Please explain to me what I was thinking here

[Tread]

Pentafecta last race at Santa Anita today, here was my wager.

3/06/10SA11$70 Pentafecta1,7 / 1,7,9 / 1,6,7,12 / 1,2,6,7,12 / 1,2,6,7,12,13------$0.00



it came 1-7-9-2-6 and paid $200,000. Looks like because I'm an idiot and didn't use the 9 more I just cost myself 100k.

[johnhannibalsmith]

I wish I could help you with what you were thinking... I could never build a ticket with a horse in the second slot only and then ignore him throughout the remainder of the ticket with three slots to go... of course, I probably would never have been even that close to catching a ticket of that magnitude... but I could never have the balls or conviction to construct a ticket like that even if the sucker ran 2nd in 26 of his last 27 starts... :(

[cj]

You used the 9 only in second? That structure seems a little confusing, but I guess you know that already.

Just so you feel better, if you hit it you would have split the pot with the winner, not also received 200k.

[InsideThePylons-MW]

TVG will be calling you with a on air job offer soon.

They love it when their hosts construct tickets like that.

[Tread]

Yes I know, thats why I said I cost my self 100k not 200k. I honestly have no idea what I was thinking there, I definitely did not intend to single the 9 out for second. This was my trifecta ticket from the same race:

3/06/10SA11$80 Trifecta1,6,7,13 / 1,6,7,9,12,13 / 1,6,7,9,12,13------$459.30

Not much of a consolation prize there. :bang:

[Relwob Owner]

Yes I know, thats why I said I cost my self 100k not 200k. I honestly have no idea what I was thinking there, I definitely did not intend to single the 9 out for second. This was my trifecta ticket from the same race:

3/06/10SA11$80 Trifecta1,6,7,13 / 1,6,7,9,12,13 / 1,6,7,9,12,13------$459.30

Not much of a consolation prize there. :bang:



I always try and see the positive....you handicapped the race really well-it may not be for 100K but you will hit one soon, I believe

[Saratoga_Mike]

I always try and see the positive....you handicapped the race really well-it may not be for 100K but you will hit one soon, I believe

...I just wouldn't spend that impending windfall just yet!

[Show Me the Wire]

It is called fate. You put the horse, in the 3rd spot in your tri ticket and you probably thought you did the same on the high five ticket.

It wasn't meant to be. Be happy you hit the tri.

[Relwob Owner]

...I just wouldn't spend that impending windfall just yet!


Oh, come on Mike....you know it is a streaky game and given Tread's near miss today, we gotta keep him positive!:)

[Saratoga_Mike]

It is called fate. You put the horse, in the 3rd spot in your tri ticket and you probably thought you did the same on the high five ticket.

It wasn't meant to be. Be happy you hit the consolation.

How does the conso work on a pentafive? If you merely get four correct positions, you get something back???

[Show Me the Wire]

How does the conso work on a pentafive? If you merely get four correct positions, you get something back???

I used his term for his tri win, as a consolation. I edited my original post, for clarification.

[boomman]

I always try and see the positive....you handicapped the race really well-it maynot be for 100K but you will hit one soon, I believe

I agree and I agree! Nice 'cappin;)

Boomer

[menifee]

Pentafecta last race at Santa Anita today, here was my wager.

3/06/10SA11$70 Pentafecta1,7 / 1,7,9 / 1,6,7,12 / 1,2,6,7,12 / 1,2,6,7,12,13------$0.00



it came 1-7-9-2-6 and paid $200,000. Looks like because I'm an idiot and didn't use the 9 more I just cost myself 100k.

I'm really sorry to see that. I've done things like that and I know how it can hurt. Just move on to the next race.

[takeout]

The chart has the pool listed as 167,439. :confused:
http://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/SA030610USA11.pdf

[Saratoga_Mike]

The chart has the pool listed as 167,439. :confused:
http://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/SA030610USA11.pdf

I'd assume there are dime plays. If so, that would explain the winning payout being higher than the pool. The pool was $167k. I'd guess the takeout is about 25%, so they had about $125k to payout. Therefore, there were probably six winning dime tickets (or any combo adding up to 60 cents), not a full $1 winning ticket (I'm assuming the base payout is on $1 - if not, you still get the math).

