For many handicappers, playing the horses by simulcast signal today seems so natural, so commonplace that it’s hard to believe that it was only about five years ago that handicapping actually became a year-round activity with the national proliferation of simulcast signals.

Can you remember when your local track picked up just one race on a weekend, usually a major stakes race from a major track? If not, then hello, Generation X!

Local live racing will always have certain advantages over playing at your local OTB parlor. Simulcast racing offers plenty of action and opportunity, but it also presents some unique problems for handicappers.

Let’s start by looking at those problems.

·Lack of access to basic information – Time was when at many locations, handicappers could not regularly get a copy of the Daily Racing Form or any entry information until they arrived at their simulcast center. The Form adapted to the increase in racing cards being beamed into OTB’s all over the country by creating special simulcast editions containing diverse and sometimes unusual collections of editions with past performances far beyond the local circuit. Butthe problems of logistics can even today keep a fan waiting until the day of the race to get a Form and for serious handicappers, that’s tough to take.

Certainly, the Internet has alleviated this problem, although there are still those who, even with yelling and screaming and dragging, won’t let themselves get online. I know a hardcore racing fan, an intelligent player who honestly believes that the Internet is just one more way for “The Man” to control us.

Bottom line for the year 2000: no excuses! Handicappers have access to past performances as early as two days before race day in some cases, and always the night before, and in any format you like. You don’t need to settle for the 3-line programs sold at the simulcast center, even for smaller tracks that are on the simulcast menu just to add more action to the picture. (We are offered a few bush league tracks here in Omaha for which there is no DRF information on site, and sometimes no programs. But with the Internet, you can spend as little as 50 cents the day before and walk in prepared if you’re playing certain races at certain tracks.) 

·Lack of local information – Even with the availability of truly incredible amounts of statistics, figures of all kinds, and esoteric racing information available virtually everywhere today, nothing beats playing one track and knowing as much as you possibly can about it.

Of the half-dozen (or more) tracks offered on a typical daily simulcast schedule, what do you really know about those tracks? What’s the current winning style – in sprints, routes, on dirt, on the grass? How were yesterday’s races won? Is there a strong track bias that has just appeared? Who’s hot right now, not last week.

If you were to restrict your play only to races for which you had at least a little specific information, you might never play at all. However, with a little common sense and a few guidelines, you can find several reasonable plays on any simulcast card, and at more than a single track.

Here are the first of four points to make your simulcast handicapping successful:

1) Look for classic spot plays. By classic, I mean those traditional plays that are simple, that rely upon common sense, and that have stood the test of time. Examples:

·Solo early speed

·Fit horses taking a hefty drop in class

·Horses for courses

·Proven multiple winners on off tracks (when the track is off, of course.

Experienced players can add more to their own list. These types of plays belong to a group which does not require sophisticated, speed, pace, and class handicapping. Naturally, you may not find even one such play on any given day on an entire simulcast menu. Like the song says, some days are diamonds, some days are dust.

2) Play your strength. What types of races do you win most often? Sprints? Routes? Stakes? Maidens? Older claimers? While this concept may seem a little limited at first glance, keep in mind that you’re handicapping in a limited period of time when you’re looking at a number of different tracks, and at the OTB itself, you don’t have the luxury of concentration free from distraction. You’re in your element and it’s important to remind yourself of your weak and strong spots and act accordingly.

And if you don’t know your weak and strong spots—which a surprising number of players do not---you shouldn’t be looking at more than one track anyway!