Personal Theories

[WeirdWilly]

I have been following horseracing only for about a year and a half now, so I still have much to learn. However, there are a few things that seem obvious to me:

1. The horses are going to do
a) What they CAN do
b) What they WANT TO do
c) What the trainer trains them to do
d) What the jockey lets them do
e) What I DON'T WANT them to do

2. Chalk is for blackboards, and longshots are for rifles. Unless the guy sitting next to you is the jockey's cousin's brother-in-law's barber...then it is a lock

3. The easiest way to win the 10 cent Superfecta is All/All/All/All.

4. It's easy to spot the horse I bet on. He's the one running on the main track during a turf race.

5. Always bet on the grey horse to place. Unless he has more than 3 vowels in his name.

6. There is a reason they are called "Past" Performances and not "Here's what they are going to do today" Performances.

7. A bad day at the races beats a good day at work. But it doesn't hold a candle to having Kirsten Dunst climbing on you like a sherpa on Everest. :jump:

[JustRalph]

ok..........you are living up to your moniker........welcome to pace

[BIG49010]

You must be spending too much time at the Harness races on you side of the state!:eek:

[WeirdWilly]

You must be spending too much time at the Harness races on you side of the state!:eek:

I can't wait for Michigan Downs to open in Romulus (although I guess I don't have much choice). Hopefully, the VLTs can come in despite the casinos hissy fits and make it viable.

Alas, the only live t'bred races I've been to are DRC in 1989 and Oaklawn last May. Short of a road-trip to Cleveland, Columbus, Chicago, or Muskegon, gotta watch 'em on simulcast at Hazel Park or Northville. :( No offense to the harness folks, but having been a foot racer in my youth, I'm partial to running, not trotting.

BTW...does anyone know why they call it Turfway if there's no turf? Kinda like Lakeside Road in Waterford, MI...nowhere near a lake! :rolleyes:

[fergie]

You've had Kirsten Dunst climbing on you? Man, am I jealous! Does she have an older, ugly sister you'd like to palm off on your new best friend. lol

Welcome to the board,
Fergie

[BIG49010]

Turfway used to be called Latonia in the old days, they changed it to Turfway in the late 80's as a marketing gimik to change it's image, which was bad in those days.

[46zilzal]

forget about the jockeys: they represent a very small portion of the equation. McCarron was once quoted as saying the rider can consistently ONLY make the horse look worse.

True prodigies, like Laffit or Shoe, did things that are damned hard to believe with their mounts but they are BIG exceptions.

[WeirdWilly]

You've had Kirsten Dunst climbing on you? Man, am I jealous! Does she have an older, ugly sister you'd like to palm off on your new best friend. lol

Welcome to the board,
Fergie

Well, does in my dreams count?

Thanx 4 the welcome! And don't forget the sage advice I once heard at the track. It was, ahhh...ummm...errrr...

Who am I kidding? Sage advice at the track? :lol:

[WeirdWilly]

forget about the jockeys: they represent a very small portion of the equation. McCarron was once quoted as saying the rider can consistently ONLY make the horse look worse.

True prodigies, like Laffit or Shoe, did things that are damned hard to believe with their mounts but they are BIG exceptions.

In that case, shouldn't you try to find the jockey who screws up the least? Who applies the right riding style to the right horse?

Are there jockeys who love to ride point, and thus have a habit of burning out a mount who should be biding its time? Or perhaps they hold back on a mount that can drive the rest into the ground?

Lots of shades of grey in this sport!