How important is the going? Experts on how the ground impacts their betting

The best-handicapped horse will usually win. Frankel won the 2012 Qipco Champion Stakes on soft going. Clever Cookie was bett on at Ascot last year. The pedigree of the horse is also important. The ground is an important piece of a punter's puzzle. It is not the most important factor. Price is everything as a Punter. Experts explain how the ground impacts their betting. They discuss their bets. Graeme Rodway is a Racing Post tipster. He advises punters to keep it simple. His tips are based on form and the prevailing conditions.

The going is the most important factor for Gerald Delamere. Gerald studied the videos of horses to see how they react to different conditions. He had a successful bet on Nagida in the 1993 Wokingham at Royal Ascot. Jason Weaver switched to the stands' rail the next day and scored at 11-1. Papillon crashed into 10-10 at the 2000 Grand National. The experts discuss how the ground impacts their betting.

James Knight is a horse racing expert. He owns shares in a few horses. The going is important. It's difficult to predict the going. Horses can be pigeonholed into a particular going based on their performance. It can affect a horses' career for years. One of the examples is Gleneagles. His owners took 62 starts before they realised their horse was effective on good to soft ground. They didn't realise it until after the 62th start. This is not limited to the small guys. Glenagles won an Irish Guineas on a good ground last summer. For others it took them 62 races to realise their horses were effective both on the good and the soft going, and not just on one day.

The going is the most important aspect governing a horse's performance. The going can be subjective and can change between races. Time concurs with official assessments more often than not. Lady Aurelia's time of 60.14 secs at Royal Ascot was in line with the official assessment. Punters who blame erroneous ground reports are talking through their pockets. For more information on how the ground impacts betting, visit Racing Post Topspeed.

The going is the most important factor when it comes to form study. Pietro Innocenzi prefers to back at bigger prices during the beginning and end-of-season periods. Dodgy Bob finished well beaten in testing going on his reappearance in April. He was available at 12-1 the night before his following start at Hamilton. He won at 9-2. The nature of individual tracks is essential. Few are completely flat and water drains away from the highest part to the lowest. On soft ground jockeys head for the stands’ rail in search of better going. At Ascot, there was a bias in favour of the centre to far side at the royal meeting in June.

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