Yes it looks like there are a lot of ‘factors’ but you can easily reduce them by a) knowing the horse (factors 3, 5, 7-9, 11 and12) and b) looking at the horse in the birdcage, either in the flesh or on TV (factors 1-7). Part b) is also called physicality. I certainly don’t analyse each horse in the field and ask, “How are the horses muscles today? Does it look disinterested? . . .” I look at the whole picture and only break it down if something doesn’t ‘look’ right. It’s like looking at a runway of models. You generally will look at the entire body, from head to toe, and then focus in on her butt or face, or whatever. If you like or dislike an aspect of her body, you’ll remember it and then pick up on it next time you see her. Given time you can recognize when a horse has the right conditions to win and looks good. It’s no different to “value”. After a while, you instinctively know when a horse is value and when it’s not. At the end of the day regardless of how you make your plays/bets there are some ‘factors’ that are tangible, that is stuff you can control like your selection process and the jockey, and there are intangible factors, i.e. horse clips heels when in the trail, etc.

It doesn’t take long to ‘build’ a database of the main contenders and their traits and doesn’t take much to keep it up-to-date. Likewise, it only takes a few seconds to see if the horse is well and race ready.

Good luck if betting today.