[cj]

I'm pretty sure it is a $1 minimum bet. However, there is also the possibility of carryovers. My guess is nobody hit it on Friday.

[Saratoga_Mike]

CJ is right - there was $67k carryover. I didn't know this wager allowed a carryover (I've never played it and never would - don't like deep vertical bets). Anyway, I'm pretty sure the dime situation happened at Saratoga either last yr or the yr before on a superfecta, where the posted payout appeared higher than the pool.

[Robert Goren]

As my step father use to say "you weren't thinking".

[Space Monkey]

Just a mental error Mike. My sincere condolences. :( I don't know how old you are, but I know that as I approach 60, things that used to be "automatic" aren't anymore. :confused: I find that I am prone to mistakes more when I'm at the track as to when I bet from home. The days of handicapping in between races are long gone. I now try to prepare at least a full day in advance and double check every bet that I make. A few months ago I remember rooting for a certain horse to get at least second and when he did I said "Good, I hit the exacta". Checked my tickets and I had him on my tri's but not the exacta's. :faint: I vowed that it will never happen again. Fortunately my loss was only a mid priced exacta. Nothing like yours. But its a lesson to be learned for both of us.
Good luck in the future. :ThmbUp:

[PhantomOnTour]

I know what you were thinking: Hey, this PhantomOnTour guy/idiot had the 43-1 winner of the Busher a few weeks ago in every slot except the win hole...I'll show him!



Keep your chin up.

[takeout]

CJ is right - there was $67k carryover. Thanks guys.

[GARY Z]

Rough loss, but if I can interpert your ticket you liked the 7 to win, then
repeated the 7 in the second leg, repeating the same #. and negating addition of another horse in the second leg.

I'd recommend you take your top three in the first leg, either repeat the same three and add any other clunkers you feel are dangerous, repeat the same crew in the third leg, and add a stranger or two thereafeter.

way more expensive scenario, even if you are playing dime supers
unless you are using overlooked /high odds horses.

Easy to redboard after the fact, happens to all of us even in tri's and exactas!

[markgoldie]

Pentafecta last race at Santa Anita today, here was my wager.

3/06/10SA11$70 Pentafecta1,7 / 1,7,9 / 1,6,7,12 / 1,2,6,7,12 / 1,2,6,7,12,13------$0.00



it came 1-7-9-2-6 and paid $200,000. Looks like because I'm an idiot and didn't use the 9 more I just cost myself 100k.
Since you have not said that the actual play you made was representative of any handicapping theory which led to the ticket construction as you played it, and since you made a trifecta wager that ran contrary to the logic of the pentafecta ticket, we must assume that you realize that you simply made an oversight. And so, the answer to "what was I thinking" is that you just made an error. Of course, you realize that and so the purpose of the post is to get condolences. Okay. You have mine as well.

[Tread]

Fair enough Mark, yes I guess my real aim in posting this is hoping others would have a similar story to share that might make me feel better. I'm a little less suicidal today, but I'm keeping 800 numbers handy just in case. :lol:

[raybo]

Like others here it's obvious that you just made a mistake on the 3rd row. If a horse has the potential to finish 2nd, he/she certainly has the potential to finish 3rd or 4th. You just missed putting the 9 on the 3rd row and subsequently carried that error forward to the 4th.

There are occasions when I will have a horse on top but don't place him/her on the other rows when I feel the horse is an "all or nothing" kind of runner, but I will never have a horse to place and not carry it forward to the other 2 rows.

Take the advice already posted, forget it and move on. I, for one, don't mind "missing", as long as I know why. That's racing.

[castaway01]

Fair enough Mark, yes I guess my real aim in posting this is hoping others would have a similar story to share that might make me feel better. I'm a little less suicidal today, but I'm keeping 800 numbers handy just in case. :lol:

Haha, well I don't blame you. I have missed a few thousand on mistakes like that but never anything on the scale you did...but...I'd just say if you like the game keep at it. LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES. Never make a bet with that particular structure again, because saving $5 or $50 may cost you $50,000. If you have a feel for this kind of bet (I don't), keep at it and don't let the loss get to you. If it helps, remember most of us aren't going to get rich so don't give up but keep having fun.

