If you are serious about making money betting on horse races, you'd better do your research and get to know the track you bet on.
Stick with a few tracks and become an expert on the surface, track models, and the connections at the track.
That is the way you will find good betting opportunities in horse racing handicapping.
With so many tracks now being simulcast it is easy to get drawn into trying to follow too many tracks and ending up with your attention and focus scattered.
Pick a few tracks and the pick a few types of races to study.
Once you've decided which races to study, for instance, 6 furlong sprints for 3 year olds, then start charting the winners and find the statistic that stands out.
Three year old fillies may rely heavily upon early speed to win races.
You may find that any runner in a 3 year old fillies race who is not within 1 length of the leader at the quarter pole will not win.
Using that statistic you will be able to eliminate a lot of horses and also zero in on contenders.
In a race for 4 year olds and up the case may be quite different, but if you can find another stat, like a particular sire's get really like the surface and do well at the track and distance, then that may be something that few people know and you can exploit it.
The point is that most people never get past what the public handicappers point out, which is usually the obvious.
Your job, if you really want to make money betting on horse races, is to know the track and the race type better than the crowd and watch and wait for them to make a mistake.
Two things must happen for you to cash in on these bets.
First, you must know the fair value odds of a horse.
The second thing you must know is the odds of the horse before post time.
The morning line isn't reliable enough, you must watch the odds and strike at the last minute.
But that all starts by knowing the most important statistic and using it like a tool.