Betting on the Horses?

[JimG]

How much do you bet on horses compared to 5 years ago?

[RaceBookJoe]

How much do you bet on horses compared to 5 years ago?

I dont play as often as i used to just due to being busier. My bet amount/race has stayed the same though.

[therussmeister]

I bet about the same number of days, more races per day, more money per race.

[edgar]

I just picked it up again a few years ago after ten years of very sporadic play. I work on it many hours per week now yet bet infrequently. When I first started speed handicapping I would try to run five tracks at a time with a pen and a calculator (while drinking beer too). I often wish I could go back twenty years with the tools I have now. I hope to increase my wagers in the future but that will come only with success.

[LottaKash]

I don't wager nearly the same amount as in times past...

I am much more "spot specific" these days, and wager only when I truly believe that I have the best of it....Consequently, I play many fewer races that before...Still, I wager more on the races I feel a true edge, but certainly less overall than in the past...

Funny thing tho, as I mellow more and more with each passing season, my "Need for Action" has diminished drastically, in more recent times...:cool: ...And that, is a very good thing.... Steady Black Ink as a result....:jump:

[RichieP]

5 years ago I was betting about 50k a year, in the last 15 months not a dime.

Life is completely different now and to be honest I don't think I would have a chance to stay ahead or even in today's racing environment.

Jim G sending you and everyone the best vibes for a happy life! :ThmbUp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9H9TiBYvVI&feature=related

[JimG]

5 years ago I was betting about 50k a year, in the last 15 months not a dime.

Life is completely different now and to be honest I don't think I would have a chance to stay ahead or even in today's racing environment.

Jim G sending you and everyone the best vibes for a happy life! :ThmbUp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9H9TiBYvVI&feature=related

Thanks for replying and I am glad things are going so great for you. You deserve it. Enjoy.

Jim

[mountainman]

much, much less. just too busy with work, and have developed other interests.

[johnhannibalsmith]

I bet way, way, way less in terms of both money and number of races. I tend to focus on a single local track that I can concentrate on. I've gone from being at the track and playing nearly every live race to one degree or another with a few plays elsewhere, to away from the track and in front of a computer all day long with no way to bet on the races at all. Ironically, if I could bet from my computer, I'd probably be betting as much or more than ever on the local races... for better or for worse... :D

[CincyHorseplayer]

5 years ago I was betting about 50k a year, in the last 15 months not a dime.

Life is completely different now and to be honest I don't think I would have a chance to stay ahead or even in today's racing environment.

Jim G sending you and everyone the best vibes for a happy life! :ThmbUp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9H9TiBYvVI&feature=related

Good to hear from you Richie.Been a while.Glad everything is going well for you.Reading the fact you walked away from this game and everyone else's resignation sounding posts,while I'm having decent success and decent odds,and am enjoying this game,I'm feeling more like this video than that one!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBwgX8yBqsw

[Vinnie]

Richie P:

Hope that all is well with you and your family? Nothing but super positive karma coming your way Always... :)

[JustRalph]

I would be interested in a similar poll that asked about churn.

How many dollars you put back and forth through the windows now versus 5 or 10 years ago.

Not sure how to write the poll.......any suggestions?

[OTM Al]

I bet less, but not because I've lost interest. Just have a lot more bills that have to be paid first than I did back then. It turns into a bad cycle when I can play because the less I play, the more I fall out of practice, the less I win, and the less I can play. I'll get back in right one of these days, but it's been a while.

[raybo]

I play less than 5 years ago, but that is only due to the AllData Project, and all the time involved in R&D, updates, upgrades, and most importantly, user support functions.

5 years ago I was playing less than when I was a full time player, but my bottom line was about the same as it was before burning out as a full time player. Today, about the only time I play superfectas, my preferred wager type (and most profitable one), is on big racing cards like the TC and BC cards. I just don't have the time to handicap for superfecta play, on a daily basis, like I used to, as superfecta handicapping is much more time intensive than any other type of play, having to select place, show, and 4th place finishers as well as the for winners.

I have been playing a little more recently, the last few weeks or so, due to some easier track testing methods I developed, allowing me to hone in on many more positive tested tracks and rankings/odds ranges available now. So, I've been win wagering, primarily, testing those new methods in real time, with real money, the only accurate way of finding out if what you're doing is profitable. Playing "on paper" is fine, and I thoroughly encourage doing that, but there comes a time when you have to put your money at risk, in order to see if you can actually do exactly what your testing tells you to do. Can you pass races that the testing says to pass? Can you pull the trigger on high priced selections that the testing says is long term profitable? Can you keep from being distracted by the way the public bets, or the announcers' analysis of the horses in specific races, etc..

Only live, real money wagering will tell you if you're long term profitable or not, all the testing in the world won't tell you that, because testing doesn't take discipline, patience, and consistency, on a daily basis, when you have your money at risk.

You can talk a good game easily, playing a good game is a different world.

[BreadandButter]

I'm doing more now. I would attribute this mainly due to the technological advances such as RTN, competitive ADWs, hand held devices etc..

With RTN I'm able to record any performance I want, fast forward, rewind, pause with ease - I get the full race and head on replays. I’m finding the rebates offered are much more competitive now then they were 5-10 years ago. I believe this is a result of so many ADWs in the market competing for customers. Hand held devices now make it easy to go through some pps, watch replays where ever I maybe with 10-15 mins of downtime.

I remember the days when I would often have to drive 40 mins each way to pick up the pps in the AM - then drive another 50+ mins each way to a track that eve, drop over $25 in parking, tips etc before even sitting down at a table prior to the first race. Does any body remember the days tracks would sell you a copy of a performance for between $25-$50 and that’s if you provided them with a blank VHS tape?

I know of a full time player that has only seen a handful of races live in his lifetime. The technology that exists today is the only reason he's in the game.

[traynor]

As a result of automating many of the selection critieria--that enables me to simply bet according to wagering models in most races--and because of the number of races I bet (spreading smaller wagers over multiple tracks), I am wagering (weekly average) four to five times the amount I was wagering five years ago.

The more "automatic selections" I make, the better the bottom line becomes. That is, the increased betting is the direct result of increased ROI, which is the direct result of wagering according to models rather than agonizing over the analysis of individual races.

[RXB]

I don't wager nearly the same amount as in times past...

I am much more "spot specific" these days, and wager only when I truly believe that I have the best of it....Consequently, I play many fewer races that before...Still, I wager more on the races I feel a true edge, but certainly less overall than in the past...

Funny thing tho, as I mellow more and more with each passing season, my "Need for Action" has diminished drastically, in more recent times...:cool: ...And that, is a very good thing.... Steady Black Ink as a result....:jump:

That's me, too. The handicapping side of the game came much easier to me than the patience side; too much of an action/chase hound in earlier years.

[tophorse1145]

Usually I don't play this. but I love watching.

[duncan04]

I bet more than 5 years ago mostly because I started with an ADW in the past year. So the ability to play has been easier.