Becoming an Amateur Horseplayer // April 27th, 2007
Over the past several weeks I have upped myself from a casual horse racing fan to actual horseplayer. I have always made an effort to watch the Triple Crown races, with my first being the Sunday Silence/Easy Goer battles. This year will be no different, the only exception being I’ll wager money on the races.
Each time I watched one, two, or all three legs, I wished I knew more about the sport, but never took the time to learn. That all slowly changed, first, about a year ago I discovered TVG on Comcast and I was able to watch many more races (and without the annoying human-interest pieces on NBC or ESPN) and gain a sliver of knowledge of the ins and outs.
Not being satisfied with little knowledge, I picked up a copy of the aptly titled book Betting on Horse Racing For Dummies by Richard Eng and my understanding has vastly improved, and a new hobby has been born.
In his book, Richard writes, “The type of mind that does well handicapping excels at crossword puzzles, riddles, or problem solving. You use your mind in an analytical manner.” As well as, “Horse racing is a puzzle in wich the pieces change shape, and the asembly is different each time.” That’s exactly what I like about this sport. I enjoy looking over racing programs or the Daily Racing Form to analyze all the information to make my picks. Another great thing is you get to see how your picks fare right away, not in 3 hours like other sports, and the next race is about 20 minutes away. There is a great challenge in handicapping that I am not able to accurately describe. But being able to look over all the information, know what it means, analyze it to the best of your abilities, select the horse you think will perform well, and then see them perform close to or exactly as you predicted is a lot of fun, because for that race and for those horses, you were able to figure something out, able to solve the puzzle, meet the many challenges.
I have already experienced minor (micro?) success in the short amount of time since reading Richard’s book, whether it be $175 Pick 3 win, $40 on a $5 ticket, or even over $1100 won in “Play Payout” at TVGFree.net.
But sometimes it’s not about money. One funny thing I have noticed is that I think I would still enjoy horse racing and attending horse races if I never won. The last race I attended I had a net loss of $57, thats wagers plus food and drink. Compare that to one decent seat ticket to a baseball game which costs about $30, add $10 for parking, and another $10 for one hot dog and one drink. That is $50 right there, and you’ll most likely have another drink and snack. And I bet the experience won’t be as entertaining as live races.
Another funny thing I realized is that I am now turned off to all other forms of wagering and gambling, even the lottery. I see betting against the house as throwing away money, but in pari-mutuel wagering, you bet against the other bettors. And if the other bettors aren’t as skilled as you, I think you have a good chance to make some money. Just like poker, except it isn’t lame or boring, and you don’t have to sit on your ass for 5 hours surrounded by men just to determine the winner.
If you’re interested in learning more, or already have an in-depth knowledge, feel free to leave a comment sharing your thoughts.