Various Thoughts Moral and Diverting

[richiebee]

I guess I should kick it off by giving a personal recap, seeing as the redboard
police are apparently on shore leave, and those wonderful athletes in the NFL
now insist on presenting short one act dramas after EVERY touchdown (even when
their team is hopelessly beaten). The days of being a gracious winner are
apparently long past. I think my inclination to celebrate quietly may be a
throwback to racetrack days when one would attend the races with large groups
of folks, any one of whom might be willing to offer to share in one\'s good
fortune.

I caught the late P4 on a $45 ticket: 1/5/6/3 for .$50. I was rather
disappointed when I first looked at the will pays; the only explanation being
that World App and Gun Runner were bet more heavily in the horizontals than
they were in the \"straight\" pools? Given the field size and given the fact that
the shortest priced runner in the sequence did not prevail (and that none of
the four winners were odds on), I was expecting more, but that is an
observation, not a complaint.

Am I going to \"thank\" JB or TG? No, because the \"thank you\" posts make me laugh
too hard, reminding me as they do of the \"Thank you God!\" scene from the movie
\"Animal House\". (Don\'t take this personally P-Dub-- I\'m glad you had a good day
and I\'m glad your Raid-az beat the floundering fish Sunday night). I bought the
sheets for Saturday\'s festivities and, to be honest, I think I could have come
up with legs 1,3 and 4 without the TG product and probably without the DRF past
performances. In the case of the Juvenile, I will however say that Good Magic\'s
TG \"3\" compelled me to add what might have been Chad\'s least likely winner to
my ticket; in short, GM\'s number power allowed (forced) me to look past the
fact that he was a maiden running in North America\'s most prestigious race for
2YOs.

Enough about me. Lets talk about Bob Baffled, who came up empty handed after
dominating dirt racing at the higher echelons for most of the year. Lots of
umbrage and consternation here and elsewhere when BB shipped in and dominated
the Belmont Day undercard, with all of his runners jumping forward
dramatically. I will not here debate performance enhancing medications,
enhanced testing, or out of competition testing but will speculate that in the
future the Baffert stable stars might not be fully cranked for Summer
engagements, with an eye towards having something left in the tank in November.
I think BB may have also learned that some runners (Drefong?) may lose their
competitive edge when not raced on a regular schedule.

Still, BB had a weekend most trainers can only dream about, with Abel Tasman,
Somsini, Collected and West Coast all running well and collecting large checks.
I can not help think that 2018 will be a pivotal year for BB, coming off a year
where he was no factor in the Triple Crown races and a year which saw the rapid
decline of the \"World\'s Greatest Racehorse\".

Television: Good straightforward coverage as best I could tell by NBCSN and
NBC. No figure skaters, no bizarrely dressed Euro experts. Solid work from
Brittney Eurton of TVG and Matt Bernier of DRF. I came not to mind the cut to
the overhead camera view. With TVG carrying the races, one had the choice of
listening to Denman\'s on track call or Larry The Screamer\'s NBC call. Sadly it
appears to this listener that the iconic and beloved Trevor Denman has lost a
bit off of his race calling fastball, so the decision was made to listen to
Collmus (with the volume way down).

Beyond: A thought on the Pegasus. Good concept, wrong surface? Possible that a
Pegasus like race run at a distance on the turf would have broader
appeal? A large international field of owners and horses to draw from?

[P-Dub]

Here\'s why I do things that make you laugh.

I\'ve never hot walked horses nor have I ever had a job at the racetrack or really been around horses.

I rarely play the horses anymore, preferring to wager on sports. I\'m very good at it, and I took a chunk of my winnings from sports betting to the race book this weekend.

So for a guy that wagers maybe 10 times a year on the horses I need some assistance. If I didn\'t have A) Thorograph sheets and perhaps more importantly B) JBs seminar comments, I wouldn\'t have driven home Sunday morning with cash falling out of my pockets.

I may not be as smart as the rest of you, but I\'m smart enough to buy (comped via NYRA Bets) the TGs and the seminar. So for the really smart people out there that don\'t need any assistance I envy you. For people like me, just a regular guy that loves horse racing, when someone shares their views on a race and I use that information to fill my pockets with thousands of dollars I like to show my gratitude. Yeah, I had to  make some calls. One was using Battle Of Midway, but the seminar got me off some horses and onto others. My buddies that don\'t use TG, choosing to use the DRF, got clobbered this weekend. They play the horses FAR FAR more often than I do.

So you have a guy using TG and seminar comments doing far better than seasoned handicappers using the DRF.

So while you say don\'t take it personally, its difficult to not take it a bit personally when something I posted was the reason you laughed your ass off.

[richiebee]

P-Dub:

I laugh at everyone\'s Thank you TG posts; not just yours!

