Race 4 at Evangeline Downs features a mammoth fourteen-horse field. It’s a 7 furlong $17,000 claiming race for accredited Louisiana bred horses that are at least 4 years old. Also, the entire field has not won a race since January. Since the field is huge, the morning line odds are pretty hefty. The three expected favorites are Glad You Dance at 7-2, Fraserriverspell at 9-2 and Sauce Pecan at 5-1.

Last week I took some time off and headed to California. I visited one of my favorite racetracks, Hollywood Park. I had a decent day. I was mainly there to test out my photography skills and enjoy the day. I have a picture from that day to share with you. I hope you like it.

The photo below is ©2006 Jason Andrew Martin LLC. All rights are reserved. No rights to reproduce or use in any manner granted. You are welcome to link to this page. Directly linking to pictures is prohibited.

Today, I am bringing you an introductory article about horse racing handicapping in regards to the class of the horse. A popular misconception among new or casual horse racing bettors is that a horse is a horse. Typically these people just look at speed and lump all horses into the same class. Why is class important? That’s the first thing we are doing to discuss today. I will also give you some examples and hopefully newfound knowledge for your next betting endeavor.

Every good horse racing website needs to have a horse racing glossary. If you are new to horse racing handicapping or just horse racing in general, here are some horse racing terms you should know.

Most casual horse racing fans and those new to horse racing handicapping tend to think all races are the same. Some horses are lined up and run to the finish. If you are going to engage in horse racing handicapping, it’s vital to know not only the difference in race types, but also how they stack in a hierarchal sense. Horse racing is the same as many other sports—you have the major leagues and several levels below them. A horse may run at many levels over the course of its lifetime and during that lifetime it may move up and down many times. Following is a listing of horse racing types (also known as “Class”), listed in the order of their level—from lowest to highest.