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How To Pick Horses For A Lucky 15

As with all betting, there’s no foolproof plan or directive that guarantees your horse racing bets will come good.

Lucky 15 betting is so popular because it takes some of the risk away from having a punt on the horses. Is there anything worse than seeing your chosen steed lead the race until the last fence and then take a tumble? For some things, you just cannot legislate.

That said, when it comes to picking your four selections for a Lucky 15 on the horses, there are some steps you can take to increase your chances of success:

Handpick Your Races Not Just Horses

Horse RaceThe temptation, particularly if you are new to the sport, is to bet on the first four races that come up on your betting coupon or a website.

This is not advisable, as you’re potentially doing yourself out of an opportunity to win big elsewhere with researched, considered betting. You wouldn’t just buy the first car you saw without first shopping around, would you?

Of course not, so make sure that you do your homework. If you use the criteria outlined below, success shouldn’t be far away.

Check Current Form

A horse’s past performances indicate their ability to win or at least finish amongst the places. Any decent form listing will show you how your horse has fared in their past five races or so, and it’s worth taking the time to study this and look for those magic ‘1’s’.

If you can find a horse who has won in its last outing then – whilst this isn’t the only determining factor – it should go well. Winners are far more likely to win again: this has been scientifically proven.

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks either, but you can teach an old horse how to win. So check out the form guide, and if you see a runner that has shown a clear upward curve of improvement – even if they haven’t entered the winners’ enclosure as yet – then don’t be hasty to discount them.

So if your horse has won in a recent outing over the same or similar distance, you might want to pencil them into your Lucky 15 right away.

Take Note Of Different Classes

It’s worth noting that races are categorised by class, namely:

  • Grade 1
  • Grade 2
  • Grade 3
  • Ungraded

Naturally the higher the class, the better the standard of horse. So – on the balance of probability – a Grade 1 winner is a better horse than a Grade 3 winner (although this isn’t always necessarily the case).

Sometimes a horse will drop in class for a specific race. This could be because of a poor showing last time out, it is coming back from injury, or the trainer wants to test it over a different distance. These horses should certainly be considered.

The Conditions

Something that plays a huge part in the outcome of the race are the conditions; most notably the footing.

Some horses prefer a hard, dry track that you’d typically find after a period of English spring sunshine, whilst some prefer soft, boggy ground as their natural power can carry them through.

Going The Distance

Is your horse a sprinter or a long-distance specialist? Suitability for the distance is also another key consideration, so make sure you check out his or her record.

If you’re confident they can stay the course – or come out of the gate fast – then get them into your Lucky 15 pronto.

Taking a Break

It’s natural for a trainer to give their steeds some time off between races, but how much is too much….or too little?

A 30-60 day break from racing is considered the norm, so take a look to see if your chosen horse has had an opportunity to put their hooves up since their last race. Anything longer than this can often leave them rusty and needing a ‘tune-up’ race before becoming a contender again.

This is also linked to the amount of starts a horse has had. If he or she has been over-run then they face burn out – in much the same way that human athletes do. Around 5-6 starts in a calendar year is the standard.

A Winning Team

You only need to see the success that AP McCoy & Jonjo O’Neill and Ruby Walsh & Willie Mullins have had together to realise that a good jockey and trainer partnership is crucial.

Some pairings have favourite races or even favourite grounds, and if your horse is being ridden by a jockey that has won on it before then that is as good a sign as any.

You can check the win percentages of both jockeys and trainers online, which enables you to see the impact – if any – they have on proceedings.

Lucky 15 Success – Win More

Wouldn’t it be nice to have some kind of super-computer which showed you how to pick winners for a lucky 15 bet, and then it would print out a list for you?

Unfortunately, nobody has invented that quite yet. So in the meantime, you will have to do all the hard work. Sorry about that.

What you can do is… make sure that you’re taking advantages of promotions like triple the odds if you only get one winner or a 15% bonus if all your selections win – check out the best lucky 15 promotions here.

Dave Jackson

Author: Dave Jackson

Dave is an absolute resourse of information when it comes to tennis and football betting. He's currently writing his first book ‘Smash & Grab – Punters Guide To Accumulator Betting’ which is out later this year.

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