What is your favorite betting track and why?

[Oaklawn]

Which tracks hold form year after year that make them good plays for you? Are most playing away from artificial surfaces? If you had to pick a meet to learn by simulcast, which would you play? Does the "take" mostly influence your decision?

[Shelby]

Wow, this is a really interesting question. I can't wait to read everyone's answers.

I'm by no means a seasoned bettor, so I'm not much help!

When I used to go to the OTB place a lot, I tended to bet Belmont, Aqueduct, Churchill and Santa Anita. I guess mainly because I got familiar with the jockeys......

[GaryG]

Tampa (by far)
Monmouth
Arlington
Ellis Park

[Oaklawn]

Tampa (by far)
Monmouth
Arlington
Ellis Park

Can you give us some reasons why? Familiarity? Success?

[GaryG]

Can you give us some reasons why? Familiarity? Success?Both of those. At Tampa I like the big fields and excellent turf course. I get more overlays there than anywhere else. My figures work well at Monmouth and the J-breds offer some nice opportunities.

[46zilzal]

It all depends upon your style of handicapping. You look for a course that has a consistency of what you find demonstrable in choosing a winner. Since the energy requirements of different courses are so variable, i.e Fair Grounds vs inner Aqueduct, you have to "shop" around for your spots using four or five cards per day.

A lot of big days are the result of finding a bias and exploiting it as long as it lasts. Biases are usually the exclusive domain of mid-west and eastern race courses. Knowing how to read them is why I abandoned the West altogether.

[misscashalot]

Aqueduct
Belmont
Saratoga

Best racing in America
Best Jocks
Best Trainers

[Tom]

Delware, Penn, Saratoga.

Del and Penn, I hit a lot, at Saratoga, I hit 7-1 shots a lot.
My records show that out of my last 20 bets at Toga, I hit 5 at 7-1! 7-1 covers a lot so sloppy handicapping. :cool:

Last year, I hit 4 7-1 shots in 22 bets. Gotta ride this streak!:D

Sar turf been very very good to me, too.

[DeanT]

Tampa (by far)
Monmouth
Arlington
Ellis Park
It is so funny how different horseplayers are, and it's what makes the game great (imo). Tampa is by far my worst track ROI wise in 2009. I had a terrible run there.

For me the last two years my best tracks for ROI are:

KEE - fits my style of wagering. Nice prices.
SUN - formful for me
OP - nice biases
MTH - decent for me, considering so much chalk wins. I play well bet horses there.
MNR - weird biases that can be capitalized upon at times
BEL - formful and decent prices when field size is ok
TPX - bias playing can yield fruit there

Worst? Some are just awful:

TAM (I have no idea why, I think I make good bets there)
TUP (I quit that track last year for the most part after losing badly)
SAX (no luck in 2009 at all. Brutal meet)
GP (I can't get a winner there with stolen money)
SAR (no luck playing the slight closing bias there the last couple meets)
PEN - 0.69ROI. My pet monkey could do better

[fmolf]

belmont....i grew up 2miles from their

tampa.....big fields discovered when my in laws retired their

monmouth...beautiful track...good summer racing

saratoga...only live in person...nothing beats the town.. the atmospere the old wooden grandstand!

meadowlands...fall evening meet...just plain and simple i do well there!

[Cangamble]

I guess I have to say that my favorite tracks are the ones I do best at:
Turf Paradise (sorry Dean)
and
Hawthorne (though their field size was a huge turnoff during their last meet)

I like handicapping Fort Erie, but I usually break even for that track over a long period of time.

Outside of a real good day at Tampa Bay which made me a winner there this year, I usually have a very small hit ratio.

[Bruddah]

In no particular order

1 Great boutique meet
2 Large field sizes
3 Quality fields for both 3yo's and 4yo's and up.
4 A very good stakes program
5 A cutomer friendly atmosphere.
6 Quality food
7 Very clean facilities
8 Dirt racing surface
9 One mile oval track...making 1 mile and up races two turns
10 Beautiful and Bountiful young ladies
11 Did I mention the young ladies? :eek: :rolleyes:

[46zilzal]

In no particular order

1 Great boutique meet
2 Large field sizes
3 Quality fields for both 3yo's and 4yo's and up.
4 A very good stakes program
5 A cutomer friendly atmosphere.
6 Quality food
7 Very clean facilities
8 Dirt racing surface
9 One mile oval track...making 1 mile and up races two turns
10 Beautiful and Bountiful young ladies
11 Did I mention the young ladies? :eek: :rolleyes:

I love Oaklawn as it appears that it is a Thorograph-less place and those are the ones to follow.

