As the UK prepares itself for the annual Cheltenham Festival Races coming up on March 10th, the stakes are getting high again as fans, supporters, neutrals, and plain lovers of the sport gear up for another exciting horse racing event.

Aside from the fun and excitement, there is always the other side that involves predicting or correctly picking out the winners from the losers. Whether you are engaged in the latter for the sheer fun of it, or you are trying to catch a huge paycheck, there are a few tips to help to make the correct predictions. This article will help you understand how to pick a winner from a loser.

Tip One: Form Guide

Form guide is an important indicator of who the winners and losers will be. And this is based purely on the performance of the horse. You need to know which horse or horses has been performing better over the previous five races. You also need to know which horse or horses have been improving the time considerably. Note that form guide is not always about long term history. You are only concerned with the current form of the horse. And to get the right picture, only pick out a horse’s performance in its previous five races only. The race cards and guides will be very useful in giving such information.

Tip Two: Betting Odds

Betting odds are also very useful indicators. The odds are adjusted by the bookmakers, and money is placed on each horse. Horses that come with shorter prices are generally more fancied or more probable to win as compared with horses with bigger prices.

Tip Three: Horse Condition

The condition of a horse is also another indicator when it comes to knowing a winning horse from a losing one. You need to have a good eye or some experience in knowing whether a horse is in good condition or not by simply observing it. Pay attention to the horse’s appearance and find out if it is calm or moving with ease.

Tip Four: Ground Condition

There are different types of ground conditions – soft, yielding, good, good to firm, firm, and heavy. Some horses have a better performance on some ground conditions than others. Consider the current condition and look out for the horse that performs better on such grounds.

Tip Five: Race Distance

The distance of the race also has to be considered. For example, if the current race is about 10 furlongs, then look for the horse that has performed better in previous races with the same distance.

Tip Six: Horse Weight

The weight that a horse carries is another indicator. The handicap system is put in place to make horses that excelled in a previous race to gain more weight and, thus, put them in a handicap and make it more difficult for them to win the next race.

Tip Seven: Trainers and Jockey

It goes without saying that these two play important roles in deciding the winners and losers of a race.

It is important to note, however, that none of the above tips offer any assurances of the performance of a horse in a race. They are only guides to consider when picking out your favourite horse.

Sources

• https://www.gobet.com.au/blog/5-tips-for-picking-a-winning-horse/ Go Bet
• https://www.wikihow.com/Win-at-Horse-Racing Wiki How
• https://www.runhorse.com/how_to_pick_winners.htm Run Horse