Santa Anita Morning Line

[Stillriledup]

Um, are these ML's "off"?

Race 2, five horse field, here's the ML:

4-5
8-5
5-2
9-2
9-2

[ultracapper]

I have a real problem with the ML maker at Santa Anita.

From what I have always been told for the past 30 years of playing this game, the purpose of the morning line is to give the gamblers an educated guesstimate as to the distribution of the betting money. In other words, a great ML would look very much like the final odds, regardless of the race result.

The guy at Santa Anita, at least what I get from listening to him before every race, is handicapping the race and putting the horses in the order he thinks they will finish. Basically, he's giving us the results of his handicapping. There are numerous races every day in which he goes into how he handicapped a race in coming up with his ML favorite. Today he explained how he loved the way this particular horse battled down the lane in his previous race, and installed him as the 5/2 MLF. First flip, horse is 7/1, which in just reviewing the form initially, was much more correct than 5/2. I remember a number of months ago, when I first really noticed this, he had a horse that just broke maiden by 7 lengths listed at 20-1 in a StAl. The horse was immediately the 3-1 favorite, floated to 7, maybe because of his ml, and won by daylight. The reason he listed it at 20-1 ml.....because he wasn't impressed with the field in the horse's last race.

Do any of us really care beyond the usually curious, "who do like?", what this guy's handicapping results are? Wouldn't we rather have a better picture, as well as one can be reasonably painted, of where the money is going to go during the betting? Isn't that the purpose of the ml anyhow?

The way I would make a morning line for publication purposes would be to take the most influencial data relied on by the common handicapper, with no regard to the value I give to that data, and weigh those items in relation to the weight the "masses" refer to that data.

1. Beyers and/or track speed figures.
2. Recent finish positions
3. Horse's suitability to distance/surface/class
4. Connections (Particularly trainer and jock influences on the bettors)

These 4 factors alone are a huge determining factor in the "common" horseplayers betting decisions, and an "accurate" ml could probably be reliably posted by just taking these items into consideration. This guy at Santa Anita finds himself a half a dozen times a week defending his morning line favorite because he installed the horse as such because of his preference for the horse after handicapping the race and the bettors don't agree with him and didn't support the horse even close to making it the favorite in the early betting. The race I'm referring to today he made the 3 the 5/2 mlf, and then while discussing the horses while they were being saddled, started discussing the 4 and said, "this will be your post time favorite". SHOULDN'T HE HAVE MADE THE 4 THE MLF THEN? What the hell is he doing?

I'm looking at tomorrow's card, and I have already spotted a couple races where his MLF isn't even going to be close to the odds he has posted. It's just worthless. The reason a track has a ML is so we as gamblers can gage perceived hidden value. Instead at Santa Anita, we've got this ML, which has huge influence, regardless of what anybody may say, based on a guy's handicapping. It's just worthless.

[Overlay]

I had also at one time thought or heard of the morning line as the linemaker's take on how the public will wager, but I've seen it done either way depending on who the linemaker is, and possibly taking other factors into account, such as putting limits on the odds at the upper and lower extremes of the line to make it appear that no horse is a hopeless longshot or a mortal lock. Also, regardless of how the linemaker approaches it, there's no guarantee that the public will conform to his thinking. In light of all those potential inconsistencies or unknowns, the only line to which I attach any importance is my own fair-odds line, even when sizing up races that have to be handicapped and bet before knowing how the public will actually wager, when the morning line is the only available "second opinion".

As Stillriledup indicated, there have also been previous threads on this topic. A search on "morning line" in the thread title currently yields 136 hits, including threads on Santa Anita specifically.

[DSB]

This ML is grossly inaccurate.

Assuming the usual 17% takeout for win and breakage to a dime, the maximum point value would add up to 125.5. (It would have to fall in a range of 120.5 to 125.5 to be viable)

This line adds up to 159.01.

A line like this predicts an underpayment based on the takeout.

