Horse racing.

[hurrikane]

Off Topic
This seems the most likely place to post something about horses. Anyone here ever bet, talk, potificate, punt or watch them?

[Tom]

Originally posted by hurrikane
Off Topic
This seems the most likely place to post something about horses. Anyone here ever bet, talk, potificate, punt or watch them?

Funny guy!
Before I answer what does "potificate" mean?
<G>

[baravot]

Perhaps it means to speak in a manner that would suggest being under the influence of cannabis.

[hurrikane]

It would probably mean I didn't use spell check. Of course it could be the cannabis thing.

[HorseLady]

I might poNtificate, not so sure about potificate... I grew up in the Just Say No generation :)

I'm new to this grand sport, got into it as a challenge with a friend just before the Derby, picked the winner of the Derby (gee, who was that again LOL) and put $10 to win on him. Obviously walked away a winner and got hooked.

In my area we have OTB simulcasting on our cable system. If I don't feel like going to Belmont or Aqueduct (Spa is about 4 hours from me) I can just sit back at home and watch. I only bet at the track though because I hate the idea of OTB taking a share. Luckily I have a friend who has to work at the track (how horrible, right?) so sometimes I'll just give him the money to bet, and he'll give me my winnings the following day (except for when I blew $10 to win on On The Fan).

I usually do w/p/s bets and with the horses I bet I still don't lose even if the horse places. I haven't had a horse just show when I've done that kind of betting.

If I mention to my pals in real life that I enjoy racing, they look at me like I'm some sort of degenerate gambler! Family has done the same - at first. I've mentioned bringing my children to Belmont (very friendly there) and people think you're leading them into some sort of seedy lifestyle.

Anyway, that's my story. Been keeping track of my picks for this Belmont meet, and for a person new to the sport, I think I'm doing well, though I'm still in the losses :( 64/364 ($567.30) Luckily in my actual money bets I'm ahead about $125.

Tomorrow holds a whole new day for me at Belmont :)

[andicap]

If you bet through a telephone OTB account there is no surcharge.

[HorseLady]

Doesn't OTB offer lower winnings though? For instance, you win at the track and your horse pays say $8.60, doesn't OTB pay less? I thought it was the same with the phone acct too.

I would love to be proven wrong.

[hurrikane]

don' t know about the NY OTB but you can go through on line houses like Winticket or Youbet...the comingle pools so you get he final odds. payout.

good luck Horsey...must be lady luck you your side. The cannabis thing is a joke...my vice is cocktail ladies in Vegas...

[PaceAdvantage]

Nassau/Suffolk OTB telephone accounts still require $300 minimum to get track prices I believe.


==PA

[andicap]

NY Nassau OTB 516-572-2800
NY Suffolk OTB 516-853-3501

Now if you really get hooked, you should get a dish and watch them live all over the country.

[HorseLady]

On my cable system (Cablevision) I already have the OTB simulcasting channel. I only track the NYRA tracks (I have a business, husband and two kids :) ), so I'm able to watch (now) Belmont at 1pm just like it is at the track. Found a site to watch it online too for when my kids want to watch Cartoon Network.

I had won some $$ to open a CT OTB account on TMTP radio show. Once they contact me, forget it... One of my friends thinks I'll turn into a degenerate gambler from that LOL.

Ironically I have an OTB right down the road from me (literally a stone throws away, okay, if I was a better pitcher) and I've never visited.

[Tom]

Where do you get a video feed for Belmont on the web?
I have looked all over for that one and can only find the voice calls.
You may have made my day, ma'm ~G~
Tom

[PaceAdvantage]

I think racingchannel.com was providing the Belmont video feed to their members....you need a user name, password, and philly OTB betting account.


==PA

[HorseLady]

http://www.pngaming.com/cgi-bin/showme.cgi

This is a link that someone gave me. I was able to watch Belmont live a few times with it. Also caught my first harness race by accidently clicking into Pocono Downs. Harness racing is very interesting. I have a friend racing on Saturday in a harness race, just a one time thing and he mentioned it was a lot harder than it looks.

