| If you are trying to beat the crowd at horse racing | | | | attention to the wind because they realize that it plays |
| handicapping then here is one more way to improve | | | | a significant role in how well a horse performs. Smart |
| your game. The news is full of weather related stories. | | | | harness drivers look for "cover," in other words, a |
| Every day it seems that something strange is going on. | | | | horse to cut the wind in front of their horse, until they |
| No doubt about it, weather patterns seem to be | | | | are ready to make their move. In fact, a horse sitting |
| changing. | | | | behind cover on the rail is said to be in the "garden |
| Whether you subscribe to the global warming theory | | | | spot." |
| or not, you don't have to be a genius to realize that | | | | Wind, especially the strong winds that we have seen |
| almost a foot of snow in Mississippi is not normal. | | | | lately at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita, do have an |
| Heavy snow in Texas and heavy rain and tornadoes | | | | effect on the thoroughbred horses. There is an old |
| in Florida during the winter, when Florida is usually a | | | | saying in racing that enough weight will stop a train. |
| paradise, all add up to new challenges for people who | | | | Enough wind will also stop a train and when a horse is |
| handicap horse races. It isn't just the effect that the | | | | racing in front, into the wind, it has a little more pressure |
| weather has while the races are actually being run, but | | | | pushing it back. It is like adding weight to the horse. |
| also how you deal with races that have been run on | | | | Think about the implications of that for just a minute. If |
| off tracks in the past performances, when you are | | | | a front runner is running into a strong wind, it is like |
| handicapping the next race. | | | | adding weight to that horse. How much extra weight |
| Like everything else that life throws at us, weather can | | | | do you want to see added to your horse? Smart |
| be an asset that gives you an advantage, if you learn | | | | handicappers learn everything they can about a few |
| how to use it. One weather factor what seems to be | | | | race tracks and use every scrap of information to get |
| more prevalent now than in days gone by, is the wind. | | | | an edge on the competition. If you want to win more |
| Doesn't it seem to be windier now than it was in years | | | | money betting on horses, find out which direction the |
| past? | | | | wind usually blows from at your favorite track and |
| People who handicap harness races pay more | | | | keep notes on how front runners do on windy days. |