MYTH

Horses that have not raced within the past 30 days are a poor risk.

MAXIM

Horses that have not raced within the past 30 days win their fair share of the races. Moreover, several of them will pay generous prices, many bettors being unwilling to support horses returning from layoffs.

Keep these two basic facts in mind. Horses returning from short layoffs of 30 to 60 days are acceptable on form if they show a four-furlong workout or longer within the past seven days. Horses returning from long layoffs of 61 days to a year are acceptable if they show a five-furlong workout or longer within the past 14 days.

In both cases, the time of the workouts is not important.