Four angles to focus on when punting on American racing

Studying the form is extremely important, whether you look at speed/Beyer figures or look at collateral pieces of form and compare, but it is easy to derive multiple opinions and therefore nothing is set in stone.

What is set in stone are each individual US racetrack’s characteristics and biases, which makes that information more important than anything else and it should become your first port of call when analysing racing stateside. Below are four punting angles you should always bear in mind.

Our expert who picks our American horse racing tips each night gives us four best betting angles for US racing”

Get on the speed at Gulfstream

Boasting early pace is crucial in the US as most races are run in stark contrast to those in Britain – they tend to go hard from the start and slow down in the final quarter – but getting to the front is especially important at Gulfstream Park.

The sweeping mile-round track favours those who race prominently, with a vast amount of winners making every yard or sitting on the shoulder of the leader.

Furthermore, racing against the rail makes the pace bias even more noticeable. Being stuck deep at Gulfstream is never beneficial, especially on the dirt track, and therefore you want an inside draw and a rail sit.

If your selection is at the front on the rail after the first furlong or two, you’re halfway there.

Stick to the big guns at Tampa Bay

The difference in ability between the top and average riders in the US is massive. The best normally dominate and get the choice of whatever horses they want to ride on the card, so paying extra attention to who the leading jockeys are is wise.

A good example is at Tampa Bay Downs, where young riders Antonio Gallardo and Samy Camacho have alternated riding titles over the last three years.

The duo seem to share the winners between them at each Tampa fixture and clearly have the most ability in the weighing room at the Florida venue. If Gallardo or Camacho aren’t riding a short-priced favourite, take a second to think about why.

Chad Brown factor

Todd Pletcher dominated races on the east coast for a number of years, but there is a new sheriff in town – Chad Brown.

The young trainer has a barn full of talented performers and he has taken the leap to Europe in order to purchase horses in training in recent years, which has taken his success to a new level. Sistercharlie is an example of how well that plan has worked out.

Brown has runners across the country but he is most interesting when he has runners at New York venues – Saratoga, Aqueduct, Belmont Park – or on the turf at Gulfstream Park.

Get your bets on early in Britain

Betting is done on the parimutuel system in the US and consequently the majority of wagers aren’t placed until near the start time for each individual race, with each horse earning themselves a morning line price for guidance.

Those morning odds can be in a different stratosphere to the starting price of a horse once a barn puts their money down, so figuring out which runners might attract support can prove profitable in the long term.

Certain firms price up races early in Britain based on the morning line odds, which allows you the opportunity to get involved before the US price crashes.