What's the Story??

[Observer]

A thought provoked by another thread:

When did you get into the game??

My story: As a kid from the very beginning because of a passion for horses.

[doophus]

Originally posted by Observer
A thought provoked by another thread:

When did you get into the game??

My story: As a kid from the very beginning because of a passion for horses.
As a retiree who was tired of golf and x-word puzzles.

[Tom]

Brand spanking new track, Finger Lakes opened just down the road. My Dad asked me if I wanted to go with him so off we went. He told me to pick a double and he would buy me the ticket, but I wanted to just bet the first race to win-the horse was Morganfiled
and he was the biggest thing I had ever seen. He won and paid $28.80 and it was all mine!!!! (I was making $0.50 week allowance at the time, so this was the equivalent of a pick 6 at the time. Didn't miss a Saturday for about 30 years after that day.

[Dave Schwartz]

I was a professional "21" player that had been barred in too many places to continue playing. Chose horse racing as the next sport to beat.

I recall saying to myself, "It ought to take me about 6 months to start beating the game." LOL - It took 9 years.


Dave Schwartz

[kenwoodallpromos]

2001

[BillW]

First races I went to was at Commodore Downs (something I have in common with Andy Beyer, I believe). That was in college in the early/mid 70's (before pizza boys were considered weapons in Erie)

I never went back till the day after the 4th of July in 1995, acting on an itch for something to do. A month later I was making speed figs for quarter horses. 3 months later the thoroughbred meet started and the rest is history.

Bill

[VetScratch]

For me it was completely by accident. I was searching for information about pacemakers because my step-dad's doctor was urging him to consider having one implanted. I stumbled across this board, and was soon fascinated by how lively it is.

At first I lurked and researched horse stuff via the web. Now, as suggested by some, I just make up all my bulls**t on the fly. "Bet the grays on rainy days" pretty much sums up my handicapping.

[Gekish]

After attending races with my Father on Sundays in Europe when I was a kid, we moved to New York in 1950. We attended Yonkers and old Roosevelt on regular bases. (Father was a harness fan). By 1951 I had my own system. '61 moved to LA. With no harness racing to speak off, switched to the flats. If I had all the money I spend on attendence, Form, programm and drinks I be living in La Jolla overlooking the ocean.

[cj]

Growing up in Baltimore, I knew little of racing until going to high school. I wound up in several classes with a guy named Larry Collmus, track announcer at Mth and Suf. His father owned a sound company that did sound for the Maryland tracks. Him and another friend were always talking racing. I was a pretty good programmer for a high school lad, and they actually got me to write a horse racing game on the school's computer system. They told me how racing worked, I turned it into code. We actually would have crowds of 20 in a small computer room watching numbers race across the screen and people betting on the them! Until we got caught, that is.

Anyway, that spurred my interest in the game. They talked me into going to CharlesTown one night, and I've been hooked ever since. We did many a day/ night double header. It would always start at Laurel or Pimlico, but there was no telling what the 2d half of the double would be. Rosecroft, Freestate, CharlesTown, Penn National, Garden State Park, and the Meadowlands were among the choices. We even did an Aqueduct-Yonkers and followed the next day with Meadowlands harness-CharlesTown...pretty crazy stuff.

The funniest part of it is, between the 3 of us, we were lucky to have $100, bet like crazy, and were never of age to legally bet.

[PaceAdvantage]

A friend of mine took me to Roosevelt Raceway (harness) one night in 1986, and the rest was history (never bet or went to a harness race again though....lol)


==PA

[Gekish]

PA
Back in the 50's it was big time harness in NY. 15-20 thousand on weekdays and 30's on saturday. Also they were the first to implement the first gimmick bet (twin double). Then the cheating scandals followed and the game collapsed. Would you believe 10 thousand and up at Monticello Raceway on a Sat. during the summer when the Catskill's was the place to be. Grossingers Hotel had a all-weekend high stakes poker game that was legendary. I was a young kid running bets for the guests to Monticello. But for the fact, that I had opinions about races, I would have made big bucks every season. Story of my life. Opinion has been killing me for 50 years.

