Winning-time spent handicapping

[the believer]

The amount of time spent on handicapping ,would seem to indicate in a ratio the number of wins that a handicapper comes up with. The challenge leading Jim's, definitely put in the time, Jimhorseman mentioned spending three hours going over the program for this past Friday...the master handicapper in my books Cliff....you can usually tell (by his comments)when he has put in the time...if he has , he (usually) always does well.Jay is the same as Cliff, in that he finds the winners when he gives the race card the time it takes to find the (not obvious to regular bettor )horses ,by going over all the handicapping factors that produces the winners.

SO...ratio of time spent HANDICAPPING = WINNERS

WAGERING ...WELL THAT'S A WHOLE OTHER STORY! LOL

[cliff]

I've said it dozens of times (is anyone listening?) that harness handicapping is not all that difficult, or time consuming. If one follows the track, watches the races (and replays), makes notes, does some simple math, and applies solid handicapping methods, it's not too difficult to pick one's share of winners. Finding the hidden value does take extra effort (and time), and that is where I spend most of my handicapping energy, on the three or four interesting races per card.

I spent all of 20 minutes (had a tough day) on Saturday's card and had seven winners with two other probables that broke. I couldn't play last evening, so I was even for the night.

The tough part is consistently making money at the track, that is, having a wagering stategy and money management scheme that produces positive results. Much more difficult to learn than picking winners.

[jimhorseman]

Cliff hit the nail on the head with his final paragraph. It is much more difficult having a wagering strategy and money management scheme than picking winners. Believer begins by stating that I spent 3 hours on friday's card which is correct. I spent about 5 minutes per race doing a numbers based speed rating system (14 times 5 = about 70 minutes). My simulcast attending partner has his own rating system and we spend 30-40 minutes comparing notes on the various races. We treat the night's card like a business meeting. A couple of minutes on each race discussing what we each think. I do respect his opinion and am not too full of myself to think my analysis is perfect. Two sets of eyes are better than one and we will often catch something the other missed. Now I'm up to about 2 hours invested. My final hour is crafting potential wagers for that evening. When I walk into a simulcast facility there is no late panic or blindly betting a race. I do make late adjustments for driver changes, scratches or track bias but for the most part it is an enjoyable evening where my wagers are pre-set and I can concentrate on watching the races, taking notes and discussing results with others. After 25 years of wagering I do think the above formula is one for success.