Different types of handicappers in horse racing

Sports bettors are well aware that there are several different “types” of bettors within their ranks. There are chalkplayers, longshot-takers, spread bettors, moneyliners, totals bettors, squares, sharpies, and the list goes on.

Horse racing is no different, as there are quite a few different types of horseplayers. Here are some of the more popular methods employed by horse racing handicappers on a regular basis.

Speed handicapping, or betting by numbers

Speed handicapping rose in popularity in the 1980's. One of the most popular speed figures are the Beyer Speed Figures, which found their way into the Daily Racing Form in the 1990's.

Beyers, like their sister speed figures, assign a number to a horse’s performance based on the time of the race against average times at that particular track, making comparisons easier.

Class handicapping

Before speed handicapping, there was class handicapping.

There are many different types of “classes” in horse racing. Maiden claiming races, restricted to horses that have never won and are eligible to be claimed by new connections, are considered the lowest class. Maiden special weight races are a step above, followed by claiming races for winners. Then you have starter allowance races, allowance/optional claiming races, straight-up allowance races, and finally, stakes races.

When a horse is going up in class, class bettors typically shy away from that horse, unless they get fair odds. If a horse is dropping in class, that’s when class handicappers will typically make their move.

Jockey/Trainer handicapping

There are some trainers and jockeys at certain tracks that are so dominant, that bettors will just hitch their wagon to those horses blindly.

But jockey/trainer bettors aren’t simply restricted to “minor league” tracks, where certain connections are more likely to dominate, as opposed to the higher echelon and more competitive circuits in the country. It’s not uncommon to see horses trained by Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown – who have multiple Eclipse Awards between them – go off at drastically underlaid prices due to blind faith.

But jockey/trainer bettors always look smart when their ship comes in, as it so often does by percentage.

“Trip” handicapping

Learning to analyze “trips” in horse racing can be extremely valuable, as a bettor can uncover information that’s not readily available in the past performances.

A “trip” is horse racing parlance for the journey a horse takes during a race. Trips can be soft; for example, a horse can go gate-to-wire while setting slow fractions and win easily. But trips are usually brought up when a horse encounters trouble, whether it be a slow start, ground loss, or a sudden stop-and-start.

Trips can be revealed in the comment lines in the past performances, or from watching replays online. “Trip handicappers” will rely heavily on this information when placing their wagers.