Tips on using Horse Racing Stats for Betting

Race stats are useful for determining the overall profile of a winner.

When analysing a race take note of the first 3 in the betting stat. If this figure is very high you should not be looking for big priced winners.

The gender stats are useful as some race types are heavily biased against female horses.

Look at the age range in 3yo+ and 4yo+ races, see if 3yo's are disadvantaged. At what age do the number of winners drop off for older horses. The impact value figure should be the key indicator.

Which is the best trainer in the race and which trainers have a poor record? The win strike rate and ROI indicates their performance.

The weight range stat is useful for handicap and claiming races. Most of the time the winners are from the top 4 in the weights.

For handicap races you can also view the Weight Position. This shows the performance for each weight position starting with the top weight down to the bottom weight. This should be used as a general guide for examining the weight spread of the winners. If Weight Pos 8 shows a high number of winners don't bet on horses 8 in the weight range. Use it to see how well the top weights (say top 4) perform and if there are many winners from the bottom of the handicap. We determine the weight position of a horse by sorting in weight order (minus any allowance). If there is a tie the horse with the lowest SP is rated above the other.

Course & Dist shows the stats for horses with a course and distance figure. Is the race won by previous winning horses? How well do horses with 4, 5+ course and distance numbers? Are they past it?

Days Since Win is useful for determining if the race is won by horses with recent winning form. Similarly Good Runs Last 3 shows the stats for horses with good or bad recent form. If a race is mostly won with Good Runs Last 3 = 3 you need to look at horses with form figures 312, 221, 131, etc. A good run is one where a horse was 1st, 2nd, 3rd or was beaten 2 lengths upto a mile, or 3 lengths in races above a mile.

Winnings Position is a statistic showing the performance of horses rated by the amount of win prize money they have won. i.e. a horse which has won the most win prize money in a race will be rated 1, and thus, the Winnings Position for 1 shows how well the 'class' horse has performed. If the most winners are at the top, you should be looking at horses which have won the most money. Note that we determine the rating by adding all the win prize money for each horse. If there is a tie, or, a horse has not won, we then determine the position by the SP.

 Horse Racing Stats Guide