[richiebee]

Actually, P-Dub, I would like to apologize seeing as you did take my remarks personally.

I\'ve always thought that one aspect of the \"thank you\" posts is that folks are selling short their own input into the winning process; that it is highly unlikely that everyone who took the sheets/analysis/seminar was lucky enough to score and some may have tanked even with access to a great product.

So again apologies. Take some of your winnings and buy a round trip ticket to Albany next summer. I\'ll buy you a beer (or you can buy one for yourself and dump it over my head).

By the way, I know it came towards the end of a good weekend for you, but were you surprised (disappointed) with the late P4 payoff?

[ChiTownJoe]

Late pk4 .50 parlay was $1187 so thought the PK4 came back light at $1257.

Fridays BC races returned $2375 with
8.00
30.40
11.60
9.40


Sat late 4
7.40
25.00
30.20
6.80

Field sizes similar between the races both days.

[Silver Charm]

Ritchie \"thank you\" for this post

[Tavasco]

My apolegies for the length of this post. Hey, a lot happens in two days. Two very interesting days of racing and for some personal experiences.


richiebee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
 I guess I should kick it off by giving a personal recap, seeing as the redboard police are apparently on shore leave,

Via some free association I connected your \"shore leave\" to John Joseph Nicholson\'s The Last Detail. The Breeders Cup, for film aficionados, is not so different from Jack\'s filmology. i.e. Generally speaking one good act/event after another.

Probably like many of us, I was reminiscing about the weekend. So, I thank you Richie for your \"kick off\" which I\'ll return to in a sec, but first. Last year I was spent by the time Friday\'s card started. Too much preparation without a time out. Did the same again this year. Sort of a broken down old horseplayer\'s version off \"Excitable Boy\" thank you Mr. Zevon and Laurel Canyon memories.

and those wonderful athletes in the NFL now insist on presenting short one act dramas after EVERY touchdown (even when their team is hopelessly beaten). The days of being a gracious winner are apparently long past. I think my inclination to celebrate quietly may be a throwback to racetrack days when one would attend the races with large groups of folks, any one of whom might be willing to offer to share in one\'s good fortune.

Several good notions in your comments above imho. Keystone Kop celebrations post touchdown actual rivaled by The Peter Miller & Steve Asmussen Cameos. Most importantly though is the camaraderie and the \"Crowd Wisdom\" that often results from even a small crowd well meant. Investing is an intellectual pursuit and football is physical (both assertions c/b argued). Bottom line comparing the mental flaws of entertainers vs gamblers is material for a book.

I\'m an Ed Deming devotee and consequently I reflect on the weekend from the perspective of flaws the mistakes I made.


I caught the late P4 on a $45 ticket: 1/5/6/3 for .$50. I was rather  disappointed when I first looked at the will pays; the only explanation being that World App and Gun Runner were bet more heavily in the horizontals than they were in the \"straight\" pools? Given the field size and given the fact that the shortest priced runner in the sequence did not prevail (and that none of the four winners were odds on), I was expectin more, but that is an observation, not a complaint.  Am I going to \"thank\" JB or TG? No, because the \"thank you\" posts make me laugh too hard, reminding me as they do of the \"Thank you God!\" scene from the movie \"Animal House\". (Don\'t take this personally P-Dub-- I\'m glad you had a good day and I\'m glad your Raid-az beat the floundering fish Sunday night). I bought the sheets for Saturday\'s festivities and, to be honest, I think I could have come up with legs 1,3 and 4 without the TG product and probably without the DRF past performances. In the case of the Juvenile, I will however say that Good Magic\'s TG \"3\" compelled me to add what might have been Chad\'s least likely winner to my ticket; in short, GM\'s number power allowed (forced) me to look past thefact that he was a maiden running in North America\'s most prestigious race for 2YOs.

Its apropos that Richie (positive perspective) first recalls a win late in the card my memory (searching for defects) is a loss early Friday. Race #2 my 6/10 exacta box defeated by Dan \"Big Hoss\" Blocker\'s post time favorite. My err c/b - Dan Blocker would not have a BC day favorite unless the horse really is a good thing. I recall the thought and was over earger from too much anticipation. As in way back when. Anyway no offense to Mr. Blocker any related trolls need not ring in.

My other four exacta fails each involved getting one horse in. My first win bet was on a 100/1 shot who ran last. I could tell myself he was blocked by all the frontrunners stopping in front of him but truth is the Ramsey winner was wise to go in this race rather the BC main card.

Re: Thank you JB. I\'m reminded that the TG customer base is somewhat diverse. That is not everyone plays every day, day and night. The strategy of hiring an expert seems reasonable to me. My thanks concerns the quality of TG products and services and that is cultural... bravo. Lets not forget the real world distraction of mental illness and the damage done.

