[the_fat_man]

A key to winning, IMO, assuming the requisite skills are there, is confidence in your ability. Strange as it may sound, I don't want any freebies in the game. Even if I lose as a result of 'bad luck', I really don't need to win because of 'good luck'. I realize, obviously, that 'luck' in racing describes common events and one cannot win without accepting it as just part of the game. I don't want any freebies because I need to be able to reproduce results in order to be successful. As such, extraordinary events (a year altering score, for example) are not something I'd rely on.

Getting back on topic, if I'm alive in the last leg of and exotic, however many numbers, and I need to bet more because I'm afraid to lose, even if within the throes of a losing streak, I really shouldn't have bet that leg as this is strong evidence that I didn't have an opinion in that race.