'capping question
 

i don't remember ever seeing this addressed. what do you do when you don't like any horse in a race? obviously someone has to win the thing...so what do you do if you look over the horses and they all seem to stink? do you pass up the race? if you're trying to make a multi-race ticket tho, you have to pick something. i think more often than not, this is what keeps me from playing a pick 3/4. it just seems more frustrating to me when i can't find a horse than when i like several.

I skip a whole bunch of races.
Just cause I buy a card... I dont feel obligated
to bet.
Especially lately.

The bolded is one reason I dont like the pik's.
You are forced to go with horse(s) that you cannot separate.
So of course you go Power Ball deep, or maybe find
another sequence that suits you. I will admit the pik's
are very entertaining.

I mainly go Win or Win/Place.
Look for a competitive race where I feel I got a grip
and hope the odds meet worthiness (this is the creative part imo)
Occasional exacta.
Lotta good it has done me the last 2 years...
Especially on the synth.
*cue acid reflux in back of throat*

Obviously if you don't like anyone it's probably best to skip the race. . . But in a situation like the one you described I'd rely more on pace and expected race dynamics than anything else - that's your best bet with a seemingly equally matched field.

I take it you will be skipping playing the derby this year

I think with the pick 4's you are looking at how many spots you can cover. If you have a strong grip on 2 of the 4 races you can afford to go very deep on the two remaining legs. If however, you are lost on all 4 legs, its best to pass. Pick 4's usually just need one very nicely priced horse to pay decent and if your looking at a field that looks identical, odds are, everyone else will see nearly the same. Your advantage comes with having the other legs shallow allowing for greater coverage when needed.

Find the horse that has passed somebody. Seriously.

Here's what I've been doing lately, with some success, after a whole lot of experimenting.

Find a key horse somewhere in the sequence. Then play around that horse, opening up the other legs to include as many as possible. The tracks that offer .50 cent bets certainly help in this regard. This way, you can play a race where you really don't like anyone.

In the last month or so, I have hit one of these tickets, while being alive in the money leg a few other times, where, unfortunatley, my strong opinion horse let me down. But that will happen, obviously, and you don't have to cash everyone to end up on the positive end of the spectrum.

However, if you can't find a strong opinion in one of the races, PASS on the wager.

Everyone will tell you how disciplined their play is an blah-blah-blah. But if you are at the track (not just an online player), 99% of the time you're going to toss a fin on something. If I don't like anything, which is more than not, I'm going to put a minimum bet on something with decent odds, or play a gimmick and hope for bombs.

The person that schooled me on horse race handicapping said about the same thing, concerning maidens

Made some money at it.

I get it now. I'll try and post better for you.:)

Morty, where have you been hiding?

if playing a pick 3/4 ticket, that's the race you want to go deep in and hope you hit a price on it, since it's wide open. especially if you really like something in one of the other races to single, it won't be a horrendously large ticket price, regardless of the field size. If the race in question is a short field, it's a perfect time to hit the 'all' button.

If you're only going race by race with W/P/S, etc... then I'd look at it passing on it (although I'd still put a couple on something to win at a price) and put your $$ to better use in a race that looks better.