Although horses will continue to develop and mature even past their fourth birthdays, two years-old is the youngest age a horse can actually race in india. In many ways, two-year-old (or juvenile) races can be both intriguing and frustrating in equal measure for punters.
Intriguing, because horses which are successful in the most prestigious races for two-year-olds often find themselves catapulted to the head of the betting market for the important Classic races run the following season.
One of the most common types of two-year-old race is the one where each runner is asked to carry the same racing weight (in a maiden race, for example, where none of the runners has won a race previously). When you wade through the results of all these types of level-weight juvenile races run in recent seasons, you actually discover that a whopping 44% were landed by the jolly.
There are other ways to get an edge when having a bet in two-year-old races too. One way to do this is to follow sires who have a good track record of producing precocious, talented two year-olds.
Another good tactic is to follow trainers with a good track record of producing a high percentage of juvenile winners. The same box, for example, provides a list of trainers who have all recorded an impressive strike rate when it comes to sending out juvenile winners in recent seasons.
The starting prices for horses from less famous yards will often be more generous than if they were to come from higher profile stables.
In fact, horses foaled in January are likely to win twice as many races as those born in June.
