What Now ?

These two simple words were uttered by my neighbor over the fence. – It was on Sunday after the Breeders’ Cup and he wanted to know where to bet. – I’ve been talking to him over the fence for years and he’s a curmudgeonly handicapper. He loves to bet from home, jump around and play multiple signals from opening bell to the last race. Believe it or not, he’s done pretty well over the years.

When I get to work I get a text. It comes like clockwork. “What’s the track look like? – Can you take a picture of the tractors harrowing the track?” – I fire them to him as he looks for an angle. No problem, he loves the ponies. – He’s always complaining about not being able to keep up with work and asked if I had any shortcuts. – Well, I don’t know if I’d call it a shortcut but it will keep you in the know without feeling like you’ve read War and Peace every day.

I introduced him to Winning Ponies and he loves the site. “It saves me tons of time as they do the work and I decide how to use it.” – That’s been a few years ago and he loves to dive into the tier levels. – “I don’t just play the top tier number. I jump around and seek out the ones with the highest odds and use the top five tier selections.” – I have told him over the years the top selection is not always the favorite and sometimes you’ll be plenty happy if you seek the double-digit odds. – But he has his plan, and that is fine. Winning Ponies works for him and that’s great. He loves the icons and detailed information about riders and trainers. – He has everything all in one place and it fits his needs.

Later in the day, he hollered over the fence as we were letting out the dogs. – “Hey, I wanna show you something.” – I have heard this voice many times and it was time for him to show me his winning moves. No problem, it’s always good to hear some good news about winning.

As he approached with a giant smile I knew this was his big hit of the day. – “Hey, take a look at this little winner. I boxed the top five tier selections as the TV handicappers kept talking about how this race was wide open.” – It was Race #6 – BC F&M Sprint = ” I boxed the top five in a $1 exacta per the tier levels, and did a 50-cent part wheel using the top five with the top five and a few prices I liked. – The payouts were sweet and he was a very happy camper.

 

1st – Bar of Gold (5th tier selection) = $135.40 / $44.20 / $21.60

2nd – Ami’s Mesa (top tier selection) = $16.20 / 11.00

3rd – Carina Mia (12th selection – He liked the Chad Brown / Castellano tandem at a huge price)  = $11.00

The $1 dollar exacta = $1,030.20

The 50-cent trifecta = $6,926.75

 

This was his big hit for the Breeders’ Cup and was proud as a new papa to share his victory. – I’ve always had a gamblers’ mantra. ”
If it’s important for you to tell me, it’s important for me to listen.” – He talked about some bad beats and small scores but did well on the day. When you’re playing as many races as he does you better have some good scores. – I guess I’ll see my tin of season popcorn arrive about two weeks before Christmas. I guess it’s his way of saying thanks for the track pics all summer long and introducing him to the Winning Ponies E-Z Forms. – I’ll keep sending them he’ll keep downloading. – I’m always glad to hear a good story and it’s our way of talking horses over the fence.