I expect most of this has already been said, but these are just a few things that I think are important.
Just practice. The more time you put into form research, the better your analytical skill set is going to become. When I became serious about studying the form, every day I would look go through a racecard looking at every horse in each race. Be thorough in your selection methods, whatever they may be, and never make a bet unless you have put your usual amount of work into studying the race.
Keeping a spreadsheet of your bets is also a good idea. This is good for tracking your profits and ensuring you don’t get deluded by occasional good days if you’re actually dribbling away your bankroll. Also, keep track of your thought processes. As well as documenting your selections, be sure to record your reasoning which led you to pick them.
Afterwards, it is beneficial to review a race just as closely as you studied it beforehand. Ask yourself whether the result has given you any new information about a particular horse – what conditions you now know it can handle etc. Also be sure to evaluate yourself and give reasons as to why your losing selections did not win.
A few others to make sure you are a responsible and sensible punter:
1. Don’t blame the jockey. You backed the horse. You knew who was riding it. You have plenty of evidence about their capabilities and the likelihood of a riding error, so cannot complain when a ride gets misjudged.
2. Don’t give tips to family/friends. They usually lose! You probably won’t be asked again.
3. Avoid the sentimental bets. Just because a horse has been good to you in the past, don’t give it preferential treatment. By all means keep a list of your ‘horses to watch’, but don’t follow them blindly.
4. Following on from that, don’t hold a grudge if one of your confident selections gets sunk. Check the trainer’s website, Racing Post and any source you can to look for a legitimate excuse. If you find one, there’s always next time.
5. Do not pay much attention to race times. When someone says "the time in this graded race was only three seconds faster than the handicappers later in the afternoon" or something similar, it really isn’t an indicator of the form’s overall value. There isn’t much sense in comparing two races; where one might have seven lunatic front-runners and another may have a steady pace and sprint for home. Any subtle difference in front-end pace is going to affect the time.
6. Keep looking for ways to improve your selection methods. This forum is great because people explain the reasoning behind their picks. You don’t have to agree with them, but consider borrowing some of their logic if they are successful.
7. Manage your bankroll responsibly. Since losing runs are inevitable and can be damaging in a hurry if you make a high volume of selections, I never put more than 2% of my total betting bankroll on a particular horse.
8. Don’t be ashamed to admit a race is too difficult. You don’t have to make a selection in every one. Money saved is like money won!