Those of you who read my blog know that when it comes to betting on horse racing, I have a system. Bet on horse #5, at some point in time that horse will win.
Yeah, that’s going to fit well in the Daily Racing Form, won’t it?
Last Friday, I visited Saratoga Race Course as part of a group of writers, photographers and bloggers to participate in a promotional event for America’s Best Racing, an organization that wants to bring fan excitement and entertainment back to the track.
America’s Best Racing’s parent company, The Jockey Club, wants to create a new generation of passionate pari-mutuel players, and their team of sports marketers and horse racing experts, were at Saratoga for this promotional event.
As for me, I was staring at the game-day program for Saratoga’s races, and although I could at least figure out the basics – who was racing in what race, and what the odds were – the rest of the numbers meant absolutely nothing to me. It was like reading the fine print in a contract.
“Okay, here’s some tips on how to read these reports,” said Victoria Garofalo, one of the America’s Best Racing marketing team, as she looked over the program with me. “You don’t want to bet on this horse in this race.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Take a look here,” as she pointed at a portion of the 3-point agate text. “He hasn’t raced since September of last year. You don’t want to bet on a horse with that much rust on it.”
Oh. That makes sense.
“And you might want to bet on this horse, the jockey has won several times at this track. Also, you can see here that the horse has a strong pedigree, his sire was a Kentucky Derby winner and the sire of his dam also won several races.”
Okay… I think I understand… I decided to place a win-place-show bet – my usual customary wager – on that horse Victoria recommended.
And the horse won. I made a few dollars – it was a favorite – and by the next time I placed a wager, my eyes were scanning the horse racing program like it was a Where’s Waldo? book.
And throughout the day, I began to understand more about horse racing and wagering. That it’s more than just $2 on horse #5. That by reading the tip sheets and understanding what they say, you can at least make wagers with are more than just, “I like the horse’s name,” or “I like the jockey’s racing silk colors.”
Yeah, I’m smiling. I should note that I smiled BEFORE the sixth race… not one ticket in that hand of mine actually paid off. That’s why it’s called “gambling” and “wagering” – you still need to bet within your means and not put your entire paycheck on a longshot.
But throughout all that, I had a great time at the America’s Best Racing promotional event. And maybe the next time I go to Saratoga, I’ll actually have some time to do constructive wagering…
That is, of course, when I’m not taking slitscan photographs like this one.
Chuck The Writer 
Great smile picture! Those are rare! Sounds like it was a fun and informative day. So who did win that race? No.5?
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My beloved Polish grandmother never did read/write English well–if she spoke & understood what English was convenient for her–far more than she let on! My aunt or I would read off the horses names, she picked one whose name she liked and sometimes she cleaned up–on a $2 bet when that was a lot of money!
Still remember years ago, a company I then worked for, had our annual Day at the Races. In honor of our Personnel Director, everyone plunked down $2 on a horse named Dream on Andy. It had never run a race in its life, could not have won if it were the only horse in the field! Of course, it changed the odds & people figured maybe we knew something they didn’t! Serious money, of course, was on the real potential winners. Dream on Andy came in dead last far behind even the next to last. Any of us could have WALKED the track in less time. Other people were furious w/us even when we explained it was a joke. Who knows–stranger things….
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