[Zaf]

1978

Saw a guy I knew betting at a NYC OTB branch ( Forest Hills, New York, Queens Blvd & 71st Ave) Branch still there. I questioned him about what he was doing, He seemed to be winning and happy.

About a week later I was in Penn Station in Manhattan and I saw an OTB Branch. I walked in and picked up the Belmont sheet. There were 2 races left. I bet $2.00 to win on a horse called Crab Grass , he won at about odds of 8-5. I then proceded to bet the last race $2 to win on Always Dancing and he won at 5-2.

Well 2 for 2 and I was hooked. Hooked up with the buddy back in Forest Hills and we were off to the races. Regulars at Roosevelt Raceway, Yonkers, AQU, BEL & MED. Took excursions to Monticello Raceway, Liberty Bell, Pocono, Ocean Downs, Keystone (now Philly Park),Garden State, Suffolk Downs, Pimlico, Laurel. And it just snowballed from there. Gave up on the trotters though.

Sport of Kings !!!

ZAFONIC

[PurplePower]

1955 - I was just a bit of a tyke (9 or so I think - too long ago to remember how old I was) and I saw Rex Ellsworth on the cover of Sports Illustrated during Swaps' Kentucky Derby campaign. I said, "If cowboys can train racehorses then that is what I am going to do". I started "Playing the ponies" when I was a student at LSU and Evangeline Downs opened in Lafayette in 1965-66.

[Storm Cadet]

One word...Secretariat...followed his run for the triple crown and was hooked. I remember going into the 1st OTB they put in under Penn Station-NYC and wagering on BIG RED for the Derby. They HAND WROTE his number on the 1st tickets back then.

I took a little interest the prior year with Riva Ridge, but after Sec three wins. it was off to Monmouth-Freehold-Roosevelt Raceway-Yonkers-wherever my crappy car in High School would get me to.

In college I used to go with the guys each Friday night to Yonkers, when it was a nice place with big crowds and good harness racing. Then was involved in a FIXED race there in 1974 (lost a lot because they found about the fix BEFORE the race went off)and stopped going to races for almost 20 years.

[JimG]

My parents both loved horse racing and took me to Charles Town with them when I was a kid (pre-teen). We moved to Florida and I got into dog racing as a teenager and actually played full time at the dogs profitably for one year following college.

I got back into horse racing seriously in the mid 90's when VA legalized horse racing.

Jim

[Trijack]

My family moved to Detroit, Mi from Ky in 1952. Around 1954-55 my older brother had just got out of the Air Force went to the Detroit Race Course with a Police Detective he had met thru a friend of his.
he came home a winner. I went a couple weeks later, came home a winner. My thoughts were "how easy this is to make money". lol

It seems to me just about everytime a new person goes to the races they almost always come home a winner.

[Tom]

I loved to go to DRC whenever I was in Detroit. Found it in the late 80's or early 90's I think, quite by accident. I was killing time waiting for a flight (ust down Middlebelt road a bit) so I bought a coffee and found a parking lot to read my DRF for a while. I happened to catch a horse in the corner of my eye? Was I dreaming?? Went over to investigate and there was a track on the other side of the bushes!
Loved that big winding ramp to go up to the second floor. Surprised to find a picture of Finger Lakes claim to fame horse - Fio Rito in thier hall of fame showcase-hewon the Mi. Mile the saem year he won the Whitney at Saratoga (downstaters were shaking their heads over that one for a while! A FL horse takes big stake, even after breaking through the gate).
I even took a weeks vacation at DRC a few years ago-had good time there.

[Trijack]

Tom..

Sorry I did not get your picture at Toga. Started to take it once and Suff said wait until later. Later never did get there. When I again thought about it. You were gone. Sorry about that.

If you would like to email me a picture of yourself I will get it into the gallery. I have been asked where is Tom in the pics.

