Good long shot bets are not easy to find, but they are out there. Learn how to handicap a horse race and look for just a few factors that will reveal that occasional bet on a good horse that is going to win and you'll be closer to making money betting on horses. The most important thing to remember before you start, however, is that all betting on horse races is risky so only bet amounts you can afford to lose.
When betting on longshots keep your wager amounts to a size that will allow you to make a string of wagers and to survive until your big one comes in for you. Do you handicap using speed and class as the main factors? Many handicappers use speed, class, form (meaning how well the horse has run recently) and of course, the connections, i.e., the jockey and trainer.
While those are the important considerations when determining the contenders in a race the obvious things like high speed averages and lots of class will only indicate those horses that will be at short odds. That's not going to do you much good if you're really serious about making a profit betting on horse races.
I've found the single most important red flag that you should look for when finding a good longshot bet is back speed. I love to see a horse that has won at the distance and the track on that surface who is now going off at long odds. Believe it or not, these situations can be found several times a week at almost any track and if you play at an OTB or anywhere that multiple tracks are found, you may be able to find several of these bets per day.
The number one reason that these horses are good bets is because they've proven that they can get the job done. Sometimes, as incredible as it may sound, you will find only one of these runners in a race. They may have fallen on hard times or had a recent injury that makes their last few races look bad. Just remember this, however, horses race into and out of form and sometimes a change in equipment is all that's necessary to turn a loser into a winner.
That brings up the second factor that is often overlooked. Changes in equipment, including the trainer himself, is one way that runners dramatically improve from week to week. When I see that a horse has been claimed I always look to see if the trainer who now has the horse has ever trained it before and if so, how successful he or she may have been.
