*Just thought I’d repost an article I did a while ago. I’m the last person trying to say ‘This is the way to do form’ etc but I do have people asking questions so just thought I’d try to help those interested.
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Every punter has a different way of doing the form and there is no ‘correct’ way. If it works and you’re making money, stick to it!
There are plenty of punters out there who touch base to say they’d like some tips on doing the form. Obviously it’s hard to talk to everyone who follows the site as some would be $5 once a week punters and some would be big punters making a nice earn. Obviously those guys/girls have what works for them down pat.
Hopefully some punters take something from this. I’m still learning every week and the best punters I know all still pick brains and change things up to become better. And there’s plenty better than me.
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Here’s a quick look at just some of the things I go over when assessing a meeting. I like to keep it pretty simple!
**Obviously getting to know your tracks is extremely important. Personally I love tracks like Doomben. Some dynamite starting points, gates are important and if you get your maps right you can make a lot of money. Short runs to the first corner and where the speed are drawn are the key factors to what the speed will be like. On the other side of that you might have tracks that you just don’t win on and the smart play there is to bet a lot less or not at all. For me EF is a track I don’t have the same results on and to a degree the Sunny Coast is one I try to just cherry pick punting races. (Stick to your strengths, don’t punt for the sake of it)
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**Know your horses. For me this is simply focusing on a certain area. Usually between Grafton and Sunny Coast is what I have done but I’ve even narrowed that down in recent times from the border to the Sunny Coast. If you just focus on a pool of horses that size and watch all your replays, you will have an excellent knowledge on them. You get to learn their patterns (if they take a run or two and improve sharply when they get to a certain trip. If they are fresh horses etc). I’m doing it full time and it takes a stack of time just doing this region so I don’t know how people get over 4-5 states.
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**Watch your replays/REVIEWS. Fair to say the racing world has gone DATA MAD! Yes I do use data and it is handy but I could survive on just watching replays, I don’t think I’d make a profit just using data. (That’s just me). Replays are the key for me, you learn horses gate speed, patterns and obviously how they are going race to race. Believe your eyes. Reviews are every bit as important as previews.
DATA: My main use for data is in reviews. I will do all the replays and as I do a race I will look to see how fast the race was run to the 600m. Obviously if they went slow you take that into account and be a little forgiving of those who got out of their ground and vice versa. I always like horses who have raced on a good tempo and still been strong through the line late. A good sign if they can get it a bit softer next time they can be hard to beat. To be fair I like seeing every horse strong through the line if I’m going to be backing them, especially if they are jumping in trip from that run.
I will also use data for the 200m sectionals and see if I might have missed a good run. If a sectional jumps out I will go and re-watch that race and that horse specifically.
*Some people are data fanatics and use it extremely well. Others can just confuse themselves no end so it’s a matter of finding a happy medium.
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A few FORM FACTORS I like/consider:
*JOCKS/TRAINERS- I try and focusing a large chunk of my bets on the better jocks/trainers, or the ones I feel are the best anyway. There is a reason they are the best. The top trainers place them right and the good jocks put them in the right spot more often than not. Obviously there will be times you go away from this but I try to stay as solid as possible. Also try to find stables and jocks in good form or stables who have superior results on their home tracks when racing there. (I add these in articles from time to time to show who’s going well at that time)
*DROP IN TRIP– Obviously this comes down to each horse and track etc but as a rule I quite like a horse dropping a couple of hundred metres after a few runs in the prep (1600-1400m or 1800m-1600m etc). You also have to remember a tough 1400m at EF can be similar to a 1600m around Doomben. After those runs they are usually rock hard fit and ready to rumble.
*BENCHMARK RACING- I hate it and as a rule hate betting into them. If I do bet I like to take on the lightly raced horse that’s won a race or two early in it’s career and gets thrown into a BM60-65 (for example). If i feel it’s overrated I’m happy to find one of the old tough horses that are far more seasoned and have won 4,5 races. Of course you will get some lightly raced horses far too good, you just have to back your opinion of those horses and make the call. I much rather bet into the old CL1-CL2’s as they are usually much easier to line up.
*HORSE PATTERNS– Far more excited to back on speed horses as a rule. Sounds very simple and it is. Horses with the good on speed pattern don’t have traffic to deal with and if they draw well they can simply decide the spot to be. Lead, box seat or sit another pair further back if speed is on to get every chance. Horses with that get back pattern are dictated to every time and any soft tempo means they can be the ‘flashing light’ but often in the non-winners category. They often need a lot more luck than those who can jam themselves up on speed.
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These are just some of the main factors I look at. Take note of any info that might help or forget you even read it, whatever suits.
There is a hell of a lot more that goes into it but I don’t want to bore or confuse anyone. Thanks again for checking out the page, have a great week!
Gibbo.
