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I may be biased, but I think the answer to your question is to remember that you are not betting on horses, you are betting against others in the pool. These days, this means you are betting against large syndicates and large rebate players. They are certainly watching the tote, even influencing the tote. If you want to maximize your edge, you need to pay attention to the odds on your bet.
Using Sartin and Bradshaw as guideposts is somewhat dubious, since they played in a different era with limited rebates and virtually no computer bots. In addition, favorites are winning at a much higher rate than when they bet horses, as the rebate bettors end up on the same horses as they mine the same data.
At a minimum, you should make sure you can classify at least one low odds horse in the race you are betting as "vulnerable" and toss that horse if going off at 3-1 or lower. This will offset the pari-mutuel take and give you a fighting chance to have a positive expectation.
Hope this helps.
Richard
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