Can you make a living betting on horse races? We’ve all heard stories about tournament poker players who are skilled enough to make a good living. But not many horse players come to mind. The ones that do well usually write books on the topic or sell tip sheets. There are also handicapping contests where people can compete for prize money. But I want to know how much time and how big of a bank roll you would need to consistently make between $50K and $60K profit a year. Let’s try to figure it out.
I once read a book about a journalist who spent a year playing the horses every weekend. I lost the book, so this is what I remember. He was what I would consider an amateur horse player. He documented his journey and kept track of his wins and losses. A lot of time was spent handicapping and testing various angles to try and improve his results. In the end it was the losing streaks that took their toll on his bankroll. Sometimes picking winners comes easy and other times you can’t win anything. In the end the writer did learn a lot but decided to keep his day job and just play the horses as a hobby.
To make $50K or $60K profit you would first need a large bank roll. Then you would need access to the best handicapping tools available. You would be looking for tracks with large carryover pools. Especially ones that have reached their mandatory payout date. The majority of your wagers would have to be pick 5’s and pick 6’s. Win a couple of these and you might be able to reach your goal. But a losing streak will quickly deplete your bankroll. You might look for races that have a high probability winner so that you could put in a big win/place/show bet to collect the easy money.
You would have to treat it like a business and keep track of expenses for tax purposes. You would need to spend a lot of time reading and watching news about the sport. If this sounds like work, you are correct. That’s why most of us only follow horse racing as a hobby and only dream of hitting a big payout someday. That’s what the professionals are counting on.