When placing bets in horse racing, handicappers love to go after the elusive long-shot.

The horse that is not-so-obvious and may be flying under the radar in regards to his capability and odds.

Here are a couple of tips (in no particular order) that may help in nailing that big odds long-shot and put some major cabbage in your pocket.

Its good to bet big fields to hit a long-shot. In the smaller fields the odds are close together and there is less chance of the favorite running into traffic problems. Bigger fields are often unpredictable and offer more long-shot opportunities.
.
Say there is a small field where the odds are all fairly close except for a lone horse who has high odds, take a flyer on that horse. With a small field this long-shot horse is throwing down and has nothing to lose and on many occasions will finish 1st or 2nd.

If you are handicapping a race and you spot a lone speed horse or a lone closer this is time for action. Many of those horses have decent odds and prevail. The lone closer has a chance to run down, and pass burnt out speed horses, and the lone speed has a chance to wire the field.

It is always wise to look at the last races the horse ran and see the odds. If the horse is not completely out of its class and went off at 3-1 in its last race but is going off at 13-1 in this race, versus a similar field, it’s time to load up on this horse.

Another good idea is to look at the weight the horse is carrying. Not always, but in a race with horses of similar talent, five pounds lighter (due to an apprentice jockey) can be a difference of as much as a second in horse racing.

Spot these plays and be sure to use them in your horse racing handicapping in order to find the hidden Value within a race.