Horse Blog

This is the second in my series of Golden Rules of Horse racing Handicapping. I realize that each person has to make their own rules for how they will handicap horse races, but I am sharing what I have learned after many years of experience and you may be able to pick some gems from what I have learned. Obviously, the old saying, rules are meant to be broken does apply. But before you start breaking rules, it is a good idea to learn them and why they are important and also the price for breaking them at the wrong time.

The second day in Coffs was overcast and pretty cold (well, by Aussie standards) so it was decided that we’d head down to the Horse Races at the local track. Admission was just $10 (4 pounds) and for that you get a whole day’s entertainment and 8 races in which to lose your money. It was at the races that we met ‘Stalker Tom’.

However, Siena has its own share of action. Once a year, its quiet streets will suddenly erupt into screams and shouts, during the days leading to the annual bareback horse race. It’s traditional for the neighborhoods to compete against each other, and bands march through the “enemy’s” territory and challenge them to a race. The people of Siena are excellent horsemen and as you watch them riding bareback on near-wild stallions, you’ll think that running with the bulls is child’s play.

I’ve recently had a subscriber ask me about the Equitrack VSR System from Equinex Ltd who are based in Cheshunt, Herts.

But the old papers also tell a story that was good as well as bad, of lives knit together and whole, and a better day coming. Against the desolation and boredom of village life, early Wausau had Santa Claus, candy stores, a singing club, the Schützenverein, entertainments, theatricals, edifying lectures, a marching band, school masters, horse races, county fairs, and enough camaraderie and buoyant boosterism to fire a thousand dreams.

You’ll notice that lotteries are still Congress-approved, and I don’t see a ban on internet gambling on horse races included. In fact, this bill would specifically exempt state-run (online) lotteries and horse racing. How much did the horse-racing lobby pony up (no pun intended), I wonder?

1953: Frank Hayes, jockey, suffered a heart attack during a horse race. The horse, Sweet Kiss, went on to finish first, making Hayes the only deceased jockey to win a race.

After dinner we walked a million miles to MGM. They wanted to bet on the mechanical horse races. Unfortunately, there was a perma-crowd around the races, so I ended up watching Dids play $10 blackjack and do well. Another guy in our group ended up running hot and made over a grand on only $30 bets. There was a lady at the next table over that kept yelling “One million dollars!” over and over again. I hope she got there.

Nearby, a room is full of horse-related pictures from a recent competition run to coincide with the Tom Quilty Endurance Horse Race in nearby Sheffield. Again, the ubiquitous and versatile Raoul Slater is a standout contributor, taking the Judges Prize but not the first Prize. His pictures combine insight with humour, technical excellence and, repeatedly, a glimpse of that critical moment in which the exceptional can be snatched from the mundane e.g. a ray of sunshine slices through trees to erupt as a cauldron of golden light behind a horse and rider; a horse and his trainer interchange expressions; the grace and beauty of back-lit horses is captured by the entwined blurring of a panning camera and a slow shutter speed.

It has been a full mystery to me why I have been consumed by horse racing from my earliest days, but, you know, these animals have been my lucky stars. Northern Dancer has been the biggest. Happy 45th!

Some readers have enjoyed my comments on horses or people from years past and have asked me to comment on horses that I’ve seen. No, I didn’t see Dan Patch nor did I see Greyhound (although my father saw Greyhound take his 1:55-1/4 record), but I’ve been fortunate enough to see some of the sport’s brightest stars.

It just doesn’t have the same ring as CuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUP! But, a horse race is a horse race. And drinking at a horse race is drinking at a horse race.

Sammy, Shannon, Dave, my sister (Sarah), Chris, Philo, and I all headed out to Prairie Meadows to see some of the first horse races of the season. It was a lot of fun - I didn’t bet on any horses (didn’t feel motivated to learn the complicated structure of horse bidding) but most other people did. As the night wore on Chris was betting more (I don’t think more than $10) and thus, winning more!

Bug boy Martin Garcia keeps slinging the proverbial hash while garnering comparisons to Bill Shoemaker for his abilities on the track. He has no plans to quit his job at a local deli, even as he topped the jockeys standings, tied with Russell Baze, at the recently concluded Bay Meadows meet and continues to win at a 25% clip.

I love horse racing and years ago my affection with statistics almost got the best of me, as I loved to handicap horse races and eventually for the sake of my well being, I gave it up. Nowadays occasionally I like to spend the odd hour watching and wagering on races that are beamed right into our living room and my formula is very simple, I am an omen bettor. Basically I bet on a horse whose name has some connection with me through events that day, or people I know.

