How do you guys study form??

[allanmac83]

Hi all, As all you guys guess I'm still trying to get into this horse racing world, love this forum, great for info and a wee tip from the experts!! Now I need some expert help,, how to you guys study the form to find hopefully a winner!? Sometimes I look at it and think, why is that the fav? Anyone help me?

[jayalexander]

Well, it would be a heck of a lot easier for you if you invested in a beginner's guide to racing as you'll be asking questions for the next twenty years otherwise. If you want to save a bit of money, get it from the library. Enthusiasm is great but you're in charge of your own future. Plus you'll learn quicker. I was in the same boat as you prior to joining this forum but through learning and developing my own ideas I'm now gearing up to beat the bookies. Sent from my GT-I9100 using PL Forum

[allanmac83]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Thanks for the reply bud! Any beginners books you would recommend? Off to the book shop I go then, see if I can get something!! I know my odds etc but it's just picking the horse I'm struggling with and how to look at where the winner is from me looking at the form!

[jayalexander]

Any beginner's guide will be a start. Perhaps you could start looking at results then figuring out why that certain horse won? Sent from my GT-I9100 using PL Forum

[allanmac83]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Nice one I'll do that!! Will look at results also and see how it goes!

[Lars]

Re: How do you guys study form?? I'm pretty busy at this time of the year with other stuff so I'll keep this very brief. I also aren't entirely sure I'm the best qualified to answer as I learnt my racing in rather a roundabout way. First off, you need to grasp how a racecard works before anything else. The Racing Post have handy guides within their paper (and I think on their website) and also Sporting Life's pages are quite easy to navigate. Grasping the terminology is a vital early step. Next off, it's probably best if you watch a fair lot of racing, especially listening to the analysis given pre and post-race. I'd recommend Racing UK and there's a few free internet streams about to watch it on (as it is £9 a month online). Although these pundits views are often wrong, learning what people are talking about in Racing in connection with the form/ground/distance of race etc will bring you on a fair deal, and soon enough (after a few weeks) you'll be capable of challenging their opinions yourself. If you're not about to watch the Racing live on channels like RUK, then Sporting Life do replays here. There's a little trick that works on most videos to get the pre-race analysis, if you click the actual video player while it's playing, and press backspace, then it should start right from the beginning of their coverage of the race (sometimes Paddock shots etc). You can't skip it so you'll just have to leave it running til the race but it's definitely handy. There's probably quicker ways, such as giving it a go yourself straight off, but you'll burn money like it's no tomorrow and I'd recommend you just keep a watching brief for a while, as long-term it'll work out better.

[allanmac83]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Cheers lars that was a great bit of info!! That's what I'm trying to do just now is look at the race card and see what it all means so I have a better understanding!! Will have a look at sporting life etc and go from there!!

[BillyHills]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Allan, Have a read through this thread at the top of the forum; http://forum.punterslounge.com/threads/57140-Horse-Racing-Glossary-Q-amp-A Some helpful stuff amongst the posts. It really is difficult to advise someone new on how to start reading form, we don't know your knowledge, speed of learning, experience etc.... Everyone finds their own level and best ways to read the form which suits them, some people have half an hour before work to look at the racing some have all day to comb through every race. Some just concentrate on specialist types of race to start with, I like novice hurdlers for example so thats my starting point each day, others prefer sprint handicaps or Group races etc... You will find your niche eventually but try not to look at everything at the start you will end up getting confused between handicaps, pattern races, jumps, flat etc....theres juts too much to take in all at once and its nearly impossible to make a profit if you back horses in every race or a lot of races each day. Some of the basic starting points which you can find easily in any form book, whether that be on the RP, ATR or Sporting Life sites is the following; A) Has the horse won or ran well on todays ground? B) Has the horse won over todays trip or ran well enough to suggest it will suit? C) Is the trainer in decent form, doesn't have to be flying but having placed horses recently is a start? D) Will the course suit, has it ran well on the track before or similar tracks There is a couple of links in the above thread about handicapping which may help but can easily be found on the net if you just search on google. Handicapping is a whole new ball game and once you get use to reading race cards and form this will become clearer as time goes by, you cant learn everything about this game very quickly, it just takes time and experience, try to watch as many race as you can, nothing better than your own eyes in my opinion, note down things if it helps, draw up a list of horses to look at next time for example. One you get a grasp of whats going on you then have the betting side to racing, again you cant expect to know whats a value bet or not when you are new to the game, some people like backing short priced favourites, some prefer to back long shots EW, you will find your own style eventually, just don't try and back too many would be my advice, always make a record of your bets, you may think you are doing ok but you would be surprised at how many people are actually losing more than they believe they are. Also by noting down your bets you can see where you are succeeding and then you can cut out the silly little bets that is affecting your profits, this happens to everyone at some point, as do bad runs and you can think its just bad luck or whatever but at the end of the day you need to see the evidence as to why this wonderful hobby is proving expensive. Good luck, its worth all the hard work:ok

[Jimmy2shoes]

Re: How do you guys study form?? I like trying to find and watch as many races as possible, then find out where they might be sending the horse in the future, sometimes its just a question of looking out a few good horses that maybe finished 2nd / 3rd / 4th etc etc and stick with them. Most of the member's will have their own way of thinking and their own system, but try and keep in mind the bookies will always try their hardest in getting your money, but you have found and should stick with this site because we also try our hardest in taking money from the bookie. 2 Tips - Read as much as you can, and watch as much as you can.

[allanmac83]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Billy that's great help mate, thanks very much! Really want to succeed in learning about this!! Ill have a look at the link! Think I will try concentrate on one style of racing!! Things like horses weight etc, need to learn why that's important and also things like the distance of a race, what horse likes what!! That was great help billy, thanks for taking time out to give me a bit of advise!!

[allanmac83]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Cheers jimmy, great advise also!! Hopefully I pick it up good and have my own say on horses to pick on this forum!! :D

[santos_]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Allan you may want to check out this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Definitive-Guide-Betting-Horses/dp/1905156960/ref=pd_sim_b_1 A very good book I thought I got this from my library a few years ago when I really didn't know where to start it offers some good pointers for beginners.

[RussP]

Re: How do you guys study form?? As others have said, read & watch as much as you can. The difficulty here is that the methods of everyone will differ....I'm sure no-one will use the exact same methods as me, but they may still come up with the same answer. Many times I've seen 3 or 4 people tip up the same horse but each of them will have had a different way of coming up with the given horse. Initial suggestion is to read a couple of books (the one Santos recommends looks ideal) and then you could ask more specific questions :ok

[Blazing Bailey]

Re: How do you guys study form?? One book that really helped me get a firmer understand of flat racing was Jon Gibby's Well Handicapped Horses. Might not be one for you right away, but once you have a general understanding of the game, this one could you find a few more pieces of the puzzle. I was pretty much in the same place you are this time last year and I have basically read everything I can get my hands on, whether it be about form, breeding, 2yo's, draw & pace bias, speed ratings etc etc. Some things wont click right away but as you read more you will then go back and think 'oooh thats what he meant!' lol.

[Cons]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Watch this top link and the book Santos recommended but cheaper below it:

[allanmac83]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Cheers guys for the comments!!I'll get that book then and have a good read at that, looks the type of book I need to get started, thanks santos and russ p! Blazing bailey,, exactly what I'm going through, reading some things and I'm like ' what does that mean' lol actually annoys me!! Done some paper test betting 2day and took 3 bets 2day, took,, Zomerlust to win at Redcar 3.00, it won My Viking bay to win Towcaster 6.00, it won Northern territory to win Windsor 6.40, came last lol So where did I go wrong with the Windsor bet? and where did go right with the first two bets?? Was a 9/4 shot when I took zomerlust so not bad odds!!

[Kithanga]

Re: How do you guys study form??

Cheers guys for the comments!!I'll get that book then and have a good read at that, looks the type of book I need to get started, thanks santos and russ p! Blazing bailey,, exactly what I'm going through, reading some things and I'm like ' what does that mean' lol actually annoys me!! Done some paper test betting 2day and took 3 bets 2day, took,, Zomerlust to win at Redcar 3.00, it won My Viking bay to win Towcaster 6.00, it won Northern territory to win Windsor 6.40, came last lol So where did I go wrong with the Windsor bet? and where did go right with the first two bets?? Was a 9/4 shot when I took zomerlust so not bad odds!!

