Wayne, I haven't played the game seriously in a couple of years, but when I did, I went to MTH 4 days a week. And I just played the meet -- very little simulcasting, unless a horse I was watching showed up in NY or MD or PHA. There is no one secret to beating the game, but I've learned that you make your money on those 3rd and 4th choices. Because they all lose, no matter how good they are (except, of course, for Personal Ensign). The great thing about playing a meet is that you get to see the horses coming back and, if you keep good notes about their physical condition, sometimes you can find the winner in the paddock at ridiculous prices. When everyone's saying "Go Figure", *you* know the reason for today's improvement is that it's not the same horse. And the lines to cash are very short. I only had 1 losing season at MTH during the 90s, and that was the year I decided to use figures. But in '95, I had my best meeting ever. What my records showed (I put every bet into a spread sheet) was that during the whole 3 month meet, I never had 2 losing days in a row. Talk about serenity. I played anywhere from 0 to 4 races a day. When you're there every day and you learn how to sit on your hands, you can shake off a bitter DQ or a terrible trip, because there's always fresh -- usually in a 1/2 hour.
Unfortunately for me, I have too low a choking point to really make a living at the track. It's funny but I can drop $10-20-30K on a stock, but $100 on a horse and I almost can't breathe. Good luck at AQU/BEL/SAR. You're pursuing the ultimate intellectual exercise. And watch out for those Kimmel first-time-geldings<g>. |