Hopkins was a pony express man, who also participated in (and won many) cross-country horse races. He is part Souix, and so when he delivers a message to Wounded Knee, he is indirectly responsible for the slaughter of many of his people. This sends him into an alcoholic tail-spin and a denial of his heritage.

New Years was fun this year. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Jacque, and I went to Bay Meadows race track to watch a horse race. I had never been before so it was a lot of fun. It was really cool seeing the horses race and watching some close finishes. I decided not to bet on any races, but Jacque did and picked the winner for two races.

Mr. Yacoub Yousuf Hassan, Deputy Chief Executive of Commercial Bank, said, “ We at Commercial Bank of Dubai are proud of our commitment to participate in sponsoring horse races at Nad Al Sheba. This participation comes within the framework of Commercial Bank of Dubai’s social responsibility in taking part in the restoration of the ancestor’s heritage and contribution to sports and youth activities in the UAE. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Saeed H. Al Tayer, Chairman of the Dubai Racing Club and the organizing committee for welcoming us to partner the Dubai Racing Club. Finally, we hope all race fans and families present here enjoy the evening.”

I told my dad to withdraw money from the bank for tomorrow. I plan to do all my Christmas shopping tomorrow, before my oldest brother comes in. It’s starting to look like this weekend might be the only time I have to buy gifts. Next weekend, I’m going out to California with my family. Eating dinner at Fogo de Chao and watching the horse races the next day. Maybe I can go shopping :].

I'm not a religious right moral values propaganda spewer, but I don't like gambling at all. I especially don't like when gambling is sanctioned by the state. It leads to the wrong type of environment and that's not what Yonkers needs. Get these people good jobs for crying out loud. Oh, and I don't believe in betting on horse races either but alas, that's one that I probably would never win. I don't even like playing the NY Lottery I do it when my mother tells me to buy a ticket LOL. Can you imagine if the money people spent on gambling was actually used to fix some of the problems we have in the state? Yeah we would not have anymore millionaires and billionares but we'd have people with a stronger foundation and a brighter future.

Our first date we went out to dinner and we really hit it off. The next day we went to the Del Mar horse races and things went even better. After the races we went to the Del Mar Marriott for food and to listen to Jazz (every Wednesday and Saturday night they have one of the best Jazz bands I have ever heard).

After a long while I went again to horse races on Monday, at around 18:30. The Sun sets a bit after half past two in the afternoon, so it’s completely dark at that time of the evening. I was just curious about the lights they have there, and if it was possible to take photographs.

Australians spent $143 million in betting on the Melbourne Cup horse race this week, that’s an average of $7 per Australian.

I watched the Breeders Cup yesterday afternoon. I’m normally not a TV person, but I love good horse races—of any breed—and this was a good chance for me to putter around the house doing odd jobs while keeping an eye on the TV.

To make it worse, it will be a day most Australians would rather be concerned with a horse race than these very serious changes to the law.

For the non-Australians, the Melbourne Cup is an Australian phenomenon known as "The race that stops a nation." For most of the country, the day is devoted to festivities and celebration culminating in a horse race that most of the country follows either directly or indirectly.

Went to Melbourne Cup, the race that stops Australia. Melbourne cup is a real experience, everyone dresses up and basically drinks Champagne all day (with the odd bit of chicken) and watches (bets) on the Horse races. Melbourne turned on a hot magical day with Makybe Diva riding to the third consecutive win (A feat only equaled by Phar Lap back in the 1930's).

Big wins by Borrego, Rock Hard Ten and Saint Liam, all scheduled for the $4 million Classic on Oct. 29 at Belmont Park, with the possible entry of a colt that needs no further introduction, Afleet Alex, forms possibly the most star-studded horse race of the year.

I rode an hour on a stationary bike at the gym this week, keeping my heart rate in the 80% range. Yesterday I rode 34 miles with an average of 21mph (with the last mile at about 24mph). I’ve lightened up on the weight training and bumped up the aerobic activity (added rowing to my workouts) in preperation for the Iron Horse race.

If you threw out your yahtzee game in favor of horse race betting, you might be a heathen.

