A Dictionary Of Horse Racing Terms

by: Mike Davies

GELDING

After being castrated a male or colt horse is said to have been “gelded”. There are a variety of reasons behind this seemingly rather harsh practice.

By taking a horses mind off sex it becomes more amenable, and calm. A horse becomes less temperamental due to the shift in hormonal balance, which occurs with all neutered animals, including humans.

After gelding, horses are generally regarded as being easier to train and concentrate more readily on their racing.

Even more practical for National Hunt, gelding can prevent the extreme discomfort experienced by “entire” horses when jumping over hard fences, historically made from birch.

Irish horses intended for chasing are gelded automatically at an early age.

Most chasers are in fact geldings.

For a long time, many big flat races were not open to geldings, but this has now changed with most of the classics now being opened up to them.

One obvious financial argument against gelding is that after winning a major, a colt is instantly worth millions to big stables or stud syndicates.

Whereas “The Arkle” who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1964, 65, and 66, was valued at the same price the day after the races as he was the day before.

National Hunt racing would not work without geldings, who are much admired by racegoers, regardless of stud decisions made by prejudiced breeders.

GOING

Advance forecasts in newspapers and the formbook advertise the state of the ground for a race meeting.

• Hard
• Firm
• Good to Firm
• Good to Soft
• Soft
• Heavy

“Soft with heavy patches” in the formbook indicates muddy patches.

Sometimes differences are noted on different parts of the course I.e. Going: Round course, soft. Straight course, good to soft.

The outcome of a race is significantly dependent on the state of the going. It is arguably THE most important factor in determining a race day favourite.

Comments including “likes some cut on the ground” or “likes some give underfoot” should be carefully noted.

Other horses prefer to race when the mud is flying and the formbook will note such horses as being a “confirmed mudlark”.

Still other horses don’t like soft conditions at all and need good going, the formbook will state “needs the top of the ground”, while some prefer really firm going eliciting descriptive comments such as “likes to hear his hooves rattle”.

Assessing the state of the going falls to the Clerks of the Course, who are open to severe criticism when their assessment is questionable.

Recent advances in science have allowed the art of poking the ground with a stick to become far more scientific with the introduction of a dubiously titled device known as the “penetrometer”.

One should always examine the weather forecast for a meeting as an essential adjunct to basic form study, and one should know a horse’s preference for a particular type of going.

For example at the time a newspaper or formbook is printed the going for any given race may indeed be good, but by the time of the race, heavy rainfall may have changed it to soft or heavy.

In many cases where the going has changed dramatically at the last minute, then a horse with a differing preference to the current going may be withdrawn.

However, it may be seen that vice versa, a late change of going can transform certain losers into possible winners.

The “going” is therefore uniformly accepted as essential by trainers, and their running intentions for their horses.

Timeform, the Racing Post, and the newspapers publish plenty of good information about the going. Comments such as “we will only run if we get that”, or “he will only run if its soft” and “he’s only good on good ground” are all well worth noting.

Finally it’s important to note that some courses hold rainwater better or worse than others.

For example at Newmarket the ground rarely reaches worse than soft. Good ground or good to soft are almost always the state of the going irrespective of rainfall on the Rowley mile in spring through to autumn.

GOOD WALKER

If you have access to the pre-race paddock inspection you should try to note whether the back or “hind” hoof coincides or overlaps with the point where the front hoof has been.

This feature is a sign that a horse will gallop well, and the horse is referred to as a “Good walker”

GREYS

A remarkable front running Grey, Desert Orchid, was an outstanding public hero between 1983 and 1991, dominating the jumps arena with 34 wins from 70 starts.

Greys account for only 3% of the entire horse racing population, but this ratio gives no indication of their overall popularity, particularly in the National Hunt theatre.

Foaled in 1704 and brought to England via Constantinople by Sir Robert Sutton, all thoroughbred “grey” horses can be traced back to the original “Alcock Arabian”.