Just avoid the mistake of thinking you're wrong because it lost and right because it won. That'll make the difference between winning and losing in the long run. Look at the race afterwards and try to understand why it might have worked out the way it did for all the runners. Have a read of the quotes from connections and jockeys too as there's sometimes things in there that you couldn't possibly have known beforehand. Have a look back at Spotlight or Sporting Life to see if they got it any better than you did and why. Was the going different (based on times) than what was forecast, was there a pace bias, etc. Then you can assess whether you missed a key fact or took the wrong things into account. I'd be more worried if, for example, I'd backed a winner that was winning for the first time going left handed, when it is 0 from 15 going that way round and normally hangs right. If it hangs to the rail and still wins because maybe the other market leaders had a problem, I'd think I just got lucky but assessed the race wrongly. When studying the form by all means read some books, particularly stuff on pace and speed figures as they have useful insights. However you'll only gain by hard experience. Set up a betting bank that's an uncomfortable (but not ruinous) amount to lose and start betting real cash and you'll learn quickly. Expect to lose the first bank (and maybe the second) and have to save / rebuild. On form study it's the obvious of does it act on the track, going, under the weight, small / big field, after a short / long break from the track, etc and then straight comparison with the others taking account of any likely improvement to find the most likely winners. They'll usually be at the head of the market as that's just how things work out. Then you are looking for things that others may not have spotted like a pace bias, or the favourite being the type that doesn't like to be in front, etc. Hope that helps

[allanmac83]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Thanks kithanga!! Will take all that info on board, love all the help so far guys thanks!! Going to do a paper test each day and see how it goes, done my selections 2day so see how it goes!! Things like weights of horses that come into play I need to learn and also how do you find out what horses run best right and left handed on a track and the benefits of this!! Loads of things to learn but one step at a time and I'll get there lol

[Cons]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Bit of motivation and comedy here for you allanmac: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd5JNeXottohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6askTxk0gkE&feature=related The last link is a 5 part'er

[allanmac83]

Re: How do you guys study form?? Nice cons!! First link did not work but the 5 parter was really good,, will save that in my favs on you tube!! Anymore that are useful let me know bud

[RichardHodges]

On 5/14/2012 at 2:51 PM, Lars said:

Re: How do you guys study form?? I'm pretty busy at this time of the year with other stuff so I'll keep this very brief. I also aren't entirely sure I'm the best qualified to answer as I learnt my racing in rather a roundabout way. First off, you need to grasp how a racecard works before anything else. The Racing Post have handy guides within their paper (and I think on their website) and also Sporting Life's pages are quite easy to navigate. Grasping the terminology is a vital early step. Next off, it's probably best if you watch a fair lot of racing, especially listening to the analysis given pre and post-race. I'd recommend Racing UK and there's a few free internet streams about to watch it on (as it is £9 a month online). Although these pundits views are often wrong, learning what people are talking about in Racing in connection with the form/ground/distance of race etc will bring you on a fair deal, and soon enough (after a few weeks) you'll be capable of challenging their opinions yourself. If you're not about to watch the Racing live on channels like RUK, then Sporting Life do replays go here on resouse with free essays about Anxiety There's a little trick that works on most videos to get the pre-race analysis, if you click the actual video player while it's playing, and press backspace, then it should start right from the beginning of their coverage of the race (sometimes Paddock shots etc). You can't skip it so you'll just have to leave it running til the race but it's definitely handy. There's probably quicker ways, such as giving it a go yourself straight off, but you'll burn money like it's no tomorrow and I'd recommend you just keep a watching brief for a while, as long-term it'll work out better.

This resource is no longer available, can anyone suggest a similar one or maybe there is a backup?

Edited May 25, 2022 by RichardHodges

[calva decoy]

Badly ? 

I try & go on last 2 weeks trainer form or if very small yard last 3/7 days , the horses for courses saying , with the flat if soft / heavy going look on breeding for Jeremy's / Pivotals / Sadler Makers , & I avoid conditional races , they maybe some good & upcoming jockeys but also inconsistent , also draw bias at places like Bath & Beverley in sprint races are a few things I look for .

[MCLARKE]

This is a blast from the past. I wonder what happened to all those forum members.

[Johnrobertson]

I work out which horse has the best form in the race. I then check the price to see if its value and to try to get on before the price shortens, if it's a big drifter then I lay off or cash out, money talks.

I rarely back horses under 3/1 and I avoid Epsom and Brighton for some reason never get any winners on these courses. I back National Hunt all year round but the flat only from June to October and very rarely on the all weather.

[calva decoy]

On 5/23/2022 at 9:13 PM, MCLARKE said:

This is a blast from the past. I wonder what happened to all those forum members.

Millionaires ?