A mortal lock?

[Hanover1]

Ever had a mortal lock have you tearing up tickets and cursing the day you discovered horseracing? I as a trainer have had it happen when I have entered a horse in a supposedly soft spot, and wound up off the board. My owners wagered heavily, and it took a sandblaster to get the egg off my face.....Yet I have went off at 99-1 and none of us wagered a nickel, yet beat them all, including a 2 horse entry/favorite, lol.......isn't a wonderful game????

[johnhannibalsmith]

I claimed a horse at the mid-level range once for an owner that was indifferent to the horse. I really liked him on paper, but he was making his first start at the track. I was content to let the owner make the final call as he usually wanted to claim every horse that I hated. I didn't really like him when he walked in, but didn't hate him either. The owner had no opinion. I decided just to watch the connections instead of the horse and let them know that I was interested and gauge the reaction. My poker read told me to go drop.

He ran a very good third, rallying from far back to miss by a length. I got the horse back and immediately regretted the claim. He wasn't crippled or anything, but he was a funny moving beast with no apparent explanation. After a few times of jogging him following the race, I really hated him. Not only was he screwy moving (he had some strange trauma from an old injury to his neck that made him almost move like he had EPM or something), but he was a grade A jerk.

The same condition came back in about three weeks and I entered him back. He got in triple tough - remember, he was barely beaten at the same level the previous trip and was 15-1 on the morning line for his first start for me in a twelve horse gate.

I really was just hoping that they'd claim him back, so I told the owner, who was all about the gamble, that I really didn't like him. Forget it, don't go playing all of those crazy ALL-ALL wheel trifectas and supers and all that wild stuff he loved to do.

He goes off at 18-1 and in a driving finish, gets up to win by a half. 80-1 runs second, 22-1 runs third, 8-1 runs fourth. I'm vomiting in my mouth as he doesn't get claimed, but he wins, and I've told the guy not to bet. As I'm picking him up to go the circle, I hear the owner on the fourth floor balcony screaming at me... I'm sure he's cussing me out.

Just the opposite - he had two trifectas, two .20 cent supers, and a handful of exactas and win bets. He made almost $90,000 and I was just standing there feeling really dumb.

Appealing to the fact that he had just made a huge profit on the horse, I told him I was going to double drop him to the bottom, lose him, bet on him, and be well out on him and politely be happy to see him leave the barn.

Needless to say, at 3-5, he ran a bad fifth. The owner? He got stuck in a wreck on the road outside the track and missed the race. Didn't get a single bet in. Meanwhile, I had a handful of pick threes and pick fours with him singled that made the trash can.

And he didn't get claimed.

Next time? Yeah, I swore I'd never bet him again and he paraded home, the owner pulling in another nice score... and again, no claim.

I don't miss that horse.

[Robert Goren]

I am open to being tout off a horse you train.

[thaskalos]

Reading these comments from trainers, who actually have their hands on the horses, one has to wonder how sick we horseplayers have to be to bet serious money using only the Racing Form to guide us...

[46zilzal]

many moons ago a trainer gave us a tip on a MORTAL lock at Anita. I was St Paddy's day and a horse in our race had a name that bugged me: IRISH TRYST.

Well you know who won.

[Hanover1]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Reading these comments from trainers, who actually have their hands on the horses, one has to wonder how sick we horseplayers have to be to bet serious money using only the Racing Form to guide us...

Sadly, its all any of us have to gauge past performance, and that goes for me as well, with the exception that I see them every day, and get info thru the rumor mill, wich must be sifted as well.....
Its still a great game, and you know it.......

[46zilzal]

Originally Posted by Hanover1

Its still a great game, and you know it.......

The game today is no where near the game I fell in love with...NOTHING like it.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Hanover1

Ever had a mortal lock have you tearing up tickets and cursing the day you discovered horseracing? I as a trainer have had it happen when I have entered a horse in a supposedly soft spot, and wound up off the board. My owners wagered heavily, and it took a sandblaster to get the egg off my face.....Yet I have went off at 99-1 and none of us wagered a nickel, yet beat them all, including a 2 horse entry/favorite, lol.......isn't a wonderful game????