[andicap]

I went over there to watch a race from EvD. Was anyone able to get a screen bigger than a postage stamp. I could barely see the odds although the video moves nicely on my cable modem.
You really can't the horses but with the help of the announcer you can sort of see what' s going on

[Tom]

Originally posted by andicap
I went over there to watch a race from EvD. Was anyone able to get a screen bigger than a postage stamp. I could barely see the odds although the video moves nicely on my cable modem.
You really can't the horses but with the help of the announcer you can sort of see what' s going on



I just went to watch a race from Mountaineer and the screen was 3"x4" and very clear-but hard to read the
odds. However, better than YouBEt EVER had. I'll use this from now on with YouBet only there for the wagering and odds and other infor.
Ahh,, life is good again!
Thanks for the link.
Tom

[HorseLady]

Andicap - my computer throws the video into media player. It's bigger than a postage stamp, though smaller than a breadbox.

I too have a cable modem, and sure the quality is lower than TV and you can't see the horse numbers, but at least you get a visual to go along with the announcer. If something is happening you can see it better than just listening to what the announcer chooses to tell you.

Hope it works better next time!

[HorseLady]

I'm glad I was able to help you.

I've been mostly at the DRF message boards and those ladies and gentlemen have helped me so greatly (from me calling a furlong a furlough to not knowing what a length was) Nice to know I can return the favor at some point.

Warning though, I'll come up with some wacky questions... (today's was "what's the B mean under Meds in the Entries")

[karlskorner]

Horselady;

The "B" under Medication stands for Butazolidin. A drug that relieves the pain of damaged tissue, it enables trainers to run horses that might otherwise be rested. The practice is defended with the specious reasoning that "bute" is not really dope because it "does not make a horse run faster than he normally ruins. It just helps him run his race".

Karl

[HorseLady]

I've been watching a horse that is running tomorrow at Fair Meadows. It seems almost EVERY horse is running on Bute tomorrow, just a few on Lasix. If you look at Belmont though, so many are on Lasix.

It's getting hard to find a horse NOT running on medication.

[andicap]

Nowadays trainers give their horses lasix like they do oats. Its only supposed to go to bleeders but racetracks are so lax that any horse can be scoped and come up with a bit of blood in his lungs.
Trainers are just looking for whatever edge they can get and if they perceive lasix as giving their horses an advantage -- or if they perceive they are at a disadvantage because the other horses have lasix -- they will administer it automatically.

For handicapping angles, consider 2nd and 3rd time lasix as well as 1st time, especially in fillies.

[ceejay]

Originally posted by HorseLady
I've been watching a horse that is running tomorrow at Fair Meadows. It seems almost EVERY horse is running on Bute tomorrow, just a few on Lasix. If you look at Belmont though, so many are on Lasix.

It's getting hard to find a horse NOT running on medication.
Lisa:

Fair Meadows is running it's mixed breed (Thoroughbred and Quarterhore) meet now. I know that there isn't any QH racing on the GIsland, but fewer of the quarter horses run on lasix, figuring (I guess) that they can't bleed in 250-440 yds.

Most of the TB's are running on Lasix (except in the MSW race). Which horse are you looking at on Thursday?

[HorseLady]

On DRF I was putting a horse in to watch (Karakorum's Lisa) and on the list was Lisa's Baby. I figured "what the hey" and I put Lisa's Baby on my watch list. I have NO clue what type of horse she is, other than being 3yrs old I believe. She's running in a race with a purse of just $7500. I'm too used to NYRA tracks, the amount seems like nothing, but I hear it's the norm at this track.

What's the difference between Thoroughbred and Quarterhorse?

[ceejay]

Lisa:

I can't tell you much about Lisa's Baby other that that she is a TB Maiden. Believe it or not Fair Meadows is Not the cheapest track in the state. That honor goes to Blue Ribbon where MSW purses are $2000.

TB's are simply a different breed from QH's. QH's are faster but rarely run further than 440 yds (hence the name quarter horses) and I've never seen more distance than 870 yds. As you might imagine the start is critical in such a short race! If you watch ESPN's Racehorse Digest, (usually Wednesday's @ 1:00 your time) you will usually see some QH races. The major QH venues are in California (Los Alimitos), New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.