Handicapping the trainers...

[green gazelle]

Steve and all,

I am tired of flogging myself for leaving out Dale Romans/Ramon D. and costing myself the pick 4 at Saratoga on 7/22.

The problem is, there is so much talent at Saratoga and DelMar that to try and make selections based heavily on connections would result in unrealistic pick 4 tickets.

I realize this is difficult to discuss due to your good relationships with so many of the connections, but are there certain things you can look for to determine if a trainer is just trying to get experience/conditioning for a horse, or really pointing to win a race, especially the maiden or claiming races that make up the pick 4's?

What is the best bang for the buck in terms of past performance data for this kind of stat? As a few hundred per weekend player, I have a hard time budgeting the time or money to buy and study $50 worth of past performance sheets, though I wish I could!

Thanks, hope to get back on track with you after a rough weekend!

GG