportsbook, be sure to review the payout limits on certains bets.
You won't be a happy camper if you hit a pick 4 that pays$3,000 at the track but your books has a limit of $250-1 or something silly like that.Comment -
Your sure not going to win betting win,place and show
The sport is too unpredictable and lottery like and takeouts almost impossible to overcome.Comment -
Yes, I can give you an easy answer. You can make riches on a race. You can also make great money in any one day. You can make good money in any given week. In addition, you can make some money in any given month. You even may make a little money in a year.
But, over the long term, my input is that perhaps 10% of bettors come out ahead. And, 1/3 of those have inside info, another third are just plain lucky/fortunate, another 1/3 are jockeys. That leaves you, my friend, as part of the remaining 1%. If you like those 1 in 100 odds..........by all means, go for it.
The takeout is just too high at roughly 18 to 30% to squeeze out profits. Man, it's tough ehough beating football and basketball etc. at 5% !! Get my math drift???...............you need to make 20-30% just to break even.
On top of all of this, cash a big ticket and Uncle Sam has a convenient window waiting for you right there on the premises. Such impeccable service is available nowhere else in town !
Take it from someone who knows as my family has owned and raced ponies, I have worked at different tracks in my younger years and have many friends in the "industry". I have seen many mighty smart players never make any headway. The only thing that I can think of where you have less leverage is dog racing or the lottery.
My advice is go to the track once in awhile with a stash that you can afford to lose (you probably will) and watch some of God's most beautiful creatures parade around and then give their all. Have a drink or two and some grub...........and enjoy your day.
In the meantime, freshen up your fotball or basketball wagering skills.
GL.......THE HITMANComment -
Thank you all, but especially to you hitman! I will take your advice and stick to working on handicapping other safer or more profitable sports. I think I will go down to the local track with my gf and make a few small wagers just for fun. Good luck to you all.Comment -
Thats an accurate post. I've had minor bit-part shares in half-a-dozen horses over the years back home and the one thing I noticed was I drove a better car than 99% of the lads working at the stable. Even though I knew that, I still lost money blindly following their b-s 'tips' and the moment i realised they knew fook-all I was wealthier for it. Each to their own, my advice would be a day out at the track once a month is great fun and everyone should go to the track at least once in their life....for fun. As I said, the stats in the above post tell you all you need to know.
Good Luck.Comment -
Sadly,horse racing is relying more on card rooms and slot machines to subsidise purses.Horse racing has become no more than a welfare program for farmers.The Indian casinos,lotteries,Vegas,Atlantic City and online gambling gave racing a knockout punch so the state legislatures who are in the farmer lobbying groups pockets had to give in and let the tracks install some really crappy odds slot machines that only tards would play to keep the industry afloat.
Hell,the SSI,social security and welfare recipients playing the machines with tax payer money create some damn big purses that are artificially lopsided.If a track like Prairie Meadows in Des Moines has a purse of 14K for 10 K claimers,over half the purse is generated from the machines.Pretty good,you can just about claim a racehorse at a price where in the very next race it might win and win back as much as the new owner paid for it.Comment -
No....Comment -
Threads like this make me laugh, I know that not everyone can win or even knows how to win at horse racing but it can be profitable all depends on how you play... if your armed with a computer program and don't read the daily racing form your ahead of most the form leaves out information that every handicapper needs to know to accurately make a selection. Inside information plays a part but the inside info is available to the public you just have to know where to look. When in any major sporting event will you ever be able to book a 4-1 on an under dog or 7-1 or 14-1. Doesn't happen maybe once in a blue moon happens in racing every day though. The take is high compared to other gambling endevors that is true. But if you hit 30% winners in horse racing you can be profitable try that in sports betting or black jack assuming your bets stay a standard amount. Horse racing is one of the more challenging gambling games but that doesn't mean people can't make money at it..Comment -
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Now that's the most intelligent reply to this thread yet IMHO!
