Just get that last complicated past performance factor sorted out for good, that is all that remains. So close, but second by a nose is still a loser. Even if we learn to accept losing more often then winning, it still seems that there must be some common factor buried in the pace lines that we could dig out and measure.

And, if we could, never again would we have to struggle for a sensible explanation of why our best bet, just came in dead last. The ultimate goal of every handicapper. To somehow learn enough about the right way to read past performances, that never again does total befuddlement darken our doorways.

It may not be so much that we need to learn to read past performances better, we may need more to simply understand that past performances are past. Indicators of what may be today, never promises.

Consistency, that is the thing to get a good handle on when betting horses. Consistency always tells us the truth. Horses consistently run a little better or a little worse then their last race. Only the best run with great consistency. The everyday race horse tends to be a little up and down. If last week was like this, today will probably be more like that.

That is the nature of past performances, no matter how bad or good, today will likely be different to the worse or better. That is what handicapping for betting purposes should be addressed to. Last week was this, what does that indicate for today? And, is that a reliable indication?

The better answers to these questions, may be beyond the limits and nature of past performances, because the best we can get here really is what is likely.

And still, the best the handicapper has for a solid answer to this question, is reasonable indications. That is the one serious limit to handicapping that the horseplayer needs to lift. Indications are great, strong indications, even better. But are they good enough to inspire confident betting? The kind that comes with no doubts, the sort that don't get to you, even when you lose. The best indications that past performances can provide, usually fall short of this goal. That is the limit of handicapping, no matter the method.

And, if it is, there are many ways to find it. Indications are quite useable here, for these purposes, past performances work well. "What is the ability",  is well within the limits of past performances and the many ways of evaluating them.

The unlimited method for determining condition today, and stable intentions for a winning effort, lies in physicality. The physical presence of the horse on race day. With this technique, it is easy to see if the layoff horse has been working. If the possibly overworked horse is worn down. And, which of the contenders is simply physically ready for an effort that equals the ability revealed by past performances, and which, are not.

The successful horseplayer must have a workable method for getting beyond the limited form indications of physical condition for today's race. To get beyond this limit, the best information is available at the track during the 20 minutes before post time. For any bettor, the physical indications that a horse will run well today, is what elevates a good shot, to a good bet.