Since it is a slow horse and work day, I thought I would bring up what could be an interesting topic to kick around. How did we get into betting the horses. I was introduced to racing in the early 1970\'s by a friend in high school and went to college in Long Island close to Belmont Park. I used to be a terrible handicapper, just guessing on favorites, or listening to punters, and finally read the Form. Took me a while to figure out the numbers, but when Beyer and the speed figures came out with some success, I was hooked. Won a 500 dollar exacta with the back figures. It also didn\'t hurt that the 70\"s may have been the best time for racing in the last fifty years with three triple crown winners and Forego as a handicap horse. I also used a device which is no longer around called the Kelco Class Calculator which was a small computer which helped you to determine class vs purse. I had some good luck with it in combination with figures. Did some nice class analysis and came up with longshots also. It took a long time to use for a nine race card though. Below is the link to some of the early devices used for handicapping.
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~hl/g.btech.html
Great stuff and some still around in updated format.By sheer random, they all get a winner from time to time.
Data has come a long way, from the Morning Telegraph speed/variant numbers to computer generated stuff.Basic handicapping principles still stand up well to all data/theories.
Mike
lol, yeah I still have my beat up Kelco calculator. All it really did was calculate the AVERAGE purse value the horse had run in the money for.
A second and a third in a $10,000 race got the same rating as two wins. Nutty, but yes, because of the purse structures in those days, and some of the elimination rules, it did pick its share of decent priced winners.
With purse values all over the place due to state bred races, and slots, I doubt the method is all that useful today. (haven\'t checked in about 35 years, so don\'t hold me to it)
My Uncle Louie took me to Aqueduct for the first time when I was 16. I was hooked immediately...kept going on my own every Saturday...until the Pinkertons caught me and were ready to throw me out because I was too young to be there on my own...I pleaded with the head of the detail, explaining that I was a far better patron than the degenerates who frequented the place...I guess I was so earnest they kind of adopted me and kept an eye on me...after telling me to stay on the third floor of the grandstand and never to utter a sound.
I saw the great ones...Kelso was a natural favorite...I spent years trying to beat him and won my share of upsets: Gun Bow, Beau Purple and the relatively unknown Iron Peg...maybe the fastest horse I ever saw up to a mile, before Dr. Fager. Won the Suburban in 1964.
Uncle Louie taught me how to read workout patterns and I was a daily double freak...never betting more than $2, but winning payouts of $250, $180, $170 and so on. Eventually became a progressive bettor who thrived on betting the Clocker Lawton and Powell tip sheets that way. It seemed easy and I eventually spent an entire summer during college without having a losing day.
Used all the \'intelligence\' available from Tom Ainslie to the Kelco Calculator, but nothing took the place of understanding the connections and their placement of horses. Or reading the tote and spotting what I believed to be anomalies in the action.
The most important lesson I learned early on was how to lose. I learned that I would never have a winning streak if I couldn\'t take the pressure of a losing streak. I became a very patient bettor. It paid off.
Shuvee became my key hero, or heroine. I fell in love with her when she followed Kelso\'s 5 Gold Cups with 2 of her own...running away from colts with ease. Years later I bought a broken down granddaughter of hers off the track and began the second phase of my racetrack life as a breeder owner, but that\'s another story.
Al,
Lawton\'s \"Most Preferred\" was my big $20.00 win bet every Saturday, no form or anything,just the Lawton Sheet. Amazing how he never aged, picture the same for 50 years.
Of Gun Bow,my greatest early thrill when one of the descendants of the speed boys told me he would wire Kelso that day, he did at like 13-1.
Mike
A dingy OTB on Sutphin Blvd next to the Queens courthouse where half the guys in the joint probably belonged..I started at around 9 years old. Dad would bring me in and tell me to stand in the corner (no seats in there). My whole family was in the place so I was taken care of when I walked in. Pizza for lunch from an uncle. A soda from a cousin. An occasional dollar from one of the family members if they won. Forget Disneyworld this was my Magic Kingdom. 2 blocks from the house so I would walk over and go in without my Dad. The Manager would tell me nothing because he used to drink with my cousins when the place closed. The smoke in the place made my eyes tear when I walked in but that wouldn\'t stop me because I had a job in there. I would have to write out the little rectangular bet slips for the guys who could not read or write because the tellers took no verbal bets. I got a dollar or two thrown at me if they won. There was no video and no audio just a screen that said PC (pools closed) when you could not make bets anymore at which point everyone in the place stopped talking and stared at the screen until they flashed the letters up on the screen..
A
C
E
...or something like that at which point everyone screams how they got it, almost had it or got shut out..
Then Dad started taking me to the racetrack with him and it was really over at that point
This is 34 yrs. ago, went to the Med (it was in the next town) just to watch the races. Liked the color and excitement, taught my self to read the DRF and then started making dime bets as I learned. After getting pretty good with fake bets, I tried it with real money. My first night I hit 7 straight winners. HOOKED!
My father a compulsive gambler, big on sports betting and card games.
My mom\'s father, Grandpa Spike, an old fashioned bookie, half the year in
Brooklyn, half the year in Miami Beach.
Bred top and bottom, I didn\'t stand much chance of avoiding the inevitable.
Tough game. For every glorious day at the Spa, there\'s five miserable days in the
dead of winter in Ozone Park, pitch black in the parking lot at 4:40 in the
afternoon, the speckled sea birds fighting over the last part of your half
cooked/half frozen pretzel.
In days of old, closing day at Saratoga was always Sunday; Belmont would reopen
the next Wednesday. The advance edition of the DRF would hit the sidewalk on
Kings Highway at E 16th Street in Brooklyn on Tuesday morning at about 1:30 AM. I
would stand with a look which was probably borderline homicidal waiting for the
plastic around the bundle to be cut.
Its a Sunday at Belmont Park, and there\'s been a heavy rain shower in the middle
of the card; the sandy oval has been turned to oatmeal. After a particularly
close photo, a photo which took the stewards and placing judges a lifetime to
decipher,ends up in a tough beat, you watch the super slow motion replay of the
finish, time and time again, the mud flying up in parabolic arcs, the jocks\'
helmets buried in the horses\' manes, the horses\' ears flattened to near
invisibility, a poorly tied tail partially undone. You lose each time you watch,
transfixed, but as John Hawkes wrote in \"The Lime Twig\" \"Love is a long close
scrutiny like that\".
You are able to tear yourself away from the screen, and you notice that a large
rainbow has appeared, spanning from North Shore Towers to Creedmoor. Considering
my bloodline, I am happy to have ended up somewhere in between.
A lifetime top? At your age? Bravo!
In the early 70\'s there was not a more exciting place to go than the Cloud Casino at Roosevelt Raceway. With a cast of \"characters\" to match. It was a quick and natural progression from there to Thoroughbred racing, trading Jack Lee\'s calls for those of Dave Johnson.
Here\'s a good story for you, Mike.
In 1990 I returned to NYC after living away for 15 years; I go out to Belmont on a Saturday and buy Lawton, for old time sake. I have a good day, am up about a thousand going into the last race.
Lawton gives its \'Preferred\' selection in the 9th and the comment is, more or less, \'we own a piece of this horse.\' I sat in the clubhouse grandstand for about 10 minutes thinking about and debating this and finally conclude that this is an honest offer. Why else would Lawton put it out there?
So I bet everything I am up to win on the horse; it wins by 2 or 3 and I leave thinking the 9-5 I got was the all-time racetrack gift. Very memorable.
For crying out loud, Richie. You don\'t need a newspaper. Start a blog. I would read it every day.
By the way, the absence of \"oatmeal\" when it gets wet now is evidence of the change in soil composition. More sand, less clay.
Wajima. 75 Marlboro Cup. $11.40. Beat the mighty gelding Forego.
\'91 Travers. As a 12 year old kid I made a $2 dollar box Corporate Report/Hansel with money I made from parking cars with my grandfather a block from the Wright street gate. Think I picked up $60 or so. I was hooked. I vividly remember my grandfather (who busted his tail for every penny he made) telling me that \"Son, You\'ll never beat the horses at there own game.\" It wasn\'t until the \'08 Derby I proved him wrong and cashed for a nice chunk of change. In my early 30\'s if I quit today I\'d most def be way ahead of the game... Love ya and miss ya Pop\'s, but I also remember you telling me \"Nobody likes a Quitter.\"
Richiebee - I still mourn Armando\'s Pizza there under the train station. Sounds like you may go back that far. I think the guy burned it down twice? Those were the good old days. HP
Quit now or just bet the Derby...it\'s the only race I\'m up on after 50 years.
richiebee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My father a compulsive gambler, big on sports
> betting and card games.
>
> My mom\'s father, Grandpa Spike, an old fashioned
> bookie, half the year in
> Brooklyn, half the year in Miami Beach.
>
> Bred top and bottom, I didn\'t stand much chance of
> avoiding the inevitable.
>
> Tough game. For every glorious day at the Spa,
> there\'s five miserable days in the
> dead of winter in Ozone Park, pitch black in the
> parking lot at 4:40 in the
> afternoon, the speckled sea birds fighting over
> the last part of your half
> cooked/half frozen pretzel.