Jack

[witchdoctor]

My future wife dragged me to Keenland and a friend of her dad helped me put together a show parlay that took $5 up to $120. With that I couldn't wait to get back and read everything I could to learn about handicapping and applying that knowledge at Bandera Downs.

[Bubbles]

Ever since I was old enough to walk, I've been going to Saratoga every single summer. Used to bet carelessly until a few years ago, when Dad hit a huge wager (specifics escape me). Asked him how he did it, and he showed me the basics of speed handicapping. The rest is history.

[justin]

I started going at age 12 or 13...can't remember! My Dad used to go to Laurel or Pimlico most weekends and would take me with him. He'd usually allow me $2 bucks a race to bet and would make my bets for me. Loved the racing, loved the betting...and loved the chance to show up my dad by making better picks. After a few winners, I was hooked! Having a brother that was big into racing helped too...I learned most of what I know from him....he's a helluva 'capper and bettor. 13 or 14 years later and I'm not too sure I'm a better player than I was when I was younger! I've been to the Derby, Breeder's Cup, Preakness, Breeder's Cup Preview Day at Belmont, and multiple times to the Belmont itself...some of the best times of my life and I wouldn't trade 'em for anything!

-Justin

[Tee]

1971

I was born & it was in my blood. Dad played the horses, grandfather played the horses. My Uncle owned, bred & raced thoroughbreds.

I didn't start playing until after college around 1994-1995 & haven't quit since.

[MarylandPaul@HSH]

In the early 80's, just out of college, a co-worker took me to Buffalo Raceway. Many a high speed trip down the NY Thruway to Batavia followed. That got me started....then I discovered the OTB parlors, those little gems that popped up in abandoned storefronts all over town.

Looking back, what a crummy way to watch the races; yet I loved it back then.

By the way, my Mother once told me that my Grandfather (who I never knew) once owned a horse named "Burnt Almond" that ran in Canada. Where could I find PP's for that horse? I've looked at DRF, Equibase, and Bloodhorse, but I don't see any links to archived data. I'm guessing the horse ran in the 50's.

MP

[Valuist]

I grew up about 5 miles from Arlington and started going in the early 80s.

[peakpros]

Went to the track on my 13th birthday with my mom and dad. There was a riot after two longs shots paid almost nothing in an exacta. I still remember the trash cans on fire being tossed over the fence and the two guys who wiped off your seats hiding in a small booth under the stairs.

That was 32 years ago.

I was hooked right away and began making my own bets at freehold the next summer. (monmouth was stricter went it came to betting at age 14!!!!)

Went regularly for the next 10-15 years until around 1985. (mostly NY, monmouth and the meadowlands). Only flats however, I gave up on trotters very fast.

After a season of 60 nights out of 100 at meadowlands I was burnt out and I felt the game was changing.

It was time to step aside and raise my kids.

Since then I have been to the track rarely, until this year when I found this site and started back. (i've been lurking for a long time)

Since the beginning of the Monmouth meet I have been going 2-3 times a week and I feel great.

I want to thank you guys for sharing your insights and giving me the strength and confidence to get back to the game I have always loved so much.

[Red Knave]

A girl I wanted to get to know was very interested in horse racing. In order to impress her and make her think I was interested too, I started going to the harness races after work. I subsequently found out that she was interested in t-breds and actually thought standard breds were second-class (doh!). She eventually married a t-bred trainer and I was hooked on the jugheads. This was about 1970.

It took 3 or 4 years before I went to a t-bred race but I was immediately struck by the challenge. Different distances, different surfaces, layoffs of more than 2 weeks, no 'qualifying' races??? Much more difficult to select winners but also bigger prices if you did.

In the late '70s I read an article in Popular Electronics about how to make your own personal computer. I had absolutely no idea about the electronics part of it but the idea of using a computer to help me handicap was too appealing to give up. In the early '80s (I think), Dick Mitchell started selling software, written in Basic, for handicapping. It was full of bugs and, since I already had some programming experience, I tried to fix some of them. I decided I needed to augment my skills and took some community college night courses. This led to full time work in programming and I am currently self-employed doing it today.