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True, one can make money at it, but it is Much more unlikely than at other sports endeavors. I've known literally hundreds who have tried it and if a handful of those are successful, that's a lot. And, no, that group does not consist mainly of ill informed degenerates. Most are well seasoned, informed disciplined smart gamblers, good mathematicians, including owners & track personnel. All with a good "game plan". Some say they are big winners, but most of that is just pride & BS..........so, that isn't a great equation for our neophite poster.
True, the 4-1 or 7-1's are nice, but you fail to mention that in betting bases, foots, BJ, or the like, you only have one team to beat. With horses, there are 7-8-9 (or more) other horses to beat. In a football side, there is only one loser. In a horse race, for every winner there are 7-8 losers. Like you said , that happens every day, every race, also.
In addition, the inside info is available to the public ??? The kind of inside info I am refering to isn't. And, we all know what type of info that is. The dark side of this sport exists, like it or know it or not, it does.
It is an alluring, deceiving sport where one can go into the hole very quickly, inducing one to "chase". Your thoughts of an easy 4-1 or 7-1 or perfectas etc. now come back to haunt that individual...........they get hooked easily on the looks of that easy money big tote board, and it's very hard to pack it in.
My thoughts remain................the 20-30% takeout is way too much to overcome on a long term basis. Why deal with that when you can battle against only 5% (or less) with foots, baskets or the like?Comment -
please don't start betting on horses, it's the easiest way to turn your money into nothing.Comment -
For a chosen few and I didn't get picked.Comment -
Words of wisdom "You can beat a race but you can"t beat the races". This is my prefered form of gambling because you can bet a little to win a lot. There are situations in this game that can be "golden". Yet the overall picture is gloomy. The sport is in a state of decay. The takeout is too much. The front and backend taxes are a ball-buster so even when you win big you lose {I'm still bummed about the past two years tax situation, too many signers because of internet wagering}. . The "dark" side of the industry is alive and the medication rules create an uneven playing field. Its not a game for "action junkies" you will be eaten up alive.
The bright spot is that with all the exotics the possibility for that life changing score exists.
Its not an easy game to learn either! It took several trips to the track and a number of books for me to learn the basics. Overall I would say sports handicapping is an easier path to take.Comment -
I always hear how the takeout is too high, but if a horse you believe should be a bet at say 3-1 is going off at 6-1, why would takeout matter? It may reduce the number of wagers, but if you're a good handicapper and have discipline, it is possible to beat the races.Comment -
When I place a $2.00 Win wager in a race its value is reduced to around $1.65 after taxes. It adds up over the course of time. Which is why its not wise to wager in every race that comes along. Exstatman's case of an overlay is a good example of the positive aspects of parimutual wagering. There are situations in this game that produce worthy risk opportunities. It takes time and patience to find them and even then you need racing luck to be on your side as well.Comment -
I have never met a horseplayer that did not die broke, you will never see so many broken down degenerates in any other form of gambling, it is the street junkie of gambling. I go and see so many guys not shaven with wirey crazy hairstyles just wandering around using every dime of their pay checks to bet with. On Fridays the tracks are more crowded because it is payday. By the end of the day those same guys lost it all slamming garbage cans on the ground, talking to themselves and saying how they should of won or the races are fixed.
No one wants to be associated with horseplayers because it is looked down upon in society and it should be . The parking lot is filled with old cars chasing the impossible feat of winning. All horseplayers end up with no families also because all the family money goes to the local horse track or OTB.
Horses are just another form of street junkie drugs and it is sad.Comment -
agree with jj here. OTB's are THE most depressing places you will ever see.Comment -
I went to my first day at the track yesterday and won my very first bet, a trifecta.
I know nothing about horses, and was just looking at the live odds right before the start of the race, then bet on races where there was a big difference between the top three and the rest of the field. That worked pretty good.Comment -
If you know what you're doing I'm sure it's profitable.Comment -
It can be.Comment -
Is there a database with past results for races, including opening/closing lines?
Most interested in the lines right before the start of the race (for the entire field, not just the top three).Comment