[ultracapper]

Track handicapper and track odds maker should be two entirely different functions. If you are the track handicapper, such as Brad Free for the DRF at SA, then his opinion is what we are looking for. If you are the track odds maker, I believe his name is John White at SA, then it is your job to predict to the best of your ability what the final odds will be, or at least paint a general picture as to which horses will be bet heavier than the other horses. If the track odds maker is basing it on his handicapping and trying to predict an order of finish, he isn't providing any service at all. To come right out and tell you who the MLF is and then move your discussion on to the next horse and come right out and say this will be the betting favorite at post time is confusing at best. And frankly, I have no issue with him stating why he made a horse a MLF if it is based on those things that predict what the betting public will do. Yesterday, he should have made the 4 the MLF, explained why it would be bet to favoritism, because he obviously knew, and then move on and say that he liked the 3, and explain that. He's still muddling hcpper and ml maker responsibilities, but at least he's handling it properly, in my eyes anyway. I saw zero value in him making the 3 the mlf knowing full well it wouldn't go favored. It's more like he was trying to show us how good a handicapper he was, and if the 3 won, then after the race get to boast about how he should have been listened to. It was a worthless exercise on his part yesterday, and unfortunately, it isn't isolated to this instance. Anybody can make a crappy ml, but at least stick to the objective of trying to predict the ending odds.

If a horse at SA is bet down or gets away on the board, we have no idea whether it means anything other than White didn't handicap the race very well. Useless info, oh, and this is the track that's handling $8mil to $10mil in bets a day. GREAT!!!!

[Some_One]

The 5-2 horse was scratched. Any chance what you saw on the ML was readjusted for the 5-2 scratch which we know Cali racing does.

[ultracapper]

And as for who started a thread where.....who cares, unless

1) There's a pissing match going on here I have no knowledge of, and won't participate in anyway, and

2) There are moderators on this board that do an outstanding job. If they see a need to clean up threads/posts, I have no issue with that.

Should I send Stillriledup flowers for stepping on his toes? I don't know that he was trying to make the point I was trying to make anyway, so it's two different discussions.

[Silver florin]

At some minor tracks the hotdog vendors double as the M.Line makers,and most of the time their morning line is more accurate than that know nothing Jon White. :lol:

[ultracapper]

The 5-2 horse was scratched. Any chance what you saw on the ML was readjusted for the 5-2 scratch which we know Cali racing does.

It was race #2 yesterday. Field was intact. He made the #4 the 4-1 4th choice, knowing full well it would go off favored. He didn't like him though in that race. He liked the #3, which went off at 6-1 and was installed as the 5-2 MLF. An absolutely worthless ML.

[ultracapper]

At some minor tracks the hotdog vendors double as the M.Line makers 😄

As long as they do it right, who cares.

[cj]

And as for who started a thread where.....who cares, unless

1) There's a pissing match going on here I have no knowledge of, and won't participate in anyway, and

2) There are moderators on this board that do an outstanding job. If they see a need to clean up threads/posts, I have no issue with that.

Should I send Stillriledup flowers for stepping on his toes? I don't know that he was trying to make the point I was trying to make anyway, so it's two different discussions.

I merged the two since it is two similar discussions, albeit the points are different. One is the morning line is bad because it isn't mathematically correct, the other is that the line is bad because the line is personal handicapping, not handicapping how the public will bet. I thought there was enough in common to merge them, no harm intended.

[ultracapper]

No offense taken. I'm more than satisfied playing under yours and the other moderators rules. All in all, this is a pretty good forum.

[Stillriledup]

And as for who started a thread where.....who cares, unless

1) There's a pissing match going on here I have no knowledge of, and won't participate in anyway, and

2) There are moderators on this board that do an outstanding job. If they see a need to clean up threads/posts, I have no issue with that.

Should I send Stillriledup flowers for stepping on his toes? I don't know that he was trying to make the point I was trying to make anyway, so it's two different discussions.

www.1800flowers.com

:D

[horses4courses]

I have written at length about Jon White's poor math for putting together a morning line at SA. I'm not going to go over it once again, but I will say this -
I have reached the conclusion that it may be a conscious effort to increase handle.
When 60-70% of the horses you list go off at higher odds at post time, perhaps the betting public think they are actually getting good value when the M/L odds were much lower on their selection?

Or, most likely, he just doesn't have a clue about odds percentages.:ThmbDown:

[Stillriledup]

I have written at length about Jon White's poor math for putting together a morning line at SA. I'm not going to go over it once again, but I will say this -
I have reached the conclusion that it may be a conscious effort to increase handle.
When 60-70% of the horses you list go off at higher odds at post time, perhaps the betting public think they are actually getting good value when the M/L odds were much lower on their selection?

Or, most likely, he just doesn't have a clue about odds percentages.:ThmbDown:

Either he has no clue OR he's "bought and paid for" by management who is telling him to lie to the public.

[jballscalls]

Either he has no clue OR he's "bought and paid for" by management who is telling him to lie to the public.

do you believe this stuff when you type it? Or am i missing the sarcasm?