>
> In days of old, closing day at Saratoga was always
> Sunday; Belmont would reopen
> the next Wednesday. The advance edition of the DRF
> would hit the sidewalk on
> Kings Highway at E 16th Street in Brooklyn on
> Tuesday morning at about 1:30 AM. I
> would stand with a look which was probably
> borderline homicidal waiting for the
> plastic around the bundle to be cut.
>
> Its a Sunday at Belmont Park, and there\'s been a
> heavy rain shower in the middle
> of the card; the sandy oval has been turned to
> oatmeal. After a particularly
> close photo, a photo which took the stewards and
> placing judges a lifetime to
> decipher,ends up in a tough beat, you watch the
> super slow motion replay of the
> finish, time and time again, the mud flying up in
> parabolic arcs, the jocks\'
> helmets buried in the horses\' manes, the horses\'
> ears flattened to near
> invisibility, a poorly tied tail partially undone.
> You lose each time you watch,
> transfixed, but as John Hawkes wrote in \"The Lime
> Twig\" \"Love is a long close
> scrutiny like that\".
>
> You are able to tear yourself away from the
> screen, and you notice that a large
> rainbow has appeared, spanning from North Shore
> Towers to Creedmoor. Considering
> my bloodline, I am happy to have ended up
> somewhere in between.
I\'ve lurked on this board for YEARS . . . not signing up until recently . . .
and that\'s one of the five best non-handicapping pieces of writing I\'ve ever seen here.
Kudos.
Topcat:
Thank you for the kind words...
HP:
Tremendous pizza at Armandos. I could have just as easily gotten my DRF at Avenue
J, Avenue M or Avenue X, Armandos probably the main reason for going to Kings
Highway.
I spent a good deal of time during my deformative years, between 1974 - 1986, in
an area bordered by Cortelyou Road (remember George\'s Diner?), Bedford Avenue,
Avenue U and Ocean Parkway.
Racing in New York was particularly glorious late 1970s - early 1980s, but as I
have repeated many times, while the Racing was great, the wagering options and
venues were not what they are today-- no P3s, P4s, P5s, no $.50 cent wagering, no
Living Room Downs. OTBs in Brooklyn and Manhattan were audio only, not a good
match for the minimalist calls of Marshall Cassidy.
Fall racing was especially good because the Meadowlands was presenting decent
quality thoroughbred racing and those of us afflicted with extreme strains of
equihippocitis could wager live on 2 quality thoroughbred cards 5 times per week.
The Sicilian was the best. We probably know some of the same people. I lived a few blocks from George\'s on Ditmas and Ocean Pkwy. Before that Foster and Coney. My mom is still there. My home court OTB was on 18th Ave. by McDonald, but lots of my friends from Midwood lived over by Kings Hway. Now I\'m out in Jersey like a schnook. Good luck to you ! -HP
My father moved to Washington Dc in 1950 and was introduced to the sport by a friend. He was not a gambler but when you start life in utero at the 1959 Belmont, were named for Christopher Chenery, grew up reading Joe Palmer, the race results in the Post and the Blood Horse, plus studying how Alfred Vanderbilt came up with the names he did.....it was downhill from there. I got really lucky
the first time i went to belmont i remember it was 92 i was 18 thought i was a genius... for wheeling statuette in the pebbles stakes and winning lol
In 1984, by chance I went to the track (Timonium} with my son and we both came home winners. I had not been to the track since my college days and Navy days in the early 50s. Then I got to thinking of what I would do after my pending retirement in l989 , and the idea of following the horses came to me. So for the next five years I studied, followed the races on paper and developed my own approach to handicapping based on Beyer\'s method, trip handicapping and a good memory. Upon retirement, and with my wife\'s blessing (a top producing stock broker who understands risk much better than most of us), I embarked on a ten year journey of playing the horses daily all over the USA. Mostly I played close to home, The Maryland circuit, Delaware, Penn National, Charlestown, Atlantic City, Garden State and Philly. But there were trips as well with my wife to Santa Anita, Hollywood, Keeneland, Oakland and the annual house rental for Saratoga. All good things must come to an end. In 1997 my wife retired and two years later I made the supreme sacrifice and we moved back to her home state of Hawaii (one of two states with no legal gambling}. Since then I\'ve followed the races on my computer, played the on line contests and made an occasional wager when I visit the mainland. It was a great ten year ride, never made enough to put a kid thru college but then never got hurt either (some years up some down). I wouldn\'t change a thing in my life, made great friends at the track,and felt alive ever day. Life is still good, the woman I eloped to Vegas with in l961 is still at my side and come September we will celebrate our 50th anniversary. Going to the mainland so both of us can make a bet or two. One of the many things I learned in my travels is never hang around with someone who doesn\'t want to see you win. LIfe is good so enjoy its greatest game.
