If you’re tired of losing money on horse races and want to start winning, you’ll have to change the way you’ve been doing things and that means changing your mind and the way you think about betting and money. No one can guarantee that you’ll win money or make a profit wagering on horse races. It is one of the most difficult endeavors you may ever tackle.

But you can lose less and that means staying in the game longer. First of all, ask yourself why you bet on horse races. Is it because you need money? If so, then gambling on horse races is not the way to solve your money problems. It is very hard to make good betting decisions when you’re more concerned with losing and fear that you’re slipping backward.

The old saying, “Scared money never wins,” is true. So if you’re in bad shape financially, the best idea is to stop betting on horse races, at least to the extent that it worsens your financial condition.

If, on the other hand, you can afford to bet on horse races and you want to stop losing, you need to start thinking about your image of money and what you’re doing at the races. Are you there for a thrill? Is the accumulation of wealth really a secondary goal?

If you’re really serious about making money you should have a ledger that you keep track of your money in and that you use to manage your money. If you don’t have a notebook or ledger that you carefully track your money in, then you’re not serious about that money and you don’t respect it for what it is. You may not agree with that, but look at it this way, would you maintain a checking account without a ledger? Of course not.

Why is the money in a gambling account any different than a checking account? If you run a business you have to keep good books and you manage the money carefully so you know whether you make a profit. If you’re not doing that now, then profit is not your first goal.

The most important steps you can take to stop losing money on the races is to keep an accurate account of your money and to treat each wager as a business expense that is supposed to result in a profit. Consider your bets as part of an investment portfolio. Know how much you’ve made or lost on each one of them and soon you’ll see which bets pay off and you’ll be able to steer more of your money into them.

Unless you start treating money with respect, however, you’ll never make a profit betting on horse races and it will just be an expensive hobby.