Horse Racing Handicapping Software

Horse racing handicapping software ranges from interactive past performances you can sort and filter, to databases that let you test a betting angle across hundreds of thousands of races. For US racing, almost all of it is built on the same official data, so the real differences are in the figures each company adds and how easy the tools are to use.

This guide covers the main handicapping software and past performance products for North American racing. We checked each company’s site on 1 October 2026. Prices and plans change often, so confirm them on the seller’s site. Betting UK and Irish racing instead? See our UK horse racing software guide.

Where the data comes from

Equibase is the Thoroughbred industry’s official database, a partnership between The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America. Most past performance products start from its data and then add their own speed figures, pace figures and ratings. That’s why the choice of product comes down to which figures you trust and which tools you’ll actually use.

The main products

DRF Formulator

The Daily Racing Form’s interactive past performances. Formulator lets you customize and sort the PPs, filter a horse’s lifetime record, merge workouts and your own notes, and look up trainer patterns, race replays, charts and pedigree reports from the same screen. It carries Beyer Speed Figures and TimeformUS pace figures. PPs are usually available two days ahead of the races.

Best for: players who already read the DRF and want deeper trainer and pedigree research without changing figures.

Brisnet

Brisnet is known for its Ultimate Past Performances, which include Brisnet speed and pace ratings, its own Prime Power and class ratings, detailed jockey and trainer statistics and pedigree information. Prime Power combines several factors into one number per horse, which is useful as a quick ranking, though it doesn’t separate dirt from turf or sprints from routes.

Best for: players who want early and late pace numbers alongside speed, with par figures for the race.

TimeformUS

TimeformUS past performances are built around speed and pace figures for every horse, a Pace Projector that estimates where each horse will be early in the race, and jockey and trainer ratings on a 100-point scale. The site offers free PPs for the day’s top races. Its monthly and annual subscriptions are now sold through DRF.com.

Best for: pace-focused players who like a visual, less cluttered layout.

TrackMaster

TrackMaster is an Equibase company. It sells standard, Platinum and Pace past performances, data files for players who build their own models, and selection reports from outside handicappers. It also has a free horse-tracking service that emails you when horses on your list are entered, work out or race.

Best for: players who want raw data files or a “horses to watch” alert service.

BetMix

BetMix is handicapping software rather than printed PPs. Its BirdDog screen is built from widgets covering handicapping factors, computer-generated picks, pace and class analysis, and trainer, owner, jockey and sire statistics. Its Angler tool queries a database of more than 200,000 races, so you can see the win percentage and ROI of an angle, such as a trainer and jockey combination, over any date range. BetMix offers a free race of the day.

Best for: players who want to test angles and systems against history before betting them.

How to choose

• Start with free samples. TimeformUS, BetMix and others give away sample races. Handicap a few of the same races in two products and see which one you read faster and more clearly.
• Pick your figures and stick with them. Switching between Beyer, Brisnet and TimeformUS numbers race by race only adds noise. Each scale is different.
• Match the cost to your betting. A subscription is a fixed cost that your bets have to beat. A player betting a few races on a Saturday may be better off buying single cards.
• Use the software to test, not just to pick. The most valuable feature for many players is the ability to check whether an idea has made money in the past. Our handicapping systems guide explains how to test a system properly.

Software and odds

Good software tells you which horses to consider. You still need to decide whether the price is right. Our odds calculator shows the implied probability of any price, so you can compare the tote odds with your own assessment, and the odds converter switches between fractional, decimal and American odds. For how to turn a pick into exotic bets, see how to bet a trifecta.

A paid course for North American racing

If you’d rather learn one handicapping method than set up software, HorsePlayerHaven sells a course in ebooks and videos with a members area of North American picks. It’s a method, not a software package.

No software can guarantee winners. Past results of an angle or rating don't guarantee future ones, so only bet what you can afford to lose. Gambling responsibly.