Las Vegas, NV -- Online horse betting for many handicappers is all about speed. There are some bettors who make their horse bets based solely on the speed figures they see in the Daily Racing Form. Should you be basing all of your handicapping on speed?

Speed Ratings
Off track betting players understand that speed figures are a quick way to handicap a race. The speed ratings you find in the Daily Racing Form are made by looking at a horse's finishing time and the distance of the race and the rating is also modified from the track variant for the day. Other factors like post position and track condition are also incorporated into the final speed rating you see in the form. That single speed number is what many handicappers use to pick the winner of the races. The speed ratings allow handicappers to quickly analyze a horse race and pick a winner without doing much other research. Sometimes the speed ratings work well for picking a winner and sometimes they don't.

Handicapping
The best way for a handicapper to use speed ratings is part of an overall handicapping method that includes other factors like class, odds, trainer, jockey, etc. What you should do is take a look at a horse's past few speed ratings and then throw out the really bad races. Total up the speed ratings and get an average. If the numbers are good you may have found a winner, especially if the difference between the top speed number and the second highest speed number is large. You might even find a couple of horses that standout and you can then box them together into exotic wagers. Add a nice rebate in and you will be on the way to becoming a winning horseplayer.

There are some bettors who make their horse bets based solely on the speed figures they see in the Daily Racing Form.

Value
If you want to win money at horse betting you must find value in horse betting. Many factors go into finding value, one of which is the speed rating. Normally you can't just blindly look at the speed numbers and find value. You have to go a little deeper as we previously indicated and average the past few races, throwing out bad ones. Using the speed ratings is a great way to narrow the field and find the potential horses that offer excellent value. Speed ratings are not the whole answer but they can definitely be part of the equation in horse wagering and point you to some winning horses.