[Turfday]

1) Spud Spivens 20/1

2) Appealing Tale 5/2

3) For Cash 20/1

4) Cat Burglar 7/2

5) Fury Capcori 7/5

6) Get Happy Mister 12/1

7) Clubhouse Ride 3/1

California win takeout is about 16% (slightly less). Breakage...7%-8% (about 1% per horse). Line should balance at 124% / 125% MAX.

This one balances to 139%. . . . .essentially, there is "another horse" in the race . . . . .a 6/1 shot who does not exist ! !

[ultracapper]

I have written at length about Jon White's poor math for putting together a morning line at SA. I'm not going to go over it once again, but I will say this -
I have reached the conclusion that it may be a conscious effort to increase handle.
When 60-70% of the horses you list go off at higher odds at post time, perhaps the betting public think they are actually getting good value when the M/L odds were much lower on their selection?

Or, most likely, he just doesn't have a clue about odds percentages.:ThmbDown:

Looks like he's having trouble with the whole job description.

[Stillriledup]

do you believe this stuff when you type it? Or am i missing the sarcasm?

Why would you read sarcasm into it? Either he doesnt know how to make a morning line OR he does know how to make a morning line that's incorrect for one reason or another.

Doesn't it have to be one of those 2 options?

[horses4courses]

1 FRIENDSWITH K MILL Tyler Baze Doug O'Neill 118 - 8/5 9/5
2 RUM POINT Elvis Trujillo Doug O'Neill 118 - 4/1 9/2
3 LOLO EL CANONERO Edwin Maldonado Peter Miller Off 118 - 9/2 5
4 ARKENSTONE Joseph Talamo Dan Hendricks 120 - 5/2 3
5 PAPA TURF Corey Nakatani James Kasparoff 118 - 3/1 5/2


Here's a good example of what is wrong with Jon White's math.
The odds listed on the right have the M/L,
then the current odds furthest to the right.

The odds were listed at about 15 minutes to post.
Looks like he is pretty close in his assessment. He is.

The odds on the bottom 2 horses are a wash.
The remaining 3, however, are all higher odds than his line.

How much of a difference percentage wise?
Over 7%.

I just don't understand why he does this virtually every race.... :ThmbDown:

[Track Phantom]

Here's a good example of what is wrong with Jon White's math.
The odds listed on the right have the M/L,
then the current odds furthest to the right.

The odds were listed at about 15 minutes to post.
Looks like he is pretty close in his assessment. He is.

The odds on the bottom 2 horses are a wash.
The remaining 3, however, are all higher odds than his line.

How much of a difference percentage wise?
Over 7%.

I just don't understand why he does this virtually every race.... :ThmbDown:

You lost me. What should his morning line have been?

I hate the guys ML's at SA but not sure what was wrong in this case.

[horses4courses]

You lost me. What should his morning line have been?

I hate the guys ML's at SA but not sure what was wrong in this case.

He routinely sets the M/L with odds that are too short.
It mystifies me as to why he does, but the M/L is regularly set 10% too high.

[Track Phantom]

Does anyone think Habibi will go off at 3-1 or the 3rd/4th choice (out of 6) in the 4th race on Thursday?

Of course not....but Jon White does. Unbelievable.

The public will make this horse 8-5 or lower, even if it is a prep for later.

[ultracapper]

Does anyone think Habibi will go off at 3-1 or the 3rd/4th choice (out of 6) in the 4th race on Thursday?

Of course not....but Jon White does. Unbelievable.

The public will make this horse 8-5 or lower, even if it is a prep for later.

That's because he sets the line based on his handicapping instead of what he feels the public will play. We've beat this one to death, but it's so maddening that you can't shake it.

[Track Phantom]

That's because he sets the line based on his handicapping instead of what he feels the public will play. We've beat this one to death, but it's so maddening that you can't shake it.

Habibi will be 8-5. Mark my words. I know it. You know it. Everyone knows it but Jon White thinks 3-1 is about right. How odd.

[Stillriledup]

Habibi will be 8-5. Mark my words. I know it. You know it. Everyone knows it but Jon White thinks 3-1 is about right. How odd.

https://twitter.com/HRTVJon

[dasch]

Habibi will be 8-5. Mark my words. I know it. You know it. Everyone knows it but Jon White thinks 3-1 is about right. How odd.

Dan Blacker is 0-7 with his USA imports lifetime. In fact the best he has managed is 2 3rds in those 7 starts. Granted this is the nicest import he has had but that stat alone will add to her price.