BTW, Red Knave was the first long shot I ever doped out myself. He was a horse that would win 1 race a year although I think one year he accidently won twice. That yearly win was always in the Fall, on a muddy or drying out track, at 7 furlongs at odds over 15-1 in a $2500 or $3250 claimer.

[brdman12]

1993...went with some friends to an otb. Hit an exacta for $1200.00 $2 straight ticket. Never been the same..never repeated either....Wonderful sport. But too few care, it needs to change to attract younger audience. Casinos are replacing the sport it seems....:D

[Suff]

Horse Track Community...and not the Farm type. The Gambling City Type. "What was the Double?" Was a question I heard everyday of my Life , 20 times a Day, between 1:30 and 3:00 PM.

Everybody played a Double at Suffolk. The old ladies..The Barber , the Bartender, The Store Clerk, The Ice Cream man. Everbody played a double with the neigherborhood Bookie.

Big friendly crowds at Suffolk. All The friends sitting together in the same spot every weekend...Handicapping and playing. No simulcast or even TV or Payphones...

I had Backside credentials for 5 years... But early in my backside Career a Horse took a Bite of me once and another time I saw two LOOSE and WILD horses almost run me down...!

I was very afraid of horses for the Longest time. Every Time I went Backside I had that "startled look" to me. I did what I had to do and rushed out to sit near the Gamblers. I always Liked the Handicapping part the best.

As I got older I began to appreciatte the game more. For 15 years I was Just Betting Races. Now I'm more of a Gamer. I love the Animal the Most.... Handicapping Secondly. The People and The environment I also really enjoy

[Tom]

Seeing some names with 1-2-3 posts totals underneath - welcome guys. Always nice (well, usually ) to meet new posters. And not one started out with "Has anyone heard of X yet? (hehehe)
Inside joke.
Check out the photo gallery on the homepage-a lot of us just met in the real world and some of you guys are close by-maybe we'll be shaking hands next year at the SPA.

[hurrikane]

At 16 I was playing poker in a restuarant weekly in Falls Church, VA.($300 buy in.imagin that in 1970 at 16). I met a lot of people but one guy on the basketball team at my high school (I wrestled and we couldn't stand each other in school) hit it off for some reason.

He tracked classes at CT.

I went with him one time with some friends of his that put down $200 win on a horse he told them to bet. They won at 10-1.

I was sold. 2 weeks later his friends told him they were going to bet all the money they won(imagine...2000 bucks in those days..that was probably the CT pool) on the same horse again
Hard as he tried to stop them they would not deter from betting. Horse finished 5 in a 6 horse field.

At that time I knew it was what you knew that no one else knows. I was lucky that way. I never look at what everyone knows. I looked at what they know, why they are betting that way and what do I know that they don't.

Read all the books I could find that were meaninful. At 19 in 1974 started playing professionally(that means my mother was asking why don't you have a job and where is the money coming from..drugs?).
Except for a stint playing music from 1976-1979 that is all I did.
In 1979 the band broke up. Not able to find any meaningful poker play I went back to playing horses.

I did that for a living until 1983 when my son was born . At that time it was made clear I would not be doing this to support my family(yet to be born). I quit playing for a living at that time.

I never looked back and wondered. I can tell you...back then..it was a gruesom job..12-18 hrs a day.
Thank god computers came along.... life is good!!!

[Amazin]

I was abducted by aliens who like to bet on the races.They implanted a chip in my brain so they can telepathically have me make their bets for them after studying the form all night.

[Lefty]

When I was 18 I saw a copy of American Turf Monthly on the newstand and it caught my eye. The math oriented systems looked interesting. Then I went to ELP to apply the systems. Caught a few winners, saw the majesty of the thoroughbred(1000 clmers back then)and I was "hooked"

[David McKenzie]

We'd go to Fish Creek, Wisconsin every summer as kids. One summer when I was about six years old my parents got together with the parents of my best friend, pooled their resources and purchased a retired thoroughbred who could only muster up three gaits:

1)Walk
2)Walk a little faster, and
3)Walk n' hop a bit

The three of us, my buddy, my younger brother and I all fit comfortably into the giant U on the horse's back. We didn't need a saddle.

