posted January 17, 2008 at 18:32 in Triple Crown Articles

Blink and it’s over. We’re not talking about riding in a car past French Lick Indiana and were not talking about the first intimate experience of life, but we’re talking about quarter horses and what makes them tick.

The adage speed kills is just the opposite with the Qs, speed is what makes the world go round. And the money is huge. The Futurity races in this sport continually go over the million-dollar mark and just because the action is fast and furious, doesn’t mean a horse bettor can’t put the clues together to make winning bets.

The most heart-breaking thing for a quarter horse bettor to realize that all it takes is a sneeze and its over. Unlike thoroughbred racing, horses very seldom can overcome a bad trip. One bump, one push and it’s just about all she wrote.

One of the best ways horse bettors can approach this game is still through trips and that means to know the idiosyncrasies of the runners and try to project which horses will be negatively affected by things that are apt to happen.

The horse betting players that I’ve known through the years that have consistently made money with quarter horses are tireless workers.

Often times, there are umpteen races per day to scrutinize and it’s not always just about speed, but about connections, post position, pedigree and timing, just like in life.

One of the must important things about quarters, and it goes to the fact that they are stamina challenged, is what is there best distance.

Smart horse players try to assess that situation immediately. There are basically three types of sprints in the quarters. The short sprint will be from 220 to 350 yards. The mid-range sprint is for runners that excel at distances between

400 and 660 yards and the marathoners of the breed compete at trips between 770 and 1000 yards.

Some runners fade badly at 400 yards, but like thoroughbreds, they can get brave going say 870 and stretch out plays in quarter horse racing is one of the things that cagey horse bettors zone in on to win races.

Post position, even at abbreviated distances, can play an enormous part of winning in quarter horse racing.

Some races start on a turn and unless a horse possesses great natural speed, he is at a tremendous disadvantage if he has to break from an outside slot.

Conversely, in straight away races, the inside slot can be a horrible spot to start from. Just like in the thoroughbreds, runners starting from the rail in a competitive sprint have a hard time keeping up early if they don’t have commanding speed.

Okay, now is the time to walk to the window and go into the pocket, what does a clever quarter horse bettor look to lastly before taking the plunge?

One of the best things he can look to is the track itself and try to get a line on what his horse really looks like.

The best quarter horses are built like refrigerators. They have deep chests, straight legs, and alert temperament, shiny eyes and probably most importantly, a big butt.

That is where the energy and power comes from. So if the horse you are thinking about horse betting looks like Beyonce from behind, double up.

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