Easy Money

Tweet I'm still not sure if I'm cool with joining the TwinSpires Players Pool yesterday, but hey if you can get 5x or 6x (depending how you're looking at it) on your dough, that's not too shabby (as one, Adam Sandler, would say). As I stated yesterday, I threw a few bucks ($30) into the $60K pool, the equivalent of .0005 and hoped for the best. I'd say it worked out okay, when the 10 horse Slick Wheelie ($16.80) roared home for the win and a $377K hit for the Players Pool. My cut was $204 (pretax) and $157 (net) as they also cashed 31 consos at $983 each. I was a little surprised (didn't read the fine print about the taxes being taken out) as I thought the "rules" stated that I was responsible for my own taxes, totally forgetting about the required withholding on a ticket that large.

My own picks (which I decided not to play since the 8th was a real mindbender) hit only 3 of 6, my single Peat Bay ($4.80) in the 5th, Power Dreams ($10.60)in the 7th and Crowned General ($21.40) in the 9th, so it was a good idea to sit out and just watch the TS PP ticket roll. I was proud of the Crowned General selection at 10-1, but my single in the nightcap, The Roundhouse didn't come through. I ended up playing the Pick 3's in and around each of the races and nailed the 5-7 sequence and lost the 8-10 sequence (missing only the aforementioned 8th in both bets). So all in all I feel my handicapping is still sharp and my bet construction and wagering decisions have made great strides in the past six months.

Will I participate in the Players Pool again? Maybe. It was fun being live to 6 horses in the finale, with 4 of them paying greater than 3x investment. Plus it kept me interested in the card playing my usual exacta and/or Pick 3 wagers, so maybe they're on to something with this?