Good horse tips for me?

Any good tips on how to pick the right horse in a race using the stats from the horse, jockey and trainer ?

• I know the bets, the past performances and all. But just can't seem to come out on top. Any tips with all the above stats all bottled up together ???

• Answer:

  As a handicapper, I find stats very useful as an overall tool, but each horse, trainer, jock have to be examined on their own merits. Certain jock/trainer combos might win at one surface/distance but bomb at another. I stick with playing only one or two tracks or circuits. Learn these tracks, trainers, jocks and horses inside and out. You'll see patterns that aren't found in basic stats. Some trainers only ride certain jocks when they have a live horse that will go off at long odds. Perhaps that's 10 horses per meet. Perhaps 1 of those horses win and the rest make up the exactas, trifectas, and supers at 10-1 or even 20-1. Now look at the stats. 1 winner in 10 = 10% for the jockey/trainer combo. The stats don't tell you the rest of the story, but if you follow the track and keep notes on the bombs that come in, you'll start to see a pattern. Example: Alonso Quinonez rides in CA. He gets live mounts from Doug O'Neil, Peter Eurton, Dick Mandella, John Sadler and Kristen Mulhulll in main track routes. Myung Cho always puts him on a horse when it is live. Quinonez really sucks lemons on the turf at SA, especially down hill. BUT - if he has a horse capable of running, watch out - he can win with 40-1 shots or ruin your exacta with a 70-1 shot. Quinonez rides best at Fairplex and Hollywood. Avoid him at Del Mar and he's best over main track at SA. Also, sire stats only show you one half of the story. For instance, if a sire gets 15% first time out winners (which is average) yet the dam and all the half/full siblings of horse "A" won first time out - that's a horse you'd want to bet. However, say you have a sire that gets 20% first time winners, yet Horse "B's" dam couldn't find the finish line with the Hubble Telescope and the full/half siblings waited until middle age to win their maidens. There's a slim chance that Horse B could win, but my money would go on Horse "A" Overall, I like the Brisnet PP's. They'll give you trainer/jock combo percentages, jock percentages with the surface and type of runner (front/stalk/closer). It's up to the successful handicapper to keep (or know where to get) the info the PP's don't offer. I post the Polytrack sires for DelMar and Keeneland. You can find them here: http://www.ironmaidensthoroughbreds.com/STATS.html Also, before the Keeneland and Del Mar Meets, I review winning Polytrack sires, good jockey/trainer combos, feeder tracks (where the winner last raced), Best jocks on main track sprint/route and grass sprint/routes, etc. The article foor Del Mar should be up in a day or two at Horse Racing Nation.com under the Pedigree Power blog. I hope this info is helpful to you.