MYTH

Class is the most important factor in handicapping. Or, speed is the most important factor in handicapping.

MAXIM

No handicapping factor is most important and no factor will be decisive all the time, or even most of the time. Along with form and pace, speed and class are fundamentally important because those factors deal directly with the abilities of horses. Yet other factors of handicapping may be important or even decisive, depending upon the situation.

A useful way to consider the several factors of handicapping is that none of them will be important all of the time and all of them will be important some of the time.