Another Belmont has come and gone and millions of bettors have learned another painful lesson while a few smarter ones have once again made a profit. Horse racing handicapping lessons can be expensive as can be horse racing betting. If you want a fast education in the economics of gambling, take 1-4 odds on a horse that is going one and a half miles for the first time with a jockey that is famous for getting in trouble on the rail where the horse is breaking from.



Am I the only one who saw Kent Desormeaux run his horse up on Da'Tara and then wrestle it to the outside forcing another horse out on the turn? Some people may interpret that as good riding, but I saw it as rough, clumsy, riding that took his horse off stride and made it lose heart and confidence. Was his mount rank as the comment implies in the chart of the race, yes, Big Brown was a little rank but that could have been handled differently.









Now here is the big question, would Big Brown have won if Desormeaux had handled it better? Maybe, but there is no way of knowing that so we have to leave it as this. Big Brown didn't win. Da'Tara did win. Not only did Big Brown lose but so did a lot of other people who bet on Big Brown. This isn't the same time this type of betting tragedy has happened in the Belmont. History does have a way of repeating itself because, as the old saw says, some people fail to learn from it.



So what lessons will those who choose to learn from history garner from this? How about this...



1. Don't take 1-4 odds on anything, ever. Pros, the people who actually make a living off horse racing handicapping, don't take ridiculous odds like that. It's called a sucker bet for a reason.



2. Ignore the hype and think for yourself. Of course the trainer thought his horse was good and talked it up big before each of the triple crown races. The horse is good and he has a vested interest in the horse's success, but he isn't training all the horses and doesn't know how good each of the other horses is.



3. That's why they call it gambling. No matter how certain anything looks to you, in horse racing, there is no such thing as a guarantee or a lead pipe cinch.



4. Learn from history but don't repeat the same mistakes. Here is something to think about, Nick Zito is Mr. New York in racing. He is a New York guy who knows the track and knows how to train a horse to win a big race at Belmont. He has done it before on that track and in that race. People were just as shocked then as they were this time and will probably be just as shocked the next time he does it. Don't be one of the idiots who bets against Zito in the Belmont with 1-4 odds. That is insanity.



If I could name only one thing that separates professional handicappers from amateurs, it would be this, pros learn from their mistakes. That is how they go from being amateurs to being pros and that is why some people never make that step. Pros use a methodical systematic approach that was developed over years of trial and error.

By: Bill Peterson

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Learn how an insider handicaps horse races by visiting Bill Peterson's website williewins.homestead.com. To see the systems Bill uses, go to williewins.homestead.com/handicappingstore2.html or 50 yrs. experience!