Hanover1 tell me something...when your horse won at 99-1, were you called up to the stewards office to explain the sudden form reversal of your horse, or is that rule just for show...you know...just to keep us horseplayers happy?

[Stillriledup]

The thing that always fascinated me is that people who aren't spending many hours per day HANDICAPPING think that because they rub a little ben gay on a horses leg they are experts in the competition that their horse is racing with. How can you know if your horse is a good pick if you aren't an expert on all the other runners in the race? People get 'tips' from other people who aren't doing a speck of work on these races....just because a guy can afford to claim a horse all of a sudden makes him a handicapping expert? no.

I would much rather get picks from a pro player who watches hours of video than a top trainer who's most likely going to recommend to wager ON his own horse.

No offense to trainers, they know what they know, they're experts on the care and feeding of the horse, their specialty isn't handicapping horse races, yet many people bet hard earned money on stuff that comes out of a trainer's mouth and that's not a very good idea in the long run imo.

[johnhannibalsmith]

Originally Posted by Stillriledup

...No offense to trainers, they know what they know, they're experts on the care and feeding of the horse, their specialty isn't handicapping horse races, yet many people bet hard earned money on stuff that comes out of a trainer's mouth and that's not a very good idea in the long run imo.

Truer words were never spoken. Everyone believes that there is some benefit to inside information. If you took 100 pieces of inside information and used those to make your wagers, you'd probably come out just as badly, or worse, than if you hit the quick pick button. There are some guys that you can count on to give you a good sense of how they think that their horse will run on any given day, but its up to the guy making the bet to decide whether or not that is good enough in the context of the race to make a play.

[Moyers Pond]

I have lost mortal locks and never really got that upset, but missing out on something like a $40 horse that I loved but just didn't bet kills me.

[Hanover1]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Hanover1 tell me something...when your horse won at 99-1, were you called up to the stewards office to explain the sudden form reversal of your horse, or is that rule just for show...you know...just to keep us horseplayers happy?

No-we were all pretty bunched up at the wire in a non winners of 2 lifetime, all 3yr olds and up, and someone had to win the race. Not a great feat beating that bunch.....

[Hanover1]

Originally Posted by Stillriledup

The thing that always fascinated me is that people who aren't spending many hours per day HANDICAPPING think that because they rub a little ben gay on a horses leg they are experts in the competition that their horse is racing with. How can you know if your horse is a good pick if you aren't an expert on all the other runners in the race? People get 'tips' from other people who aren't doing a speck of work on these races....just because a guy can afford to claim a horse all of a sudden makes him a handicapping expert? no.

I would much rather get picks from a pro player who watches hours of video than a top trainer who's most likely going to recommend to wager ON his own horse.

No offense to trainers, they know what they know, they're experts on the care and feeding of the horse, their specialty isn't handicapping horse races, yet many people bet hard earned money on stuff that comes out of a trainer's mouth and that's not a very good idea in the long run imo.

Horsemen, as a rule, and yes, there are exceptions, do not wager alot. We make our living doing our jobs, and not in the pursuit of a hobby, or passing ourselves off as professional gamblers. We understand we make many more enemies than friends if we tout our horses every time we go to the paddock. The closest you might hear from me is: "We like our chances today". And we do understand the competition we run against. If we were unable to handicap a race, then using a condition book would be a waste of time, and my owners money. Consorting with heavy hitters is considered an eyebrow arching situation, and can present conflict of interest if one is not careful. That is not to say we don't train horses for gamblers, but I am suggesting that our interests are more focused on the investment aspect of the horesflesh and not the tote ticket. There is where the credit is due.......

[Hanover1]

Originally Posted by 46zilzal

The game today is no where near the game I fell in love with...NOTHING like it.

The world is nowhere near what it used to be...NOTHING like it.

[Backstretch Pirate]

Originally Posted by Hanover1

No-we were all pretty bunched up at the wire in a non winners of 2 lifetime, all 3yr olds and up, and someone had to win the race. Not a great feat beating that bunch.....

Doesn't matter. At 99-1, you would have been hauled in.