Advice

Studying Form: Part I

Guest post written by Willy Weasel

The subject of studying form is, by its very nature, a complex one, but it’s important not to get bogged down in trifling details. If you do, you’re likely to be distracted from more important factors that influence the outcome of horse races.

Studying form is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It’s something that you do to predict how a horse is likely to run in a race, which, in turn, helps you to make a profit from betting on horses. Profitable betting can be hugely enjoyable, so don’t be discouraged by the amount of work involved. The more form you study, the more familiar you’ll become with the horses and their recent achievements and the easier the form will become to read. Eventually, you’ll find that, by applying basic logical principles to the form, you’ll quickly be able to identify likely winners of almost any race.

Ideally, what we’re looking for when assessing any race is a horse with good recent form, preferably winning form, which is attempting little, or nothing, more than it has achieved in the past. This statement effectively encompasses all there is to know about studying form, but a full explanation, in quantifiable terms, would require several volumes.

The first question we need to ask ourselves is “How good is good enough?” and we can only really answer that question by comparing the form of one horse with that of the other runners in a race. In simple terms, winning form is the easiest to evaluate, but more on that later.

Logically, the second question we need to ask ourselves is “How recent is recent enough?” and, thankfully, we can answer that question rather more easily than the first. Horses, especially Flat horses, can only be held at peak fitness for a month or so without racing, so any form more than six weeks’ old must be treated with caution. An absence of six weeks or more may not, by itself, be sufficient reason to eliminate a horse as a likely winner, especially if other factors are in its favour, but it’s definitely a negative when comparing two horses of similar ability.

Incidentally, if we’re going to study form, form must actually exist in the first place. This might appear to be a statement of the blindingly obvious until you consider juvenile, maiden and novice races, on the Flat or over Jumps. Runners in these races are often previously unraced, lightly raced or untried in their chosen discipline, so it’s difficult, if not impossible, to determine their ability, fitness and preferences with regard to distance, going, etc. These races, along with races in which the majority of the runners are making their seasonal debuts, produce many unpredictable winners and are best left alone for betting purposes. Concentrate, instead, on races where most of the runners are fully exposed and have recent form in the book for all to see.

While we’re on the subject of the types of races we should be looking at, and which we shouldn’t, selling, claiming and low grade classified stakes races typically attract horses which are, at best, of moderate ability. Runners may be poor, regressive and/or in the twilight of their careers, but, in any case, the form of these races is too unreliable to make studying it worthwhile.

So, if we’re going to compare the form of one runner with that of the others in a race, where do we start? A look at the statistics for the last ten seasons reveals that nearly two-thirds of all the horse races run in Great Britain and Ireland during that period were won by one of the first three in the betting market. Backing and laying horses is all about opinions. Bookmakers form an opinion on the likely outcome of a race, which they express as the odds they offer for each runner, and punters form their own opinion, which they express by accepting, or declining, the odds on offer. Bookmakers make the odd mistake, but, generally speaking, it stands to reason that we can use the betting market to direct us towards runners worthy of further investigation.

It strikes me, at this point, that the best way to expound the finer points of studying form is to use a concrete, real-life example. In the next article in this series, “Studying Form: Part II”, I’ll select one race, entirely at random, and outline the process of studying form, step-by-step. Note that I’ll be studying form before the race is run, rather than attempting to backfit my findings to the result after it’s already known, so I may, or may not, accurately predict the winner.

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18 Comments

    1. I would say that the preference to going is probably one of the most significant independent factors in the race.

      1. Have used The Going But many have performed on various surfaces. All suggestions very welcome.
        Have Paper Watched the jumps BUT feel that this suits Flat better.
        Could even add pts for Top jockey & Trainer
        As something like 70% of winners come from 1st five in the betting – it certainly narrows the field down
        Have just been betting 10w & 15 pl
        cheers
        Bob

        1. Another Filter that I have started using is to analyse the races with MOST Prize money & limit no of runners to 12.
          It will soon be AW only so might have to Paper Watch for a while
          cheers
          Bob

  1. My method of analysis is to record the first five in the betting using my own analysis sheets. I record last 3 finishing positions and add them together ( 0 = 10 ) Then winning prize money – then weight up or down – then RPR – then distance won or lost – then C D – class up or down – draw – going.
    Then by marking off the BEST RECORDINGS – I arrive at my selection.
    Since devising this my Newly Opened betting bank has risen from the original ÂŁ1000 to ÂŁ1700.
    I am currently using BF SP with ÂŁ10 & ÂŁ15 P
    Would welcome your comments
    Bob

    1. Hey bob,
      interested with your little system. What do you mean by distance won/lost- is that for the horse’s last race, for example? And is there some of these that are more important than others, say the going is more than its winning prize money?
      Cheers

    2. It sounds like a good basis for a system Bob. Would need to know more to give advise, specifically how much of your bankroll you have been betting, how many winners, average odds etc… However congratulations on making a good profit.

    3. Bob can you elaborate on your scoring method for your system? I.e do you award 10 for 1st, 5 for 2nd etc. Also is the same applied to distance/weight/age/RPR/course/draw/class etc. I am intrigued & fascinated by various systems and would like your take on this subject.

      Kind Regards
      Woody

      1. Hi Woody – let me try to dot some i’s
        Select 1st 5 in the betting from BF
        Add together last 3 outings EG 1ST 5TH 3RD = 9. 10 IS MAX ALLOWANCE
        Check and record Winning Prize Money- Turf or AW depending on type of race
        Compare weight allowance from LTO – either + or –
        RPR
        winning or losing distance
        C D or C&D
        Class up or down
        Draw .Then mark off best figures – horse with most is the Selection.If draw lowest SP

  2. Interesting article. Looking forward to Part 2.

    I would like to know more details of Bob Cottam’s method that he has written in the comments section. How about it Bob? ungesister @hotmail.co.uk

  3. It’s refreshing to read an unpretentious and informative betting blog!
    Learning the basics is the best way to progress in life; without that you don’t understand why things can go wrong.
    I have been dabbling for a few years now and have not yet found a comprehensive, basic approach to assessing the myriad of form stats that are available.
    Keep up the good work!
    Ps. Bob cottams system looks interesting!!!

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