Any advice appreciated

[harrahs8325]

Hello,
I am brand new to using the thorograph sheets. I used them Saturday at Gulfstream and had minimal success. I\'ve used the form for over 20 years and realize its going to take time to become familiar with the sheets. I was hoping some of you more experienced guys could give me some advice, anything would be appreciated. I was also wondering if you guys only use the tg sheets or do you use them along with the DRF. I will be trying again this upcoming Saturday at Gulf.  
Thanks!
Rob

[TGJB]

Others will have their own advice, but mine is to check out the intro material and Races Of The Week on this site, and use the Red Board Room. And if you go to Saratoga next summer come to a seminar.

[harrahs8325]

Thanks, I have been printing sheets from prior days and handicapping the races then checking my results.  I go to Saratoga every summer for a few days, I\'d love to go to a seminar.  Where can I get the information regarding one???
Thanks for your time.
Rob

[TGJB]

Information will be posted here next summer, but we do them every Sat and Sun behind the Carolina Barbecue near the Carousel before the races.

[FrankD.]

177 days to opening day and 178 to the first \" handicapping discussion\".
I say that as the temperature will be -5 tonight plus the wind!!!!!!

Why do I stay here in the winter?

[Lost Cause]

harrahs8325 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hello,
> I am brand new to using the thorograph sheets. I
> used them Saturday at Gulfstream and had minimal
> success. I\'ve used the form for over 20 years and
> realize its going to take time to become familiar
> with the sheets. I was hoping some of you more
> experienced guys could give me some advice,
> anything would be appreciated. I was also
> wondering if you guys only use the tg sheets or do
> you use them along with the DRF. I will be trying
> again this upcoming Saturday at Gulf.  
> Thanks!
> Rob

Hey Rob,
When you buy the sheets online you can add the analysis for $10 more for that same track.  I have found it to be helpful to look at after I finish my handicapping to see if I missed a horse or confirm my picks and it usually explains why that horse is being picked.  The weekly ROTW teaches you a lot as well as this board especially in April and May during the triple crown trail so definitely pay attention then.

I have learned that there are so many ways to use the data..
Personally I use TG to find the fastest horses in the race that have a good pattern but I will only bet the horse that fits within the pace setup of the race; so those 2 decades of DRF aren\'t going to go to waste as you can probably look at a race on paper and have a good feel for who the speed stalkers and closers are.

There will be days when nothing goes right it especially seems so on a bias day so you\'ll have to learn to adjust early to compensate for that



Hopefully others will chime in on what works for them to help u along.  Good luck

[moosepalm]

harrahs, I\'ve been using TG products for a few years now, and at the risk of being an unapologetic red boarder and shill, I can say that I\'m losing much less money than I used to.  I\'ll defer to nearly everyone else here to offer helpful suggestions, but I like to think I\'ve gotten a little smarter by looking at races after the fact and hunting for clues that might be suggestive of patterns.  I also think most folks here use supplemental resources, but we don\'t talk much about that.

[harrahs8325]

Thanks for the responses guys.  If anyone plays in the Teletheater at the Meadowlands, let me know, I\'d love to see visually some of the things you guys look for.

[harrahs8325]

Lost Cause,
I have a question about looking for the \"fastest\" horse in the race.  When you are looking at the TG, are you looking at a horses current form or are you going back throughout his racing career.  Lets say a horse ran a 5 as a 3 year old and now at age 5 has been running in the 10-12 range.  If the 5 as a 3 year old is faster than any other horse in the race would you go back to that or are you basically looking at current form cycles??
Thanks!
Rob

[Lost Cause]

I try to stick with current form cycle as much as I can but if I can find a reason why that horse ran bad (poly, slop, turf, off slow,taken up, Dead rail, race shape victim, dutrow off and now back on, etc..) in those races after that top and it\'s a price I would consider playing it to get back to that top always keeping in mind that horse might have just got hurt after the top and might never get back to it.  It\'s all about risk/reward so if the odds are worth taking a shot then I would go for it.  Once again though if the raceshapes don\'t seem to favor him I might take a pass.

Everyone has their favortie angle, mine is race setup and potential improvement from year to year (sire profile left side of sheet), yours will be whatever you feel you have the most success with and there really is no right/wrong.  One guy I know will only play the fastest horses regardless if they are both suicide speed horses, I think someone here calls it being a slave to the numbers but he does pretty good.

MoosePalm hit it on the head..Ever since using the sheets I lose a lot less

[Flighted Iron]

harrahs,

 I was exposed to a mastermind in this game at a very young age. He\'s a big fan
of finding value, but not \"reaching for it\".

good luck,
flighted