Archive for December 2018
Do jockeys really matter?
How much does a jockey matter in determining the outcome of a race? Each summer for about 5 years in the mid-1970’s my Dad packed up the family and we would head to Billings, Montana for a couple of weeks for the Yellowstone Exhibition. There was a female jockey riding there named Susie Wilson. I…
Read MoreGoodbye to an a**hole of a year
As 2017 ended and 2018 began, I was sitting at what was then the peak of my career as a horseplayer. August 2017 brought an in-the-money finish in the Wynn Handicapping Challenge and a prize of $8,500. In the span of one week in November, I ended the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge with a bankroll…
Read MorePull Out Your PPs- Santa Anita Opening Day Pick 5 (click here)
Anatomy of a Losing Pick 4 Ticket
Is there anything to be learned from a losing $36 Pick 4 ticket? I’d say there is always at least something to be learned. The lesson may not be all that profound. And you may learn you were right to make the play you made. But losing is something to be avoided and you need…
Read MorePull Out Your PPs- Saturday Pick 4 at Fair Grounds (click here)
Dancing the Mendoza Line
Baseball fans know the Mendoza Line as this, per Wikipedia: The Mendoza Line is an expression in baseball in the United States, deriving from the name of shortstop Mario Mendoza, whose poor batting average is taken to define the threshold of incompetent hitting. The cutoff point is most often said to be .200[1] (although Mendoza’s…
Read MoreA little Aqueduct Pick 6 fun for your Thursday
(4:00pm update: I really hope no one read this.) We’ve got a nifty little carryover in the Aqueduct Pick 6 in store for us today. A free $175k never hurt anyone, right? Let’s take a small swing on a tough card and see if we can get lucky with a clever opinion or two. Race…
Read MoreBest Bets and Best Opinions
The day before the Breeders’ Cup, I was asked what my best play of the weeknd was. And because I take questions like this very seriously and sometimes get way too cute with my answers, I responded “Well, my best BET of the weekend is City of Light, but my best OPINION is Magical.” Now,…
Read MoreBlacktype missed the break and that was it
When you watch the reply of last Saturday’s Fort Lauderdale Stakes from Gulfstream Park, you’ll notice two interesting things just before and just after they break from the gate. First, right before the gates open, Blacktype, in post 6, loses focus for just a brief second as he seems to raise his head and shift…
Read MoreHandicapping The Suspects
The post has nothing to do with horse racing. I have been sick as a dog for the last three days, and I passed the time by watching every documentary and every interview I could find that was related to the murder of JonBenet Ramsey on December 25th, 1996. And I am 100% confident that…
Read More