AI Horse Racing Picks from Horstradamus®

Horstradamus® is the AI rating engine behind WinningPonies. It rates every horse in every race at more than 80 tracks across the United States and Canada, then sorts the field into color-coded tiers on our E-Z Win® Form. You see the strongest contenders at a glance, and you build the bet.

WinningPonies has been handicapping for horseplayers since 2005. Horstradamus is how we do it today.

What Horstradamus Looks At

Horstradamus weighs dozens of factors for each horse, including:

• Past performance across recent races
• Speed figures
• Class and the level of competition
• Workouts
• Surface preferences and pedigree
• Jockey and trainer statistics

The result is a rating for every horse, so you can compare a full field in seconds instead of working through it line by line.

How the Tiers Work

Each horse lands in a color-coded tier:

• Tier 1: top picks with the best chance of hitting the board
• Tier 2: strong contenders for exotic wagers
• Tier 3: competitive horses for multi-race bets
• Tier 4: longer shots with upset potential
• Tier 5: horses facing tough competition

New to the form? Start with how to read the E-Z Win® Form and how our ratings work.

Built for Exotic Bettors

Most picks services give you a horse. Exotics take more than that. An exacta, trifecta, superfecta, or Pick 4 depends on who else belongs on the ticket, and that's the question the tiers answer.

Use the tiers to decide who to key, who to include, and who to leave out. Then use the wager calculator to see what the ticket costs before you bet. Our Big 'Uns page shows exotic payouts where our top tiers hit.

How Horstradamus Has Tested

Horstradamus received its biggest upgrade on October 9, 2026. In backtesting across six years of historical races, compared with our previous engine, it:

• Puts the eventual winner on top more than 10% more often
• Singles out a standalone top pick in more than 10% more races, and is nearly 30% more accurate when it does
• Flags over 20% more Big 'Uns, including nearly 30% more $1,000+ scores

We also ran it side by side with the previous engine on live races in summer 2026, and it put the eventual winner on top about 10% more often.

Past testing does not guarantee results on any single race. See what changed in the upgrade.

Why We Don't Publish a Betting ROI

The E-Z Win® Form ranks horses. It doesn't tell you which tickets to play or how much to bet, so two members using the same form can make very different wagers. Any single return on investment would describe a betting strategy, not the form.

We'd rather tell you that plainly. No rating engine can promise a profit, and you should be skeptical of any service that does. Try the free sample form, compare it with the results, and judge for yourself.

Get Started

Create a free account, browse the Toteboard, and see plans and pricing when you're ready. Looking for picks with the reasoning written out? Our handicappers post free selections for major race days.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are AI horse racing picks?

They're rankings produced by software that analyzes each horse's record, not one handicapper's opinion. Horstradamus rates every horse in every race on our cards and sorts them into tiers.

Can AI predict horse races?

It can help you sort a field, but no system predicts every race. Horse racing has real uncertainty, and any rating is a tool for your own decisions, not a guarantee.

What tracks does Horstradamus cover?

More than 80 tracks in the United States and Canada, including Saratoga, Churchill Downs, Keeneland, Santa Anita, and Gulfstream Park. See every track we cover.

Does the form tell me what to bet?

No. The E-Z Win® Form ranks the horses and you build the tickets. The wager calculator helps you see what they cost.

Are the picks free?

The sample E-Z Win® Form and our free selections are free. Forms for live race cards are available with WinningCredits or a membership. See pricing.