New to horse racing

The_rock

Hi i want to start betting on horse racing can somebody please tell me the best way to select a horse?I was wondering where is the best site to view the racecards and see the ratings of the horses.

UrbanSea

Hi rock. I use www.irishracing.com to look at the cards and form. Shows all horses in the race with silks etc but also has a head to head function,showing previous meetings of horses in the race.
For Irish races it has all of the horses ratings,but doesn't for the English. For the English races I go to www.oddschecker.com. This shows all of the bookies prices for the races,except for ladbrokes, along with a rating for each horse from time form.

the groutch

racingpost.com is good for UK racing, and if you sign up to attheraces & racinguk's websites you can watch alot of replays for free (or at least the finish), sometimes the written "in running" comments don't paint the full picture

Condatis

I have wondered what bookies mean when they quote odds saying "bar the field".

the groutch

Condatis wrote: »

I have wondered what bookies mean when they quote odds saying "bar the field".

"bar" and "the field" mean the same thing, it means all the horses who a price isnt quoted for

eg.

2/1 horse A
5/2 horse B
5/1 horse C
5/1 horse D

10/1 bar

Condatis

So does that mean that all the other runners are 10/1?

UrbanSea

10/1 or greater

The_rock

The_rock wrote: »

Hi i want to start betting on horse racing can somebody please tell me the best way to select a horse?

I find the racing post online very good, has all I need to pick a horse. Generally I like handicaps as the horses are experienced (mainly) with plenty of runs to their name. I look for the ground being suitable (first thing I look at) then the trip (distance) and then the rating. Stuff like jockeys etc I don't really place much emphasis on except when I am laying a horse, sometimes the jockey is the main reason for a really short price so it's a good laying opportunity.

Golden rules, tiny stakes starting out, don't chase losses, don't gamble money you can't afford to lose and don't expect to make money out of it. Too many decent folk have been reduced to wrecks by gambling, families destroyed etc etc. It can be no joke.

the groutch

RoverJames wrote: »

I find the racing post online very good, has all I need to pick a horse. Generally I like handicaps as the horses are experienced (mainly) with plenty of runs to their name. I look for the ground being suitable (first thing I look at) then the trip (distance) and then the rating. Stuff like jockeys etc I don't really place much emphasis on except when I am laying a horse, sometimes the jockey is the main reason for a really short price so it's a good laying opportunity.

I would actually disagree with that, I'd start with the pattern races (listed, group 1,2, & 3), because generally every horse will run to it's merits.
with handicaps and maidens there are often too many unknown quantities

the groutch

the groutch wrote: »

I would actually disagree with that, I'd start with the pattern races (listed, group 1,2, & 3), because generally every horse will run to it's merits.
with handicaps and maidens there are often too many unknown quantities

But I said generally I like
Indeed, maidens are awful for backing horses.

UrbanSea

I quite like backing horses in maidens,but wouldn't advise it to a newcomer to gambling.

Mellor

the groutch wrote: »

"bar" and "the field" mean the same thing, it means all the horses who a price isnt quoted for

eg.

2/1 horse A
5/2 horse B
5/1 horse C
5/1 horse D

10/1 bar

Not quite right.

Bar and the field aren't the same.

What you described above is correct for "bar". Unlisted horses are 10/1 or higher.

But "the field" is different. That's the price for a bet on all other horses at the same time, and not the price for wach.

6 horse race
Horse A - 10/11
Horse B - evens
The field - 20/1

A bet on the field will pay out if any of the the other 4 horses win

UrbanSea

The field can be all horses in the race.
E.g 4/1 the field when the fab is priced up at 4/1

Mellor

I think you mean the fav at 1/4
As both at 4/1 would be a pretty sweet situation.



The field can be also used in forcasts or simialr bets to signify all combos.
ie
Straight forcast,
Trap 1, The field

This is 5 (if there's 6 traps) bets covering everything from 1,2-1,6
Trap 1 would have to be not fancied much to make that bet more profitable than picking him straight out to win

yesno1234

The_rock wrote: »

Hi i want to start betting on horse racing can somebody please tell me the best way to select a horse?I was wondering where is the best site to view the racecards and see the ratings of the horses.

I'm in the same boat as you. You should join the tippers competition on oddschecker.com it's free to enter and you have the chance of winning free bets. I joined it last week and so far I'm not doing too bad but the main problem I have is trying to reduce my number of tips a day. So far I've tipped 150 horses (6 Non Runners in that though), 19 of these won (rarely betting on fave's, 3 14/1 winners so far), and another 31 have placed. I'm also trying to work out my staking because mostly I've just been backing to win but trying to work out which to back each way. It's good though and no risking of your own money aswell.

UrbanSea

No Mellor I meant the field can include the fav. 4/1 the field means the fav at 4/1 I.e all horses 4/1 or greater

Mellor

Ah I get you, you meant in terms of displaying race info. Yeah, you could have it that way.
Of course you wouldn't be betting on "the field" in that case

UrbanSea

Thats it sorry about the misunderstanding