What A Day!

by Ed Meyer

posted on September 27, 2009 in General Discussion | 1 Comment >>

Saturday afternoon found me on the Kentucky-Tennessee border at Kentucky Downs for a handicapping contest. This was going to be a great day, but there were a few things that came uninvited…..

The rain was sooooo bad…. It is an undulating turf course, the kind you would see in Great Britain or France.. The rain came down overnight in buckets. The track was soaked, and after a couple of early hours of deliberating, they decided for safety the races would be canceled. This made sense, but it was a waste of 2 hours of cappin’ for this oval. That is round one…

Round two…. (Now it sounds like I am complaining!)

The contest was held on Turfway Park, Belmont, and Louisiana Downs… All was good, but the players hated the last track. There were championship winners in Vegas playing on this day…. It was the consensus that LAD could have been replaced. But, it stayed and so did we…

Round three…..

I made my first two plays. I was up $69 betting two-dollars to win and place. There is a cap of 20-1 to win ($42) and 10-1 ($22) for the place… Needless to say, I was on fire… I was in third about 2 hours into the contest, with plenty of plays…. The complaints still were flying, but I am trying to see past.  After another half an hour, I dropped to 5th place, but was only $2 and change out of first….. Things are going well….

Round four…. (Things get wild).

The contest is impacted greatly by a $33.60 horse, a $129 runner, and a $23.20 horse. Only a small handful of players are happy. The reality of using LAD for a track would be extremely slim. The ones that benefited were those who had no bankroll, or were throwing darts. This was the overall feeling. I see the pro and con, but it was a factor that made the contest tougher to chew for seasoned players. The tracks usually include: New York, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois and California….. The biggies.. This is how it is usually played. But, the contest was well run and had some of the nicest people I have ever met running the show. Kudos on that note….

Well, many players (myself included) watched as their score dropped out of contention. I know the rules, and that is the way it goes…. I will get them next time, and that comes next week at the Orleans to play in the “Fall Classic” under the WinningPonies banner. This is always a well run contest, and draws some of the best players in the country. There is a summer and a fall classic that qualify the top 25 to come back for The Horse Player World Series in February.

Wish me luck!