First love
Summer \'84 Bowie racetrack with cuz,jimmy and the occasional william
Cut the teeth on the end of that shank
the clean misty air
the manure not so stank
my first day on
he\'s first under tack
came breathin fire
foggy\'s back from the track
whoa back whoa back
shedrow chat to be heard
he\'s got a stake horse
says his crazed word
the big horses\' shins hot
the essence sees no flame
one eighty days world rounds
nycs\' i\'m the game
monday\'s chow was \"all you could get\"
no big boys\' menu the feed bag was set
eggs and cakes and youthful fables
the horse with the figs
gonna turn the tables
backside on the track
brought it out of me
from that point on
a racing fan i\'ll be
I\'ve been going to Calder Race Course with my pops since I have been able to walk. I\'ve watched my hero Precious Passion run multiple times. My loving mother wished the habit would die hard and I was sent to college in Central Florida resigned to the Sanford Orlando Kennel Club. I graduated in May and yesterday I took down my first pick 3 pool for 5,238 in the 4th at Calder. Its the best game in the world and I\'m never going away.
In August of 1977 I had just turned ten years old and had probably been dragged to The Saratoga Race Course what seemed to be a million times by my father. that summer things had changed with the Seattle Slew triple crown. When I heard that Forego would be running I made my father promise to take me to see this horse who I was told looked like a giant. When I woke up that morning it was pouring rain and my father tried to talk me out of going by saying he didn\'t think Forego would run if the track was sloppy but after what I am sure was an epic temper tantrum my father agreed to go.
We got to the track and reserved our seats by folding a newspaper through the cracks of the seat and settled in for the long wait. My recollection is that by the time Forego came on the track it was pitch black with the exception of the flashbulbs lighting up the sky. As everybody knows the great one ran last that day but it really didn\'t matter.
I have spent hundreds of days at the Spa since 1977 but I will always remember sitting in the grandstand with my father on a horribly rainy day waiting to see Forego parade by my seat. This moment and standing by the rail when Rachel passed the finish line in the Woodward provide great bookends to my love of horse racing.
does any remember when they came out with pick 3 at belmont in the 90s at otb i remember i used to have to pay 5 bucks to get in at some otbs in manhattan to get track odds in the mid to late 90\'s anyways first time i play irs time 48 street steak dinner
Back in 93 I worked at a printing company near Arlington Park. A gentleman by the name of Roger walked in and we negotiated a price for me to print the Thorograph for him. At first I tried to get some tips out of him each day but he wouldn\'t bite on that. So after a while I just read the instructions and being conservative just played what I thought would be my plays on paper. His sidekick Todd was a little more open so I learned just a little more through him. I also started reading a few books on the horses and started learning about bounce, track bias, how to bet etc. Once Roger saw I was actually putting in the work he actually said a few words each morning. I got it to the point where each day I would just ask him his opinion about just 1 horse. He would bitch me out possibly and say \"why the #$&^ do you like that horse it\'s 6 more pounds than the 3 and outside\" Once I got to a point of confidence I was ready to make my first play. I loved a horse called Thoro (30-1 morning line) in a race where I thought the favorite was vulnerable. I asked Roger and he smiled and said \"the horse looked interesing.\" I couldn\'t get out of work so I had to find a friend who could make the bet for me. I called a good friend who loved the horses but he laughed at my play. Eventually I found someone to place my bet of 25 across. An hour or so later I got a call from my friend who reported screaming in the phone that Thora paid $66 to win. Pretty much cashed around $1700+ from what I remember. That started our play money. The next day I saw Roger again and was pretty high off my win. He responded quietly he had just a little bit on Thoro. The next day I found out from Todd that not only did they crush the race but they owned the horse. I said how many horses you guys own? He said just the 1. Eventually there were days I had to do the boys favors and deliver them the Thorograph. Occasionally I stayed the day and was introduced to a few of their friends. Roger always asked me who I liked to see if I was learning. One day I saw him predict a horse would win by 6 lengths and in fact as they crossed the finish line the track announcer said \"Sunset Slew by 6 lengths.\" Of course he stated this as the race just started. I love the game because no matter how much you learn, there is always more to learn. I always appreciate everyone\'s comments on this board. You\'ve all kind of taken the place of a friend whom I really respected and admired....
Bring back memories?
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OTB 1970\'s (http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/5239/otbbettingforms.jpg)