In handicapping the harness horse race which are the most important variables, give me 4 different ones?

Answer 1

Class - the biggest thing to look at, see whether the horse has been competing against the same competition, better competition or worse competition.

Post Position - depending on the size of the track, the run to the turn can be very quick. A horse parked way outside will have to decide whether to try and sprint to the lead or pull to the back of the pack to save ground around the turn.

Equipment Change - A trainer will add/delete equipment in an underperforming horse to try and get a better performance (i.e. a trotter who breaks stride around the turn might get hobbles).

Pace - Look at the opening quarters for each of the entrants. A horse used to going significantly faster early on may improve dramatically when the early pace is slow.

Answer 2

The other answer is really good. Mine is a little different, not neccesarily better, just different.

1.) Driver. The driver seems to be really critical in harness racing, more so than in thoroughbred or quarter horse racing. At the harness tracks that I mainly bet (Northfield, Cal Expo, Monticello are the top three), there are a handful of riders that dominate the standings. They tend to win the races that they should win, and many of those where they maybe shouldn't. There are also a few riders at these tracks who seem incompetent, some so bad that I will not place a bet on them even when they are leading what clearly appears to be the fittest horse in the field. By contrast, while there are jockeys I tend to favor with thoroughbreds, there are very few that I refuse to wager on if I think they have the best mount.

2.)Class. Class is important in all types of racing. Anytime you have a big drop in class in any race, you have to consider that horse. If a horse is going up in class but has displayed good form at the lower levels, you can consider them too. If a horse has raced that level and won, I like that and if it hasn't I don't.

3.)Speed/pace. Because the vast majority of harness races go at a mile, there is less guesswork involved in projecting speed figures. You have to allow for other variables, but the fastest horse generally wins these races. Pace is a consideration, though; if you have horses that seem close in speed, I would give the nod to the horse that tends to run best in the final lap--that's where the races are won and lost. Also, I prefer to judge this on recent form--it's risky to bet on any type of horse coming off of a long break, but I will almost never bet on a standardbred off of a layoff against horses that have been steadily racing.

4.)Post position. Horses breaking from the outside are at a severe disadvantage in harness racing. I seldom bet on horses in the 8th or 9th position unless they are just so obviously superior to the rest of the field that I think they can overcome the unfavorable draw.

Good luck! Hope this helped.

Answer 3

1. GATE POSITION many an inferior pacer with gatespeed that can lead and run easy sections will beat a classier one that sits 3 wide for the trip and covers ground and has to sprint home in double time to get the leaders.
2. CLASS FACTOR must always be considered but is not as important as in thouroughbreds for the abovementioned reason. Also the pacer takes time to gain momentem,they usually only make one run in a race, wheras the thoroughbred seems to have "gears"
3.DRIVER/TRAINER the bigger stables and proffessional drivers have alot more success and better stock and facilities to work with than the part time trainer or driver,
4.GEAR CHANGES/FORM @ TRACK&DISTANCE as you would know the old saying "horses for courses" rings true, as when you assess a race you want to know it can handle the track , distance or both. And Gear changes can make a world of difference and many a form reversal is the result of gear being added or removed.

Answer 4

Win ( 3 ) Fort Larned Plc ( 4 ) Discreet Dancer Shw ( 2 ) Fort Loudon Alt: ( 6 ) Swagger Jack goes to 3rd place if any is Declared. "May the Horse be with You" Odds 1. Decaf Again / 50/1 2. Fort Loudon / 5/1 3. Fort Larned / 3/5 4. Discreet Dancer / 3/1 5. Gourmet Dinner / 15/1 6. Swagger Jack / 6/1