[boomman]

Fair enough Mark, yes I guess my real aim in posting this is hoping others would have a similar story to share that might make me feel better. I'm a little less suicidal today, but I'm keeping 800 numbers handy just in case. :lol:

Tread: If that's all you're looking for, no problem I'll be glad to oblige: I've made many "idiot moves" over my 30 + years of betting the horses, but the best one was a couple of years ago when I was wagering on a Pick 4 at an online ADW and after the 1st leg of the pick 4 went off and I didn't see my wager up above in the wager list, suddenly realizing I hadn't hit the "submit" button on the bet. Of course, I had the winning numbers on the "non-submitted" ticket and it was a big enough return that it certainly "stung", I can tell you that! Don't think that you're alone by any stretch of the imagination in doing something like this, you simply had the courage to share your story with us and I'm certain that if you keep handicapping races like that, you'll be fine!;)

Boomer

[Pell Mell]

Fair enough Mark, yes I guess my real aim in posting this is hoping others would have a similar story to share that might make me feel better. I'm a little less suicidal today, but I'm keeping 800 numbers handy just in case. :lol:

Just make sure you don't call a number in Pakistan because they will offer you a job driving a truck. ;)

[Niko]

Fair enough Mark, yes I guess my real aim in posting this is hoping others would have a similar story to share that might make me feel better. I'm a little less suicidal today, but I'm keeping 800 numbers handy just in case. :lol:

I haven't made a 100k mistake like that but I celebrated a nice hit two years ago in the Breeders Cup until I realized that I did the exact same thing you did putting in my bet online. Cost me a few thousand and I certainly felt like a COMPLETE IDIOT :bang: ...

and I won't mention the bad bet structure on a pick 4 a couple weeks ago that paid 9K ...different type of mistake but hurt just as bad...

Now if I only had a story about including the wrong horse and winning a large amount :(

[trying2win]

Tread,

I think most of us horseplayers have missed real good payoffs on occasions, due to errors on our part. And what's amazing is that over the years when I've commited these errors...(and I don't make them often), is that at least 80 % of the time, the original bet I 'wuz gonna' bet, comes in...and to rub 'salt in the wound', usually pays a good price! Anyway, here's a few examples of the errors I've committed over the years:

1. Some of us westerners have slept in late, and missed a horse we wanted to bet early in the card of an eastern USA track.

2. Bet what I thought was the right horse...found out later...I bet the wrong track!

3. I didn't check the post time at a certain track for a certain race I wanted to bet, because "I assumed' it would start at the usual time, so I thought I would have plenty of time to bet that race...WRONG!...A few times a racetrack changed the 1st post to an earlier time, because of a special occasion, (so every other race's post time on that card was earlier than normal too), or I didn't realize they started earlier than usual on a Sunday, or whatever...sure enough some horses won, that I again... 'wuz gonna' bet.

--or there are probably other sad stories that horseplayers will have like "I got stuck in traffic on the way over to the track, and couldn't get a bet down on my horse in time for the first race...AND HE CAME IN AT A BOXCAR WIN PAYOFF!"...or "I was walking up to the wicket to make a bet, when I ran into an old friend and we got talking, and I forgot about the time going by when I heard the announcer say...'and they're off'...and I watched in dismay as my horse won at 18-1!...you guessed it...I didn't get my bet down on this horse".

And the list can go on and on. All you can do is chalk it up to experience Tread, learn from it, and try again for that big payoff...Good luck!


T2W

[Niko]

Thanks T2W, you just reminded me of some more :eek:

Those are good ones.

[Space Monkey]

slept in late, and missed a horse we wanted to bet early in the card of an eastern USA track

I was following a horse named MyLucy II back in the late 60's at Narragansett Park. I lived 20 minutes away. I was around 19. MyLucy always ran in the last race and always long odds. I had decided that her next race was the one that she would pop. Much to my surprise she was entered in the 2nd race. 1:30 POST. I overslept. Of course she won. Tells you a lot about my lifestyle back then :lol: