I almost jumped this time

[RXB]

Waited patiently for the 9th race at Aqueduct. Watched the people around me betting race after race. Waited very patiently.

9th at Aqueduct rolls around. I really like Win With Beck. He's 8-1 on the ML, and 8-1 with a couple of minutes to post. I send in a serious bet.

The race goes. I'm wondering why Durkin is such a dummy, calling Win With Beck in second place in the early going when he's out there on the lead. But then it dawns on me: Durkin's not the dumb one. I've bet the #8, while Win With Beck is #9. (8-1 ML, 8-1 odds... so many eights. Oh dear God.)

Win With Beck, carrying his light blue #9 saddlecloth with distinction, romps by several lengths and ends up paying $22.80. I'm checking the butter knife that came with my salad to see if it has a serrated edge.

On the bright side, I think that my performance might have sewn up the Eclipse Award in the Dumbass Punter category.

[gene]

not the only one who bet the odds instead of horse.

me too

[RXB]

I can see why it could happen to somebody who's betting a bunch of races-- easy to get in a rushed state and become confused.

How, pray tell, does it happen to the person who's waited for that single horse the whole day?

[Overlay]

I'm sure the whole handicapping fraternity can feel your pain on this one. If there's a silver lining, you must have done something right to come up with the 10-1 shot, and that certainly bodes well for the future. My condolences.

[Dave Schwartz]

RXB,

I think I can safely say that we have all felt your pain ourselves.


Dec. 26, 1987 - I have been waiting for Santa Anita to open. I always do well. Opening day - I come into the racebook and want to bet a horse named Bold and Greene in the first race. I recall that he was like #704 that day. (Remember betting from scratch sheet numbers in the racebooks?)

Anyway, I accidently bet # 804 (which was Four Star Dave, I think) later in the day. I bet $10w, $20p, which was a huge bet for me then, and watch my horse just win for fun at $22.

When I went to cash the ticket and saw the mistake, I was mortified. Then I realized that FourStar Dave was the horse I had bet and he was another of my plays.

I say to my self, "Self, I know what happens here. I bet the loser and miss the winner." (You know how that works.) So, I cancel the ticket and go how, vosing to restart the next day.

Of course, Four Star Dave won as well.


Some days you should just call in sick.


Dave

[Hammerhead]

I know that pain as I tend to do it often enough It manly happens when I am waiting for odds on my horse at the latest possible time. The last thing I'm looking at is the off odds and bingo bet the odds number. I rarley win. But if I'm on the wrong track page I win much more often and a couple times for 50.00 +

[Pace Cap'n]

Had one of those moments myself yesterday.

Went up to bet a 1/2-3 exacta, watched it come in, and on my way to collect my $72.50, noticed the ticket was for a trifecta instead.

On the flip side, I once collected on a $86 horse by calling out the odds instead of program number.

[rokitman]

Originally posted by Pace Cap'n
Had one of those moments myself yesterday.

Went up to bet a 1/2-3 exacta, watched it come in, and on my way to collect my $72.50, noticed the ticket was for a trifecta instead.

On the flip side, I once collected on a $86 horse by calling out the odds instead of program number.

You played number 42?:confused:

[Pace Cap'n]

Nah, I was going to bet the 6, looked at the tote and saw his odds were 8-1, and said "ten to win on the 8". He did go at 42-1 and won by about 10 lengths in the slop at OP.

Best of all it was the last race (pre-simo) so I couldn't make any more screw-ups.

[freeneasy]

just stamp it on your forehead walk up to the windowand say gimme whats on my forehead. hopefully the teller can read your writing and dont forget you got to write it backwards in order for the teller to read it frontwards :D

[ratpack]

This one of mine had a happy ending.

I was betting a P3 at the 2003 BC at Santa Anita on the self service machines. In the last leg I suppose to bet 1 and 12, well I bet 1 and 2 and did not notice the error until after the 2nd leg won and I was alive.

Well the 2 won and the P3 paid 2,220

[cj]

RXB,

I feel your pain. I once drove a half an hour to Laurel after dinner for the sole purpose of betting a single horse in a 1 3/8 race at Fairplex. I did the exact same thing, betting the 8-1 odds instead of the 6 number, and realized what I had done just as the horse was sweeping by them all enroute to an easy score. To make it worse, I pissed away another $100 trying to get back what I blew!

