14 Easy-To-Understand Harness Racing Betting Angles

By Ken Osterman

Angles are a way of picking winners from the past performances using a set of rules. The great thing about an angle is that once the rules are learned, there is not a lot of judgment required.

 

Many handicappers seem to prefer to handicap an entire race card as if they are some sort of chess master, playing the races like a chess board.

 

And I can understand this attempt at becoming a master class handicapper. But still, I've never been a big fan of a robust method of handicapping. The type of analysis that takes into account every conceivable factor, and then weighs all of these variables to make a selection.

 

I have attempted this type of handicapping, but when I began to use angles for selecting winners, I found that I was spending less time handicapping, and I also discovered that I was winning at the same rate.

 

The angles I have written about are those I use betting at harness tracks in race books in Las Vegas. Some of the angles in this book work better at some tracks than others, but the ones I have included here work at the largest number of tracks that I have researched.

 

In a previous book I wrote, 19 Valuable Horse Racing Betting Systems, I explained angles for harness racing, along with thoroughbred and quarter horse angles. The three harness angles in that book have been reprinted in this book, but everything else appears here for the first time.

 

The rules of the handicapping angles in this book are clearly explained and easy to use.

 

Here is the list of the angles:

 

Frequent Play Angles

The Basic Elimination Method

The Quick Rating Method for Harness Racing

The Top Speed Rating Method

The Median Speed Rating Method

The Power Rating Method

 

Spot Play Angles

The Qualifier Advantage

Morning Line Overlay

The Non-Winners of X Races Lifetime Angle

Last Race Winner

Top Speed Rating Second Race Back

Lowest Purse Value Last 10

Top Earnings Last 4 starts

Trotter Angles

Tote Board Magic

• Language: English
• Publisher: Teela Books
• Release date: Sep 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393512431

Book preview

Table of Contents

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Introduction

Frequent Play Angles

The Basic Elimination Method

The Quick Rating Method for Harness Racing

The Top Speed Rating Method

The Median Speed Rating Method

The Power Rating Method

Spot Play Angles

The Qualifier Advantage

Morning Line Overlay

The Non-Winners of X Races Lifetime Angle

Last Race Winner

Top Speed Rating Second Race Back

Lowest Purse Value Last 10

Top Earnings Last 4 starts

Trotter Angles

Tote Board Magic

Appendix

Useful links

Introduction

Angles are a way of picking winners from the past performances using a set of rules. Often, angles will have tie breaking rules if the angle chooses more than one horse. The great thing about an angle is that once the rules are learned, there is not a lot of judgment required. The big problem with angles is that there have been thousands of them that have been written down and sometimes sold for outrageous prices, and most of them aren't worth the paper they're written on. Most good angles will not produce a selection in every race. In fact, the best angles are those that are very conservative in their approach. The type that may only produce a bettable horse in one or two races on a card or not produce any wagers at all. In addition to this, a good angle will usually apply to only certain situations, such as a type of race. Most handicappers seem to look down on angles and prefer to handicap an entire race card as if they are some sort of chess master playing the races instead of a chess board.

And I can understand this attempt at becoming a master class handicapper. But still, I've never been a big fan of a robust method of handicapping. The type of analysis that takes into account every conceivable factor, and then weighs all of these variables to make a selection. For one, I don't have the patience. And secondly, I have never had better success than I do using angles.

Although I like to use angles for thoroughbred and quarter horse handicapping, it takes on greater significance with harness racing. There is a lot of strategy that goes into driving the horse, and you simply don't know what is going on in the mind of the drivers. On top of this, there is the issue of what the trainer is telling the driver. Therefore, at least for myself, harness racing handicapping takes longer than the other two breeds. Once I began to use angles for selecting winners, I found that I was spending less time handicapping, and I also discovered that I was winning at the same rate.

Of course, I researched my angles and found many of them to be weak, so I discarded them. There was also the issue of track. Some angles seem to