Reading a Racing Form

One of the most basic skills a horse racing punter must have is the ability to read racing form fluently. By being able to read the racing forms of competing horses quickly and accurately, the process of calculating probabilities and picking winners accurately will be so much easier to complete. That is why in this part we are going to discuss about how to read a racing form easily.

The common racing form in the UK usually has 5 columns. Each column represents a certain aspect of the horse you are looking into. The first column display the last five finished the horse achieved in the last five runs. The second column of course states the name of the horse, followed by the name of the trainer in the third column. The fourth column states the weight that particular horse must carry in the race; keep in mind that the weight is displayed in imperial weights format. Last but not least, you have the name of the jockey that will be riding the horse in the fifth column.

Let’s say you see a racing form that states 211-21 | Imperial Commander | Twiston-Davies | 12-0 | T Stack accordingly. The first column states that Imperial Commander – the name of the horse – has been winning the last three races out of five runs in total, with two 2nd place finishes completing the record. This means the horse is relatively strong indeed. You can compare the weight this horse has to carry on the next race and adjust your calculation accordingly.