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Old 04-14-2019, 09:08 PM   #16
Blenheim
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Don't have the genes . . .

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Originally Posted by thaskalos View Post
One thing that has become painfully obvious to me is that the serious horseplayers don't seem to be living long lives. Could it be that something within the game is affecting more than our financial well-being?
The Dean of Handicapping, Mr. Richard Carter, also known as Tom Ainslie, lived a long life, he passed away at age 89.

At a speech he advised, "read everything you can lay you hands on" about racing and practice for months by handicapping from previous charts before going to the mutuel windows. As he put it, without preparation "you're never going to become proficient unless there is something in your genes that would have made you a safecracker."

Richard Carter, Author of Racing Guides, Dies at 89
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Old 04-14-2019, 09:28 PM   #17
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The Dean of Handicapping, Mr. Richard Carter, also known as Tom Ainslie, lived a long life, he passed away at age 89.
At a speech he advised, "read everything you can lay you hands on" about racing and practice for months by handicapping from previous charts before going to the mutuel windows. As he put it, without preparation "you're never going to become proficient unless there is something in your genes that would have made you a safecracker."
Richard Carter, Author of Racing Guides, Dies at 89

This is from the article when he first got in to racing and tried to find books on the subject and found there were none.



“ ‘The reason they don’t publish books for horseplayers,’ explained one merchant, ‘is that horseplayers can’t read.’ ”




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Old 04-14-2019, 09:38 PM   #18
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He was a columnist for the Houston Post in the early 90's when SHRP was fledgling. Always offered some wonderful insight on the game. RIP Mr. Davidowitz
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Old 04-14-2019, 09:42 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by 098poi View Post
This is from the article when he first got in to racing and tried to find books on the subject and found there were none.



“ ‘The reason they don’t publish books for horseplayers,’ explained one merchant, ‘is that horseplayers can’t read.’ ”




This was a phrase borrowed from Robert Saunders Dowst...who wrote in one of his early handicapping books (and I paraphrase):

"The reason for the total lack of intelligent books on the subtle art of handicapping is because the horseplayer is exactly the sort of person that one seldom finds within a 20-mile radius of a bookstore."
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Old 04-14-2019, 09:48 PM   #20
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I was lucky enough to get to talk with him a couple of times he went to AP and give talks and sign books, and he would join Scott McMannis and the gang. I enjoyed the times I got to talk with him, he was good guy. I had him sign two of his books, one I originally bought, and a 2nd copy I bought at his seminar. I had him sign the first book to me, and he was amused when I had him sign the 2nd book "To Whomever Borrowed This Book, please return it to Steve Miller." with his signature on the bottom.
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Old 04-15-2019, 06:02 AM   #21
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RIP. Condolences to his family.
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Old 04-15-2019, 10:42 AM   #22
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Sad news.
One of the really good racing authors - he wrote for the player.
I met him once at a Friday night seminar near the Buffalo airport, for Fort Erie the next day.He went well over three hours and answered every question posed by the audience. Class act.
Used to love his segments on ATR every Thursday.

I bought his book and Picking Winners at the same time and read both with great interest.

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Old 04-16-2019, 02:34 PM   #23
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RIP and condolences to your family

He was my inspiration back in the mid 80's. I still have his articles I clipped from the Mpls Startribune when he was a columnist & track handicapper for the paper and Canterbury Downs first opened.

Last edited by The Skeptic; 04-16-2019 at 02:36 PM.
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Old 04-16-2019, 03:16 PM   #24
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My sincere sympathies to Steve's family and friends and all who had the pleasure of knowing him. I never met the man, but enjoyed his books and learned some things along the way.

A sad loss for the handicapping community.
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Old 04-16-2019, 03:58 PM   #25
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My sincere sympathies to Steve's family and friends and all who had the pleasure of knowing him. I never met the man, but enjoyed his books and learned some things along the way.

A sad loss for the handicapping community.
I started re-reading his original a few weeks back, found it at a Half Price Books store for a couple bucks. The guy was way, way ahead of his time. Never met him personally but conversed online a few times and he couldn't have been nicer.
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Old 04-16-2019, 04:25 PM   #26
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I met Steve back in the early 90's, when he was doing pre-race seminars one summer at Bay Meadows. He was interesting, astute and approachable; much more interested in value than merely picking winners. He and Andy Beyer were my heroes...they stood miles above the rest of the handicapping crowd.

Miss you already, Steve.

RIP

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Old 04-16-2019, 06:26 PM   #27
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I also met him at the World Series of Handicapping at Penn National. He was

wearing a brand new Minnesota Twins hat. I think they were playing the Cards

in the world series that year. Also there was Russ Harris long time public

handicapper. Back in those days it was a regular Who's Who in racing who

entered that contest. I remember a local writer in our town paper must have

gotten a complimentary entry and he was watching the baseball world series.

I talked to him and he said he was playing the second pick in Hershey's card

What a waste anyway it was a thrill to see the big name handicappers.
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Old 04-16-2019, 07:22 PM   #28
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Sad news, for sure.

First met him in the Press Box at Belmont in 1980.

Just like Andrew Beyer, in those pre-simulcast days, Steve would often take the railroad up to New York from Baltimore to bet a horse that had a 'big' fig.

RIP, Steve Davidowitz.
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Old 04-16-2019, 09:41 PM   #29
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Peace

I saw him at the Siro's breakfast show with Harvey Pack and Beyer, tlg.
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Old 04-17-2019, 05:03 AM   #30
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Sad, condolences.

I emailed him once, along with other authors, asking his opinion of why favorites won roughly 33% , not 12.5% which at the time was the random percentage chance of 1/8 runners at the time (gone done) and not 25% 2x a random guess or 50%. He got the implication right away that the number may have significance and emailed back a couple of ideas, some sort of fibonacci relationship or that horse racing started as basically a match race between 2 horses and it may still be that but between the field, with top 2 winning 50% and rest of the field 50%.

Anyway, he will be missed. seems too "young"
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