Smart Horse Racing Bets

If you haven't heard, the horse racing industry operates with very few controls in place. As Jeremy Plonk from Horseplayerpro.com has pointed out, the one thing going for the government is that it can pull the plug on simulcasting if the industry doesn't clean up its act, which ironically would be devestating to all parties except the "degenerate gamblers" such as myself who wouldn't have as many tracks to choose from.

Currently, Congress' focus is to outlaw the use of steroids on all horses. IEAH Stable is backing this move all the way, but what about everybody else? This is the most important issue currently. I'm sure PETA affiliates would agree the sheer amounts of some of the drugs the trainers and their constituents inject into these horses seems abusive and hence, unethical.

Sweet move by Rick Dutrow getting caught using twice the legal amount of Clenbuterol in his horse, Salute the Count. Good job dude. Say one thing, do another.

But this initiative isn't about steroids or other illegal substances. It's a dichotomous, neverending rant that teeters between the pursuit of a safer racing surface (polytrack) at all tracks in NYS and the simultaneous quest for gambling riches. In the spirit of the latter, I hope you enjoy the following.

I personally consider the list below to be worth A LOT of money, with each conclusion drawn solely through blowing my dough at various OTB sites throughout the Capital area over the last decade.

• The favorite gets 3rd place: The more races you watch, the more times you see this happen. Plus, it pays a hell of a lot better, say, in a trifecta than if the favorite were to win. And that's why you always hear the old dirty guys at the track professing, "Don't bet the chalk."
• Box your bets: It costs more to box your bets, but any "degenerate gambler" can tell you about a hundred different times where they picked the right horses, but in the wrong order. It sucks.
• Bet any horse bred by A.P. INDY to win a 7 furlong race: It's in the blood.
• Don't bet on cheap races: They're too unpredictable. A smart better focuses on quality, like stakes races.
  
• Read past performances of the horses: If you don't know how to read these, then learn. You'd be surprised how much you can find out about a horse's tendencies.
• Diversify: It's like everything else. If you happen to be off with your picks on any given day, leave room for error by picking a few horses you think can win.
  
• Edgar Prado is possibly the best jockey on turf: He wins on the grass at all distances with favorites and longshots alike.
• Christopher Clement is possibly the best turf trainer: I'd probably bet on a horse Clement trains over a horse Prado rides, but if Prado gets the mount on a Clement horse in a turf race, BET IT.
  
• Bet superfectas in races with 6 horses: Overall the odds are decent because there are only two horses who won't come in the top 4. And these bets always pay well if you can pick 'em.
  

There are many more gems to learn, but this is a good start.

Let me know if any of these strategies ever work for you.

Just Accepting It All

Just a few minutes ago, and two days after the race where Big Brown didn't show up (even though he was there), I just came to terms with everything.

Again, I blew my dough on a Triple Crown race and again, I didn't care one bit when I saw Kent Desormeaux pull up Big Brown. I was terrified that my hypothetical scenario from NYSPI's virgin post would be prophetic.

Luckily, Big Brown hasn't shown any negative signs since placing last in the race. And yes, I think luck has a lot to do with it.

Come on. Even at 6:30 on Saturday, it was a 90 degree sauna at Belmont. Big Brown was running with a quartercrack. His training schedule was retarded because of the quartercrack, which, overall is good, but bad for training purposes. He broke from the starting gate badly and appeared to have brushed with Tale of Ekati soon after.

And how can any of us ever really know what it's like to run in the Kentucky Derby (1 1/4 miles), Preakness (1 3/16 miles) and Belmont (1 1/2 miles) during a span of 5 weeks?

To me, if you add up all those factors AND the fact that Big Brown was running on a dirt surface instead of polytrack, it was a damn miracle that so far, he appears to be in good condition.

Straight up, I'm not into scare tactics in order get my way, but just take 10 seconds and think of how gut wrenching it would've been if Big Brown fell and never got up.

When a horse dies on TV, I always wonder how many kids were watching. I can see them asking their parents what just happened, followed by an explanation and some tears.

And when kids see devastation like this, what they're usually seeking is an exact reason as to why and how this could happen. As adults and parents, it would seem to be our duty to provide this reasoning.

But, as with most loaded topics, it's not always possible to sum it all up in a phrase or two.

Instead of going on and on about how horse racing is about money and steroids, I think I'd just say that accidents will always happen, but there are many ways to make the sport safer and one of them is to mandate that all tracks install polytrack in place of dirt.

Big Brown and the Belmont Rollercoaster

The lovely month of June is here as a nation of horse racing fans set their site on June 7th at Belmont for a potential triple crowning in Big Brown.

Here we go again. It's all come down to 1 1/2 miles. An undefeated horse with untouchable class and speed in the uppermost echelon of racing with the regular talk about how this year's field is weak.

I've repeatedly seen the Belmont Stakes referred to as the most 'grueling' race in the sport. Even if that wasn't true, it couldn't be far from it.

That, paired with the recent reports of Big Brown's injured hoof have me concerned. Actually, I'm dually concerned.

From a betting perspective, I don't want him to come up limp at any point in the race (or ever) because he really shouldn't do any worse than 2nd place. So, I'm praying that Ian McKinlay is doing everything possible to heal that quartercrack.

But, regardless of any wagers that may be placed, there's an unmistakably clear voice in my head telling me there's something greater at stake than my financial prospects - the safety of the jockeys and the horses.

What could be worse than Big Brown losing the Belmont and his bid for the Triple Crown? How about Big Brown losing the Belmont, collapsing and getting euthanized on the track?

Just because that happened less than a month ago to Eight Belles after the Kentucky Derby doesn't mean that we should be in the clear for a while before another horse could be fatally injured in a race on a dirt track.

This is my favorite time of the year in horse racing, but only when we've got a shot at seeing a Triple Crown winner. A lot of people may only ever see it done once in their lifetime and it's the only sport I can think of where basically everybody is rooting for the favorite. That's what makes it special to me.

So, you can imagine how devestating it would be to me if anything happened to Big Brown.

Kind of like the last time I was crushed when Barbaro died as a result of his injury on the dirt at Pimlico. I got married on May 6, 2006, the day he won the Kentucky Derby. Two years after his win and subsequent injury, my wife still doesn't like to talk about him.

As adults, we've all seen dead animals, but to me it always strikes a different chord in me when a horse dies. Maybe it's because it brings my wife to tears or because of the pain in my mom's voice when she tells me how she watched the race.

I think what really bothers me is that I know more can be done and has been done in other areas to make the tracks safer for the horses and the jockeys. Polytrack is an artificial surface that has begun replacing dirt tracks throughout the country. It has been shown statistically to reduce fatalities.

In California, all tracks operating for four consecutive weeks were mandated to install synthetic surfaces by 2007. The same thing could and should be done at all thorougbred racing tracks in New York State.

The cost of installing the polytrack is a fraction of the money that flows in and out of these racing parks. Polytrack will reduce fatalities, increase safety for horses and jockeys and help to attract a wider horse racing fanbase that can begin to place trust in a sport that needs to improve its public perception.

Please share your opinion on the issue of mandating polytrack in New York State by participating in the survey on the right.