Isn't that what this site is for ? :D

Well, you all are safe on this...unless you wake up in the middle of the night screaming at the top of your lungs, "Get up! Get on up!", and the lovely lady next to you pokes you and says, "OK, I'm tired, but go get a blue pill if ya wanna."

Thats a good little lady right there, if even if you wake up in the dead of night asking her to "GET ON UP" she gets up does business. She is a keeper :cool:

Funny,if you watch your favorite baseball team play each night,are you addicted? No

If you are married,and spend every night with the same woman ,are you addicted? No


If you play horses with a pre-determined amount of money 5 days of the week,are you addicted? Oh certainly yes...LOL....GANDER,LET ME TELL YA WHAT'S UP. We all have habits of doing certain things more than other people do certain things.It's called likes,and dislikes.Let me tell ya what is important about betting horses.People waste time on any # of different hobbies,interests etc.So,I won't respond to that part of your statement,because it could be any activity..oil painting could be using up too much precious time that could be spent achieving these goals you often speak of.People certainly waste too much time(in some people's minds ) watching their favorite sports teams.I will respond to the important part of the subject of betting horses(the financial part.)If your going to play horses,it is up to you how much you can afford to lose.That decision on the amount needs to be made before you start betting,and you need to stick to it(painful, or not.)Don't let what happens (once racing begins,)determine how much you are willing to lose that day.You make the decision on the most you will lose.Nobody has total control of how much you can possibly win.You have total control on what you can possibly lose,and everybody who bets horses needs to have enough self respect for themselves to control how much they can afford to wager.

Well put Mike. It's been 20 years this month that I've been really interested in thoroughbred racing. I don't know why, but the challenge of taking a field of horses and predicting which of them will finish one/two/three got me hooked. I am a "small time" bettor, but just love to handicap the ponies. Could I live without it? Probably, but it's the one thing in my adult years that I'm most proud of. I never went to college, my job isn't the greatest. But, the love I have for this sport will never die! I am person who can remember little details from my past. In horse racing, I can remember those same details too.
Never made a lot of money in the sport, but wouldn't trade the past twenty years for nothing.

Scuds,

The last sentence of your response is one of the smartest things I have ever read on any message board BECAUSE it is 100% dead on -"You have total control on what you can possibly lose,and everybody who bets horses needs to have enough self respect for themselves to control how much they can afford to wager".

You know, I forgot to start a thread last week.I wanted to start a thread on Father's Day.Wanted to ask everybody what was the most important thing their Father has given(or taught them.) My Dad has always valued Moderation a great deal.

I learned to read by reading a racing form before I started school. And THAT'S a true story.

Related, when I got to fractions in math in grade school, I was at the head of the class with minimal effort. I do recall I had to explain to the teacher what a "furlong" was on one day.

I also won a school spelling bee in 6th grade by correctly spelling the word "inquiry." When the principal did the obligatory on stage interview, he asked how I knew the word. "I've seen it on the board at the track since I was a kid," was my reply....to the horror of my nag track playin' parents.

I've spent many many days in the years since, at live tracks.

And at OTB's and other gambling venues (I refuse to play via the internet.....it doesn't give me the sense of satisfaction and pleasure I know from the track, or the group action fun of OTB or sportsbook action).

Sometimes I win pretty good. Sometimes I've won very well. I've rarely crossed my limit in wagering for a day. If at a live track, I'm often content to just wander from the paddock, to the fence and to the winner's circle and just play a few bucks a race......if that.

If I've been in a city or town that publishes thoroughbred charts, I read 'em whether I have any vested interest, or not.

When I go to the track, or even the OTB, I forget anything else in the world that may not be going for the best in life.

Thoroughbred racing is glorious escapism for me, at times.

And I love the history of this sport, and try to collect and breathe it in whenever possible.

I'm not sure that horse racing has defined me, but I damned sure would be OK if I realize one day that it has.

What does "define" mean?
 

First I think some of you are in denial, but that's for you to decide.

Second according to the dictionary define means:

To give form or meaning to: “For him, a life is defined by action”

Now, that does not mean that your don't "care about" anything else. In fact, it does mean just the opposite. example: Barbaro

Maybe some of you have not logged approaching four decades of horse racing and maybe you don't care to, but, just like the ponies we play, I guess we are all different.

I just think I have found so many life lessons over the years and in each race that, yes, it does define me and I think I'm a better person for it.

Spyder from SC

Scuds-

My father gave me a carton of cigarettes and said..."Smoke up Johnny".

I love horse racing, staying in good shape, baseball, reading, drinking coffee and eating. Not so much into golf like I used to. It is too much of a process playing on weekends (basically only time I can play) and its getting real expensive. It doesnt give me the same level of pleasure as it use to when I was actually good at it.

First I think some of you are in denial, but that's for you to decide.


I know some of you are in denial! :cool:

Tim lemme ask you something, would you say that the Red Sox or Yankees define you or I? I mean after all, when we scream and yell at the tv for the manager to get the damn pitcher out of there, or jump up and start making circular motions with our arms like a 3rd base coach after a guy hits a line drive with a guy on 2nd base, I'd say to the average guy we look like loonies. I've been with girls who don't understand or like sports who have seen me do this and they just can't believe that I do those things. Yet I would be hard pressed to say the Yankees define me. Its probably always been my greatest passion in life, I have been a Yankee fan to the 10th degree since I was just a small kid. Yet, its not a definition. I think that some have the ability to have great passion for their interests yet remain multifaceted. YOU know my political views and when I watch Hannity and his liberal jerkoff partner I sit and yell and at the tv screen louder than I yell during a race. Life, to me, gets awfully boring when you only have one interest or setting.

yes ,yes and yes,,love this sport and the" puzzle".if i would have taken a diffrent path in life i would have been a trainer,,but that bieng said..its the only thing thats just mine...kids wife all that is great ..but ive got my own thing that makes me happy..as i now reside in the bible belt its even more the life of a secret agent..surely the local pta would frown upon a horsplayer for a position..or coach..its funny when people ask me what i do for a living...i have to tell them im a consultant...lmfao...i live in a place where doct and lawyers are the norm ..so i find it funny.....

Hooves I understand but do you think it "defines" you? I mean you don't talk much here about being a father, husband, and coach, etc. Yet its obvious that you are a dad, a husband, and a coach because you just told us. A lot of us don't speak about the other facets of what makes us up and our other activities. I know some have felt comfortable telling us about the personal things in their lives right down to the letter. I'm not one of them. When I wanna talk about personal things I use the phone or maybe messenger or email. I'm not getting on those who do such things like discuss every thing in their life here, but I'm not one of them. I'm a little more guarded about posting specific details of my life on a message board. I think its tacky, but thats just my opinion. I think to truly begin to understand or define someone you have to know a whole lot more about their life than what you read here in most cases. I think that most think of this place as a place to discuss who they think will win a stakes race on Saturday, not to discuss personal details of their family life and whats got them down or what they are battling.

i guess i know what your getting at...defines me..on this board in this context yes..i dont go for the telling the whole life story thing..thats for close friends ..on a need to know basis ..not in a public forum..imo

I know thats what I am saying. I think that in order to even begin to judge someone that you only know off the net that you have to have a lot more in the way of details than you get off a message board.
I think you and I are in the majority of people here that don't get into specifics about their personal lives.

Mine, the exact opposite, unload, unload, unload, doesn't matter if it is rats, pacers, or Los Al....UNLOAD

nice scavs..thats my boy..lol

F 'em Hooves. I have talked with ya alot by phone, and even though we have never met in person, I can tell your a class guy that loves his wife and kids. I envy you bro..

love dem ponys..like gpk..