Pony Picks

Surface Handicapping Tips

Pony Picks

Horse racing has been a staple of the sports betting industry for centuries. As a matter of fact, prior to wagering on team sports, people were gambling on their favorite jockey’s and horse in upcoming races. For the reason that horse racing and sports betting have been synonymous for centuries, many handicapping ideas have been formed on the racetrack, and carried over to team sports betting. Today, we’ll be looking at the importance of a racetrack’s surface, and how it can impact how a horse performs.

At racecourses such as Del Mar, the impact of the sunlight beaming down on the racecourse can affect the horse’s impact significantly. For instance, a horse may fare better in a race held when the skies are cloudy, then if the bright sun is beaming down upon it. In fact, recently, at Del Mar Racecourse, owners and track commissioners got into an argument, because, of how the track was built. When the track has clouds covering it, the races tend to be tighter and faster. Meanwhile, when the course has sun beaming down on it, it forces the horses to go slower, because the sunlight is beaming down into their eyes, plus there are more shadows. This in turn, causes the bookie software odds to be impacted significantly, since some horses do better in the sun then others.

As we noted earlier, track commission’s people at Del Mar and horse owners became entrenched in a heated debate. The main point of contention was that the track commission’s people were unwilling to make alterations to the course, so that the sun or clouds would not impact the outcome of a race significantly. Instead, they wanted horse owners and trainers to teach their horses to adjust to the circumstances of the courses.