Doing the form?…Here’s some things that may help the average punters out there.
***I thought with a lot of new followers who just have a Saturday punt that may be interesting in this so just re-hashing it from a while back with some touch ups**
(May be worth printing off and grabbing a beer or a coffee)
You have to keep in mind that there are many different people I am trying to help here, the $5 punters through to the much larger, and trying to give some hints that may help. What works for one, may not work for another. Also some people have all day to do their form and others have an hour of a Friday night. So I will go through some steps- The way I do form- And some tips to save time if you are short of it, and you can take on board which ever bits and pieces you think would help you.
You also have to remember that there is no exact science! Anyone telling you they are the best is kidding! It’s like boxing, there is always someone better. Some guys have massive databases with every horse in Australia in it, yet ‘Joe Blow’ who can read a race and the pace perfect still backs more winners.
I don’t bother too much until acceptances are final, and then I will have a first glance at the fields. Also starting points (how far to first turn etc) and rail movements (If rail is out a long way, it can be difficult-sometimes impossible to win at some tracks)
About the most important thing in any race is to work out what the PACE will be like? Also known as SPEEDMAPS. It is extremely important in nearly every race. Those who have a lot of racing knowledge can do these on paper or even in their heads. (If you get the pace wrong, your money can be a donation after 400m)
SPEEDMAPS ARTICLE here for you later- http://www.brissyraces.com.au/speed-maps/
For the people out there wondering how they can learn this, the simplest way to learn is get the formguide you use (Best bets-Superform in courier mail-Winning post-Sportsman) whatever it is usually has where the horse settled and where it was at the turn for each of its previous runs. If you do this it will give you a guide as to how many horses are likely to push forward, and how many will settle back. Without trying to complicate it, from there you need to look at BARRIERS because if a few speed horses are drawn bad barriers they will work overtime to get across and inject huge amounts of speed, especially if there are others underneath trying to keep them posted wide, which in turns sets it up for the backmarkers! And on the other hand a race may have no leaders and you can therefore have more confidence on something getting a cheap lead and running home in a quick sectional to pinch the race. They also allow you to find the horses you think will get the gun runs behind the pace with cover in an even run race.BARRIERS are a massive thing in racing, especially around places like DOOMBEN. (Again Jockeys can have brain explosions and ruin the best of speed maps- It’s not an exact science, but they are a massive help)
As I said, I don’t have a big flash computerised system for speed maps as I have the knowledge of the horses in my ‘racing brain’. (There are places that sell speed maps etc. But if you have the time you can learn the ropes over time) Which brings me to what I see as the most important part of doing form— REPLAYS.
REPLAYS are crucial, and in my setup are the major emphasis of doing the form. As I have mentioned on the site before, you need to teach your head to register what you are seeing in a race, and to be able to trust your own views on the race. At the end of the day video’s don’t lie. For mine, you cannot get enough visual footage. You can watch and learn so much about some horses, such as their pattern and traits that is priceless when assessing a race. (Some are always slow out, others ping the gates etc)
BARRIER TRIALS- Can be very hard to get a guide on these to the untrained punter (and even the best punters as well). Lost count of the number of horses that trial at the Gold Coast that look like world beaters but run like busted bums when they get to the track. Also hard to line up what shoes horses had on, weight of jockey on top and of course a lot of horses simply have quiet trials. Can be misleading but you can often find one or two from good stables who trial well you can follow.
A lot of big punters love using SECTIONAL TIMES when going through races, and yes it can help but can be time consuming. Where they can be very handy is just too know what pace they went early, and the last 600m of a race, as that can add merit to some horses run if the tempo was misleading on tv. Going through each runner after each race is something in my practice that I don’t often do as I’d rather spend my time on replays. Horses may have been held up or checked and you don’t get the right reference when looking at times on paper, but when you watch a race you get to see every incident, and how each horse performed. —SEEING IS BELIEVEING—
**Sectional times for Sydney and Melbourne racing can be found in many different places now but there are always form guys questioning times or proving them wrong so this can be a big issue when lining form up.
