Horse Players
 

It was funny a few years ago I got a statement from TVG for tax purposes and I bet $120,000 over the year and made $123,000. My wife went crazy. I think I made $48K and she saw I bet almost 3X that. I had to sit down and have a long talk. My big bet is $10. I can churn $120,000 easily a year. I enjoy it and it's good for racing.

The big problem was explaining to my wife why I bet $120,000. Why didn't I save that ? Well, it was only $10 or $20.

Although I think it's great. In horseracing I can bet hundreds of thousands a year and still have my wife and house. What a world.

However, I have to be good. I can't lose.

In order to do what we all love, we have to be good. All of the people I know, we have lives, we have family. We can't lose. In order to do what we love, we have to do it well.

I hate when people equate a horseplayer as a gambler. Gamblers go broke, horseplayers don't.

123000/120000=roi

given the track take thats pretty good betting. In the old days that would be a much higher profit.

According to my calculator that is $1,025.00.


Just to be clear :wagered $120,000 and made $1,025 in profit, which is less than 1%. Is that correct?

I think you need a new calculator.

That would be 2.5% which is very good. If you are making hundreds of bets a year and you have a positive ROI you are doing well, considering the take is at least 16%. That means he made at least 18.5% without the take.

If someone who knows nothing about horseracing heard that a guy made 2.5% for the year on his total bets, they would not realize how good that is. As Junanan said, if you stick $5,000 in a racing account, you could probably end up betting at least $100,000 for the year. So if you bet $100,000 over the course of a year and you made 2.5% ($2,500), in reality you really made 50% on your money, since you only put $5,000 in your account.

In addition, if you are a big bettor and live in a state that allows rebates, you can make plenty of money breaking even. I know a group that bets over $100 million a year. They break even but they get a 10% rebate. You can do the math on that.

Thank you for the detailed and informative response. It's clearer now.

Nope! Tried 2 more and it always equals 1,025.

What does your calculator come up with when you subtract $120,000 from $123,000?

He said he bet $120,000 and ended up with $123,000. So he made $3,000. To
figure out his ROI is pretty simple. What percentage of $120,000 is $3,000? It is exactly 2.5%.

123000 divided by 120000 cannot possibly be over 1000. Your calculators are messed up

Maybe your calculatrs use commas for decimal points, which would make total sense.

The roi is 1.025 for every dollar bet as we standard see it on the Form for trainer stats, thats why I said to do it that way.

Where are you coming up with that? He bet $120,000 and he got back $123,000. He made a $3,000 profit from his $120,000 bet. His ROI is 2.5%. It's not that complicated.

Isn't 1.025 per $1 bet 2.5%

Yes, you guys are right.

My apologies. You are correct.

No problem, I was just trying to relate it to what people see in the form with trainer stats (*though they do use a $2 increment for a break even).

Yes, that is tight. If this was DRF, it would show a $2.05 return for $2.00, which would be a 2.5% ROI.

Boy thats a lot of money and wagering / risk for 2.5%. Better to bet 120,000 on one race, bridge jump and take the 5%. :)