Its also public knowledge she fractured a hind ankle in her last start and then most of her was sold. She was with(?) or supposed to be with high profile trainer Graham Motion and now she is with a trainer almost nobody knows. All negatives IMO and we have no idea if she is even close to the same horse as before.

Even taking all of this into consideration I do feel 3-1 is a little high but not much, 5-2 2nd choice would be the right line IMO.

[Track Phantom]

Dan Blacker is 0-7 with his USA imports lifetime. In fact the best he has managed is 2 3rds in those 7 starts. Granted this is the nicest import he has had but that stat alone will add to her price.

Its also public knowledge she fractured a hind ankle in her last start and then most of her was sold. She was with(?) or supposed to be with high profile trainer Graham Motion and now she is with a trainer almost nobody knows. All negatives IMO and we have no idea if she is even close to the same horse as before.

Even taking all of this into consideration I do feel 3-1 is a little high but not much, 5-2 2nd choice would be the right line IMO.

Blacker has not had a Strawbridge import that cost a "life changing" amount when sold privately. It's not what you and I think are fair, it is how will the public play her. The public will bet her heavily. She might end up at 2-1 TOPS. The morning line guy having her at 3-1 is basically saying everyone betting at SA is in the know that she may not run because of her injury. Silly.

[dasch]

Blacker has not had a Strawbridge import that cost a "life changing" amount when sold privately. It's not what you and I think are fair, it is how will the public play her. The public will bet her heavily. She might end up at 2-1 TOPS. The morning line guy having her at 3-1 is basically saying everyone betting at SA is in the know that she may not run because of her injury. Silly.

You obviously have a strong opinion of her but many others are skeptical, myself included. The horse who was made the morning line favorite is also IMO the horse to beat. Will I include Habibi? Of course, but I will not be surprised at all if she finishes a good 3rd or 4th.

Even the "closer look" comments in the DRF state "she might be good enough to win this, were just going to watch and see how she comes back though"

[ultracapper]

Valento's right. White knows all this stuff, and has handicapped it in. He basically gives us HIS ML instead of what the public would be expected to do. He has always done it this way as far as I can see. His job is to come as close to the final odds as possible, not to give us his opinion. Drives me CRAZY!!!! Because there have been times when his opinion has been DEAD WRONG, and he's made many a ML on that. I've seen his ML fav go to 4th or 5th in the betting, AND HE KNEW IT WOULD. Even said it during the paddock commentary. Man, I wish I could remember the race a couple years ago when he made, I believe a Koriner trained horse, 20-1 ML because he did not like it's last race. First flip of the board, 3-1. Goes off at about 6 if I remember and just airmails. Wins by 5 or some such nonsense.

[dasch]

Valento's right. White knows all this stuff, and has handicapped it in. He basically gives us HIS ML instead of what the public would be expected to do. He has always done it this way as far as I can see. His job is to come as close to the final odds as possible, not to give us his opinion. Drives me CRAZY!!!! Because there have been times when his opinion has been DEAD WRONG, and he's made many a ML on that. I've seen his ML fav go to 4th or 5th in the betting, AND HE KNEW IT WOULD. Even said it during the paddock commentary. Man, I wish I could remember the race a couple years ago when he made, I believe a Koriner trained horse, 20-1 ML because he did not like it's last race. First flip of the board, 3-1. Goes off at about 6 if I remember and just airmails. Wins by 5 or some such nonsense.

I am not talking about his morning lines overall, just this one in particular. New low profile trainer, new country, long layoff, works not particularly anything special. *8-5 morning line favorite would have been ridiculous to me.

Where did you hear he makes the lines on what HE thinks they should be not the public? I have heard him 100 times on the radio say the exact opposite, that his lines are what he thinks the PUBLIC will make the horse.

Believe it or not from what I hear him say what goes into it he spends a lot of time and thought into making his line. Very conscientious about it.........sometimes he is wrong.

[ultracapper]

Observation. I play SoCal every day, and I listen to him during the paddock period. Damn, I wish I could find that one horse. he spent the whole 20 minutes heading up to the race defending his 20-1 ML even as the horse was being bet. There was a race a couple weeks ago, I brought it up on the forum at the time, where he made a horse the 4-1 4th choice, and while they were saddling the horses, HE CAME RIGHT OUT AND SAID THIS HORSE WILL PROBABLY GO OFF AS THE FAVORITE. And it did. I think it went off at 9/5 or 8/5. If he knew it would go off as the 9/5 favorite, ISN'T IT HIS JOB TO MAKE IT THE 9/5 ML favorite? That's his job, right?