Like most medieval towns, Siena has a series of parking areas where you leave your car and then walk into town. Siena’s Piazza il Campo is rated as one of the finest plazas in Italy. It is a fan shaped public area sloping towards the town hall. The square was completed in 1349 and consists of 9 segments representing the nine folds in the gown of the virgin Mary. (Apologies to any Catholics out there, but I never cease to be amazed at how the RC’s can create some form of symbolism out of every minor and almost insignificant thing. Perhaps that is why they were always referred to as ‘Rock Crushers’ during my old army days). The plaza gets packed with people on the two annual occasions on which a horse race is conducted around its perimeter. It wasn’t that busy while we were there and we enjoyed a nice pizza for lunch and a look at the medieval buildings around the square.

You don’t think we’re going to see a terrific horse race when these two meet again this coming Saturday in the Kentucky Futurity?

Personally I cannot understand the appeal of NASCAR. It's just a bunch of cars racing around for hours on end. At least a horse race is over in a few minutes. If I want to see people driving too fast, I just take a ride up I-95. Heck, that's even more interesting than NASCAR, with the drunks swerving between lanes, the never ending construction, the ever present Delaware odors, the lousy drivers from Jersey, etc.

Furthermore, I learned that in Siena there is a great sense of community. Twice a year in the summer, the city has a fantastic horse race that is put on by the city's seventeen "contratas" or sections. Each contrata has it's own flag, animal symbol (my favorite was the snail...I think it's an inside joke), and people take the contrata so seriously that if someone married outside of his or her contrata into another contrata, he or she must live with his or her parents and family for the week during the races. It is very seldom that this happens though. It's funny to think that in such a small town with contratas the size of a high school's campus, people can fall in love and marry within their own contrata.

Okay- so the entire weekend was a bust on my fitness quest!� Saturday I attended the Horse Races at the Del Mar Track- I started the day great- finished the day great- but it was the in-between that was lousy!� A grilled chicken salad with Ranch dressing (full fat by the way) and 3 large BEERS!! YIKES!!

So, to rap this up. Horse race betting can be molded into a full time income that would make people green with envy, as long as you follow a Level Stakes Profit system. Any LSP plan will do, there are plenty out there, I am just releasing one.

I hooked up with a guy who rode the rails and off to L.A. we went. We arrived in Colton with little money but had a plan of signing up for General Assistance (GA). We camped out that night in a park near El Monte, not a real safe place. The next morning I made it to sign-up, John the rail rider was to drunk to go in, so, I went and signed up and they gave me a place to stay until I received my check. After getting the check I flew back to Salt Lake so I could party (smart). I lasted a month and rode back on the rail to L.A. to pick up my GA check. I found a weekly rental in Monrovia and a job selling tools (junk) over the phone. I also found the bar and Santa Anita a horse race track. I bet heavy that season even making good money but to only spend it in the bar and on drugs. I lost my weekly for awhile and moved on the street.

Today I took my friends from Alabama to Del Mar for the Horse Races. We bet on 3 races, but never won. It was really fun, and we learned something new. I recommend it!

On Friday, I went to the Del Mar horse races for the first time and I didn’t win anything. I only placed 2 bets since I was not familiar with all the different types of bets you can make. I stuck with “Exacta Box” hoping I’d win. One horse I chose came in first place but the one I chose for 2nd place didn’t make the cut. Overall, it was nice for never having been.

Yesterday, I had a work function at Del Mar Fairgrounds. I have to admit that I have some moral opposition to horse races (though I’m much more passionate about irresponsible dog breeders and pet stores). It was still fun, though, and the horses are just beautiful. Pure, solid muscle. Brad was taking his last final while I was at the picnic, so Sam went with me instead. He did place some bets, and was actually pretty successful, especially for a guy that picks horses based on their names.

Well, I spent the better part of Sunday up in Hollywood Park Race Track at the Gold Cup room. It was my first time at the horse races, much less any kind of races. I went not planning on gambling, but I ended up spending just a little bit to have some fun. (For the record, I ended up $7 down; I was $3 up at one point, with my only win coming in for $17.00.)

Every few seconds some old ginbag would bump into me and I’d check to make sure I still had my wallet. There were TVs everywhere simul-casting horse races from all over the country and a large crowd of the unemployable stood watching them with glassy eyes and rolled up tout sheets. None of them looked well off enough to be betting on anything. I haven’t been to the track in a long time, but I used to enjoy it. Of course, I always sprung for three bucks to go into the clubhouse where you could get a steak and people wore sport coats. I had never been to the hobo level before. It was like a scene in Escape from New York.

