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Cha-ching. If you view my profile you'll see one of my hobbies is "loser of office pools." Not any more, my friends. Myself and one other lone competitor (and one of my partners) predicted Spain and Nederland in the World Cup Final and you know which way I picked by now (he went with the Oranje). Pool picks were entered by picking the top two teams in each group and then putting them in the appropriate brackets and picking it from there. So there was some real difficulty. The ADW account is now fully loaded for the Spa. What's funny is that I was totally hooked on the soccer (a sport I previously haven't followed since I played it in high school many moons ago). So next up: the British Open office pool.
- With soccer overtaking my weekend, as well as a fiestarita party and a trip to the zoo with the Space Kid (and Gal), racing took a backseat this weekend, but I was paying attention to some of the bigger races.
- I placed one bet all weekend.....and I picked the wrong horse to beat 1-9 Embur's Song in the Bison City Stakes (2nd leg of Canadian Triple Tiara) up at Woodbine. Drat.
- I did love love love Trappe Shot in the Long Branch, but didn't get a chance to bet it....although I did hit the mythical $100 straight exacta over at The Knight Sky's Exacta Box contest with him cold over Nacho Friend. But I wasn't as savvy as fellow TBAers Saratoga Spa and Amateurcapper who used the same bet as their backup $50 play while I chose a different horse to come in second...oh well. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was right behind Kiaran McLaughlin on Belmont Day when Trappe Shot won his allowance race convincingly that day, sporting a 105 Beyer, and you could just tell by the look on his face that he's got the real deal there. Should be exciting to see what's shaping up to be a monster Haskell Invitational.
- Speaking of one of my favorite visitors, TKS has an excellent post up about seven sincere suggestions on customer service and marketing at Monmouth. As an upcoming visitor to the Jersey Shore this summer, I'll be looking for some of those coupons he mentions that should be promoted on the Tourism websites!
- The Blind Luck head bob victory was the most dramatic over the weekend in the Delaware Oaks and I was fortunate to catch it before hitting my Saturday afternoon party. That filly just gets it done and isn't afraid to tackle a different track or surface. Huge Space Kudos to the Blind Luck team.
Viva Espana!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Getting off the Office Pool Schneid
Posted by Gene Kershner at 9:30 PM
Labels: Blind Luck, Monmouth Park, Trappe Shot, Woodbine
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5 Comments:
Geno..thanks for the mention..When you love an ice cold exacta, never hedge with something else, just pound it home. Remember you can't be half pregnant.
I have been using the Exacta Contest on fields less than 8 horses for the purpose of practicing finding a key horse. That makes making a score in the exacta pools much simpler.
Apparently we have geniuses who know how to properly attack these situations by turning a 4/5 shot into a 5/1 return.
When we are faced with four or five horses, the principle outlined by Steve Davidowitz about "conceding the race to Secretariat.... and trying to beat a tired Sham for second" in the Belmont Stakes applies to a lot of races in the modern era.
Often the second betting choice can be overbet. Or other potential place horses may offer generous payouts on certain combinations.
And on other occasions the heavily bet second choice is just that - a major contender. And that's when we refrain from the exacta pool.
My primary play with Southern Ridge for Second was compromised with the late scratches. Had the other horses stayed in I do believe he would not have been placed up close early on. Southern Ridge is a late runner and I had envisioned a Trappe Shot-Southern Ridge exacta.
Nacho Friend had a good workout with the blinkers and that's always worth a consideration when those two factors are paired up.
That said, I think Trappe Shot has to step it up - way up to compete with the best in the land.
Should Lookin' at Lucky stay on course, this could be a Haskell to remember.
Spa: Was trying to back up my original thought with the longest shot in a short field angle, thinking that Wildcat Lake would get up for second....of course I missed the scratch...rats.
TKS: Love the Exacta contest as a way to sharpen the skill-set. I like to play exactas and if I have a solid opinion on two horses I'll back it with a higher wager say a $4 or $5 exacta cold and instead of just boxing reverse and play at a smaller denomination....great stuff, thanks for running the contests and commenting here.
Geno
SpaceGuy...
I think for most newcomers to the game, they must try to master the win and exacta pools before all else.
It is a sad thing that the pie-in-the-sky mentality promoted by various racing writers cause newbies to tap out in mid-card.
Nobody should go from first grade to college level calculus. But that is exactly what is happening today at campus known as TRU - The Racetrack University.
Trifectas, Superfectas, Super High Fives, Pick Sixes are best left to the experienced, well-bankrolled player.
Belaboring the point about Southern Ridge (because I can) LOL...
Here's what Mike Farrell from the DRF reports this afternoon:
The Long Branch didn't unfold according to plan when Southern Ridge, making only his third start, wound up on the lead with Carlos Marquez Jr. aboard.
"We didn't want to be there," McBurney said. "The 1 post was the worst he could get."
A stumble at the break didn't help.
That rail is a wild card when it comes to handicapping. Either the jock rides the way the horse like to race or he gets sent unneccessarily to the lead and winds up hurting his chances at the end.
Runnerup Nacho Friend may bypass his invitation to The Haskell, as trainer Breen foresees a very strong field. I can't say I blame him.
http://drf.com/news/article/114759.html
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