In my opinion, road racing can give you the best bang for your buck in handicap. While there aren’t as many as sprints, this isn’t necessarily a disadvantage. Most bettors tend to treat them the same as sprints and handicap them that way. While there are some punters who just skip them and turn the page to the next 5/16 distance race.
I love longer breeds. From 3/8 to marathon races, I have found value in abundance. Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind when handicapping this long run. For one thing, early speed, while still important, isn’t as big a factor as it is in shorter races. There is more time for closers to get on the wire. There is more room for the dogs to maneuver and get into the position they need to win, and this can mean that dogs that get into trouble in sprints manage to avoid them and hit the board in longer runs.
Another reason I love routes is that because there ARE fewer routes, it’s easier to follow the dogs that are true routers. At some point in my life as a disabled person, I saved each 3/8 mile run page, stapled them together, and refer to them when I do each disability program. It’s pretty easy to see who’s moving up or down grades and who can beat who. After all, many of the same dogs compete against each other, race after race.
Of course, there are some dogs, though not that many, that seem to be able to move between short and long breeds with no problem. These are the dogs you should keep a list of, because people forget that these dogs are multi-talented. They see that a dog has been running sprints and is now on a route and they can’t see that he ever won the longest distance, so they don’t play.
But if you’ve done your homework and know that this dog has won this distance in the past, you’re way ahead of the casual player, who only knows what the last six races on the show are telling him. That is why it is good to take notes on the dogs and review them from time to time. Things change and you have to keep checking the results and the dogs that are at different stages of their careers so that you are aware of the changes.
So if you’ve never been a fan of distance running, maybe you should give it a second look. Consider following them for a while and see how you do. Look at the best dogs for this type of breed in the statistics and also see which kennels have the best dogs for them. Some kennels seem to specialize in dogs that can win the longest distances. After all, anything that can give you an edge over the crowd is an edge, and specializing in one type of race to the point where you know it in depth gives you a huge advantage over people who don’t even try to figure it out.
