Most handicappers know what a bias is. It simply means that some horse racing factor, like the post position a horse has or a running style, will give an advantage or disadvantage. You can figure out some biases very easily simply by looking at post position statistics or track models. The problem with biases, of course, is that they soon become common knowledge and may be unprofitable bits of information.

The whole point of handicapping is to understand what each horse's chances of winning are and to use that information to find a profitable bet. A profitable bet is one that pays more than the crowd 's opinion of the horse warrants. For instance, the odds on the horse are 2-1. This computes to a break even bet if the horse will win one out of three races.

But what if this particular horse, with the attributes it has going for it, is actually likely to win one out of two races? At 2-1, it becomes a profitable bet. On the other hand, if it is only likely to win one out of four times, it is unprofitable.

Biases are often over rated by the crowd and produce odds that are unprofitable. For instance, in races where the early speed has an advantage and wins 60% of the time, several early speed horses may be bet below their fair odds, considering the fact that 40% of the races are still won by horses with a different running style.

It is what I call an anti-bias. As more and more money is poured into the win pool on those front running types, a wise horse player is closely scrutinizing the rest of the field to find the horse that can beat them. You may call it contrarian handicapping or just being a smart horse player. The truth of the matter is, the smartest horse players are the ones who shop for value and will not bet on a horse just because it has a statistical edge. They demand a fair price and often leave the track with more money than they entered with.

Before you enter the race track, on your next trip, think about what you know about that track and how it plays. Then look to exploit that knowledge in either of two ways, either by betting on a horse with the bias working in its favor or by betting against it when the crowd over values it. Either way, you'll come out a winner.

If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to http://williewins.homestead.com/truecb.html and get the truth. Bill Peterson is a former horse race owner and professional handicapper. To see all Bill's horse racing material go to http://williewins.homestead.com
Horse Racing Handicapping, Bill's handicapping store.

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Horse Racing Handicapping Factors Such As the Anti-Bias