Many horseplayers dismiss horses that went off as the post-time favorite and lost in their previous race. Often these horses are not worth playing back, yet there are occasions when they are worth backing.
In my early data collection, I looked at all beaten favorites, regardless of lengths behind, finish position, or any other factors. The raw results were encouraging as shown in the table above. The win rate was 23 percent and a straight win bet on these horses was showing a loss of only 5.4 percent. This is still better than playing the post-time favorite in every race, but we can do better!
21+ If you or someone you know has a gambling problem,crisis counseling,and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800 GAMBLER(1-800-426-2537)(IL) Gambling problem?Call 1-800. 2 days ago Scoring spread and free-kick favourites: All the key stats from Milan’s win over Verona By Oliver Fisher - 7 March 2021, 19:09 AC Milan got their second away league win in a row as they ran out 2-0 victors against Hellas Verona at the MarcAntonio Bentegodi. Catterick racecourse favourites. Data covering the last 5 seasons, split by horse age as well as handicap. Provided courtesy of the Racing Post.
When we start looking at horses that finished second, third or fourth in their last race, the results start to show even more promise. Horses that failed as a favorite and finished second in that race show a much better win percentage at just about 32 percent and a small loss of -2.0 percent. (In this study, the initial 1,287 horses showed pitiful results at fifth place and beyond, so those horses were no longer tracked.)
By further filtering the second-place finishers in their last race, we arrive at what makes this a solid spot play:
There can be any number of reasons that the horse lost as the favorite last out. Be sure to check the comments and see if the horse experienced a troubled trip. Quite possibly the horse may have stepped up in class and finds itself back at the right level today. Perhaps the pace was too fast for a horse that is a one-dimensional frontrunner.
While this angle typically produces short-priced plays, it does hit over half of the time. This is an excellent angle to use when keying a horse in an exacta or trifecta and/or when singling a horse in a multi-race wager such as a daily double or Pick 3, 4, 5 or 6. By coupling use of this spot play with your normal race handicapping and pace analysis, you will find that it hits consistently.