timmy g are you bill or ted?....san d ca...is there really a circle k lol:cool:

Pat,
I couldn't agree more. It really IS an art and a science.
Predicting outcomes, now there's the puzzle.
To me, it comes from something deeper than anything that is quantifiable, much more "human".
It's called hope.
It's exactly the same psychological motivation as to why people show up in church every Sunday.
The thing that intrigues me is that so many quest the same answers, despite different venues.

"Do I want to go to heaven? Or can I avoid going to Hell?"

To me, it continues to be very interesting.
When I find the answer to the puzzle, I'll let you know, but I don't expect that I'll find it in this life.
I also hope.
On a very basic level, that's what most of this is about. (HOPE)

DTS

Great posts GTS,PG..

The joy of handicapping is the intellectual challenge picking winners for me. Though I follow racing consistently, I don't play more than 15 days a year, so the money is somewhat secondary, though I like winning as much as the next guy. I do expect to win, but being brutally realistic, the days I go are often the toughest cards of the year and breaking even is a challenge. I'm confident in my handicapping and feel like I am as good as any intermediate player on most days. However, I have a family and a nice career, so having the time to watch races and put the work that it takes into winning daily isn't feasible. Build a pile of money, retire at 50, and then see what I can do with racing down the road...on the other hand, I play sports betting to win money. Don't confuse that with being a handicapper. Much like racing, I know I can't put in 60 hours a week on that, but I am not ashamed to admit that I purchase selections from pros that I have been with for 10 years. Before some of you rush to condemn me, consider that I am a winning gambler while 99.9% of the guys who are too proud to pay for information are losing on their own picks..

DUDE: the Circle K is 150 yds from my apartment!!! Alas, I dont remember the movie very well!!!

To me its the joy of picking winners, especially the higher odds horses. Seeing something the very few others see. A sense of pride really.

the terror of tampa bay...................:cool: :cool:

To me it's the puzzle first & foremost.
Then there's the color;pageantry and seeing the perefct "running machines" take to the track.
Then watching the one you gleaned out of the pp's start that run at the 3/8's pole; sweep around horses on the turn and collar the leader 100 yds from the finish.
Then the finale.....cashing your winning ticket, with a broad smile, and a feeling of utter accomplishment.

You can't get all 4 of those things gambling on any other sporting event.Occasionally you get the 70yrd touchdoen pass in the final seconds of the football game that enables you to beat the spread. And occasionally you get that third ace on the river. And both of these events are a rush, it's true; but they don't happen very often (at least not as often as seeing your pick come thundering down the stretch, pasing all those in his way).
And in none of the other games of chance, do you have as much to decipher, and as fulfilled a feeling after deciphering.
It's the greatest game.

Yes, yes...
Now think about this for a moment if you will allow me...
You find a really nice brood mare,
You search for the right "match" for her...compensate for her "defects".
You pay a very big stud fee.
You wait.
Then wait a lot more.
Then comes the day when it's born and tries to find its way to its little wobbly legs. Life.
Then more waiting, watching it play with the other foals in the pasture.
Then the time to train.
Start it slow, break it to lead, then the bit, next a light saddle.
Then you roll over its back, and later, after it trusts you enough, it lets you climb on to its back.
Then some easy rides with a retired pony horse (just so it feels a bit less threatened).

Next, the real training....the folks that you trust to make something more of what you've already invested so much time and effort into.
You watch the clock.
you hope they don't wreck him/her.
You hope it stays sound.
And then, one day...it shows up in the paddock wearing your silks.
The post parade, the gate, the break...

All I'm trying to say is that there is so, so much more than the final 3/8, though it brings the same lump in my throat when I see that special moment.
So much goes in before anything worthwhile comes out....

As I've heard said, "All in the blink of a moment...is all eternity".

That's what it is to me. Life.

DTS

Nice post-------------------------you write as an owner and I write as a handicapper. I've been both and both have their ups and downs, but I wouldn't trade any of either experience, because nothing else is like it.

agreed....but you know what takes it to the next level for me is being there, without any forms, pp's, or odds boards and being able to spot that special something by how a horse looks. how they react in the paddock, when they are saddled, in the post parade and if you are right in your hunch the thrill is just as great whether you have no money or a bunch of money riding on it. It's about the love of the game and the animal as much as it is cashing a ticket....for me anyway.....