THOROUGHBRED HANDICAPPING WITH FOX POWERS

A member asked me what regular approach I take each day when betting my Fox Powers.  Here is my personal approach to how I select horses to bet each day.  If you are currently betting with Fox Powers it may improve your $$$ performance at the races..

First, I select 2 tracks only for a day.  Everyone has favorite tracks so bet at the 2 tracks you like.  When there is a bad race at one of the 2 tracks, I go to the other track.  I bet about 14 races each day because there are usually, for various reasons, 5-6 races that put you at a large disadvantage.  The 5-6 races I eliminate because of too many unknowns are those with more than two 1st time starters. If one or both first timers are 5-1 or less I skip the race.

 When I first glance at the Fox Power race card, the first thing that catches my eye are horses with a double digit number in every category accross the board.  That horse is a strong horse no matter where in the Fox Power order it stands.

Next I look for horses with a very high total speed number and supporting factors to back it up such as, High E/S if a sprint, or a C for class drop, 3 or more LDR's and reasonable finishes in its last 4 races.  If a horse has not been in the $$$ in its last 4 races he has to have a "C" under alerts for a class drop, or I will not consider the horse. The consistency is very very important in the selection process.  Some horses run well almost always and some rarely finish in the money.

Then I focus on the top 4 Fox Powers since 65% of the time one of the top 3 win the race on average.  And 67% of the time the top Fox Power will be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd on average.

Then I look for any horse with a single outstanding high number in one of the categories that is high enough to make the horse win despite low numbers elswhere.  So always look for a horse with an LDR for a category that is a high early line odds horse.  For example, a horse with a 38 for ES in a 5F- 5 1/2 F race is a horse you must take seriously no matter where he is in the Fox Power ranking order.  If such a horse is a top 4 Fox Power you better take him very seriously.

Horses that run in the $$$ in 3 or all of its past 4 races are horses you can assume will likely repeat those performances.  They will usually be around the leaders at the finish line. Conversely, horses with bad last 4 finishes will probably finish up the track unless dropping in class.

As long as I can remember, closers have always prevailed in turf races over one mile, one mile being boarderline.  Using a speed horse on the grass is risky as one or more horses will probably press the pace and hurt the speed horse.  So make sure it is lone speed if you select a speed horse on grass.

Last, in cheap claiming races don't look for a closer to use as a key horse.  Cheap claiming horses don't close very often for the win position despite what you see in its past performances.  The E/S horse in a cheap race will give you many more winners than a closer.

All of the categories in the Fox Powers race card are very well explained. Try my method of selection with Fox Powers, I believe you will select more winners and win more often. 

RAY FOX IS A PROFESSIONAL THOROUGHBRED HANDICAPPER FOR WWW.TURFRACE.NET
AND AUTHOR OF THOROUGHBRED ARTICLES THAT HELP THOROUGHBRED RACING FANS NATIONWIDE.