Posted on 1/4/2008 10:18:09 AM

Horse Betting Action – Elephant Eye

By Brian Mulligan

Most resolutions of the new year are shallow threats that never hold their water but horse bettors that want to improve and cash more tickets should make a concerted effort to pay more attention to the physicality of the horse itself and sometimes put figures and stats by the wayside.

Granted, this is not an easy task for horse bettors as very few these days are on track but there are feeds from every track in the country that generally shows horses in the post parade and that is where the horse bettor should start his renewed resolution.

First off, the improving horse bettor has to get organized and take notes on horses that are obviously in distress.

Years ago when I was learning the game and betting on track daily at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate there was a filly named Winter Sleet who was always an absolute mess in the saddling area.

She had a bit of talent, usually raced in lower level allowance races, high priced claimers and the occasional minor stakes but she fooled a lot of people along the way because of the way she got worked up.

The filly was always all the buzz in the paddock, not because of her towering presence but because of her profuse sweat.

She ALWAYS looked like somebody had just mopped her coat with soapy water.

The first time I saw her, and I was going to bet her that day, I backed off and just watched after one of her outbreaks.

All she did was track the speed to the lane and draw off to win by 5 lengths.

About 3 weeks later, she came back to the paddock ready to rumble and again was a soaking mess. Her odds were inflated because of her appearance but I didn’t back down and got a better price the second time she won as she once again drew off when asked.

Clever horse bettors have to observe the runners from an unbiased viewpoint. See how they are standing, do they move smoothly or are the strides choppy?

Everybody has bad hair days and so do horses but a dull coat is one super negative sign that clever bettors have been aware of for quite some time.

Think of it as being confident. If a human has a big meeting, a work appointment or even a hot date, that person usually does his best to put his best foot forward and horses intrinsically do the same thing.

With experience, cagey horse bettors will be able to recognize a runner that is ‘on his toes’ a very positive sign, to being overly worked up and ‘skittish’ in appearance.

Just like humans, horses run better when they are relaxed and at ease. If a human athlete is worrying about a certain opponent, or concerned about a certain match up, he may not be fully focused at the task at hand.

Same thing with horses.

Sharp horse bettors would be wise to look for shiny coats, a relaxed demeanor, a keen eye and a smooth gait in the minutes before a race as those are signs that a runner is set to run to his best ability.

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