Winning Handicapping: Drawing the Line Between Smart Play and a Life Obsession

Winning handicapping, a methodology for choosing the correct horses combined with a smart value wagering strategy that returns a consistent profit, is as elusive to most horseplayers as was Sir Galahad's quest to seek the Holy Grail.

Many players have found a "solution" by spending countless hours learning as much as humanly possible about the sport of horse racing along with its gaming aspect. For the dedicated, I have heard stories of those burning the midnight oil as part of their preparation.

With copies of the racing magazines strewn about the table, colored pens and a bottle of Jack Daniels, they work their wizardry while chain smoking deep into the night.

On limited sleep with bloodshot eyes, the next day they stagger into the track ready for action. The rewards for their efforts could range from making a decent score to losing a paycheck or a house. No matter what the results, they will find a way to be back again tomorrow.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

Granted, not every handicapper who dedicates their entire life to the game is imbibing heavily during preparation or smokes incessantly. However, that massive time investment is still prevalent.

Combined with the potentially emotional triggers brought on by the financial risks of gambling (and the races themselves), even if winning consistently, how healthy and rewarding can that lifestyle possibly be?

Taken a step further, perhaps off the deep end as some might argue, racing handicapper and author Andrew Beyer states in his first book Picking Winners: A Horseplayer's Guide:

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The most deleterious effect on a horseplayer's concentration are caused by women. When a gambler has had an exceptional day at the track, or is in the midst of a great winning streak, he may exude a sense of self-esteem and confidence to which women respond. If this occurs the horseplayer is dangerously apt to fall in love, and the distraction is sure to ruin him at the track.

"

"Dangerously apt"? Does becoming a winning handicapper really require such drastic measures? At what point does one say enough is enough, realizing that horse racing had become a life-changing obsession?

After getting involved with race handicapping in May of 2007, I experienced a measure of success picking winners (and turning a profit) from 2008-2013.

While doing so, I invested neither the time nor resources described here. However, over the last year, I began hearing talk by gamblers on social media that what needs to be done to reach the next level is the investment of more time and money into the game.

I gave it some serious thought and did not find the idea appealing. Regardless of how much money I might win by betting on horses, the price tag of turning my life over to the game is not an option.

In addition to all of the risks already mentioned—my interest level is not high enough, nor is my tolerance for losing.

The good news is, I have found that targeting specific days to play can still result in huge payoffs. The key is using reliable data to handicap while finding races that offer value.

Winning big does not require one to make horse racing his or her entire life's purpose.

At the end of the day, the horses are alive and extremely powerful—they can do whatever they want, and history shows they are not entirely reliable.

With that in mind, when it comes to horse racing, my mottos are: "Low-risk and high-reward," and "Never fall in love with a horse."