In my not-so-humble opinion, yesterday\'s Affirmed Handicap at Hollywood should be nominated for inclusion to the ThoroGraph time capsule. The public bet the race in reverse order of a reasonably sane read of the ThoroGraphs. Of the five who ran, the longest-odds horse won the race, and the favorite finished last [a dead heat for fourth].
If the name of the game is beat the favorite, then AWESOME GAMBLER certainly was a horse to play against. A pair-up of his last, a lifetime top ThoroGraph, was not gonna get the job done. [By the way, I continue to be amazed at those who tout Merv\'s COBALT BLUE as something special. He\'s not... yet. Perhaps down the road when the O\'Neill barn re-injects him.] That the exacta paid $50+ in a five horse field is quite astonishing.
Go west, handicappers. Go west... to Southern California racetracks. Where it rarely rains... the track\'s almost always dry... the horses run against each other all year... the ThoroGraphs make good sense... and there are no shippers from Delaware, Pimlico, Monmouth or the Delaware Valley [the vet-on/vet-off factor] to consider.
The women seem prettier there also. But that\'s just my opinion.
JTC
JohnTChance Wrote:
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If the name of the game is beat the favorite, then
> AWESOME GAMBLER certainly was a horse to play
> against. A pair-up of his last, a lifetime top
> ThoroGraph, was not gonna get the job done. That
> the exacta paid $50+ in a five horse field is
> quite astonishing.
>
> Go west, handicappers. Go west... to Southern
> California racetracks. Where it rarely rains...
> the track\'s almost always dry... the horses run
> against each other all year... the ThoroGraphs
> make good sense... and there are no shippers from
> Delaware, Pimlico, Monmouth or the Delaware Valley
> to consider.
>
> The women seem prettier there also. But that\'s
> just my opinion.
>
> JTC
Shhh..John.
The 6-to-1 overlay on Desert Code aside, I find the handicappers in the West to be better too.
Which sends me back East again, looking for value.