Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
A lot of people have differing views on narrowing the fields down for horse races.
The OLBG betting school has a whole article on how to read horse racing form.
Myself I often avoid the races over a mile and any 2yo, claimers and sellers.
This allows me to concentrate on where I have been profitable in the last few years.
The majority of these races now will be handicaps where a lot of the field have run a few times.
Ground Conditions - A big one for me. Looking back through a horses form you can often spot the ones who will favour a certain type of going.
I much prefer it when softer as there is more chance to eliminate the pure fast ground horses from the equation.
There can be some little gems hiding in here where a trainer has consistently run the horse on the wrong ground and patches of the form appear when the ground firms/softens up.
Distance - A lot of the sprints are interchangeable and you will see winners over all 4 distances up to a mile but that said some can only win at 5f and will be 0-20 over 6f these are a good indicator of what you can eliminate.
Course - Each course has its own challenge and certain horses will perform at one course and not another. Whether it be steep inclines at the finish or just a very fast downhill run. Patterns do emerge and spotting them is more to eliminate.
Draw Bias - One of the big factors for me. Beverley, Chester are 2 really big ones but there are also others that can be seen when the ground is either firm or softer. I will not back a horse drawn higher than 5 or 6 at Chester over 5f and pretty much similar at Beverley (except in the soft where the bias changes and the top 3 or 4 are favoured).
Patterns often emerge at courses during the days racing and getting on these before others notice is a key to narrowing a field and getting the best prices.
Trainers - Some obviously favour more courses than others.
These don't have to be local courses, you often find if some lesser trainers travel away from their main base and circuit of 5 or 6 courses there may be something worth noting from their stable.
Bigger trainers also make their money if they perhaps travel up to Scotland or the North West.
Ratings - If a horse is 7 or 8 and is on a career-high mark, the chances for me are that it is not going to improve more and will need to drop some poundage to win again.
A lot of horses do tend to form patterns with winning marks and spotting these are key. You will find when it potentially can win again it will be returning to its favoured conditions, distance and course.
Premium Jockeys riding for smaller trainers - Some trainers only book the likes of Fanning, Spencer etc when they know their horse has a chance. This is easy to spot in the statistics and can be a key indicator.
Days since last race - Some can win after breaks, some can only win when fresh, eliminating the patterns here can also narrow that field down.
I am sure people prioritise these in certain ways, completely ignore some, find some others not mentioned more important, but for me I like to take a look at all when selecting.
I have found this to be my most successful way of punting and although I will endure runs where things don't go right and I will end up with a string of last places, the criteria I set often leads me back to winners.
The biggest thing for me is that I often try to find a race where I can get the Fav beaten giving me larger priced winners but the thing to remember is it will be a smaller strike rate and to stick with the selection process despite you not always getting it right.
