Horsemen Talk Handicapping

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Published: October 18, 2012 10:05 am EDT

This week's Standardbred Canada video feature offers handicappers a perspective from the other side as trainers and drivers shed some light on factors that may not be so obvious to consider in the quest to pick a winner and cash a ticket.

"Some people look for driver changes, some people look for shoeing changes, some people look for class drops," said driver Anthony MacDonald. "There are so many little things that can sway you to bet a horse or not. That's the greatest thing about this game is that you're never right and you're never wrong until they cross the line. That's the way it is. It doesn't matter if you picked them because of their name, their colour or the guy sitting behind them, nobody is right or wrong until they cross the wire. It's fantastic."

Standardbred Canada is supporting the 2013 World Harness Handicapping Championship, which will bring together horseplayers from across North America to compete for $100,000 in prize money. The WHHC is slated for Saturday, April 13, 2013 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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Comments

A Weegie Board helps a lot while betting the NW1 and NW2 at Woodbine. So I'd say buy yourself a Weegie Board and ask it who is going to win the Maiden race that nite.

Very nice piece. i would like to see someone put together this type of material on a website on how to bet. tracks could then host handicapping seminars and play this 2 minute pieces on how to handicap, or people could be directed to watch them on line from home. I see that Ms. Imrie has done a couple of pieces for Western Fair. I think we need a website devoted to educating our customers.

Anthony Macdonald made a very good point about social media. There is so much information available and past races to watch. This is important for handicappers, trainers and drivers alike. Hard to believe some drivers are looking at the program for the first time on the race office wall.

One factor that several of the drivers mentioned was post position. This is so important at the half mile and five eigths mile tracks. In my opinion there should never be more than 7 horses on a half mile with the 7 trailing. A 7 horse at a half mile track can get torched in the first quarter or shuffled back.

These features are fun to watch. Keep up the good work.

Georg Leber-ICR Racing

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