Taffy was the sweetest, kindest, and most affectionate horse I've ever known.

[Suff]

Originally posted by Trijack
Tom..

Sorry I did not get your picture at Toga. Started to take it once and Suff said wait until later. .

Jack

I did? I forget saying that. Sorry.. I think I may have thought or hoped Tom was staying the Night. Or at least hanging around and going to dinner with us. I was caught off Gaurd when someone told me "Tom left". We missed a Few and some specifically requested that thier Picture not be taken. FBI and CIA types...

Tom..I loved Your book..Funny, yet mildly insane. I like that.

[Tom]

Hey, no problem with the pics.....I'll be there next year....for more than a day. I forgot CJ's photo on my book
I left after the chowder because it was looking like a storm was coming in where I was heading (it was, it did, I got caught anyways, and had to pull over to wait it out ).

Anyways, here is a photo of me at the chowder bar!
Those are Dave Schwartz's hands.


:rolleyes:

[VetScratch]

Tom,

No wonder you do well at the track! With those prehensile toes, you should be able to mark-up and highlight a set of DRF past performances twice as fast as the rest of us.

[BillW]

Originally posted by Tom
Hey, no problem with the pics.....I'll be there next year....for more than a day. I forgot CJ's photo on my book
I left after the chowder because it was looking like a storm was coming in where I was heading (it was, it did, I got caught anyways, and had to pull over to wait it out ).

Anyways, here is a photo of me at the chowder bar!
Those are Dave Schwartz's hands.


:rolleyes:

Tom,

You're one sick puppy.

Bill

[Tom]

OK, that was a joke. HeHe,
But I did find ne of me having breakfast with Suff and the guys at Saratoga one morning.....

[Amazin]

Which one is you?

[lsbets]

Want to say hi to all. I've been reading the board for a couple of weeks now and really enjoy it.

I had a friend take me to the Meadowlands in college. It was raining, and I put 2 to win on a horse at 86-1. He won, and I have been giving money back ever since.

I have had similar luck owning horses. I claimed a horse for 7500 and won first out for 15000. I think Purple had us picked to finish second (the race was at Houston). The worst thing that could ever happen to a new owner is to win your first race. Now I am hooked on owning and betting, a bad combination.

Good to meet you all!

[Zaf]

Welcome to the board. Looking forward to the Sam Houston Thoroughbred meet, one of my favorites.

ZAFONIC

[lsbets]

I've done well at Houston as a bettor, but I am torn as an owner. The texas bred money is okay, but the purses at Delta Downs are really sweet, and the competition is not much different. I wish Texas would get its act together and add VLTs.

But, I am looking forward to Houston too. There are some decent payouts there.

[superfecta]

but it may have started with my parents taking us to Hot Springs as kids.They would leave us at the motel or rental cabins and go to Oaklawn.Then they took us to Memphis and we stayed at the motel across the road from the dog track.Never heard them say they lost money.So when Remington Park opened in Sept 88,I was old enuf to see what the fuss was all about.Well,that was different than now by a longshot.20K people every day on the weekends,always big carryovers in the pick six.No Superfectas,no simo signals.But I liked it alot.Won enough to keep me interested.But really didn't get over the hump til I read Pace Makes the Race.About 3 years after it had been written.By that time simulcasting had taken hold and exotics were plentiful.I won enough money to make me think I had a good thing.But times change,and now I realize if I want to make serious money I have to work at it,and with being a single parent raising my son Remington,my son Matt and running a Business,I don't have the time to devote to it to really make a serious income.So I just savor the part time play and the history of the game.

