Horse handicapping

Question
Ed, the erratic performances of horses really baffles me. My hobby is trying to handicap races. Take the Rebel for instance. I don't understand how Whitmore was considered one of the favorites and how he came in second in the Rebel. His previous races were average at best, like at the Southwest he ran 1 1/16 in 105.7. His other races were not much better, except his 6F times were fairly good. What am I missing here?

Thanks,

Glenn Groh

Answer
Hi a lot of the times it could be type of track that he or she had run on before .I didn't see the race and I didn't have a chance to look at the past records of the horses who were in the race. There are so many reasons that a horse will jump up and run a great race. Jock change equipment change first time lasix. Track condition and also type of surface . like when they change from turf to dirt or synthetic.  Sometimes from short races to the distance races. A horse can run the 6 fur long races and show speed and stop, then win a 1 1/16 mile race. . I hope I helped you a little. Thanks ED HESS