**Replays are now available most states:
QUEENSLAND: http://www.racingqueensland.com.au/Thoroughbred/Racing-Calendar/Video-Replays
NSW: http://www.racingnsw.com.au/default.aspx
VICTORIA: https://www.racing.com/
BLACKBOOK: Once you do your replays, you can start your own little blackbook.
NOTE: Just because you blackbooked it doesn’t mean you have to back it. If you feel the race doesn’t suit (e.g Rain affected track- Drawn wide in race where pace won’t suit) Just let it go around without you. But that is a good way to start. Some horses are placed horribly so you just have to be careful of that.
PATIENCE: I also think a big mistake with the average punter out there is wanting to bet on every race! If you are fair dinkum about improving on the punt you need to be patient. Do your form, be confident, but only back the horses you really want to back on the day. If you do your form properly and find your best bets, be patient and base your day around them instead of getting trigger happy and spending your money before your specials are even in the mounting yard!
(We all love a flutter but sometimes less is better)
WET TRACKS- I avoid them like the plague, and I think it’s a winning move. Sure every now and then you may be following a horse and are just waiting for it get a drop of rain, that’s when it’s ok to have a go. Too often punters don’t do form and simply look for a past winner in the wet. Sounds good, but more often than not you are betting in small fields because of scratching’s and the value in having a bet is gone. Again, just my opinion but when it gets wet I feel it’s best to either have a couple your keen on or just let them go around without you. (It’s better in the long run)
DROP IN CLASS- Each case can be different but a horse that is racing well and drops in grade is usually a great way to find a winner. A good formula but not always fool proof. For example CANDIKA on the weekend was the best placed horse in Australia dropping from Group and Listed races to a set weights class 3, but as we said in the preview there was a question from the really awkward gate and that is exactly what brought her undone. I have no doubt from a good gate she’d have won that race. Always look at horses dropping in class but weigh up all the form as that race proves.
**There are a lot of other little things such as gear changes- etc. But we might look into that stuff another day as it changes from race to race and horse to horse.. We could be here all day!
RECAP OF MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF FORM.
*Replays are key.
*Speedmaps allow you to work out the way a race should be run, which is the most important thing in racing. (You don’t have to do your own maps, but if you want to improve your strike rate, spend a bit more time on learning horses racing patterns + know where the pace is drawn (barrier) to see what the pace should be like early.
*Sectionals are a handy guide and some great punters swear by them.
*Have patience when betting. Don’t bet for the sake of it! Avoid wet tracks where possible.
A FEW MORE SITES AND THINGS THAT CAN HELP WITH FINDING WINNERS.
*Radio- 4Tab- In QLD, NT and SA. 1008am is a must for all punters. Steve Hewlett hosts the raceday program from 8am-12pm each day. Punters should listen from 7am Saturday for the market movers that Steve will go through during the morning and can be very important! You can listen to 4TAB through the UBET website and App
http://ubet.com
*Another handy guide for the serious punters can be Queensland trial review. This website is run by best bet’s analyst Chris Nelson and is around $49.50 a month. (service may have changed so contact Chris)
http://www.queenslandtrials.com.au/index.html
*For acceptances and free form- The first place they will go up is RISA.
http://www.risa.com.au/home.aspx
If you think a mate may like the guide feel free to send them a link. And you may want to print it off to keep the details of the sites I have mentioned.
Form can be far more complicated as many would know, but I hope I have put it in a form that many will understand. I hope this at least helps a few people out who are looking for new ways of doing form and finding winners, and at the very least put a few people onto some sites/guides they may not have known about like the free replays etc.
It can take time to learn some of these things but they do help. I hope you take something out of it, and if so feel free to drop me an e-mail if you enjoyed the article and think it will help you in some way.
Like I said I am nowhere near the best punter around and have never claimed it like a few others. Nobody should ever think they are.
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