[BillW]

Originally posted by lsbets
I've done well at Houston as a bettor, but I am torn as an owner. The texas bred money is okay, but the purses at Delta Downs are really sweet, and the competition is not much different. I wish Texas would get its act together and add VLTs.

But, I am looking forward to Houston too. There are some decent payouts there.

Isbets,

Welcome to the board. Good to have another Tx resident here. I see we share the same birthday also Have a happy one.

Bill

[ponyplayer]

1983, I was talked into going to races at the Fair by some guys at work. First day I won about $500, second day won about $300, Thrid day I lost $1,000. Well that basically set the stage for the next 20 years.

Over the last 20 years I'm pretty sure I've lost more than I've won, but to paraphrase Gen. Patton, "God help me, 'cause I love it so." LOL :D

[Tom]

Originally posted by Amazin
Which one is you?

Blue shirt, back to camera, standing by the fence (LOL!)

[freeneasy]

one day i was knick-knacking around on the santa monica peir waiting for the fish to start biting. i picked up an old harold examiner paper and low and behold their was the section with everybodies fortune. so i read mine and it said, hey, "a lucky day, take a chance in someting you enjoy." well i'd never been out to the track before but if i ever went i knew that i'd probably enjoy it. so i turned to the sports section, looked at all the entries and said "how do you figure this?"
so, bing, bing, bing, just like that, i got the answer. just a hundred yards or so down the pier from where i was fishing was "madame doreena's" fortune telling parlor and i'd just let madame doreena pick me a winner.
so i mosied on off to the madames place see and i walk in. first time i'd ever been in a fortune telling place, and it was dim, quiet, glass beads hanging from the door, couple of weird looking artifacts and some old looking stuff kinda neatly scattered about the place, so i braved my way in and she came out from the back. and i thought, hey man i aint going back there, who knows what might be waiting. and she sat down and i sat down, at the front desk and she asked me "what can i do for you" and i said kinda sheepishly well can you pick a winner for todays races and she says yessss, i can peek up thee vibrrraations she says, rolling her Rs to get that speacial effect see, and i says ok and she says " rrrread off the names of the horses in the rrrrace that you want to play. so i picked out a race, read off the names, after i read off the names she repeats one of the names of the horses i read. Windy Wisper she says. so ok, i got my horse, windy wisper, and off to the track i went by bus. i get to the track bet my 5 bucks on the horse, race goes off and no windy wisper, not a call, its all zip and ive been jipped, but ut-oh, wait a minute, can it be? yes, and its here comes windy wisper with a big move on the outside coming up to take the lead, and its windy wisper to winit by a so on and so forth.
paid like 52 buckaronies, went home with like 3 weeks worth of pay in my pocket and one of my first thoughts after that was gee, how much more easier then this can it get, man by this time next month i'll be driving up to the track in my brand new cadalac convertable.
and its been a love for horses and horse racing ever since. madame doreena? never went back again. not even for a rainy day.

[Dan Montilion]

Freeneasy,

Last time I went to a "madam's place" I got more than my fortune read.

Dan Montilion

[Dave Schwartz]

Free,

Okay, you've got my vote for best story.


I think I'll call my next software Madam Doreena!


Dave

[freeneasy]

Originally posted by Dan Montilion
Freeneasy,

Last time I went to a "madam's place" I got more than my fortune read.

Dan Montilion
yeah i went to one of those places once, think i broke the track record for 6fs in 1:06 flat, and had i of had my thinking cap on i probably would have realized that my fortune for that day was really telling me, hey if ya wanna really get lucky in something you enjoy, then you better take a chance and ask doreena whats really behind that beaded doorway. cause it aint gonna be no bella lagosie or freddy cruger like you think, pali :confused:

[freeneasy]

Originally posted by Dave Schwartz
Free,

Okay, you've got my vote for best story.


I think I'll call my next software Madam Doreena!


Dave
hey dave, that was a one time hit, i dont know if she can do it again, all i know is take the fortune and run.:D

[Observer]

Giving this a bump .. since there's a similar thread going right now.