I took the photo in the beatiful walled city of Siena, just a few days before The Palio, an annual horse race held to mark a Virgin Mary sighting. Piazza Gramsci is the main bus terminal for the city, and visitors were coming in to the city for this famous event.

Day five was a blaze of colour - Siena’s Palio, a bareback horse race around the town square that has been in existence since medieval times.

Occasionally I try to think up some scheme to use this phenomenon to foresee (or fore-influence!) the results of horse races, but I haven't yet come up with anything that promises a worthwhile ROI for the amount of time it would cost.

Monday, it was back to the racetrack (surprise surprise). But I actually won money for the frist time… ever. I have bet on horse races in Atlantic City, online at BetOnSports.com, and in-person at the track, and I’ve never won a cent. But in a race where only 6 horses were running, I went for a trifecta and hit it. I ended up pocketing $60. So taking into account a weekend of gambling ($40 lost in Atlantic City, $26 lost at the track Saturday), I was only down $6. Not too damn bad at all.

Digital EOS has brought back my interest in photography. I’ve been photographing horse races at Äimärautio about 4 or 5 times now, and I think I’m starting to manage the basics by now - meaning less blurry horses. What I’d really like is horses running on green pastures, but photographing horse races is easier to realize. Doing it on really rainy weather might be interesting, though.

So this weekend was not a total waste even with all the rain. On Friday I went to the horse races with C&B that was a lot of fun. I worked a few hours on Sat. and this morning and I have gotten a lot of reading done for work. There is so much to learn and so little time. Today if it clears up a little bit I am going to take my little sister out and try to teach her to drive. That should be interesting.

We left the beach around 5:00 and headed back to "Happy Valley" for the horse races. This was the first time I've ever been to a horse race, and it was really quite cool. There were tons of people there, although at times the downpoor of rain herded them to cover from the beer vendors at random intervals. I didn't win, but didn't bet much anyways...definitely a place worth returning to. The strangest thing is that I heard my name being called out, "Brady! Brady!". I turned to see one of my classmates from the University of Waterloo! What a crazy...

The license allows California-based Youbet.com to accept online bets on horse races around the country from Washingtonians and requires the company to give the state's horse racing industry a cut of each bet. The company had been illegally taking roughly $12 million a year in bets from state residents, according to the commission.

This story was inspired by Saturday’s running of the Kentucky Derby:

Ever since I went to bet on horse races, I’ve gotten hooked and I am very interested in it. It’s like gambling, but I don’t bet against the house, I bet against the next guy. So not, I only bet on the Triple Crown races. It will be like a once a year thing for me. Where I’ll plan it well in advance.

Last night we went to Bay Meadows to watch the horse races with our friends Beth and Todd. Their neighbor is a jockey and gave us free tickets. It was fun. Not something I want to do every week, but something different!

Funny Cide, the gelding who captured the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, will likely make his season debut on May 1 at Aqueduct.

The article talks about Steinbrenner’s horse, Bellamy Road, and its quest to win the Kentucky Derby.

But even if Kinsman is not all about winning, father and daughter spoke last week about how nice it would be to win the Kentucky Derby.

Better than a 27th World Series title for the Yankees?

“Absolutely in his eyes,” Jessica Steinbrenner said. “This would bring everything in his life to a perfect conclusion.”

OK, the 77th Annual Oscars are done...the ratings are in...they mildly disappointed according to the NYTimes, and "Rock, well didn't", according to Tom Shales of the Washington Post...people's curiosity about the various horse races and about who the best and worst dressed were has presumably been sated.

First, to outline Blake’s argument quickly. I can’t find the page, so I can’t quote it, but he basically says something to the effect that foreknowledge might be neat, and if God had it, he’d ask him about horse races, stocks, or the lottery, but it doesn’t seem to him to be essential to faith.

Unlike horse races, 4D, Toto and football betting — all limited to certain days of the week — the casino is a willing and ever-ready chaperone for those yearning to flirt with Lady Luck.

Last year, the BBC offered an innovative SMS service for the event, enabling race afficionados get in touch with their BBC TV team by SMS for results or expert analysis. cf Text message the BBC TV crew at the horse races.

I buy my beer in the front bar. Then I carry it to the more comfortable back bar where the prices for the same product poured by the same barmaid are more expensive. The front bar only has a few people in it. The regular little crowd, necks pivoting between the row of small television screens showing various horse races and betting odds, and the form guide held flat on the table by empty schooner glasses and full ashtrays. And the ol