| Computer handicapping has changed the landscape of | | | | helps to write down your goals and what factors will |
| picking winners at the races. Figuring pace and speed | | | | help you to reach them. Handicapping goals are |
| and class used to take hours but now races have | | | | twofold, first of course is your profit goal, and secondly |
| ratings to indicate how difficult they were. Track | | | | is your goal for what you wish to determine through |
| variants and models are available to show what it | | | | your efforts. For instance, do you want to rate the |
| takes to win and it is no longer necessary to make | | | | contenders by ability and therefore estimate each |
| calculations by hand. | | | | ones chances of winning? |
| With the innovations that now are almost taken for | | | | The factors, such as speed and class, that you use to |
| granted it would seem that sorting out the contenders | | | | handicap will determine whether you use a program |
| from pretenders would take only seconds, but | | | | that crunches numbers to arrive at one ability number |
| curiously enough, making sense of a horse race is still | | | | or power number, or one that presents possible |
| a major project. Why is it that handicapping a horse | | | | scenarios. When a horse racing system presents |
| race still takes so much time and effort? | | | | different scenarios and the likelihood of each, it is called |
| Part of the problem is information overload. More | | | | situational. |
| information isn't necessarily better information. The | | | | Find the program that will answer the questions you |
| basis of a good system is one that gives you what | | | | need answered to arrive at an opinion on the factors |
| you need without wasting your time on useless or | | | | you have chosen and you will have the easiest |
| extraneous information. | | | | method available. |
| That means that before you begin handicapping it | | | | |