Z Humor, Turf War, and Golden Yank hit the line together in the Delta Jackpot on 12/7/07 at Delta Downs. (Coady Photography/ Nicole Walker)
When we last saw 3 year old colt Z Humor, he was hitting the finish line together with Turf War and Golden Yank in the $1 Million Delta Jackpot at Delta Downs. The photo finish revealed that Golden Yank was in third, with Z Humor and Turf War tied in a dead heat for first. Golden Yank’s connections appealed to the Louisiana gaming commission, but ultimately were denied credit for the win.
Saturday marks Z Humor’s return in the $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. The event has drawn a field of 9 horses, including Big Truck, and Smooth Air. The Sam F. Davis is an ungraded Stakes going 1 1/16 miles over the dirt at Tampa Bay Downs, but it is notable that the race has been taken by eventual Grade 1 winners Bluegrass Cat and Any Given Saturday in the last 2 years.
The race seems to be a 2 horse event to me when looking at it on paper. Z Humor sticks out thanks to decent efforts in Grade 1 races against the likes of Pyro and War Pass. Garrett Gomez keeps the mount and the Bill Mott trained colt should have a good showing against this field. Smooth Air appears to be the logical contender and could be right there with Z Humor just behind the leaders as they turn for home.
I’ll use both of them in the exacta and trifecta on top. Underneath I’ll toss in Wise Answer, Celtic Meal, and Big Truck.
Big Truck may turn it around and run a big race. He looked promising to start his career and has had some excuses in his last three with trouble and track conditions. His works look strong, and Eibar Coa is getting off Wise Answer to ride him.
Big Truck ran well yesterday to get place honors. Looks like they do have him headed in the right direction.
He got hung out REALLY wide on the far turn yet still ran a close second. Looked like the best horse to me anyway. He could have used a ride from Calvin “BoRAIL.”
I just opened an online account that offers 3% rebates on WPS wagers, and 8% on exotics. Sticking with bets on tracks that offer the lowest takeouts like those in New York, I’m hoping I can make a profit. Do you take advantage of rebates by wagering online or pay attention to takeout percentage?
Sometimes. For example, Laurel did some promotional things when the 2007 meet kicked off that left better takeouts in the pick 6 and pick 4 pools. I was all over that. Actually missed a couple of pick 6’s that may have been ‘life changing” by one race. The “5 of 6″ consolation is just such a teaser.
For the most part though I just ignore them and focus my main bets on multi-race exotics like the pick 4 and pick 6 since you only get hit with the takeout once if I understand it correctly. I’ll throw in some action bets of the W-P-S and tri/exacta variety to keep my interest in each individual race.
I’m actually a terrible trifecta handicapper. On a 10 race card I’m usually lucky to have 2 trifectas right using my top 3 selections. I’ve always rationalized this by thinking that I”m looking at 3 logical win candidates, and not necessarily place or show candidates. Still, it’s something I wish I was better at. I usually have to cover several horses underneath to give myself a prospect of hitting.
What do you mean about getting hit only once with the takeout in Pick 4’s and 6’s? How does that work?
Jerry, the way I understand it (and I may be very wrong about this) is that in the multi-race exotic wagers, the track takeout is only factored into the first leg where you lay your bet, as opposed to in all 4 legs if you were to parlay on your own by placing single win bets. I’ve always heard that the multi-race exotics are the way to go to limit takeouts. Of course a lot of times the takeouts can be higher in these pools as opposed to straight win-place-show wagering, but I think you still end up better off. Hopefully someone will correct me if I’m mistaken about this.
That trial run they did at Laurel with reduced takeouts was awesome, I just wish they’d do that all the time to encourage more betting. Hopefully they will do something like that when the Pimlico meet starts up. God knows I’ll be playing that meet as frequently as possible.
I contacted the Maryland Jockey Club and they sent me a .pdf file with a list of takeout percentages for the winter meet. Pick 3’s and 4’s have a takeout of 14% which is among the lowest in the country. Couple that with an 8% rebate on exotic bets online, and you’re paying 6%. That’s no worse than sales tax.
How did I not know this? That’s unbelievable! Is that rebate available on bets through any service or just through HRTV?