Okay - so how does all this relate to our immediate concern for handicapping the races and gaining betting profits?
For brevity's sake, I'll just "list" a few points below. And please remember, I am not coming from a place of absolute authority here. I am passing on things that I have learned, and things that I do. They work for me - adjust and interpret as you feel best for you . . .
For #1 above:
Keep decent records - there's just no way around it. Find the profit points - cull the weak tracks, and less productive bets, concentrate on only the best producers.
Continue to study horse handicapping materials. Choose from the best authors, and even then take from them only what seems to make sense - what "feels" right to you.
Treat handicapping, and race betting with the seriousness you'd treat your "other" businesses or jobs.
For #2 above:
Don't blame jockeys - though they occasionally turn in terrible performances.
Don't blame bad racing "luck" - though it can sometimes rear its ugly head to snatch away profits that were seemingly "in the bag."
Don't blame yourself - though you might have just committed a costly error.
- Rather, note each of these incidents mentally, or better yet in a notebook kept specifically for this purpose. Little by little, you can wean yourself away from the emotional satisfaction of venting your anger and disappointment on others - on "outside" causes. This way, the blaming and energy draining "bitching and moaning" will be transmuted into a simple, positive, and calm noting of facts.
For #3 above:
An oft-used quote applies here, "Don't work harder - work smarter." Narrow the focus without going all the way to tunnel-vision. Become expert in a more refined niche - take on two or three tracks only, or one or two circuits and/or specific kinds of races and wagers.
Learn to put things into logical groupings and then distinguish and apply priorities to them.
For #4 above:
The belief that success can be yours - is often an elusive one. In horse handicapping, and race betting - more than in almost any other venture - nagging doubts can persist.
This is caused by the volatile up-and-down nature of betting. One day nothing can go wrong - the next nothing can go right. One week you make thousands - the next you can't buy a winner. It leads to frustration, and diminishes the confidence that it can actually be done at a high level of consistency and profit.