Missed it by THAT much...

TGJB · January 29, 2006, 10:29:09 AM

Still down in Florida, back in the office tomorrow.

Well, the NTRA contest Thoro-Graph winning streak ends at three. But congratulations to Mel Moser for his Victory Gallop-like late rush to finish third, just getting nosed for second.

By the way, last week Mel didn\'t go out to play in the World Series contest officially, but he played the contest races under tournament conditions at his local OTB, as a warmup. Given how few longshots came in, and how many Mel had, he probably would have won that one. Quite a stretch of handicapping by one of our long time posters.

Silver Charm · January 29, 2006, 04:23:43 PM

Congrats to this guy and all the other TG Players who got there. That in and of itself is quite an achievement.

Also good job by DRF Vegas writer Dave Tuley for mentioning all of the various handicappers who made the Finals, brother combos\'s, some regulars, some characters, etc. Lots of these people are normal everyday people who were very successful in life at something else and now play the horses seriously.

I know of some individuals who were very successful Insurance Execs another who is the CEO of a Publicly Traded Company. When these guys walk into any Track in America the Red Carpet should be getting roled out.

Betting money on horses can be both a passion and a hobby. When these guys enter into a contest with mandatory races they don\'t have the backdoor weapon their Poker counterparts have.

They can\'t bluff......

Mall · January 29, 2006, 05:41:18 PM

Been there, still haven\'t done that, but at least I\'m making progress. If Jean-Luc gives 17-1 Lutay Lay one of the worst rides in history in Aqu4, instead of the worst ride in history, & doesn\'t lose 2nd by a neck, or if 5-1 Rich Fantasy, the shortest price I took in the contest, wins the head-bob in OP9, or if... A list of the ways I could have come out on top is pretty long, but I had one heck of a ride & an even better time. And at least I remembered to bet all of the mandatory races. The air traffic controller who edged me out of second by a dollar forgot about one.

They announced at the Awards Dinner that the top prize next yr will probably be increased to $500k, but what I was really hoping to hear was that more than the winner would get an automatic bid to next yr\'s event. This has to be the only contest in the world that\'s harder to get into than it is to win. This yr only 62 from last yr made it, including the ever dangerous Jamie, who I was more concerned about when he had that 45-1 cap horse on Sat than I was about the very classy gal who was still leading going into the very last race of the day. Enjoyed it as always Jamie.

One of the guys who didn\'t make it this yr was The Maven, which left him available for the telecast, which I\'m pretty sure will be vastly superior to last yr.

The MC at the Awards Dinner made a crack or two that may have left the impression that I\'m obsessed with winning an Eclipse Award. I can\'t for the life of me figure out where that came from, unless maybe he overheard Ira Schwartz & I in the bar mapping out a contest schedule for 2006 if the 17-1 shot which won the last wasn\'t enough to win me the big prize.

Anyway, thanks for the complimentary sheets, thanks to everyone for encouragement & kind words, & thanks especially to the guys who worked so hard to support & help me before & during the contest.

tmon · January 29, 2006, 07:08:03 PM

Did you have that 45-1 first time grass maiden winner sired by Unusual Heat?

Kasept · January 29, 2006, 08:10:24 PM

Mall,

Congrats on the fine showing... And I bet the Samyn horse myself as well, and it may very well have been the worst ride in history.

Steve

brokerstip · January 30, 2006, 04:11:05 AM

Tmon,

If you pose the question to me about the 45-1 UH...the answer is no.

I was nowhere near a track site that day. Our local Pocono Downs simulcasting site has closed for 7 weeks. (a long story of gaming board, Mohegan Sun, local management incompetence etc.}

I have a small offshore account (no accts permitted in Pa. if you live within 30 mile radius of a track....I do). However, didn\'t check entries or anything else that day as I had family obligations with kids etc.

I have hit a number of them and also lost on many. I was kind of stunned at the price (I knew when I saw Abrams/turf that it must have been an UH.). Actually, I thought most players were aware of this sire by now. Abrams is decent conditioner so 45-1 is a bit of a shock. Not sure what was in the field but there were probably some decent entries or at least higher profile names.
My congrats to those who knocked that number down.

Tip

HP · January 30, 2006, 04:57:40 AM

Samyn has been horrible for quite awhile... Awful on grass as well, despite the \"Samyn on the green\" nonsense. HP

TGJB · January 30, 2006, 09:15:27 AM

Mall-- always good to hear about air traffic controllers being forgetful. I\'m really glad I read that AFTER I flew back last night.

I heard Jamie had the 45-1 shot, and one of the guys I was in Florida with (sometimes poster on this board, arguably the best active pro player) had a very big wp bet, and made a huge score. I didn\'t look at the race myself. But the horror story-- right up there with Kasept\'s-- is that of another guy I was with, who played the first two in the exacta. Cold, the other way. With a few minutes to post he thought better of it, but went to have a cigarette first-- and forgot. He did play only those two in the pick six, but didn\'t hit it-- of course.

NoCarolinaTony · January 30, 2006, 10:01:30 AM

Well I can add to the Good and bad of that horse story as well:

The good is that I bet $20 win (99.80) on Miesque approval Had a $40 Ex Box with Miesque and Silver Tree which paid $238. So all that is good. Very Good

The Bad: I only Bet bet Silver Tree Fav over top Miesque Approval in Tri\'s with the 2,5,7,9,12 two times and again Silver Tree over those 5 with Miesque in third two times. I never put Miesque on top in my tri\'s(#$%&@ Stupid) probaly thinking that betting 140 in the race was more than enough. Again left quite a few G\'s. Never even considered the Super that race and well..I had the numbers and there was $25K there to be had. Another woulda coulda shoulda story.

Oh well Not all Bad but should have been better.

NC Tony

PS one other thought is that you knew that Bailey\'s horse would have extra money on it in the win pool and distorting the odds to some extent but no way is that horse a 45-1 shot. In fact when I bet the race the horse was $70 -1. In fact in all of the horses lifetime PP\'s the longest he ever went off was 6-1. Now Thats Value ladies and Gents!!

TGJB · January 30, 2006, 02:17:03 PM

By the way-- aside from having the best handicappers in the world, it appears we have the most photogenic. If you go to the NTRA contest photo gallery for day one, check out the photos of Jamie, Kent Meyer, Lisa Kaufman, and especially Michelle Thompson (evidently in the process of losing a photo). Huck, you need to get that one blown up and put on the wall.

Apparently Mel wasn\'t good looking enough.

marcus · January 30, 2006, 05:04:22 PM

Nice Going Mall ! 3rd pl is no small accomplishment , everyone\'s proud of you and knows you\'ll get one down the road - you can bet on it...

Silver Charm · January 30, 2006, 05:44:56 PM

From reading the DRF article this sounds like everyone was swinging for the fences in the last race. One can only imagine some of the yelling as the horses were coming down the stretch.

And while nobody is going to be giving their checks back, one would imagine in this instance, being able to say you are one the best handicappers in America is how do they say it........

Priceless

NoCarolinaTony · January 30, 2006, 06:28:57 PM

SC...

Well Said!!

My Congrats to UncleMall. I Appreciate the tutulage over the past year, and hope to be there next year with you. I know you worked very hard and you have the passion and desire to win that Eclipse award. I bet it was one of the most exciting times for you.

Well done!!!

NC Tony