Does horse racing define you?
 

Ever think about what your life would be like without horse racing?

Does it make you part or all of who you are?

For some its a weekend hobby, for others its a career in some way or another, for some its a vice that interferes with relationships and personal goals.

You tell me. Who are you?

Do you make excuses to justify the gambling and the being at the track all day? Could you give it up if you had to?

It consumes my every thought.:D

Tim,
As you know, I don't have to be at the track to gamble.
Heck, when it stands and nurses I've already made a substantial investment.
I love so much about it, in addition to the track.
The smell of fresh hay, and even the smell of the stalls.

Could I give it up?
Geesh, that would be very tough.
It's a very big part of my life.
It demands the best of me.
Gotta love the challenge...the adrenaline.

DTS

Well, I just scheduled my surgery for the 19th of July. As of July 1 I am unemployed. I have already thought about how many of those 18 days will be spent at the Colonial Downs track/OTB.

Any over/under on the # of days??????:D

Hmm, Im gonna say 14.

thats about right....because I am gonna be gone for 4 days on a mini vacation with the girl:o

16 is about close

*note to self....no employment = no income*:eek: :eek:

What a great set of questions. For me now this is what Horse Racing does for me -

Takes me to another place. I swear to each and every person who might read this, there is nothing now on this earth that brings me satisfaction (of course sex is the obvious) to the extent that spending an hour or two on a Friday night with the DRF, playing a Pick 3 or 4, and cashing provides.

This is what I so love about this industry from my perspective as a gambler - It provides one with the chance to use some intellect while gambling to score.

Horses are my life...horses are life
 

I use to hitch hike to the Big T when I was 14. I had my high school senior scheule arranged so I'd make 1st post. I've been to the Derby 7 times and about every race track in the US and several in England. I now treck to Saratoga every year I can 8 out of the last 10 years.

36 years later I have seen that the track has molded me as a person in a very positive way. Each day at the track is a microcausium of life itself. You have winners and losers, you compete against the same people that are your best friends, the puzzles of each race (always different) are like each day you awake and each challenge you face in life.

Living in SC I got away from the ponies only to find them again bigger and better on the internet. Reading the form (I use brisnet) is the anaylical brain excersise that keeps me young and drives me beyond the finish line to each of lifes challenges.

We are a rare breed, especially those of us that love the game to be sitting here now doing this instead of hundreds of other things. In the end, my life is so much better for the challenge. If life is about the journey and not the end result it's a joy to know that it's 5 minutes to post time somewhere in the world right now and always.

Yea, I could quit horse racing and I could quit breathing. I don't see much pay off in either.

Spyder from SC

uhhhh........no it does not define me. I think if a person has any ONE thing that defines them, they may need help.

I think I just shed a tear....BRAVO.....(whistles).....bravo

I don't know that define is the word Tim was looking for. Frankly, if you have taken the time to find a horse racing message board and are a regular poster, than you aren't like most horse racing fans. Secondly, there are a group of people at the track who are there simply to gamble, i.e. they would be gambling on dogs or anything else if it was within driving distance. Then there are those who love horse racing and therefore gamble on it.

I can't envision my life without horse racing in it, but it doesn't define me. It takes up more of my time than any other hobby I have by far. But I feel like its quality time if I can make a buck at it....But the fact that Breeders Cup Day is my favorite day of the year times 10 makes it obvious that horse racing is more than a simple vice. Just a great game.

It is my principal hobby, but that's what it is. I spend time almost everyday thinking about racing, reading books on the sport, or just trolling over here at Derby Trail. However, I have a family, own a business, and still enjoy other activities such as golf and going to football, basketball, baseball games, etc., so no, it doesn't define me.

I echo a lot of what Randall said but would add a few things. To "define" someone is a label thats just about impossible to assign without knowledge of another person completely. I'd have to say that anyoen who is defined by one thing in life has a very empty existence.
Life is completely bland when you only care about one thing. This is a horse racing board so thats what we basically speak about. I'm sure that I, like others, reach a point in the day when we have just had enough. Politics, movies, reading, sports, just so many other things hold my interest. Then of course we all have duties or responsibilities in life that we don't choose, they are just there and must be performed. Horse racing is something I have great passion for, but too much of anything will make you sour on it.
I think that many only view racing as a gambling outlet. These are the folks who are constantly bitter about the game and speak a lot of negativity about it. Some of us can watch races or handicap a card as a mental exercise and enjoy it without betting. Some of us really get pumped up watching a great horse like Ghostzapper run just to see him perform. The fact that he is 1-9 is meaningless. There are a lot of races to bet every day but so rarely do you get to see a great animal run.
I think thats what seperates the people here, some with passion for the sport,and some who only view it as gambling.

Isnt that what the girl's for? ;)
I am just kidding, of course.

I don't gamble on anything but horses. In fact....I didn't gamble until I got better at 'capping. I still suck...just not as much.

She has made it clear that there is no need for me to rush back into finding a job after surgery. But I can't just sit around....I will go ape****

It's my main hobby and interest, I bet mainly on weekends, but even when not betting, I read and try to learn all that I can. I don't golf or have any other expensive hobbies, so I don't feel the least bit guilty betting, I figure if I golfed I probably would spend more money with little return. There's nothing better than picking up a Form on Friday and looking at it all day at work and seeing all of the races and getting excited, putting together tickets. Also, my dad loves horse racing, so it gives him and I something to talk about, so that's pretty cool. Also, my best friend is into racing as much as I am, he's very busy, with 2 kids and a wife, it gives him a release as well. He's taught me a ton, but now that I have more time than him, I keep him up to date on alot of stuff.

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..