While there is no substitute for a good handicap in horse racing, there are other ways to find good bets on the racetrack. The whole process of being a successful player or winning horse player boils down to one thing: you have to be a good detective. A good detective, or a good handicap, must be observant.
Much has been written, in part by me, about observing horses before a race to gain valuable clues about a horse’s preparation and physical condition. Visual impairment, as it’s called, is a valuable tool, but it’s probably not a standalone impairment method for most of us. The same goes for spying on jockeys before a race, most of the time.
Horsemen’s tips are usually not worth much, but I remember one time a horseman inadvertently tipped me and it was worth it. He was looking at the horses in the Tampa Bay Downs paddock and the jockeys were mounting their horses. As they did so, I noticed a jockey give a quick two-fingered signal to someone standing by the rail. It all took just a second and I’m sure the crowd missed it, everyone but me, that is.
I followed the jockey’s friend to the grandstand and, sure enough, he lined up and placed a bet. I also placed a bet on both of them (not the signal jockey’s horse, by the way) and cashed in a very good mutual ticket. It was a nice little adventure, but hardly the kind of thing you can make a living with.
However, if you watch jockeys, their body language can tell you how relaxed, confident, nervous, or uninterested they are. A jockey who thinks he has no chance of winning a race is usually not very excited before a race. That jockey you see with his legs dangling, his feet out of the stirrups while the horse plods along flat-footed in the after parade is not going to win the race.
However, if you check the odds board, you’ll see that some people are still betting on the horse. Those who bet on that horse are not visually impaired. On the other hand, if you see a jockey in the stirrups talking to the horse, the horse’s ears pricked up to listen to the jockey, you can bet there is communication there and he means well.
The next time you’re at a race track, take a close look at the jockeys in the post parade and at the saddle pad. Watch them as they stand up and talk to the trainer, see how they mount the horse and what kind of communication they have with the runner. You may find some winners that you might have missed.