This week we are honoring the age-old tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. Wherever you are with your game, there is usually one or another aspect of your handicapping that deserves additional focus. With a new year and a new decade starting, it’s a great time to set some new goals or revisit old goals with a fresh outlook. While individual resolutions vary, we tried to anticipate some common goals for horseplayers and to provide links to get you started. 

Do you know if you are a good horseplayer? A large number of players are not able to provide an objective answer to this question because they have never consistently tracked their results. Careful record keeping can help you assess your current play and identify trends in your success. Depending on what you track, your record keeping can help reveal strengths in your play. Two basic metrics you may want to identify are your win percentage and your return on investment. 

A bare bones start to record keeping may include the following data points: date, track, race, bet, amount bet, odds, and payout.

At Case the Race, we have published a number of articles on various aspects of handicapping. These are designed to help players learn and improve. Here are some links to previous articles which may be helpful:

 Betting on Longshots Part 1: Two-Year-Olds

 Betting on Longshots Part 3: Older Horses

 

Experienced handicappers often emphasize that picking winners is only part -- perhaps even the less important part -- of being a successful horseplayer. The importance of practicing good money management is a key factor in handicapping success. Read about Money Management.

 

For players who have established some handicapping acumen and are looking for an additional challenge, this may be the year to compete in your first tournament. In addition to the prizes and potential bragging rights that come from winning a handicapping tournament, several tournaments serve as qualifiers for the National Handicapping Championship and the chance to win an even bigger prize. Read about the Path to the National Handicapping Championship and get strategy tips from previous contenders and to learn what it takes to compete in this elite event. 

For players looking to start competing in contests on a smaller scale, we invite you to join the Case the Race Contest for a chance to win Kentucky Derby tickets.   

If you have found that playing horses has changed from a fun, recreational activity into something problematic, it may be time to stop. To learn more about compulsive gambling and how to quit Gamblers Anonymous is a great place to start.