Ask anyone in the Thoroughbred racing industry this question: “What’s the best experience a newbie could have at the track?”

The near-universal answer is “Win!”

But, since not everyone on track can or will win, what then? This question: “What’s the second-best experience for newbies when they don’t win?”

The near-universal answer: “Have fun, of course.”

I agree about having fun, and America’s Best Racing continues its excellent work bringing the fun everyone experiences at the track to the crucial 18 to 35 demographic. But, if the answer to the first question is found in the context of wagering, then, in my opinion, the answer to the second question must lie in that same context … making a wager.

“Newbies” must be taught to wager in a way that empowers them, often, to be on horses that will be competing for the win in deep stretch. Therefore, my answer to the second-best experience for the “newbie” is holding tickets and cheering on horses in contention in the run to the finish line. That’s the real excitement and fun to experience at the track … even when you don’t win.

To further the point, consider this thought from the preface to noted author and educator James Quinn’s 2012 text, “The Complete Handicapper: You Can Beat the Races”:

“From the moment the casual customer can be heard to remark, ‘Well, this is interesting, how do you do this?’ the industry has proved hapless to extend them a guided response. As a result, novices begin to lose more money than they would prefer to lose. The occasional payoffs and exotic windfalls do not reverse an inexorable pattern of defeat and financial loss.”

Therefore, I say, “first learn how to bet, then learn how to handicap.”

Current on-track instructional programs, like Keeneland’s Betologists and Saratoga’s Bet Squad, attempt to introduce newbies to handicapping, a difficult task made daunting by the limits of time. “Figurating,” the words of fictional gambler Col. John R. Stingo in A.J. Liebling’ “The Honest Rainmaker,” involves a process for working toward some form of opinion about race contestants and various outcome scenarios. How, in the absence of experience reading past performances, can a newbie be expected to develop an opinion about a race?

In this series, I have outlined one solution: Playing the Odds Board – Gateway to the Game™

First, teach an understanding of the Odds Board. The Odds Board is the single constant at every racing venue. The Odds Board represents the opinion of all bettors. Experienced horseplayers with informed opinions make up the bulk of the betting crowd. The “informed” crowd’s opinions are represented on the Odds Board. The Odds Board is a relatively “efficient market” in that, for all races, the crowd’s favorite — the horse at the lowest odds — wins more than the second favorite; the second choice wins more than the third choice; the third choice wins more than the fourth choice … and so on. The crowd’s opinion is quite sound.

Second, teach how to place simple wagers grounded in the Odds Board. “Newbies,” without context or opinion, should play WITH the crowd’s opinion. First, learn to bet, grounded in an understanding of the Odds Board, then learn “Figurating.”

To be clear, concepts about the power of the Odds Board are useful to all players. The guide, however, is intended as a first-level curriculum, a road map, into the game for the uninitiated and unfamiliar. These concepts are not in any way a system that promises to change one’s life with a winning system of methodology. If “newbies” learn how to bet first, they will have fun at the track.

Learn More From Tom Amello on Playing the Odds Board – Gateway to the Game

Learn to Bet: How to Win Betting on Horse Racing Using Simple Strategies

Learn to Bet on Horse Racing: Playing the Monster Odds Board

Learn to Bet on Horse Racing: How to Play the Two-Headed Monster Odds Board

Learn to Bet on Horse Racing: How to Play the Balanced Odds Board

Learn to Bet on Horse Racing: Playing the Chaos Odds Board

Author Tom Amello conducts seminars regularly in connection with the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. For additional education resources related to horse racing, click here.