Lately, there has been a lot of focus on racing at Gulfstream Park. However, daily handicapping at Gulfstream Park can be a grind, with the large, competitive fields and high-quality competition to consider in 10, 11 or 12 races on a daily basis. With so many things going on, it certainly cannot hurt for handicappers to find ways that can help them narrow down and sort out the contenders from pretenders. Here are a few Gulfstream Park tips based on information & statistics that has compiled through recent years.

Bet Inside Horses in Dirt Sprints & Dirt Miles

Horses with all the running styles have a fair chance of winning in Gulfstream’s main track one-turn race, but post positions do make a lot of difference. There was a time when the winning track profile of Gulfstream in one-turn dirt races at 6 ½, 7 furlongs, and one mile was beneficial for outside horses. But this winning profile disappeared in recent seasons. Now, inside draws are given preference in one-turn Gulfstream dirt races from six panels to a mile.

The winning percentages are quite similar at the various one-turn distances from six furlongs to one mile. However, statistics at the recent meets have shown strong advantages for inside posts horses. The further you go towards outside, the worse your chances will get.

Pick Horses for Betting from Posts 1-7

The post position bias against the outside posts in two-turn races on the main track of Gulfstream still remains a solid handicapping factor. The majority of Gulfstream’s main track two-turn races are won by horses breaking mainly from posts 1-7.

In this season, the three inside post positions offer the significant advantage in these races, each of them boasting an 18 percent win percentage (both 6-for-34). This implies that more than half of the Gulfstream’s dirt routes which is about 53 % are won by posts 1-3. All other posts positions have yielded about 16 combined wins from 160 starters for a much lower combined win percentage of 10%.

Avoid the Front Runners in Turf Routes

The turf course of Gulfstream plays completely different in routes than it does in sprints which are at 5 furlongs. Generally, Gulfstream’s turf routes are not friendly with early speed horses; in fact, for many years it has been one of the most challenging grass courses in the country on which going wire-to-wire in two-turn races from 7 ½ furlongs and up.

Front runners turf route have the best chances on the outer turf oval of the Gulfstream when the turf rails move as far out of the hedge as possible. Gulfstream makes an announcement for every turf race about the distances of its turf rails, to which behooves handicappers pays close attention. Traditionally, turf rails out is the handicapping factor which aids the front runners and Gulfstream Park is no different from others. Turf rails which are close to the hedge spells are big trouble for the route speed horses at Gulfstream.

However, the exact opposite of this is true in Gulfstream’s many five-furlong turf sprints. This puts an extreme necessity on the early speed and no matter how fast the pace is this makes it very difficult for the horses to win from more than a length or two off the pace. Though closers can win these races, it happens very rarely and thus not worth considering them in your five-furlong turf handicapping. Considering “the speed of the speed” is a much better bet.

We hope these Gulfstream Park tips will help you win your bets at Gulfstream Park.