Harness Racing - Betting to Win

There was a time, not so very long ago, when Americans loved going to the harness races. Standing room only was commonplace on Saturday nights and the tracks were often filled to overflowing. The fans filled the grandstands to cheer on their favorite horses. From Albatross and Cam Fella to Rambling Willie and Nihilator, fans came from miles around just for the opportunity to see their heroes perform on the track. It was a grand time for harness racing.

During these years, horse racing was practically the only legal form of gambling and unfortunately, harness racing's hey day was about to end. State Lotteries were introduced and the chance of winning the "big payoff" on a nightly basis was the first nail in the coffin for harness racing. Casinos slowly found their way into states other than Nevada and suddenly adults had many new options in which to spend their entertainment dollars. Allegations of race-fixing continued to give harness racing a black eye and suddenly those entertainment dollars were no longer being spent at harness tracks.

Today, even the top harness tracks are mostly empty on racing nights. So with a limited number of bettors and small betting pools, is it really possible for the casual racing fan to make money wagering on harness racing?

It's a very broad question and to simplify the response, I'm going to assume at this point the reader may have a bit of "horse racing fan" in him or her and also not be totally unfamiliar with harness racing. My answer to the question is YES, it is possible, if you know what to look for. If you can understand the concepts of CLASS and PACE, you have a pretty good start in the right direction.

First, let's quickly look at CLASS. Knowing where to classify a horse is one of the biggest responsibilities of a horse trainer. For the horse bettor, knowing when a trainer is competent enough to properly classify his horses is a major piece of information. Knowing the horse's class limits can pay big dividends for the casual bettor. Understanding class is one of the easier parts of the handicapping equation, but make no mistake, it is vital to making money.

Pace on the other hand is quite a different matter. Understanding what a certain class of horse usually paces in, is not something that a casual fan picks up overnight. Even tougher to understand, is the key parts of the race ( the part of the race where races are won and lost) and recognizing the horses that performed well in the toughest part of the race. The toughest part of the race isn't always the end of the race, some races are won in the 2nd quarter or between the 2nd and 3rd quarters. This is the part of the race where the pace was contested and where the term hot pace comes into play. Robert Pandolfo has been writing about horse racing for many, many years and his racing programs have pointed out winners in harness racing on a very consistent basis. Pandy, as he's know in harness racing circles, makes his selections based on the pace of a race and his biggest winners come from the horses that perform well in the "hot pace" parts of a race. The horse doesn't necessarily have to win or even hit the board, but Pandy has proven time and time again that these horses are in or near top shape and are ready for a big effort..

Most often you'll find horses that did well in a faster than usual pace for their class, to be near the top of their performance cycle (yes harness horses tend have up and down trends in performance) These horses are often in top shape and even though their program lines don't always show much, they are ready to show an improvement in their performance. A casual bettor may not understand how this type of horse could win, but one that understands pace, sees the possibility of this happening. These horses tend to go off at long odds and often you'll hear track patrons say they can't believe this horse won and never could figure this horse. Being able to "figure" this horse and being ready to wager, despite long odds, is a key to making money on harness horses.

Other pieces of information can also be used to help to determine that a horse may be ready to win and this info or "angles" are important pieces to the handicapping puzzle. Angles can be anything from a driver change or equipment change to a class hike or even a class drop in certain circumstances. When a horse that is racing within it's class limits, is coming out of a fast-pace (hot pace) race and raced well in the toughest part of that race, is coupled with an angle, it becomes a solid betting opportunity. An opportunity that when bet consistently, will produce profits over the long run.

It's obvious that not every horse that fits the class, has raced well in a "fast pace" race will win his next time out. There are many outside factors that can prevent the horse from winning. Drivers often have split-second decisions to make that impact the outcome, horses get sick, the pace of the race doesn't set up well for your horse, etc, etc. That's horse racing. But if you stay consistent, bet the races where you feel you have an advantage over the other bettors and only bet value or horses that go off at odds longer than what you expect, you should win over the long haul. My next installment , I'll delve deeper into angles and perhaps get into the subtle differences in harness tracks.

Winning and making money on harness racing isn't easy, but I always found that everyday at the track was a good day. Some were just better than others. Enjoy and may you be on the winning end of every photo finish.