Handicapping Explained?

Question

Does anyone know of a good online resource that explains the handicapping system in British horse racing and how to understand it?

In particular for jumps.

Answer 1

-http://www.ukhorseracing.co.uk/newtoracing/HandicappingExplained.asp

Answer 2

Handicapping

Handicapping is predicated on a principle that the future will repeat the past. For the newcomers to racing, as well as veteran players, this can be confusing - trying to get a handle on an inexact science.

In order to succeed in any kind of game involving a certain degree of chance, your approach must be mathematically sound.

People going to the races for the first few times would do well to avail themselves of selections of a good public newspaper handicapper to use as a guide.

Oaklawn Park is covered by some excellent ones.

On in-house television, Terry Wallace takes a look at each race while the horses are in the paddock. His race analysis is both logical and useful, and his ability to identify key contenders is a particularly valuable handicapping tool.

In Russ Ramstad, Oaklawn has an excellent line maker. His three favorites at the bottom of each page of the official track program should be factored in with one's next wager.

It is difficult for the novice race goer to do any serious in-depth handicapping on his own, because the reading and evaluating of past performances won't be mastered until later.

Marion Van Berg, the late Oaklawn regular, a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest horsemen in history of the sport, was once asked about picking winners. He was quick to reply, "Never back a sprinter against a router and vice versa. Don't buck class. Don't back a horse that is being asked to do something he's never done before. Don't back a horse with early foot if there's a lot of speed in the race. On the other hand, if there are a lot of late runners, then take the early speed. If the race seems tough, then skip it. Don't be a plunger. At the (pari-mutuel) windows, a piker will live to bury a plunger."

Answer 3

I don't know. When I was in USA on holiday several people on the Greyhound buses stated they had to get on first because they were handicapped. Public notices on transport also used the word handicapped. Obviously some people had no problem with the word handicapped. I suppose language changes in the hope that our image of people will change. When I was little "mentally handicapped" meant someone different to us who went to a special school. As an adult, to me "learning disabilities" covers a wide range of various conditions. I think the term "learning disabilities" normalises some conditions and reminds us that problems are on a continuum of extremes of what we regard as "normal". For instance I am a member of Mensa but cannot grasp the rudiments of operating a car and am a nightmare for teachers of any practical task. I have had no formal diagnosis but regard myself as dyspraxic/dyslexic/whatever - even trying to write an essay causes mega-problems. I'm sure testing would put me in the category of having "learning disabilities", yet my Mensa membership classifies me in some circles as "gifted". See what I mean? I know people who are considered mentally handicapped/learning disabilities who have an IQ that still enables them to drive a car. You would be far safer with them at the wheel than me! So what does all this terminology mean? Surely how we treat each other is more important than the way we label our abilities/disabilities.

Answer 4

1

Answer 5

this might help