Ya Hadda Be a Blind Man...

[Wire To Wire]

I just wanted to relate a story about my day at pimlico on saturday...I went to the preakness with my son and his college roommate.  they were seated in a different section than i was in and i gave them a set of sheets and about 5 minutes worth of instructions. It was one of those days where YOU HAD TO BE A BLIND MAN, not to make money using THOROGRAPH!  Needless to say, the boys split $800 at the end of the day, having started with a meager $100 bankroll! (Dad did QUITE a bit better!) I received a thank you note from the roommate today, describing me in religious terms (calling me a \"god\") and thanking me for sparking his new interest in horse racing. He ended the note with the hope that someday he\'d be able to read the sheets like me! I didn\'t want to tell him that he already did!
   Hey guys...you\'ve heard of \"take your daughter to work\" day...maybe we should start a \"buy your kid some Thorograph sheets\" day...we could fill that empty grandstand up in no time!
   Jerry, thanks again to you and your staff for a great product!

[TGJB]

A footnote on this-- Wire To Wire hit 4 sign jobs on the day himself. He also sent us the letter from the kid in question, and we are framing it and putting it up on the wall.

[STB]

That\'s a nice story. Somewhat humiliating, and a warning that I should make an appointment with my optometrist soon, but a nice story anyway. I managed to lose money on Saturday; not a lot (and I\'m a minnow anyway), but I lost.

Been playing sporadically, and poorly, over the last couple of months. Things have been crazy at work, crazy at home, I got bronchitis a couple of weeks ago...THESE factors seems to affect my bottom line as much as whatever numbers I\'m using. I first bought TG for last year\'s Breeder\'s Cup and have used them here and there since; I like the numbers, but then, they\'re only as good as the person using them, and right now, I guess I\'m not so good.
 
Anyway, I played the P4, singled on Smarty Jones, thinking that enough people would try to beat him to make the wager the best way to play him (was still surprised the thing paid $1500). Had Mr. O and Gators and Bears in there as well (used three in the turf race and four in the G&B race), but missed the Zito piece in the front leg despite using three there. I liked Tap Dancer in that one; don\'t have the sheets in front of me but if memory serves he paired up 6\'s off the layoff and my admittedly limited understanding of these numbers led me to believe he\'d move forward off the pair-up. My buddy talked me into using the Prado horse, even though in my gut I knew this was a tough spot for the horse to be making his two-turn debut, and I used the #6 horse as well, taking a chance at a big price that he might make another forward move. And so much for that.

In the meantime I made a last second bet on Literacy in a Belmont turf race and though she got clear in upper stretch she got tagged by the fave late. I got up to bet B.A. Way in another Belmont grass event, but sat back down and watched it win at about $12.00. By the time the Dixie came around my confidence was out with the tide and I scaled back the bet enough to ensure that the profit on the race wouldn\'t be enough to get me out for the day, unless I skipped the Preakness...and who\'s gonna skip the Preakness, that\'s un-American! Played Smarty over Borrego in an exacta and backed it up small, and went home. That was a smart play...and a great way to end another losing day.

On the bright side, my son is only five years old, and I don\'t have to worry about participating in \"buy yor kid some Thorograph sheets\" day for a few years. Plenty of time to clear my head between now and then....

[JR]

I\'ve got to say it was one of those rare days when you just bet the fastest horses and they won. If only every day it could be so simple. It was a good day to be at the races.