"You don't play the horses for money but the love of the game"

[fishorsechess]

I remember speaking to Mark Cramer long ago over the phone and
when I told him I was playing the horses for making big bucks he
commented that you should only do it for the love of the game because
you can talk to any professional handicapper and the amount of work
you put into playing the horses is not worth the financial rewards.
What are the REAL reasons you guys play the horses? Is
it a) to make big money b) create my own job c) hate punching
the time clock daily d) love of the game e) fun only f) others?

[Suff]

I remember speaking to Mark Cramer long ago over the phone and
when I told him I was playing the horses for making big bucks he
commented that you should only do it for the love of the game because
you can talk to any professional handicapper and the amount of work
you put into playing the horses is not worth the financial rewards.
What are the REAL reasons you guys play the horses? Is
it a) to make big money b) create my own job c) hate punching
the time clock daily d) love of the game e) fun only f) others?


Just finished a Long conversation about this last week.

Maybe you can add something in there? Or not. Just a heads up in the event you missed the thread.
http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19359

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19359

[Lasix1]

I remember speaking to Mark Cramer long ago over the phone and
when I told him I was playing the horses for making big bucks he
commented that you should only do it for the love of the game because
you can talk to any professional handicapper and the amount of work
you put into playing the horses is not worth the financial rewards.
What are the REAL reasons you guys play the horses? Is
it a) to make big money b) create my own job c) hate punching
the time clock daily d) love of the game e) fun only f) others?
Because I read somewhere that horse players live 7-years longer on average than everyone else. The theory is that they always have hope and that keeps them going. At my age, I need all the help I can get. ;)

[Macdiarmadillo]

If you don't have some love for the game, you aren't going to last very long in it. Never had a dry spell? Never had a really long dry spell where your picks are being DQ'd, missing by noses, jumping over the fence?

There's also a lot of work to do to keep up and do a worthy job unless you have Gladstone Gander luck. Or can get by on 3 hours of sleep a night. I have problems enough trying to get to the simo one day a week. Some folks on the board pretty much laughed when someone like Black Maria said burnout ended their career. It's a real possibility (and gives her a lot of cred to me). Burned out myself in "the real world". It's not a problem for coupon clippers or civil servants that do nothing.

The "big bucks" part intrigues me. Why not become a drug dealer if big bucks is the whole point? It looks a lot easier than trying to make it at horse racing.

[Valuist]

Lasix1-

I've heard just the opposite re:those who gamble, especially somewhat substantial amounts. I would think the stress of constantly having action would add up over time and take away, not add, years to one's lifespan. But that isn't going to stop me from pushing it thru.

[Lasix1]

Lasix1-
I've heard just the opposite re:those who gamble, especially somewhat substantial amounts. I would think the stress of constantly having action would add up over time and take away, not add, years to one's lifespan. But that isn't going to stop me from pushing it thru.
Valuist,

That may be true of heavy hitters where I suspect the burn-out rate is very high. If I were entering "shaker bets"--you know, where you put your money through the window and you notice your hand is shaking and the money is wet, you're probably right. It is probably also true of the compulsive types who by most accounts want to lose in order to atone for some kind of weird guilt.

But the data on the vast majority of the rest of us, I think, shows the pattern I'm suggesting. So much so, in fact, that one researcher has suggested putting casinos in nursing homes to stave off boredom and give the residents hope.

[JPinMaryland]

hope for the residents, or hope for Magna?