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69 Days Until May 3rd and the 134th Kentucky Derby
Thoroughbred Horse Racing Blinkers OnThe most common piece of equipment for horse racing known to horse race handicappers are the blinkers.
Blinkers are the eye shields attached to the horse's bridle or head to block his vision and keep him looking forward on the racetrack; keeping track distractions to a minimum for the horse.
Blinkers are a very simple but effective piece of equipment to improve a horse's performance, keeping the distractions to a minimum.
Blinkers on or blinkers off, that is the question. Experienced horse race handicappers will take note of this equipment change and factor it into their race analysis.
Thoroughbred race horses have great peripheral vision and they can literally see behind themselves. The main purpose of blinkers is to take away the horses' peripheral vision and keep them focused on the race ahead of him.
Another reason for using blinkers is because many horses let their minds wander in a race. If the trainer has determined through workouts and previous races that the horse is easily distracted by other horses and the track surroundings, then the blinkers will go be on and annotated in the racing form.
In most cases, maiden horses (horses that have never won a race) run without blinkers until they prove they need them. The jockey may tell the trainer after a race that the horse is looking around and isn't interested in the race.
The trainer typically tries blinkers on the horse in the morning during gallops and during workouts to see if they help. The exercise rider should be able to tell a difference and would provide this valuable information to the trainer.
The horse owner and trainer, are always looking for improvement in the horse, as is a horse race handicapper. And something as small as the blinker can significantly improve a horse's focus and performance.
A few trainers have also been known to just throw the blinkers on for race day and see what happens. The riders of those horses require blind faith that the horses accept the blinkers favorably.
The Daily Racing Form lists a statistic that indicates when a blinker change occurs. Underneath the horse's past performances, you see a category that tells whether the horse has blinkers on or not and what the trainer's win percentage is for both scenarios.
Horse racing handicapping and wagering, although a legal form of gambling, does not guarantee that the risk of losing your money has been eliminated.
Always wager with money that you can afford to lose, do not violate your money management rules, and do not be greedy, there will always be another horse race to wager on.
Fact: Only 2% of all horse race handicappers actually make money wagering.
Visit http://www.HorseRaceHandicappingCollege.com for more information.
