Handicapping is very much a learning experience that doesn't end the second the horses cross the finish line. Every time you examine a set of past performances and make a wager it is vital to consider what occurred, especially when the results are not in agreement with your betting actions. As is often the norm during winter racing at the Meadowlands, I was doing way too much reviewing of the program after each race this past weekend. That is no surprise considering that nine of the 28 races were won by horses paying at least $29. Which is not to say I don't pick horses that might pay big prices, but just that the results were somewhat unpredictable. So, let's examine the nine longshot winners and see if we can learn something. FRIDAY 1/24/2025 Race 1: Heartlandbanysbro ($154.40) First-off, this was an amateur race, so anything goes right off the bat. While this 9-year-old seemingly had no form on paper, having finished sixth and eighth in his last two starts, the gelding has only made one start in six weeks and none in the last three weeks, so any current form in the program was clearly shaky at best. You'll also notice that he won a race over the track last year, and for those that dug deeper via USTA's Pathway system, you'll find that it came in the same class from an inside post. Race 2: Rockinwiththebest ($57.40) My first reaction when I looked back at this guy was that there was no way to like him on paper. Then I took a third look while writing this column and saw something I missed. In his last start, despite off odds of 60-1, driver/trainer Vinny Ginsburg left hard for position, sat just behind fast fractions and pulled midway on the final turn when he could've waited. While it didn't work out, Ginsburg drove the horse with confidence, and this week he was getting a drop in class from Trackmaster 71.5 to 69. Race 3: Concur ($31.00) Here is one of the races where there isn't much to lure you to this horse, which is surprising since he's one of the lower prices in the group. Those with Harness Eye PPs could see he had won a race over the track each of the last two years and his qualifying line was about as fast as the race was likely to go, but the bottom line is that he had a nice inside trip behind a contested pace in a race where the favorite has proven to be unreliable lately. Race 5: Second Bruiser ($90.20) Here is another race that immediately jumps off the page as an "anything goes" event because nearly half of the drivers were not Meadowlands regulars. The winner was second in December while one class lower the only time he was on this track last year, so that's a positive. Technically, the horse was moving into a new barn (though the Alvarez/Hernandez horses seem to go back and forth) that has won four of 21 starts, and having missed 26 days of action there was no way of knowing what his sharpness level would be. All that said, this horse was hard to figure as a gate-to-wire winner by three lengths. Race 7: Corsini A ($112.80) USTA handicapper Bob Pandolfo had this horse on top, so obviously she was playable on some level.  At first glance she was eighth in the same class last time but then you look closer and see that she was at the back of the pack with no shot despite finishing in 27 4/5. In her prior start, Brad Chisholm drove and fired out but got parked. Certainly he could leave hard again and get position. Finally, she won three races over the track in 2024 while no one in the rest of the field won more than one. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter SATURDAY 1/25/2025 Race 2: Mindtrip ($37.20) Let's start with the fact that the favorite Uriel Blue Chip was grossly overbet, which means the price on every other horse was at least a little higher than it should be.  Mindtrip actually came out of the same race as the favorite and had a worse trip (first-over). On top of that, he was getting a key driver change to Jordan Stratton. Mindtrip was two for his last 33 over the track so victory was far from likely, but he was a classy veteran dropping in class with viable angles to consider. Race 4: Beach Vibes ($29.20) Beach Vibes was a horse I seriously considered when making my selections. He dropped to this level the prior week but was somewhat dull after sitting a good trip. That turned me off and upon reflection I maintain that not using the horse was the right decision. There was no way to know that there would be so much early action, with a number of horses making their way to the front in the opening-half. With the outer flow very live and him sitting third-over behind a fellow longshot, everything simply worked out in Beach Vibes' favor. Race 9: Sling Shock ($146.40) Again, here was a case where the favorite was bet down to 2-5 and really should've been closer to 6-5 off his sparse past performance lines. I really didn't even need to review this race since I picked Sling Shock third and mentioned that he was a trip threat. Well, he sat a golden trip and got up by a head. Everything simply worked out perfectly. You can't bet horses hoping for that scenario, though in this case the price was right. Race 12: Spirit Of Truth ($115.40) There really is no strong explanation as to how this horse paid such a big price. He had won his last race, moved to a slightly better post and was getting a decent driver change to Stratton. He was moving up in class one notch and did win at 82-1 last time, but the horse doesn't know the odds. If he is now sharp, why couldn't he handle the small class jump? My pick, the co-2-1 choice, wound up first-over and lost by a neck; things happen! So what did we learn here? Hopefully something. For me the takeaways are that sometimes the trip just works out and you have to turn the page and tip your cap to the winner. Other times there are legitimate angles which deserve some attention at the proper price. You need to watch the toteboard and ask yourself if the price is right to take a shot. You need to take into consideration that cold weather tends to slow races down and give slower horses a chance to be on par with faster ones. You need to consider that form from three or four weeks ago doesn't necessarily equate to form today. I'm going to keep all of the above in mind when I handicap this weekend. It is difficult making these determinations without knowing the potential off odds at post time, but in most cases you can predict an overbet horse. I should've known better than to back a couple of them.