What if I want to handicap a race now?

In last week’s post we covered Minutes to Post (MTP). This week, I'll show you the steps to take if you want to handicap a race in the next 30 minutes or see which tracks have races starting soon. This is so simple to do in the Horsegrader software! Just click on the Live Racing button in the task bar on the Race Selection screen:

After clicking you'll see all the races that will be going off in the next 30 minutes, as shown below:

Click on the image for a expanded view

Within this screen you can see the MTP under the Start column (second column from the left). Additionally, the Track, Race Number, Number of Entries, Post Time and Race description are displayed. Given the choices I would pick the 4th Race at Saratoga that starts in 20 minutes. By clicking on the Handicap button, you will be taken directly to that race. Clicking the Track will show you all the races today at that track.

I use the Now Live button whenever I need a quick handicapping fix!

Minutes to Post

One of the coolest things about Horsegrader is that anyone can easily determine how much time they have to apply their handicapping skills to an upcoming race. At a glance, I know if I have the time to cover all my bases or if I should just look at the attributes that I find the most valuable (i.e. Lone Speed, Top Speed, Race Shape, etc.). Let’s take a look at a section of the Race Selection screen as shown in the following snippet:

The arrow is indicating the Post Time column, which is showing that there are 18 minutes before the race starts - plenty of time to handicap with Horsegrader! The horse racing term for the countdown to the start of the race is referred to as Minutes To Post (MTP). Horsegrader uses colors to show MTP with Green indicating 15 minutes or more, Yellow indicating 10 to 15 minutes and Red indicating less than 10 minutes. The following two clips show the color change as the MTP is counting down:

14 Minutes to Post - Yellow

8 Minutes to Post - Red

Basically, when I see a Red MTP, I know that I have to hurry if I'm going to handicap that race!

Odds and Payout

A young horseplayer, who is becoming more versed in handicapping, recently asked 'How can I display the Odds instead of the Payout amount within Horsegrader?' It is fairly simple to do so and I'll walk you through the steps. Keep in mind that, by default, Horsegrader shows the Payout for a $2.00 bet. Let's look at a screen snippet for an illustration:

In this example, a $2.00 bet on Tu Endie Wei would pay out $24.00 for the 11-1 odds (2 x $11.00 + the $2.00 bet = $24.00). The first step to show Odds instead of Payout is to click on the gear in the right-hand toolbar:

The following pop-up appears:

Next select the Odds Format pulldown and select Odds:

Click Save and here is the result:

I'm going to bring this blog entry to a close with a tip on how to easily display the Payout. Just hover over any value in the Odds column and the Finals Odds and Payout and Morning Line and Payout appear for that horse:

Tu Endie Wei Final Odds were 11-1 with a $24.00 Payout and Morning Line Odds were 15-1 with a Payout of $32.00.

. 

Race of the Week II - Hollywood Gold Cup

July 7th - Race of the Week II
Betfair Hollywood Park (Race 9) Grade One: The Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap

Professor here again with the second of the two the Horsegrader's race of the week Experts picks. This week we're featuring two races, the second one is the Grade One Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap at a mile and a quarter on the dirt from Betfair Hollywood Park. I am backing last year's runner up Game On Dude, who has top speed figures with an upward speed figures trend. Trained by top trainer Bob Baffert who is winning at 34% for the current meet and has a 27% win percentage when teaming up with jockey Chantal Sutherland.

Diamond Dave likes Richard's Kid who possess positive Key Factors. Both trainer, Bob Baffert and jockey, Rafael Bejarano, excel at today's distance and surface.

Lexington also likes Richard's Kid. Richard's Kid's trainer and jockey have pretty much all green for their Key Factor attributes. Jockey Rafael Bejarano is winning at a 30% clip when he rides Bob Baffert's horses.

Long Shot Larry likes Spud Spivens who ran his best Speed Figure in his last race. With a positive record on today's track at the Gold Cup distance and surface, 15-1 looks like a solid bet for Larry.

Click on the image for an expanded view

Race of the Week I - United Nations Stakes

July 7th - Race of the Week I
Monmouth Park (Race 11) Grade One: The United Nations

Professor here with one of the two the Horsegrader's race of the week Experts picks. This week we're featuring two races, the first one is the Grade One United Nations from Monmouth Park. I am backing the Colonial Turf Cup winner Turbo Compressor, top speed figures with an upward speed figures trend. Winner of two out of three starts on the turf and all green Key Factor attributes Turbo Compressor should be the favorite.

Diamond Dave likes Al Khali who possess positive Key Factors and a positive post position for the Monmouth turf course. Both trainer, Billy Mott, and jockey, Rosie Napravnik, have excelled at today's distance and surface.

Lexington is also a Turbo Compressor fan. Trainer, Todd Pletcher and jockey Joe Bravo have pretty much all green for their Key Factor attributes. They have been winning at 30% and 26% respectively in the last 30 days.

Long Shot Larry usually has to look a lot harder for a long shot but Al Khali's attributes are obvious. A Competitive Speed horse with both a top notch trainer and jockey is more than Larry usually finds. With morning line odds of 15-1, Larry is thrilled. Look for Al Khali to be running late in the race.

Click on the image for an expanded view

Post Position - The Simple Way

I’ve put together a short post this week to demonstrate a simple way to determine the Post Position for a horse. Last week I provided details on how Post Position enters into Track Bias and handicapping, and showed examples on how to get Post Position from the Horsegrader Race Shape screen. Recently, I was reminded that all you need to do to get the Post Position is to hover over the Program Number of the horse on any Horsegrader screen. The following pop-up will appear:

Note that although the Program Number is 4, the Post Position for Knight Train is 3. My trick for getting Post Position for a horse is to hover over the name of the horse so the following pop-up will appear:

Post Position appears in the header along with a ton of useful information including the trainer, jockey, record, etc. Now, wasn't that easy?