A Bunch of Horse Racing Questions

[rgold79]

OK, I have a few questions about betting on horses and would appreciate someone obliging me with answers. Also, I searched back a ways in this forum and didn't find too much but if a guide to handicapping already exists somewhere in here someone could just quickly provide me a link. Thanks.

When I "handicap" a race, am I trying just to make a decision as to which horse I think will win, or am I trying to find a gap between the actual odds a horse will win and what I perceive the odds to be?

In other words, should I say to myself, "Horse A will probably not win, but I believe his odds of winning to be better than the 10-1 offered" or should I just bet the favorite if I think he'll win, even if he's only going off at 2-3?

What separates the successful horse handicapper from the majority of the betting public?

Are exactas and trifectas good plays? The house is collecting a percentage of the total pool, so how do you determine if these are good plays? If not, is it better to stick with W/P/S bets? What about boxing picks?

I like racing, and I understand how to read and intepret a racing form, but at the same time it occurs to me that I really have no idea what kind of strategies might be useful for optimizing play at the track.