THE ASPIRING HORSEPLAYER

Got a burning question on your mind for the Aspiring Horseplayer?  Chances are it’s covered in the FAQ below.  If not, feel free to leave your question in the comments section and I’ll get back to you ASAP. 

FAQ

• Question #1:  I’m totally new here and have stumbled upon your site at random.  It looks interesting, but where do I get started?

Start here and be sure to read the entire primer and all of it’s subsections.  Even then you are probably months away from realistically being able to lay your first bets, unless you are the type that throws caution to the wind and wants to attempt a strike at gold.  A more prudent approach is to practice, practice, practice and keep track of your theoretical wagers and see how well you do.  Once you are hitting at roughly 50% with your top choices, you know you are ready to start playing. 

• Question #2:  Where can I watch horse races?

There are several options available to aspiring horseplayers that wish to view live racing.  The best overall experience has to be attending the races live at the racetrack.  If you don’t have a major thoroughbred track near your home, then you can watch and wager through channels such as TVG (Televesion Games Network) and HRTV(Horse Racing TV).  Each channel is available on many cable and satellite providers (TVG for example is channel 602 on Directv).  Lastly, there are many off-track wagering facilities known as OTBs and OTWs sprinkled across the country.   Additionally many casinos offer a sports book or betting parlor for thoroughbred wagering.   Personally,  I prefer to play along with the southern California tracks that TVG covers and then hit the other tracks during major racing days that are usually covered anyway on ESPN or one of the major networks. 

• Question #3:  How can I start wagering?

You have several options for establishing a means of wagering.   When visiting the racetracks and OTBs you can wager cash at the betting windows.  When wagering from home you will need to set up an on-line account.  I personally play through ebetusa, but this is largely due to state law that mandates all thoroughbred wagering conducted in the state of Pennsylvania go through Penn National racetrack.  Local restrictions may apply for you.  Most folks that I know wager directly through their TVG accounts, or establish betting accounts with companies such as ebetusa and youbet. 

• Question #4:  So how good are you, Mr. Aspiring Horseplayer?  How often do you win and how do we know we should trust you?

Perhaps I should have broken this up into several questions, but we’ll start with last part.  My standing advice to any aspiring horseplayer is to never take anyone else’s word or opinion over your own.  This is your money you are playing with.  I do pay attention to who other players are using and their reasons for doing so, but only to see if there is something I’ve missed.  It’s also a nice sanity check when you land on a 20/1 longshot bomb and you see/hear that other folks saw the same thing you did, although that does translate into lower payout at the windows (remember we are playing against each-other in this game and not a “house”).   I’ll continue to offer my regular handicapping selections on this site, but I strongly encourage all readers to form their own opinions about each of the races.  Even more so, I’d love to hear your opinions before, during, and after the races so be sure to chime in with comments on the selections.

As far as how good I am?  All I can tell you is that I’m still learning and am quite humble about my abilities.  No seriously, I really am (stop laughing! I can hear you, you know!).  Like most public handicappers, I seem to strike somewhere around 40% with my top choices alone and somewhere around 65% with my top 3 selections.  These aren’t gaudy #’s, but it’s fairly impossible even for the best handicappers to consistently turn in better results.  What all seasoned horseplayers understand is that you go through ups and downs when handicapping and true veteran knows how to both ride a tidal wave of success and weather a storm of defeats. 

• Question #5:  I’d like to take my game a step farther.  Where can I get information on more advanced handicapping and wagering strategies?

We have a wealth of information in our further reading section that may interest you.  You’ll have to purchase these books separately as I cannot reproduce their content on this site.   The resources I have listed come with my personal seal of approval.

• Question 6:  What are the biggest events of the year in Horse Racing?

Without question the biggest event of the year in horse racing seems to be the Kentucky Derby.  Even the Queen of England has crossed the pond to be in attendance in recent years.  The Derby marks the start of the 3 year old Triple Crown races, which also include the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.   A horse must win all 3 races in a span of 5 weeks at grueling distances in order to earn a Triple Crown, and no one has done it since Affirmed in 1978.   Apart from the Triple Crown races, the Breeder’s Cup Championship races held at the end of October each year decide the yearly champion in all of the major divisions in racing.  It is from the Breeder’s Cup Classic that many Horse of the Year honors are earned.   There are countless major stakes races at the various tracks across the country, and weekends in particular tend to be bigger racing days from an overall purse perspective than do weekdays.   Friday nights (which any proper college student will rightly declare are part of the “weekend”) are an exception to the weekday rule. 

• Question #7:  Do you believe in any secret formulas or systems when doing your handicapping? I’ve seen these sold online before.

Short answer: No!  Handicapping is something that always lends itself to inherent discrepancies when you start applying too much math to the subject.  Somewhere along the way, whether it be in track variants, class pars, or beaten lengths adjustments, you will expose yourself to the introduction of faulty information.  The best advice I can give you is to most certainly learn all the “angles” there are.  Know about trainers, equipment, workouts, etc., but apply your own logic to the selection process rather than relying on a strict formula.   Also try to incorporate what your eyes tell you as much as possible.  Take a look at the field of horses prior to a race and note what you see.  Learn to “spot” winners with your eyes as much as you can spot their form in the past performances.  Video replay is also an absolute godsend in this field.   I don’t wish to imply that I don’t use math, as handicapping does involve what might rightly be classified as quantum mathematics, it’s just that I don’t believe their is any single formula out there that guarantees success.   Learn to handicap the old fashioned way, but always be open to new ideas. 

• Question #8:  I’ve read over everything in this section.   I still have many questions about different aspects of the game.  What should I do? 

Lucky for you this is a blog that welcomes interactive discussion.  Just leave your comments on an applicable article and I’ll be happy to respond.  There are no stupid questions around here.  Just stupid selections when the horses I give out don’t win!  

• Question #9:  What was your greatest moment as a hoseplayer?

Without a doubt it was the 2007 Preakness at Pimlico in Baltimore, MD.  I like to consider myself one of the biggest Curlin fans of all time.  In fact, I’m so much of a fan that I’ve created custom videos of him as a tribute.  You can read all about my Preakness experience here.  I still get chills when I think about it. 

• Question #10:  Are you actually advocating on this webiste that people should gamble?

What we’re advocating here is responsible wagering by sound minded adults.  There is absolutely no reason for a horseplayer to feel guilty about laying horse bets if they are following the principals of responsible wagering.  You should only wager with money that you can afford to lose - money that would be burned through on novelty items and unnecessary junk.   The Aspiring Horseplayer is a staunch believer that the road to financial independence is paved with a strict policy of debt reduction and increased savings long before we advocate risking money on parimutuel wagering. 

Once the above is understood, there is absolutely nothing abhorrent about wagering small sums of money while watching a horse race.  Consider that if you took in a NFL or MLB game live, especially with the family around, you’d drop a couple hundred dollars for the tickets, seats, food, drinks, novelty foam fingers sporting the “#1″ signal, etc.   In thoroughbred racing, you have a chance to win thousands of dollars with that same money AND be entertained at a sporting event.  What could possibly be more exciting than that?  After all, it’s as American as applie pie to select a Derby winner each year.   You’ve at least got to give yourself that much satisfaction and tune in for the “best 2 minutes in sports.”

Got another question? Leave it below and I’ll respond.