About The Author
Mike J Davies is a Computer Analyst, LSE Day trader, and a Betfair Trader and Advisor. More advice and articles are available at Mike's website. http://www.Betfair-Trade.com Mike also runs a successful E-Lottery Syndicate business at: http://www.eLottaLotto.com

Lay Favourites And Profit Every Day

Horse Racing Tips: Lay Favourites And Profit Every Day!
By: John Anthony

For all of you that are reading this that do not know what Laying is, it is simply YOU predicting 1 horse in any race that will NOT win that race. In effect YOU become a bookmaker and take bets from people who had horse racing tips that the horse WILL win.

I do not know if you have your own system or you use horse racing tips from a tipster, but this a very simple horse racing system anybody can use.

It is not complicated at all and it is simply pressing 1 button on Betfair exactly the same as you would if placing a win single bet {Pink lay button instead of the blue win button}

Some people will tell you that laying horses even from horse racing tips given by professional tipsters is a sure fire way to end up in the poor house and they would be dead right if you dont do it properly and this goes for ANY bet you have, not just laying…. So it applies to THEIR horse racing tips too!

Say for example we have a 12 runner horse race and you wanted to bet 1 of these to win that race, you will then have ALL the other 11 horses running AGAINST you and are trying to stop your 1 selection from winning.

Now on the other hand we have a 12 runner horse race and we pick 1 horse to LOSE {lay} we now have ALL the other 11 horses running FOR US and if any of those 11 horses win that race WE WIN, surely easier than backing horse racing tips from professional tipsters!!

Some tipsters give this kind of horse racing tips and I can assure that if done properly it can make you quite a lot of money!

So the odds are WITH you and not AGAINST you when laying.

The only problem with laying horses to lose is with YOU and the way you select them. You would imagine that Laying the outsider in all races would certainly stand you in good stead as the majority of them lose and you would win the majority of the time BUT unfortunately if you take that course you WILL come unstuck at some point and you WOULD wipe out any previous profits plus more from your original betting banks, as they do win now and again... no matter which horse racing tips you use.

Lets just imagine that the outsider in every race was 33/1 and you wanted just £10 profit per race, to win that £10 you would have a liability of £330, meaning that if that horse were to win YOU would LOSE £330, just not worth the risk!! You would only need a few bad horse racing tips per week to wipe you out.

So if laying the “Worst” horse in any given race is no good, then which horse SHOULD you lay?

Good question, which most of the people out there don’t know the answer for but today YOU are going to find out the EXACT method that generates me and the subscribers of my well known “Sure2Profit Membership” (www.Sure2Profit.com/membership.html ) over £80,000 of tax free profits per year!

Lay horse racing tips, the “Favourite”

Some of you probably think that I am a bit mad at this point, why would I lay the best horse in every race... what kind of horse racing tips are these??

Well, simply put the BEST horse in any race may NOT really be the best horse! The favourite in ANY race is only the favourite because WE make it the favourite by placing lots of money on it due to the same old horse racing tips being passed around, it’s as simple as that.

So if 1,000 people who DON’T use the right horse racing tips place £1000 each on the same horse then it could become the favourite even though its last run was down on Blackpool pleasure beach!

What we are going to do is to find “false” favourites, favourites that because of one reason or another shouldn’t really be shown on the major horse racing tips websites as set to win. .

Statistics show that favourite win their races just 30% of the time, some races are GOOD for favourite and some races are BAD for favourites.

Would you bet a 6/4 favourite in an 18 runner handicap race? I certainly would not BUT I would lay it, with the other 17 runners ALL running for me.... these are common sense horse racing tips!

Your liabilities are also good with you only risking £15 if the odds were 6/4 {2.5 on Betfair} to win £10, I’m sure you would agree that this is a lot better than the example above where you risk a LOT more for the same reward.

You may now see why “Laying” can be quite safe and how to profit from my horse racing tips.

Horse Racing Tips Selections

This part really is very simple and it will not take you long to find quite a few “False Favourites”.
Just follow my horse racing tips over the page.

1: Armed with either your daily newspaper or at the racing post website {Or Both} simply select the races with the most number of runners in them.

2: Ideally, you should look for handicap races which have 16 runners or more, these are were tipster’s horse racing tips seem to get it wrong the most.

3: If you can find any, Apprentice races and women jockey races are very good for laying the favourite.

