What to think about in horse racing tournament betting strategy
Despite the dire statistics about the overall horse racing handle’s steady decline, horse racing tournament participation has grown steadily, especially the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) held each January in Las Vegas. While there are a number of variants on tournament play, most involve a one-time buy-in followed by regulated, simulated bets on a number of races.
Strategy varies based on the type of tournament you play, including online qualifiers. While the basic principle of selecting contenders and then deciding among those contenders who to bet is a preferred pattern, a tournament player must be able to look ahead. You don’t want to be making selections as you go because you need to be setting up the endgame even in the very beginning.
There are certain races within the sequence of races that you’re playing that are key. You should try to identify a few races where the favorite is real vulnerable. Your tournament results will often hinge on a couple of your longer-priced plays, and identifying vulnerable favorites in a race increases your chances to have you’re longer-priced horse win or place to award you points and money.
In nearly every race there will be one or more horses that are dropping from a higher Class race or moving up from a lower Class race. Many of the long shot winners in a contest are horses moving up or down in Class. The biggest drop in Class is often from Maiden Special Weight to Maiden Claiming, but understanding the true difference in class and being able to identify horses that are ready to run better or against a weaker group will allow you to select more long shots and higher-priced horses for a bigger payoff.
You may be able to pad your score with some favorites in selected races, and if the favorite looks like the most likely winner and you cannot find a suitable alternative, then pick the favorite. It’s better to collect $10 (win plus place) on a 7-5 favorite then to get nothing. However, you’ll ultimately need to identify some long shots that can win or place to improve your standing in a tournament. A tournament has a finite ending point, and so being aggressive while identifying value with longer-priced horses against false favorites that are more vulnerable will reward you in tournament play.
TwinSpires.com is a common stop for tournament players and their Kentucky Derby Betting Championship is a must.
by Fairway Jay