I totally here where you are coming from. I play at Great Lakes Downs, which is a OTB 99% of the time with a horse track attached and the same thing happens. I think it has to do with how many races these guys play a day. I would say a majority do not sit out a single race at whatever 1, 2, 3, or more tracks they are playing that day. That being said these guys don't even have enough time to look at the program.

Alternate theory: I know a ton of guys who just play the same numbers every day. Hence, they don't know the horse or the jockey just their numbers.