[dasch]

Observation. I play SoCal every day, and I listen to him during the paddock period. Damn, I wish I could find that one horse. he spent the whole 20 minutes heading up to the race defending his 20-1 ML even as the horse was being bet. There was a race a couple weeks ago, I brought it up on the forum at the time, where he made a horse the 4-1 4th choice, and while they were saddling the horses, HE CAME RIGHT OUT AND SAID THIS HORSE WILL PROBABLY GO OFF AS THE FAVORITE. And it did. I think it went off at 9/5 or 8/5. If he knew it would go off as the 9/5 favorite, ISN'T IT HIS JOB TO MAKE IT THE 9/5 ML favorite? That's his job, right?

Its one thing to create a morning line 1-2 days before, and its another after you can see how the money is actually being bet. I am sure at that point since the horses were in the paddock he already saw the $$ being bet on the horse and knew from past experience that when the money shows up on whatever barn it was the horse is live. Grayson is a perfect example of a barn in which that happens.

[Dark Horse]

It's just a ML...

Yes, the ML odds add up to 120% at Belmont, and to 135% at Santa Anita. Roughly.

By the time the tote board starts moving that's no longer the case. Typically, the SA odds will fluctuate between 122 and 128% until the race goes off. That's acceptable. It's not uncommon to see a jump from 123% or so to 127% a couple of minutes before the race (that one has me scratching my head; when it's done without making room for an odds change for a big favorite). There are tracks where that number adds up to 130-135% just before the race.... (Turf Paradise comes to mind), and that, imo, opens the door to fraud.

In order to know what the real percentages are you need a conversion to 100%.
I only do that for the live odds, but you could add a conversion for the ML odds.

[Track Phantom]

Observation. I play SoCal every day, and I listen to him during the paddock period. Damn, I wish I could find that one horse. he spent the whole 20 minutes heading up to the race defending his 20-1 ML even as the horse was being bet. There was a race a couple weeks ago, I brought it up on the forum at the time, where he made a horse the 4-1 4th choice, and while they were saddling the horses, HE CAME RIGHT OUT AND SAID THIS HORSE WILL PROBABLY GO OFF AS THE FAVORITE. And it did. I think it went off at 9/5 or 8/5. If he knew it would go off as the 9/5 favorite, ISN'T IT HIS JOB TO MAKE IT THE 9/5 ML favorite? That's his job, right?

Exactly. Your logic (and mine) is flying right over the heads of some on here. It has almost NOTHING to do with handicapping who might win, or why a horse is vulnerable to get beat and so on. It has ONLY to do with creating a morning line that will closely replicate the betting.

If someone, even Jon White, wants to pick apart Habibi at 2-1 morning line, fine! Great! But to make her a co third choice is silly. Maybe I'll be the idiot here but my experience leads me to believe she will be between 3-2 and 2-1. Maybe, maybe, maybe slide up to 5-2 but absolutely no higher. She will be the favorite or second favorite to the Mullins runner.

[dasch]

Exactly. Your logic (and mine) is flying right over the heads of some on here. It has almost NOTHING to do with handicapping who might win, or why a horse is vulnerable to get beat and so on. It has ONLY to do with creating a morning line that will closely replicate the betting.

If someone, even Jon White, wants to pick apart Habibi at 2-1 morning line, fine! Great! But to make her a co third choice is silly. Maybe I'll be the idiot here but my experience leads me to believe she will be between 3-2 and 2-1. Maybe, maybe, maybe slide up to 5-2 but absolutely no higher. She will be the favorite or second favorite to the Mullins runner.

Trust me nothing is flying over anybody's head. I gave you the LOGIC behind why Habibi wont be as low as you think, and even another opinion that will be printed under her PPs in every DRF sold that says that person is just going to watch her and not bet. Its pretty hard to be the favorite unless people are betting.

Oh I forgot to add you dont think the 2 will be the favorite OR even the 2nd choice? LMAO

[Track Phantom]

Trust me nothing is flying over anybody's head. I gave you the LOGIC behind why Habibi wont be as low as you think, and even another opinion that will be printed under her PPs in every DRF sold that says that person is just going to watch her and not bet. Its pretty hard to be the favorite unless people are betting.

Oh I forgot to add you dont think the 2 will be the favorite OR even the 2nd choice? LMAO

Anyone that is reading the "closer look" comments to decide what to bet isn't impacting the win pools.

