Horse Racing GuideHorse racing takes many forms but the most common available to punters in your local bookmaker is Flat and National Hunt. Under the British Horseracing Board rules there is flat racing which was traditionally run in the summer months on grass, but with the advent of all weather surfaces it is now run all year around. National Hunt or more commonly known as jumps racing was restricted to the August - May period but again is now run throughout the year. All races are run over distances measured in imperial units of miles, furlongs and yards. A furlong equates to just over 200 metres and there are 8 furlongs in a mile. Flat racingOn grass the season starts in late March with the Lincoln Handicap as the first big race and goes through to autumn with the Doncaster November handicap as the last big race. During the winter months there is all weather racing but punters should be careful, there are 3 all weather circuits with different surfaces. A horse might have a preference for one all weather track but hate another. Generally speaking the quality of horses racing on all weather tends to be the nags rather than quality horses. In the springtime however there can be decent animals in preparation for the oncoming grass season on the all weather scene. Flat races on grass or all weather are run over distances ranging from 5 furlong up to 2 mile 6 furlong. Horses like humans vary in their ability to win races and there are races organised to suit all types against similar opposition. Types of Flat RacesThe classes (A to H) The categoriesPattern; the top races, Group 1, 2, 3. General DefinitionsHandicap: weights are determined by official ratings. Flat horses are rated on a scale of 0-140 and most handicaps have specified ability range. The Classic races are restricted to 3 year olds and are namely the: One Thousand Guineas, run at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile for fillies. Two Thousand Guineas, run at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile for colts. The Oaks, run at Epsom over a distance of 1 mile 4 furlong for fillies. The Derby, run at Epsom over a distance of 1 mile 4 furlong for colts. St Leger, run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile 6 furlong. The value of any horse winning a Classic is increased enormously because of the breeding potential. As such it is unheard of these days for Classic winners to be kept in training past their third year. Courses can vary from flat tracks to undulating (up and down hill), turning right, left or both (figure of 8). Bends can be tight or gradual and horses can react differently to those different traits. The ground conditions can be all important, a horse that likes a lot of rain and heavy going may not like dry, firm ground and vice versa. A site that can help you determine which horse is suited by the ground conditions and other variables is Patternform. Flat races are started from starting stalls and the horses are drawn to run from a particular stall. The draw can have a marked effect on the chances of a horse winning. Our own Headlad has detailed records of all the UK tracks and it's worth noting that the starting stalls can be placed in different sections across the track and differing ground conditions can all effect the bias. Since this was written, flat racing classes have undergone a few changes. Class 1 for the best horses, down to Class 7 for Regional Racing. New Classes: National Hunt Or Jumps RacingUnlike flat racing the minimum distance of a National Hunt race is two miles but the real difference is that horses in National Hunt races have to jump obstacles. These can be hurdles or the much larger fences and there will be a minimum of 8 obstacles in each race. The pinnacle of the National Hunt season is (arguably) the Grand National. Run at Aintree over a distance of 4 miles 4 furlongs and 30 of the most difficult fences in racing and is a spectacle to behold. Horses are not raced over hurdles until they are a minimum of 4 years old (3 in France ) and do not reach a peak until 8 years old. As such National Hunt horses do not have much breeding value and there are no Classic races. However, there is in my opinion, more character with the National Hunt horses and they will compete year after year at the Champions meeting at Cheltenham known as 'The Festival'. All the best horses from the UK , Ireland and France compete for a cherished Festival win. Good National Hunt horses are much sought after and can trade for six figure sums. 28th May 2004 : J P McManus smashed the world record for a National Hunt horse when going to 530,000gns for Garde Champetre in a hectic days trading at Doncaster yesterday. Like flat racing the ground conditions can have a significant impact on the chances of a horse winning. Similarly flat or undulating tracks and travelling left or right handed can have an impact on the outcome of a race. Another factor is the type of obstacles, some courses the fences are more difficult than others and the distance between fences can vary from track to track. To know that a horse does or does not act on the course it is racing on is critical. A site with a very good description of courses that I highly recommended is Neigh The Patternform site as described previously will also help. When is a flat race not a flat race = When it is a bumper! Yeah even in the National Hunt game there are flat races, these are commonly known as 'bumpers'. These are still run over 2 miles minimum and horses competing are still aged a minimum of 4 years old. Some trainers and some tipsters, like