What Races Do Favorites Win Most Articles | Horse Betting

By: Richard Bleuze

What Races Do Favorites Win Most

Well, the first question to ask is, What is a favorite?  A favorite in a horse race is the horse with the most money wagered on it to win.  Thus, the favorite is the horse with the lowest odds.  Generally horse favorites win an average of about a third of the time, or perhaps slightly less.  Thus, if you just want the thrill of watching a horse that you have bet on win a race, then maybe you should bet on the favorite.  However, you will not make a profit on horse racing if you bet only on favorites since the odds are not on your side.

Betting on favorites all the time will cost you money over the long run since the favorite often wins.  Thus, the favorite is usually a bad bet.  Any horse that wins a third of the time, would need to pay an average of $6 for every $2 wagered on it to win.  You will find that most favorites average less than $6 to win so you slowly lose your bankroll.

Some horse bettors that catch on to the favorite angle often come up with the  idea that if they can just figure out which favorites are good bets and which ones will not win, then they will be able to make money.  Although, the theory is sound, doing that is much more difficult than it appears.

Trying to eliminate favorites is not easy for the average horse bettor.  However, there is one situation that does offer some promise for the horse bettor.  That situation occurs when a runner is made the favorite in a race despite the fact that the horse has never done what is being asked of it.  An example of this would be if a horse is being asked to race over a mile when the best it has done to date is to win a 1/2 mile race. 

A horse that is asked to race in a horse race that it has never ran is still unproven at that distance.  That horse is still an unknown as to whether it can handle the distance no matter what the odds might be.  Thus, when you find a favorite that is being asked to win at a distance it has never won at, or over a surface it has never tried, then you may have a "false favorite".

If you like betting on favorites, then this is definitely a system to consider.  By eliminating a bad bet on a favorite, you just might be able to make a slight profit on your favorites type bets.  However, be assured that  it will be tight.

An exception to the above sytem is a maiden races.  I suggest that you stay away from these horse races.

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