My take away here is what was one\'s objective going into the weekend? Did you have objective(s). Were you successful? Jim Covello, you beat all but one! maybe an Eclipse?

Enough about me. Lets talk about Bob Baffled, who came up empty handed after dominating dirt racing at the higher echelons for most of the year. Lots of  umbrage and consternation here and elsewhere when BB shipped in and dominated the Belmont Day undercard, with all of his runners jumping forward dramatically. I will not here debate performance enhancing medications, enhanced testing, or out of competition testing but will speculate that in the future the Baffert stable stars might not be fully cranked for Summer engagements, with an eye towards having something left in the tank in November. I think BB may have also learned that some runner  (Drefong?) may lose their competitive edge when not raced on a regular  schedule.

My theory about Drefong\'s hidden gate speed was either a misconception or the dead rail idea has traction (too much traction). The Drefong performance imo can\'t be explained as just better competition than last year. Probable that Richie & TGJB explanations both true. Yet as pace theory insists an early speed type that doesn\'t get the lead is toast. I expected more from BB more from habit than any thing else. However, I now will insist that when BB sends multiple horses at a purse it is because he harbors doubt.

 
Still, BB had a weekend most trainers can only dream about, with Abel Tasman, Somsini, Collected and West Coast all running well and collecting large checks. I can not help think that 2018 will be a pivotal year for BB, coming off a year where he was no factor in the Triple Crown races and a year which saw the rapid decline of the \"World\'s Greatest Racehorse\".

This brings me to my last mistake. I took the position that Arrogate was still the \"World\'s Greatest Racehorse\" even so I wouldn\'t bet him at the price after watching his w/o\'s so I bet the Euro which had handled the articial surface. Ridiculous, probably tilted abit after my Chantilly exacta and Chad Brown\'s winner along with Big Money Mikey Monarchos move in the earlier Juvenile race. I\'m a little sad though. My \"crowd\" was small in fact just two of us. My Cohort Templeton Peck made out a bit like UFC favorites this weekend and I suppose recovery will take some time. Its only a game counselor.
 
Television: Good straightforward coverage as best I could tell by NBCSN and NBC. No figure skaters, no bizarrely dressed Euro experts. Solid work from Brittney Eurton of TVG and Matt Bernier of DRF. I came not to mind the cut to the overhead camera view. With TVG carrying the races, one had the choice of listening to Denman\'s on track call or Larry The Screamer\'s NBC call. Sadly it appears to this listener that the iconic and beloved Trevor Denman has lost a bit off of his race calling fastball, so the decision was made to listen to Collmus (with the volume way down).

I\'d like to send a HUGE get well asap and prayers to Edie O. from whom I got an Expressbet E-mail. A canuck athlete that obviously loves the game of Horse Racing. Many have won your big C challenge previously enjoy the support you\'ve earned it.

Beyond: A thought on the Pegasus. Good concept, wrong surface? Possible that a
 Pegasus like race run at a distance on the turf would have broader appeal? A large international field of owners and horses to draw from?

The BC inclusion of Winx, Moreia, and a couple of Japanese horses has to be economically viable even if BC organization paid expenses, doesn\'t it?

As for laughter? As my brother says it is caused simply by the collision of two juxtopposed realities.

Dancing with the Stars (recorded) playing in the background looks like they are having fun. In closing (Richiebee) the latest episode of Good Behavior threw me another curve and that\'s why I like the series. Rarely what I expect. Oh, and Michelle Dockery.

[P-Dub]

richiebee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Actually, P-Dub, I would like to apologize seeing
> as you did take my remarks personally.
>
> I\'ve always thought that one aspect of the \"thank
> you\" posts is that folks are selling short their
> own input into the winning process; that it is
> highly unlikely that everyone who took the
> sheets/analysis/seminar was lucky enough to score
> and some may have tanked even with access to a
> great product.
>
> So again apologies. Take some of your winnings and
> buy a round trip ticket to Albany next summer.
> I\'ll buy you a beer (or you can buy one for
> yourself and dump it over my head).
>
> By the way, I know it came towards the end of a
> good weekend for you, but were you surprised
> (disappointed) with the late P4 payoff?

Ya know what??

I got a little too sensitive about your comments, and took them the wrong way. And you\'re right......the seminar was helpful, but I was the one responsible for constructing tickets. Even our host said he left out BOM.

I\'m usually blasting others for being overly sensitive, and here I am acting a little soft. So the beer will only be poured into one\'s mouth. You have zero to apologize for. Nothing.

I should have known better than to act that way, you are by far one of my favorite people here and I\'ve never met you. So let me apologize back to you for acting kinda like a little kitty cat.

Yes, I thought the P4 was a little light. We beat 2 strong favorites, and also Arrogate. The 2 prices were 25-30 bucks.

I\'ll make it out that way some day.