Handicapping horses is one way of knowing who amongst the contenders has the highest chance to win the Preakness Stakes 2022. It is a strategy used by punters to balance the skills and characteristics of each horse and even out their chances of winning.
However, to make handicapping effective in helping you choose the horse to bet on, you must understand how handicapping works. Therefore, knowing the vital factors you need to look for when handicapping is the first step you should take.
Here are the five vital factors you should focus on when handicapping for the horses in the Preakness Stakes 2022.
Class
One of the vital pieces in handicapping is the horse’s class. It is a powerful angle that you should examine closely, especially if the horse is racing for the first time. You can use class handicapping on top of your traditional 2022 preakness stakes betting.
It is because horses can improve or deteriorate quickly, especially today. Often, trainers squeeze out races from the racehorses all year round even though they already need to rest.
Even though the Preakness Stakes contenders made it to the big event this year, it is still best if you figure out how they earn a spot. If you do, you will notice that there are horses that made it to the finals under easy pace races, situations with a strong bias, or they just contend with low-class rivals.
It would be best to consider these factors when you would handicap a horse’s class. Sometimes, figures aren’t enough to make a horse the best betting option. You still need to do your research and figure out how they earn these figures.
Form
The form of the horse is one of the clear indicators of how it will perform in the race. Therefore, you should check out the horse’s recent competitive races and figure out how the horse performed. You can also try to examine the horse’s maintenance if it hasn’t raced for two weeks already. These two factors are the most effective indicator of the horse’s fitness.
Horses should undergo enough workouts and training if it hasn’t raced for 30 days. This training or workout will put the horse at its optimum form compared to horses that haven’t raced for quite some time yet and don’t receive any satisfying workouts and training.
Breed
Punters and experts rely on the horse’s breed when betting. However, pedigree handicapping is only useful if you analyze horses that haven’t shown enough data for the analysis. For example, if the horse doesn’t have enough racing experience, you can use it for handicapping.
If the horses in your list survived all the other handicapping factors, the breed could be used as a tie-breaker.
Look into the horse’s pedigree and find out who is its parents. Most of the time, the parents’ achievements indicated the potential of the foal. However, it would be best to consider the horse’s extended family, which will also impact how the young horse performs.
Horses are bred to win, so breeders always choose the best parents with outstanding achievements and a successful bloodline.
Weight
The weight of the horses is the foundation of horse racing. So, it should be one of the factors you should consider when handicapping for the Preakness Stakes. The traditional principle of weight handicapping is that 1.5 kgs are always equal to one length.
So, a decrease of the horse’s weight by 1.5 kgs means that its performance will improve with one length. With that being said, the lighter the horse, the higher its advantage over its opponents.
As per physics, the horse’s weight will have a significant impact on its speed. It can also affect its performance altogether.
You can decide to stick to lighter horses in this 2022 Preakness Stakes and focus your handicapping on them. However, it is still best to eliminate horses on your list after you have handicapped all the vital factors in thoroughbred racing.
Track Condition
The tack condition on the day of the race will impact the horse’s performance. A track condition is the condition of the surface of the Pimlico Race Course on the day of the Preakness Stakes.
Even horses with good form and the best class to dominate the Preakness Stakes will find it difficult to win on an unsuitable race track. The horse might have all the signs of being a champion, but if the race track doesn’t suit its racing capability, there is a high chance that he will lose.
You have to consider that there are horses that can easily move on turf and not on dirt and vice versa. It will help you figure out each contender’s track condition preference and how each performs under wet and dry tracks.
You should also check out the weather forecast for the race day to know if the track will be wet or dry. By doing so, you can figure out who will be able to withstand the track condition that day and who can not.
In Conclusion
In handicapping, you should consider many factors before pinpointing who will likely win the Preakness Stakes 2022. Ensure that you look into the elements mentioned in this article to see the potential of each Preakness contender. If you successfully handicap a horse using these elements, you will significantly increase your chance of betting for the winning horse.