our own Dean specialise in such races. How do I decide what to bet?Well if you have got this far without being totally dis-heartened and confused your going to have a bet. The internet has opened up a whole new avenue of advice and tools to help you in your quest. If you want the easy option just click on the EBA site and read the advice available, it really is 'The Board of Dreams' and second to none. You can obviously trawl through a race and try reading the form of every horse in that race, take account of ground conditions, the course etc etc and come up with your own selection. There are other alternatives. Form and Speed RatingsThese are both methodical means to arriving at a selection, the means at which they are concluded are guarded secrets and so it isn't easy to give a full explanation. Here is some basic information if you want to embark on your own form ratings from CDSystems but please do post on the forum for guidance on this subject. Speed figures are derived purely from the times produced in a given race after taking into account the many variables such as ground conditions etc. Adrian Massey is the guru of form ratings and his site is highly recommended. On site, Swebby contributes on daily basis with first class results. SystemsSystems produce selections from a well thought out set of rules. There should always be a good reason why they work, for example: Quick Return Handicaps Back colts and geldings who last ran within 3 days. Must have won within the past 4 weeks and SP in single figures. Why does it work?: a) Because males hold a tremendous edge over females, b) turning out quickly on the sand is a huge positive, c) by insisting the horse has won within 4 weeks shows he has winning ability, d) single figure SP ensures that the contender is no donkey, or is not taking a big rise in class. More free systems are available at Flatstats Placing a BetThere are 4 common ways to place a bet. On the internet, and please do open an account through one of our links. It helps fund the site and more importantly there are some terrific free bets available to you. Free Bets Telephone accounts, there are a number of bookmakers that will offer bonuses on multiple bets. Your local bookmaker, very restricted with the number of races offering early prices and you do have to get off your arse. Betting exchange, generally better odds available early doors but near to the off the odds comparison with an internet bookie can be negligible and you do pay commission on winnings. The odds also known as the price, is the chance a bookmaker offers for a selection to win. May be shown as: A ratio expressed as a fraction e.g. 4/1 (or 4-1) usually called fractional odds. In this example, for a winning £1 bet you would get back £5 (£4 winnings, plus your £1 stake). A ratio expressed as decimal number e.g. 5.0, usually called decimal odds. In this example, for a winning £1 bet you would get back £5 (£4 winnings plus your £1 stake). The return is calculated by multiplying the odds by the stake. 5.0 in this notation is the same as 4/1 in the fractional form. Similarly 1.62 is 8/13 (or 13/8 on). It can be confusing to start with but you will soon get the hang of things. Here's a site to help you in the interim. Dr Punter What type of bet do you want?There are many different types of bet, single, double, treble multiple bet etc. For a full explanation see Types Of Bet. Understanding A RacecardRacecards can be produced in many ways but here is an example of a flat race from the most popular internet site the Racing Post. 1 (3) - 22 0 Hidden Dragon 7 P A Blockley 5 9-12 K McEvoy (5) 112 From left to right of the entry: 1 Racecard number, this will be shown on the saddlecloth to identify the horse to the public. (3) The position in which the horse is dawn in the starting stalls. - This sign separates the form of different calendar years. 22 0 Finishing positions, the bold type represents all weather form. Hidden Dragon. Name of the horse. 7 Days since it's last run. P A Blockley. Name of the trainer. 5 Age of the horse. 9-12 The weight the horse is set to carry in stones and pounds before any jockeys allowance. K McEvoy. The name of the jockey. (5) The jockeys allowance in pounds. 112 The Racing Post Rating. Here is a National Hunt race. 6 /P-9 Mohera King D 14 Ferdy Murphy 12 10-0b P Moloney 6 Racecard number, this will be shown on the saddlecloth to identify the horse to the public. / Indicates the horse has not run for 12 months previous to next outing. P the horse did not complete the course and was said to be pulled up. The letter F would indicate the horse had fallen, B brought down and U unseated rider. -This sign separates the form of different seasons. 9 Finishing position. Mohera King. Name of the horse. D Would be inset a box shape and indicate that the horse had won at today's distance, C&D won over Course and Distance. 14 days since last run. Ferdy Murphy. Name of the trainer. 12 Age of the horse. 10-0 The weight the horse is set to carry in stones and pounds before any jockeys allowance. B The horse is wearing blinkers, v a visor, es would mean eye shields, cp cheek pieces and t the horse has a tongue tie. P Moloney. The name of the jockey. I hope you have enjoyed reading this basic information but should you have any queries please do put them up on the forum. We are a really helpful bunch of guys so don't feel embarrassed. All that's left for me to say is that I hope you have lots of luck in your gambling but never bet more than you can afford! Arthur Collins
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