How To Bet Horses

( Originally Published mid 1950's )

The first rule to remember in placing an investment is to bet to win only. For the long pull, there is considerably more profit to be made "on the front end" than across the board-win, place and show.

The, second rule is that the more strong points a horse has in his favor, the greater the investment on him should be.

Herewith are listed what are considered to be strong points:

1 A horse that won his last race (double this credit if the horse "drew out" or won "easily" or "handily").

2 A horse that gained ground in the stretch in his last race (double this credit if he gained ground in the stretch in both of his last two races) .

3 A horse that broke first in his last race.

4 A horse that was second or better at the stretch call in his last race.

5 A horse that passed two or more horses in the stretch in his last race.

6 A horse that is dropping in class.

7 A horse that is dropping both class and weight off his last race.

8 A horse that never has been beaten, as far as his detailed past performances show, at the claiming price of today's race or at a lower claiming price.

9 A horse that previously was in the money at a claiming price higher than the claiming price of today's race.

10 Any horse that is a gelding.

The race-goer can make his own scale of values on these points. For instance, if a horse qualifies on only 2 of the 10 points, the investment on him should be limited to $2. Or if he qualifies on 5 of the 10 points, the investment could be increased to $5.

As soon as the race-goer finds himself comfortably ahead, he could double this scale of investment. This also could be done in conjunction with the method of progressive betting outlined in the previous two chapters.