Humbled

The good thing about betting on horses is that it will keep you humble. Even though I've had an exceptionally good season at CRC this year, yesterday was not one of those days. I don't think I even got close on anything. The good news is there is always another day!

Right now I'm just saving my racing energy for the Breeder's Cup races coming up on Friday and Saturday. I will try to get the Brisnet past performances as early as I can after the Post Position draw on Tuesday. Hopefully I can get the early edition without the Morning Lines.

As I've said before, I make my own odds lines and I don't like to see other opinions because they influence my decisions. Also, I don't like the Morning Lines put out by whoever does them for Calder. The morning line is supposed to reflect how the line maker believes the collective will bet the race. At CRC, it seems the line maker is trying to predict the out come of the race with his lines as the list track choices always fall in line with the ML odds line.

I'm not particularly interested in tout sheets or paying for the picks of others. The few experiences I have had buying picks, as you can from Brisnet and many other sources, is that they don't seem to have anymore insight than I do. Therefore, I like to make my selections without being biased by outside influences. Just give me the data, baby.

That is not to say I am totally disinterested in the opinions of others, and if given the opportunity, I will try find out what others think. I particularly like Mark Cramer, the author of the C & X report. Most of his books are out of print, but if you can find one for a reasonable price I urge you to get it. Mark's approach to racing is a little sideways sometimes, but if you approach racing from the same angle as the collective, you will find it more difficult to find those over-looked longshots.

I am going to concentrate on the CRC races for Friday and Saturday and try to watch the BC races purely as a fan. However, if I have the time and the energy, I will try to post my selections for the BC races along with my suggested playing odds.

I also haven't decided where I am going to watch the races from. I love the Gulfstream simulcast facility with the HD flat screen TV's. But if it is anything like last year it will be crowded. I prefer to see live horses whenever I can, but while CRC does have simulcast racing, it has no real simulcast facility. It would really be nice if Twinspires, owners of CRC, would spend a little money and upgrade the place some. Perhaps if they thought a little more about their patron's comfort and less about squeezing every dime they can out of the place attendance would be better and they could attract a little higher class clientele.

Are you listening out there, Twinspires?