[DeanT]

I guess I have to say that my favorite tracks are the ones I do best at:
Turf Paradise (sorry Dean)

How do you do well there? I cant find too many prices to bet. It seems the top trainers win all the races. Although I guess I answered my own question :)

[JBmadera]

right now I am enjoying PRM (.50 P4) and IND (.50 Tri) and I guess, like several others mentioned, I'm liking them 'cause I'm doing well. I always look forward to DMR and SAR but I tend to watch a lot more than bet, just can't seem to get to a positive ROI for those tracks.

I also like playing EVD, but really just for fun, tossing in a .10 super now and then.

jb

[Cangamble]

How do you do well there? I cant find too many prices to bet. It seems the top trainers win all the races. Although I guess I answered my own question :)
When the favorite goes down, the place is great for overlays. I have a saying when it comes to cheap tracks...you can't like anything. So generally I play rolling doubles 2 onto 2, pick 3's (I never take two dollar ones, and usually play $18-27 a race), win 4's. I usually just box my two top horses in exactors, and I take a three horse triactor almost every race, and 2 or 3 four horse boxes as well, and play 2-4 supers a day for 20-50 cents tops.
Very very rarely do I bet win.

[Oaklawn]

I love Oaklawn as it appears that it is a Thorograph-less place and those are the ones to follow.

Ok, I wanna know what that means.

[DeanT]

When the favorite goes down, the place is great for overlays. I have a saying when it comes to cheap tracks...you can't like anything. So generally I play rolling doubles 2 onto 2, pick 3's (I never take two dollar ones, and usually play $18-27 a race), win 4's. I usually just box my two top horses in exactors, and I take a three horse triactor almost every race, and 2 or 3 four horse boxes as well, and play 2-4 supers a day for 20-50 cents tops.
Very very rarely do I bet win.
Very good. That sounds logical and the way to play that place. I can see how you could do well there. Keep it goin.

[Cangamble]

Very good. That sounds logical and the way to play that place. I can see how you could do well there. Keep it goin.
I should add that the way I handicap, my selections aren't usually favorites. And if I come up with a program exactor, I won't bet it. Sometimes I'll sway to my first and third choice instead.

[arno]

1 Evangeline Downs - large fields and overlay prices as people tend to always keep ML favorites in their exotics.

2 Tampa Bay Downs- nice size fields, speed figures work and I use TBD and MTH as one circuit for entire year.

3. Monmouth Park - being there almost every day makes me more knowledgable than any other place.

4. Meadowlands - Speed Rules!

5. Any track that has a rolling Pick 3

[bishlap]

I'm a new yawker, but I love Arlington, especially long odds from post#1 on the rug. Other than that, Meadowlands Harness.

[KidCapper]

Aksarben and Hileah...hit my only pick 6 at Aksarben....what a tradgedy...screw Hal Daub

[dav4463]

I like Mountaineer, Charlestown, and Evangeline because I hit more longshots at those tracks than I do at any other.

Tracks I will not play due to very low payoffs are Hollywood, Golden Gate, and Emerald.

Lone Star drives me nuts! It's either a $3.60 payoff or a $64.00 payoff! I can't find a happy medium there!

If I play in the daytime, I like Churchill and Arlington Park. Decent payoffs, good racing.

I haven't played Tampa......may have to give them a shot.

[uncbossfan]

KEENELAND

Great jocks, great horses, huge fields & overlays. Easiest place for me to catch a price.

[big frank]

KEENELAND ,, SANTA ANITA ,, GOLDEN GATE , ARLINGTON PARK ,, all synthetic surface tracks ! The numbers dont lie for my personal records.. syn surfaces are the best tracks for me..

[Mike A]

Tampa
Aqueduct
Belmont
Gulfstream
Oaklawn
Philadelphia
Laurel
Churchill
Keeneland

I don't play much into small betting pools, or west coast tracks at the moment.

I do especially like Tampa.

[Bruddah]

Ok, I wanna know what that means.

Translation: Thoro-graph is a service which assigns pace or race values/numbers to horses. I have never used them, but hear they are quite good/accurate. They cost about $25 per race card. Therefore, he is saying that service does not do Oaklawn races and he is glad of it.

[Tom]

I would think he would want to bet against all those false favorites, unless he means T-Graph is very good?

[nobeyerspls]

I never get involved with Laurel or Philadelphia and I limit Tampa play to the turf races. Also anything west of the central time zone is out.
I am drawn to tracks with large fields of maidens and competitive turf racing. I could say that my favorite track is the last one I cashed a big ticket at. My results vary at different tracks despite consistent handicapping and wagering strategy. I can go four for five at a track one day and then get goose eggs the next.

[bitter]

tampa- underrated prices and horses, usually pays off very well
fair grounds - bombs away
saratoga - b/c its saratoga
arlington park - a lot of horses float up in price and get overlooked, lots of opportunity

tracks i hate wagering on, but still subject myself to
ALL of CALIFORNIA and Gulfstream

[strapper]

The track I've done best at in the past year anyway has been Portland Meadows. Don't ask me why! I just have a feel for that one I guess.

[Shelby]

In no particular order

1 Great boutique meet
2 Large field sizes
3 Quality fields for both 3yo's and 4yo's and up.
4 A very good stakes program
5 A cutomer friendly atmosphere.
6 Quality food
7 Very clean facilities
8 Dirt racing surface
9 One mile oval track...making 1 mile and up races two turns
10 Beautiful and Bountiful young ladies
11 Did I mention the young ladies? :eek: :rolleyes:


:ThmbUp::ThmbUp::ThmbUp: I DO love Oaklawn!!! I just never bet it much until recently.

[Oaklawn]

Tampa 5 votes
OP 5 votes
ARL 5 votes

KEE 4 votes
SAR 4 votes
BEL 4 votes

MM 3 votes

AQ 2 votes
MNR 2 votes
CD 2 votes
MDL 2 votes
EVD 2 votes

All others with only one mention so far. Interesting.

[jayfree41]

In spite high takeout, I do like Penn National - big fields and overlays galore.

Tampa is awesome for the same reason, though lower takeout.

I love the whole NYRA circuit - Sara, Aq and Bel.

[so.cal.fan]

Okay, So.Cal.Fan is still "So.Cal.Fan.

Santa Anita......despite the cushion track
Del Mar.......despite the poly track
Holllywood......is now a sand track due to the breakdown of the synthetic material being constantly replaced by sand.

Santa Anita and Del Mar still have decent races.
Hollywood is problematic, and very difficult to bet, so perhaps it shouldn't be included on my list.

Now, I didn't say any of these were the most optimal to bet, I just work with what I have, best I can.

Our turf racing is still good. Our industry here in California is in free fall......so it's really a day by day thing.
I can't say I blame any of you for not betting here.
Oaklawn is a nice track to bet and the people there are wonderful.

[NJ Stinks]

For many years Pimlico was my favorite. My confidence in handicapping Pimlico was such that whenever I was in a slump, I forgot about all other tracks and concentrated on Pimlico only until the slump was over. Of course, nowadays Pimlico suffers from small fields and the meet is so short, it's no factor in the big picture.

Today, my favorite races to handicap are run on the turf in New York.

As an aside, since I live about 15 miles from Philly Park, I play it a lot. While I hit my fair share of those 7-1 shots at Philly that Tom was talking about, there are just too many races at Philly where I just can't understand how the winner did it. I'm 50 miles from Delaware but their fields need to expand before I bet there on any kind of a regular basis. And finally, I'm 55 miles from Monmouth but it's too chalky and speed-biased for me.

The only other track that qualifies as a favorite for me is Gulfstream. I thought their meeting this year was their best in years.

P.S. Before AWS, Keeneland would have been mentioned prominently here. Those days are gone. :(

[BlueShoe]

Any track other than the big majors in SoCal,NY,and KY.The cards are overanalized by the big money good handicappers.Give me a steady diet of full field claimers at the mid level and lower class tracks and Im content.

[Quagmire]

Fairgrounds
Tampa
Belmont
Aq
Turfway

[michiken]

I seem to do better with the cheap claiming horses:

1. Evangeline Downs and the LAD, FG, DED circuit. Large Fields, good prices!

2. Turfway Park. Something about the winter racing circuit. Keeneland but the meet is way too short.

3. Tampa for its larger fields and fan friendly atmosphere. Would be better if they took MARGO off the screen. I cringe listening to her voice.

4. Tracks I occasionally play:

Hollywood
Arlington
Thistle/River
Indianna/Hoosier
Ellis Park
Santa Anita
Gulfstream
PID
Oaklawn
Pinnacle
Hawthorne (can baffle the mind at times).

5. Tracks I don't play:

- NY circuit because of small fields. Waiting for Toga.
- Deleware Park has too many scratches.
- Laurel, Pimlico seem like chalk city. I have no success.
- Meadowlands has too many $2.80 winners.
- Mountainier has jumped the shark!!!!!!!
- Penn National a bunch of broken down patched upped nags racing for inflated purses.
- Woodbine because I can't get a grip on the course.
- Ignoring Churchill this year due to the small fields.
- Golden Gate is too hard to get a price. Small fields.
- Charlestown is bad as Mountaineer.
- Never have any success with Monmouth or Fort Erie.