4: Once you have these marked off, simply go through them and pick all the “Handicap” races. These are the races that are best to concentrate on.

5: Pick out any handicap races that have odds for the favourite quoted as no more than 7/4.

6: The above horses would be DEFINATE bets, don’t worry if there aren’t any on certain days, simply go to any race that has 16 runners or more.

7: Some days you may find that there are no 16 runner or above races, if this happens simply look for 14 runners etc.

8: When you have all the corresponding races, just go to www.betfair.com and check out the odds there for your selections.

9: If the odds are 2.8 and lower, then these are DEFINATE bets.

10: Do NOT lay selections that are below 1.9 on betfair, although a fair few of these lose, a fair few of them win as well and that we DON’T want.

When sticking to the above horse racing tips you will have great success when laying horses, when also using a sensible staking plan BUT if you add the following few rules to the above then you will achieve even more success.

So here is my personal horse racing tips:

1: After making your selections, either at the racing post website or any daily newspaper, just check to see if your horse is a Course & Distance winner {Shown as CD NEXT TO THE HORSE}. If it is then DONT lay it.

2: Is your selection carrying any more or less weight than it did in its last race? If it is carrying more weight then LAY it, if it is carrying less weight then do NOT lay its these one of my key horse racing tips for you to apply this system at its best.

4: Is your selection stepping up or stepping down in trip? If so then you SHOULD consider laying it.

5: Has your selection either a lady or apprentice jockey riding it? If so then LAY it because they DO make errors of judgment (Also part of my key horse racing tips!).

Apart from the above to make this work you will also need a sensible staking plan, one that will keep your money relatively safe and make your whole betting experience an enjoyable one, my horse racing tips will not work without the right plan!

This, or any other horse racing tips for that matter, would be not making you money unless you use the right staking plan...

Record 4,000 Career Win For Asmussen

By Ally White

Steve Asmussen, an ex- jockey who became an instructor after going up too big to continue riding competitively. Asmussen obtained his 4,000th career victory when J J’s Bud won the third competition on Sunday at Oaklawn Park.

The 42- years-old Asmussen got his jockey’s license when he was 16 and he spent three years riding in California, New York and New Mexico. Moreover; Steve Asmussen initiated his preparation and training career in New Mexico in 1986.

Presently, Asmussen who is a native from Gettysburg, South Dakota but who is now living in Arlington, Texas keeps an eye on numerous divisions of horses that yearly place him between the leading North American instruction by wins and reward earnings. Asmussen had 22 starters at six different paths this past Saturday.

Asmussen achieved 555 winners in 2004 to smash Jack Van Berg’s record of 496 wins which was reached in 1976. Asmussen also guided all North American trainers by victories in the season 2005 with a total of 474 victories. Steve repeated that accomplishment last year with 488 triumphs.

The 18,961 Asmussen’s starters had as well obtained 3,221 runner-ups and 2,717 third-places closes. Moreover they had compiled $110,856,103 in winning earnings all the way through Saturday. Asmussen obtained 76 of his victories in ranked stake competitions, obtaining the trainer 2007 Horse of the Year Recognition and leading the champion - three-year-old male Curlin.

Subsequent to posting a 12 3/4-length first appearance triumph last year in a maiden special heaviness race at Gulfstream Park intended for instructor Helen Pitts, Curlin joined Asmussen’s shed. The Smart Strik horse succeeds five of his next eight starts, including wins in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1) and in the Preakness Stakes (G1).

Asmussen’s has also been related to the three-year-old Triple Crown promising Pyro and Z Fortune, who are the first- and second-place finishers, respectively, in the Risen Star Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds on February 9th.

Keith, Asmussen’s father, is a former jockey and also a coach. On the other side his mother, Marilyn, trained horses. He initiated helping his parents when he was five. Steve walked the horses, cleaned stalls and mislaid part of his thumb in a youth age accident while he was holding a horse through a fence.

Asmussen’s brother, Cash, won the Eclipse Award as North America’s exceptional beginner jockey in 1979 and was also a champion jockey in Europe. The Asmussen family manages El Primero Training Center in Laredo, Texas.

About the author:
Ally White is a top senior copy writer for the sportsbook www.instantactionsports.com/
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