[Tom]

I once made a sizable wager on my all time favorite horse, Mountain Man, at Finger Lakes. At tge time, I was working three part time jobs and going to college, and it was in the early 70's, so $100 WP was like a fortune to me...crazy bet to make on a 4-5 shot, but coming down the stretch, MM blew by everything like it was standing still, and his jock eased up at the 16th pole. WRONG! a 25-1 shot came up inside and nipped my sure thing at the wire!
MM was the 5, the longshot was the 4. WhenI looked at my tickets, I had the 4, not the 5, and $200 on a 25-1 shot!
I must've looked at the board, seen 4-5 and called out 4 instead of 5.
Back then, it was like hitting the lottery.

[formula_2002]

Originally posted by gene
not the only one who bet the odds instead of horse.

me too
same here.

bet the 6 horse who was going off at 4-1
I really wanted the 4 horse.

Less then 1 min to post, I catch my error and make the correction.

you know it, the 6 wins and the 4 is up the track.

[Dan Montilion]

I almost jumped this time

I jumped once. However, my home office window sits just three and a half feet from the ground. I did succeed in skinning my forearm and ruin a perfectly innocent chrysanthemum bush.

Dan Montilion

[RXB]

The worst happened about ten years ago to a good friend of mine. It's the last race at Hastings, triactor wagering in a 12-horse field, and he really doesn't like the big favourite, so he decides it's time to try to score a big one.

He's buying $5 tri tickets with a 9/2 keyed in 2nd (he thinks this horse is sure to run well but won't get up in time from off the pace.) He's going to use five other horses to fill 1st and 3rd. As he's standing in line with post time nearing, he looks up at the big indoor odds board and sees that there aren't any odds on the 11-horse, which is one of the horses that he had planned to include. "Hmmm, must have been scratched late and I didn't hear it," my buddy thinks to himself. So he plays his tickets minus the 11-horse.

Well, the 11-horse isn't scratched; it's just a malfunction of the indoor grandstand odds board. (Why he didn't ask the teller for confirmation, we still don't understand.) So, one of his horses-- a 50/1 shot-- wins the race. The horse that he had keyed in 2nd does its job perfectly. Guess who's 3rd @ 25/1. The tri pays over $7000 for a $2 ticket.

We did the math, and decided that, if his $5 ticket had been included in the winners' pool, the $2 tri would've paid about $5600. So he cost himself about $14,000.

[Bubbles]

Originally posted by Dan Montilion
...and ruin a perfectly innocent chrysanthemum bush.

Dan Montilion

Ya oughta be ashamed of yourself...:p

[Hosshead]

Originally posted by freeneasy
just stamp it on your forehead walk up to the windowand say gimme whats on my forehead. hopefully the teller can read your writing and dont forget you got to write it backwards in order for the teller to read it frontwards :D LOL !

[Steve 'StatMan']

Originally posted by freeneasy
just stamp it on your forehead walk up to the windowand say gimme whats on my forehead. hopefully the teller can read your writing and dont forget you got to write it backwards in order for the teller to read it frontwards :D

Just don't play the 6 in all 3 legs of the Pick-3! :D

[joeprunes]

Thank god I thought it was only me I do this alot.

But the worst thing that happened to me was one day my wife asked me to go to the store and get a couple of lbs of hamburger. I had to stop at the bank to pick up some cash i went through the outside teller I pulled up to the teller window (my mind was pre-occupied ) she ask can I help you and I said yes 2 lbs of hamburger, she got histerical and I felt like an a-hole..jp

[Lefty]

Yep, feelin ya, bro. Been there done that.

[Brian Flewwelling]

Done that bet the odds thing, but no good stories to relate.

Last nite i was betting CT ... friend is the Agent for jock Dale Whittaker ... so i made a list and was busy investing $2 win Whittaker, ... with seconds to post for race 1...

On BeteHorse, they show the list of horses for each race so for the 8th i didn't check my list twice, just grabbed the 1 ridden by Whitacre(#1). Following race 1 i noted the error and went back to add the win on #3. My girl-friend taught me not to cancel a bet, so i left the 2win1.


Race 8 came 1-5-2-8 , no 3, but the 1 paid 59.60:)

Better Lucky than Good

Brian