| name | reading_a_racecard |
| description | How to read a racecard honestly — barrier/weight/form/scratchings, converting prices to fair probability (overround/vig), cross-book best price, and exotics. |
| triggers | ["racecard","race card","scratchings","barrier","form string","each-way","same race multi","srm"] |
Reading a racecard
A racecard is the runners for one race with the facts that move prices. Read it in
this order, and never quote a price without checking for late scratchings first.
Fields that matter
- Barrier (gate/box) — inside draws suit some tracks/distances; wide draws cost
ground. Note it; don't over-weight it.
- Weight — handicaps carry weight to level the field; a big weight rise on a
proven horse is a negative, a drop a positive.
- Jockey / driver / trainer — strike-rate context, not destiny. Top stables and
hoops shorten prices; that's often already in the market.
- Form string — recent placings (e.g.
1-3x2): x = a spell, numbers = finish
positions, 0 = out of the placings. Recency and class of those runs matter more
than the raw numbers.
- Scratchings — a scratched runner changes every other runner's chance and the
market percentage. ALWAYS re-pull the card for scratchings before quoting.
Turning prices into probability
- Win market: convert each price to an implied probability (
1/price), sum them —
the total exceeds 1 by the overround (the book's margin). vig_removal
normalises the field to fair probabilities; compare fair prob to the price you can
actually get.
- Place markets and each-way pay fractions of the win odds — never compare a win
price to a place price as if they're the same market.
Cross-book and exotics
- The best win price is rarely at the same book across runners — quote the book and
the price, per runner (
best_price).
- For multis/SRM, surface the book's
same_race_multi suggestions and their combined
price; don't hand-roll combinations or imply a guaranteed collect.
Honesty
Racing is high-variance. Report form, fair probability and the best price; the user
decides. Never call a horse a "good thing", a "lock", or a "special".
