As much as numbers don’t lie, they can confuse you.

In claiming races, numbers like 12,500 can have different meanings. Sometimes, horses who run for the same $12,500 claiming price at different tracks can face different levels of competition.

At Aqueduct, for example, a horse racing in a $12,500 claimer is probably facing some of the weakest horses on the grounds. Meanwhile, at Finger Lakes, with a much lower ceiling for claimers, some useful horses could be running for that tag.

Every handicapper would love to look into the future. No shock there.

Yet before anyone begins a world-wide search for a magical crystal ball, there is a handicapping tool that can sometimes predict the future in a number of ways.

It’s called will-pays.

Let’s take the eighth race at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 7 as an example. The optional claimer featured a classy field with three main contenders who had big question marks.