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Horseracing 101 by DaMan Sports Guys playing the horses is just like anything else really. It takes time a whole lot of time, money and years of experience. It also helps if you have a teacher. I was brought into the horses at the age of 30 somewhat by accident. I was working at a printing company and a gentlemen by the name of Roger entered the store. He was looking for a shop to print some horse racing sheets called the thorograph. Some of you may have heard of these, they are computerized printouts of every horse running in that days races and assigns speed numbers for every race that horse has ever run. I found them intriguing and I gave him a nice price on the printing. He excepted the deal and soon I started printing these sheets. I read the instructions at the beginning of the book and started to follow the races and their results. I began betting on paper, looking at the races each morning and writing down what I would have bet. Occassionally when Roger would pick them up, I would ask him questions. Usually he would just answer them quickly not divulging much information. I noticed though that he was a class individual, always on time, just a little reserved. So I took it upon myself to read about horses. Read books by Andrew Beyer and his speed figures along with other horse racing books on the different theories of how to bet and what to watch for. After reading a few of these books, I started asking Roger better and obviously more knowledgeable questions. Like on the bounce theory and how to bet around favs. I remembered the first good question I asked him, he raised an eyebrow and then took the time to answer, knowing I had done some homework. We became somewhat friends and each day I would look for the best value (horse) and ask him what he thought. If it were a good choice he might say that the horse looked interesting. If he didnt like the horse he would respond "What the hell you like that horse for. Whats wrong with the 3, its a faster horse, better post and has better odds." I began trying to figure out how the race would be run, which horse would get the lead. Which horse would save ground on a good trip. I learned the fastest horse in the race that day doesnt necessarily win. You need to take into consideration the weight being carried. Looking for the vulnerable favs that possibly might bounce. Track conditions. What part of the track is good. I still though had not placed a money bet. Finally I found a horse that I really liked, at odds I liked, but against a favorite that looked unbeatable. I waited for Roger to come in that morning and when he did, I asked him about a horse in the 7th called Thora. His head was tilted down but I saw a smirk on his face I hadnt seen before. He lifted his head slowly and with as straight a face as he could muster he said, "That horse looks interesting." I quickly decided that this was to be the first bet I would place. After about 3 months of playing the horses on paper I would make a bet. Only 1 problem was I was stuck at work. I began calling a few friends. I called a softball buddy of mine who went to the track daily and asked if he could throw some money on Thora in the 7th. He laughed and said the favorite was too tough. Besides he couldnt get out from work that day. I called about 3 or 4 other friends before I thought of a friend of mine who owns a roofing company. I called my buddy Nick and asked him if he could get out to the track. He said sure why not what should we throw on him. I said I dont know call me when you get there. Around 3:30 that afternoon he called and said that Thora was about 40-1. I said ok lets split 25 across on him. (That might have been the last time I ever made an across the board wager). He said ok but I could barely hear him as I could tell he brought few of his workers up there with him. I hung up and about 15 minutes later I got a call back from Nick. I smile as I think back on it, him screaming into the phone with his buddies in the background that Thora won going away by about 10 lengths. Horse paid $66 to win $44 to place and like $18 to show. Our take was about $1600 and our envelope as we called it then was started. I remember the next day I saw Roger and I quickly asked him if he had any money on Thora. He shrugged his shoulders and said "Just a little." I told him what I did as I was on cloud nine and remained on that cloud all day. The next day after I had the sheets ready I was still wanting to talk to Roger about my big win but instead his buddy Todd picked up the books. Now Todd is a little more outgoing person than Roger. Actually a lot more outgoing. I told Todd about my big score. He smiled in a way that made me feel like an fricken idiot. I asked him what was up. He said, "Roger and I own that horse." I said what the F#@%. How many horses you guys own? He said "One" and laughed. Laughed his way right out the door and I had my first gambling lesson on my first bet. I got some other stories I'll share with you guys to give you a little better idea just how involved this horse wagering is. |
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