People bet Euro shippers off the board. While there is certainly reasons for concern with her health and intent to win this race, the public will ultimately bet her class in this spot. Maybe I'll be wrong. I've been wrong before. I would be surprised if I am.

Gentleman's wager - - 2-1 or less.

[dasch]

Anyone that is reading the "closer look" comments to decide what to bet isn't impacting the win pools.

People bet Euro shippers off the board. While there is certainly reasons for concern with her health and intent to win this race, the public will ultimately bet her class in this spot. Maybe I'll be wrong. I've been wrong before. I would be surprised if I am.

Gentleman's wager - - 2-1 or less.

Fair enough, I added the "closer look" comment to show you that people are skeptical of her. I will include her in my bets but only because she is a question mark to me, not because I think she will win. I really am unsure of how she will perform. I see nothing that tells me she will be 100%.

I will be surprised if she is the favorite, in fact if she is bet that heavily I will EXPECT her to win. 2-1 to 5-2 2nd choice is what I expect to see.

[dasch]

They put in a scratch for Habibi for tomorrow. Because of the small field she is "stuck" but will be out tomorrow morning.

[Dark Horse]

Fwiw, even with the ML's apart by 15%, the tote board management at SA and Belmont is very similar. As soon as the board starts moving, the difference is gone.

Aside from the normal practice of making room for a line move for a big favorite by moving all the other odds first, they also share a habit of moving the odds from low 120's to 127-range a couple of minutes before the race. This move had me scratching my head, because it's not in preparation for an odds change. After thinking about it some more, I realized that's probably to protect themselves against late money on the favorite, and the public outcry that might cause if it happened too often. Often, in these case, the favorite doesn't move at all, so it would have to be a preventative strategy.

[Turfday]

In California, for example, the takeout on win bets is 15.3%.

Therefore to begin making a morning line, 115.3% is the base number for the field. The factor of breakage is approximately 1% per horse.

A six-horse field should balance to about 121-122% in reality.

A nine-horse field should balance to about 124-125% in reality.

A 12-horse field should balance to about 127-128% in reality.

The percentages in a bigger field will vary more slightly than a smaller field. A poster in this thread queried why does the win pool percentage in a field vary? One reason is the size of the field.

I do believe it's the difference between a few horses in the race who are, say a "long 8/1" rather than a "short 8/1".... a "long 4/1" as compared to a "short 4/1." A couple or a few "long" payoffs within a race would presumably add some percentage to the win pool.

Example.... a $19.80 win payoff on the 8/1 shot instead of a $18.00 payoff.
A $10.80 win payoff on the 4/1 shot instead of a $10.00 payoff. A few of those within a race could skew the percentages a bit higher.

[redeye007]

I have emailed Santa Anita many times, to no avail of course requesting that they terminate Jon White and hire a professional morning line oddsmaker that will not set the odds of 6 horses in a 9 horse field at 4-1. His morning line is ludicrous. At least half the field is assigned almost identical odds. It is impossible to identify the best horse with the best chance of winning with his oddsline. It's as if he doesn't want to commit to attempting to identify the best horse on paper and making it the favorite but instead makes 7 horses in a 10 horse field almost identical odds separated by 1/2 point. His oddsline is the very reason why many bettors have transferred their interest in wagering on a horse race to other tracks. He should be fired for incompetance. He obviously uses some sort of software utilizing commercial data files which apparently makes a case for every runner to be the favorite. I wonder if he has ever tried reading the DRF records of the runners.

[Stillriledup]

I have emailed Santa Anita many times, to no avail of course requesting that they terminate Jon White and hire a professional morning line oddsmaker that will not set the odds of 6 horses in a 9 horse field at 4-1. His morning line is ludicrous. At least half the field is assigned almost identical odds. It is impossible to identify the best horse with the best chance of winning with his oddsline. It's as if he doesn't want to commit to attempting to identify the best horse on paper and making it the favorite but instead makes 7 horses in a 10 horse field almost identical odds separated by 1/2 point. His oddsline is the very reason why many bettors have transferred their interest in wagering on a horse race to other tracks. He should be fired for incompetance. He obviously uses some sort of software utilizing commercial data files which apparently makes a case for every runner to be the favorite. I wonder if he has ever tried reading the DRF records of the runners.

Read posts 15 and 19 of this thread. He's either incompetent, or he's told to lie by the suits (i.e. bought and paid for).

[Stillriledup]

Is Jon White still working in the racing industry?