David Morey 
On the surface, choosing a horse seems fairly simple. You buy your Racing Form, pick a horse, and then go to the betting window or find a good horse racing sign up bonus.
That might be fitting for someone who only intends to make an annual two-dollar bet on something like the Kentucky Derby.
However, if you want serious success at the racetrack, a lot more is involved. A glance at the Daily Racing Form will tell you that: every page of entries is loaded with information about each horse.
Which sections of information are the most important? How can the information be synthesized? And what does it all mean?
Here are some important data points to consider when handicapping or analyzing a horse race.
Bloodlines
A handicapper can often decipher a horse’s class and ability level by reading or watching their previous races. However, this is impossible when the horses involved have little to no racing experience.
So, what is a handicapper to do?
One important piece of information is the horses’ bloodlines, particularly their sire (the racehorse term for father) and damsire (the sire of the entrant’s dam, or mother).
That is not meant to discount the impact of the female members of the family. However, it is much more difficult to glean significant information from the dams in the pedigree because while sires can have hundreds of offspring, broodmares can only have about a dozen at most.
Looking at sire statistics, you can see how many runners a sire has had, as well as the number of winners, stakes winners, and graded stakes winners. This will give you the overall class level that this sire typically produces. You can also find the average winning distance for your sire’s offspring, which can be handy when determining your entrant’s chances in any given race.
Track Conditions
In addition to knowing about racehorses, it can be helpful to know about the specific surfaces they run on.
The United States has three basic surfaces for race tracks: dirt, turf (grass), and all-weather (synthetic). As the name suggests, all-weather tracks do not change much with weather conditions; however, there is a good bit of variation in the other two that must be considered when handicapping.
Dirt tracks become muddy when rain falls. Depending on the specific mixture of dirt, clay, and sand of any given track, the surfaces can vary in consistency from soup to peanut butter. Modern groundskeeping techniques can “seal” the track so that it drains and dries out more quickly, but the surface is still affected. Some horses can tolerate mud, while others will not.
Grass tracks are also affected by rain. The turf becomes softer and more slippery. Serious amounts of moisture can cause the track to become completely unsuitable for racing, and so races will sometimes be moved from the turf to the dirt surface.
A racehorse’s past performances will denote whether each previous race was run on dirt, turf, or an all-weather track. They will also include that surface’s specific conditions at post time.
Human Statistics
Prospective bettors can also research the humans behind- and on top of- the racehorses.
Trainers, who are responsible for caring for and conditioning the horses, usually have multiple horses in training at their preferred track during that track’s racing meets. Trainers often compete with each other to garner the most wins and highest winning percentages at these meets. All of this information is available to bettors who seek it.
You can also look up a specific trainer’s statistics under certain race conditions. Some trainers have particular success with two-year-olds or first-time runners, and some perform best when their horses have significant time between races.
Jockeys are more competitive than the horses they ride. The competition can be stiff for each meeting’s riding title, which is bestowed upon the winningest jockey at each meeting. As with trainers, these statistics are available to the betting public.
Like trainers, different jockeys perform better under certain conditions. Some specialize in fast tracks, while others thrive on wet ones. Some ride better on the dirt, while others prefer the turf. Some are talented at getting a horse to go gate to wire, while others excel in booting a closer home.
Past Performances
Of course, past success is often the best predictor of future success.
If a horse outclasses its competitors, it will usually show in its past performances. They will have consistently run better in more prestigious races than their foes or shown utter dominance at the same level.
If such a horse is entered in a race, or the conditions match up well with their bloodlines and the talents of their human connections, then your choice is clear!
