How Were You Introduced To Betting Horses

[Horseplayersbet.com]

I have a pretty good idea how this poll will go.

[fmolf]

yes me too this will be an all too common reply ...my grandfather took me to belmont in the afternoon out to a nice supper at his favorite restaurant....on hempstead turnpike in elmont...peters pizzeria...then on to roosevelt in the evening....."Those were the days my friend"...circa 1966 or so i was 8 or 9....loved the pounding of the hooves the hooting of the jockeys as they raced into the top of the stretch.which is were grandpa liked to stay.

[gheuks]

My grandfather and I would take a cab to Pimlico. I was around 7 or 8. It's been 25 years and I've been going ever since. O by the way in those 25 years Pimlico hasn't changed one bit. Shame-have lots of good memories there

[andymays]

You couldn't grow up in my neighborhood and avoid it.

[Horseplayersbet.com]

I'm surprised by the response so far by people who just decided to bet. I'm curious what their stories are.

[therussmeister]

I read a brief summary of a scientific study of winning horse-players, trying to determine what intellectual qualities were necessary to win. I came away convinced it was possible to win long term; obviously the the researchers would have to confirm the subjects actually do win. Conveniently, this was only months away from the grand opening of Canterbury Downs, so I figured I'd give it a try.

They were right, you can win.

[my_nameaintearl]

I always bet the derby preakness and belmont beginning from when i was 12. Then they built harrahs Casino in chester and i found out there was a different kind of horse Racing (Harness) and since my 18th birthday ive been bettin harness racing.

[Space Monkey]

1966, I was 16. I remember it like it was yesterday. My high school had double sessions. We got out at 12:15, so we could make first post at Narragansett Park. My buddy says his mom works for Harry M. Stevens concessions at the track and do I want to go. He says there's a break in the barbed wire at the paddock and we can hop the fence there so we don't have to pay to get in. Plus his Mom gets tips. She'll probably give us a winner. So we walk past the clubhouse, grandstand admissions and there's the paddock less than 50 ft away from the admission gate. 2 cops are standing right there. I say "Billy we can't do this. We'll get caught". He says "No we won't, the cops don't care." I start to say something back but he just went right over the fence. I follow right behind him and then he says we got to get a racing form. The stand is right next to the cops, lol. He was right. They didn't care and the tellers didn't care either.

We go upstairs to see Mom and she gives us a horse to play. Space Monkey. He was my first winner. Paid round $5. Mom gave us "tips" the next few times we went too. They were all favorites. It didn't take me long to figure out that Mom's "tips" were just the Telegraph's consensous best bet of the day

[CBedo]

My grandfather taught me to read the racing form and took me to the track. My grandparents owned a few bottom of the barrel claimers that ran at Evangeline and Delta and I'd go with him to Louisiana (from north of Dallas) when I could. We'd also take family vacations in the summer in Ruidoso. I can remember they used to have this big yellow line painted on the ground near the tellers that if you weren't of betting age, you weren't supposed to cross, so I'd have to get my mother or grandfather to make my bets for me!

[offtrack]

I discovered the race track in Fort Erie as my first Great Good Place in 1970. Saw the great Hawley ride there for the summer meet.
The place stole a piece of my heart, and I've been off to the races ever since.

[CincyHorseplayer]

The only oasis in Cincinnati is Sunlite Pool.Closest thing we have to a beach.River Downs right next door.My godfather took me over there to place bets for his gangster buddies.


Loved it ever since.Especially seeing them up close.I bet twice as much if they pass the eye test!!


Good thread!!

[lamboguy]

i was traveling today on jet blue, everyone had the DOLPHINS vs PATRIOTS game on television. i want to say that i only watched the game because it was on on every seat in the plane. it was the most boring game i have ever seen. the PATRIOTS decided they didn't want to win, so they packaged up the game and handed it over to the MIAMI DOLPHINS. the game was quite boring and when the PATS were ahead by 10 points i sort of knew they were going to lose.

horseracing is a fan participation sport, much better than the NFL, and like wing tips the sport is going to come back stronger than ever once they figure out how to deal with thte problems in the sport

[Horseplayersbet.com]

Originally Posted by Space Monkey

1966, I was 16. I remember it like it was yesterday. My high school had double sessions. We got out at 12:15, so we could make first post at Narragansett Park. My buddy says his mom works for Harry M. Stevens concessions at the track and do I want to go. He says there's a break in the barbed wire at the paddock and we can hop the fence there so we don't have to pay to get in. Plus his Mom gets tips. She'll probably give us a winner. So we walk past the clubhouse, grandstand admissions and there's the paddock less than 50 ft away from the admission gate. 2 cops are standing right there. I say "Billy we can't do this. We'll get caught". He says "No we won't, the cops don't care." I start to say something back but he just went right over the fence. I follow right behind him and then he says we got to get a racing form. The stand is right next to the cops, lol. He was right. They didn't care and the tellers didn't care either.

We go upstairs to see Mom and she gives us a horse to play. Space Monkey. He was my first winner. Paid round $5. Mom gave us "tips" the next few times we went too. They were all favorites. It didn't take me long to figure out that Mom's "tips" were just the Telegraph's consensous best bet of the day

I honestly was going to make one of the answers "I decided to hop the fence one day."

[Fingal]

Thoroughbreds- At one Christmas Eve get together, Grand Dad says " Boys, we're going to go to Santa Anita on the 26th." And as a teenager dutifuly gathered & set aside a paper clipped $2 for each race that Steve Cauthen was going to ride.

It was a few years later after that 1st experience, but one day after Christmas got the bug to go back to that sea green building.

[raybo]

Well, none of my relatives ever took me to a track or even talked about horse racing, I grew up in a strict Pentecostal family. Why, if I'd even mentioned gambling I'd have caught pure hell. I grew up thinking gambling was fools play.

I can truthfully say that I never bet a penny on anything until I was almost 30. A co-worker in the late '70s mentioned that he had been handicapping the horses for several years. I told him I hadn't a clue about any of it and thought it was just an easy way to be parted from my money. Well, he knew I had an analytical mindset and was a competitor, so he kept at it. Every day he'd find some way of bringing up horse racing. One day he came to my desk and dropped a stack of Racing Forms on it. He didn't say much, just something like "I thought you might be interested". All the data in the results and past performances caught my attention. I'm a hopeless math guy and was interested in computers and programming anyway. So, with his tutoring, I learned how to read the Form, learned that the odds had nothing to do with a horse's chance of winning, etc., etc.. This went on for months, his teaching me, and my checking out the Forms.

It didn't take me long to decide that the game was indeed beatable, if you were consistent in your handicapping and disciplined in your wagering. Hit rate and return rate, were the key. I wrote a computer program or 2, started getting data online, took all the pencil and paper work out of the equation, started tracking mythical wagers and returns. Years later, I/we discovered trifectas and finally superfectas. The returns on these wagers made the difference for me. I finally started betting real money and have not looked back.

I've never been "In love with" racing or handicapping, it's always been about making a profit. If I had never determined that I could be profitable I would have never gotten involved to the extent that I have. The only fond memories I have, regarding racing, are the big superfectas I've hit. Oh sure, Secretariat impressed me, but then, he impressed many people who have never bet a dime on racing.

After all these years it still boils down to hit rate, return rate, consistency and discipline.