6. Tracks that I might play when they are the only thing going: Philly, Finger Lakes, Turf Paradise, Lonestar.

[1st time lasix]

Keeneland, Saratoga, Gulfstream, Tampa, Churchill, Monmouth The best synthetic and the rest on dirt. Only play the exotics on any racing menu with takeouts below 21% Prefer less!

[Rook]

This is always my favourite topic as it is the biggest decision I make each day. I am constantly rotating the tracks that I play and have extensive experience with them all. I’m surprised that few people seem to like the three tracks that I would turn to if my life depended on showing a profit for the meet:



Indiana Downs, Remington Park and Delta Downs



The list below are the tracks were I also generally do well:

NP
Prm
Haw
FL
Pen
Tam
FG
Evd
Tdn
Beu
RD
WRD
SRP
Hoo
Del

This is a list of tracks that have always been a drain on my bankroll:

Every California track
GP
CRC
Pid
Pim
Lrl
Hst
Suf
NYRA
FP
ELP

I feel neutral about any other track not mentioned.

[PaceAdvantage]

Not surprised at your list Rook. Something tells me you value the kinds of races where a good chance exists for a 10-1 or higher shot to be involved in the mix.

[Chris Longshot]

THE WORST!!!

Meadowlands(practically run in odds order)
Monmouth(can someone say, inside speed bias)
Aqueduct Inner(an absolute joke)
Pimlico(does chalk ever lose there???)
River Downs(all chalk, all the time)
Beulah(just close the track already)
Delaware(chalk, chalk and more chalk, 3 horse fields)


OVERRATED!!!

Oaklawn(don't get me wrong its a nice place but tons of chalk winners there)
Hawthorne(worst inside path bias in the stretch I have ever seen)
Evangeline(glorified 5 horse fields, 5 horses that can run, 9 with no shot)
Gulfstream(lots of spread out fields for supposedly "good horses")
Fairgrounds(I think Robby Albarado just won another race there)
Churchill(5 horse fields plus haven't seen a wide closer win there in weeks)
Philadelphia(has a day or two of chaos but primarily friendly to chalk)
DelMar(declining rapidly despite anticipation of the meet every year, one track they should have left as dirt)
Charlestown( a bullring, hope your up close early or forget it!)


UNDERRATED!!!

Presque Isle(Forget the takeout, more obvious overlays than you can imagine)
Indiana(Littered with chaos, track for cashing big tickets)
Woodbine(like EVD has big fields but way more value)
Mountaineer(alleged longshot track has been declining in value in recent years but still has its nights)
Calder(better prices there then you would think despite chalk winners)
Aqueduct Main(horses actually close to win unlike inner track)
Belmont(can be chalky but get some prices there from time to time)
Thistledown(dump track offers solid value on most days despite short fields)
Delta Downs(nice mixture of favorites and longshots, nice fields)
Suffolk(stretching but I have cashed some nice tickets there)
Finger Lakes(on slow days you could do worse, offers some value)
Ellis(always enjoyed the meet but for how much longer??)
Fort Erie(smaller fields than WO but not terrible)
Penn National(one of the night tracks I enjoy from time to time)
Colonial Downs(if you love turf racing this is your track)


SIMPLY THE BEST!!!

Saratoga(everything that is right with racing)
Tampa Bay(no biases, favorites win, longshots win, full fields, just beautiful)
Keeneland(too bad meets are so short, like it better with the synthetics)


HONOURABLE MENTION!!!

Arlington Park(synthetic surface has yielded more exciting finishes, offers good value, even with short fields)
Turfway Park(big fields, big prices, lots of value but difficult track to figure out)


DONT KNOW ENOUGH TO OFFER AN OPINION!!!


Laurel
Turf Paradise
Santa Anita
Hollywood
Will Rogers
Golden Gate
Fairmount
Hoosier
Remington
Prairie Meadows
Fonner
Assiniboia
Emerald
Hastings
Sam Houston
Lone Star
Pinnacle
Retama
Louisiana
Sunland

[Lasix67]

Evangeline Downs: It's close to home and I'm most familiar with it, but most of all the largest fields, period, equals opportunities galore.

[cosmo96]

Keenland and Evangeline, large fields, longshots

[slew101]

Saratoga is the only track I've consistently won at. Likely because many times I'm in person and able to concentrate more without betting 2 or 3 tracks on TV or at the OTB.

[raybo]

EvD, Hou, LaD, LS, Hoo, Haw

Supers in every race.