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Which of these railbirds knew that Musketier would win the Singspiel before looking at the sheets?
I am fascinated by those who can pick a winner based solely on appearance - this particular friend has said to me that given the choice between handicapping from only ONE of either the Form or observing pre-race appearance that he would take the latter hands down. In this particular instance on Sunday, my friend selected a horse that had not raced in a year and keyed it on top of a superfecta. Impressive, considering the horse went to post at nearly 9-1. By wheeling Lady Elena over three likely choices in the field, my friend walked out of Woodbine with close to $3000.
Could you have picked this Plate winner without using the Daily Racing Form?
The keys to the selection were visual observations such as an alert, "dancing" horse, dappled and focused. Upon study of the Form, there was a notation that Lady Elena had moved to high-percentage trainer Brian Lynch's barn from that of a trainer yet to record a win this year. The final interesting note was the late drop in odds from over 15-1 down to well under 10-1 near post time. Simply by hanging out in the paddock, understanding how to observe a ready horse and noting a few interesting tidbits of noteworthy Form info, my friend confidently keyed a horse and walked out a big winner.
Suffice it to say, it is exactly this type of observational technique I want to learn more about. I played a small Pick 6 wager on this day and used the second and third place finishers of this race on my ticket, but could not have selected Lady Elena based on Form alone had I studied for weeks.
A SUPER superfecta - $2,255.05 for your dollar
I share this story not to brag about a friend's winnings or to be envious of the technique of a far more advanced handicapper. I share this little anecdote as a reminder of a time when punters stood along the rail and observed. That there was a time when handicappers needed to be AT the track to make a wager because to bet on an unobserved horse was a foolish venture.
Every seat at Woodbine was filled - to the very far corner of the uppermost deck
Though I admit to watching horse racing on television or via the Internet, watching racing live at the track is always my first choice. I've made friends at Woodbine that I hope to have for the rest of my life and though I could have simply watched and wagered on the races from home, there's not a single person in the world that would want to hear me re-tell that lazy anecdote. I hope that many of the thousands of first-time visitors to Woodbine this weekend enjoyed their day out in the sun, cheering for their horse and appreciated the work of the Woodbine jockey colony.
The exciting 2009 Queen's Plate - Eye of the Leopard
1 comment:
Keith, Your friend is on to something there. Darn near every one of my biggest winners involved "a paddock pick". Unfortunately, I'm still learning how to turn my observations into consistent ticket-cashing. Looking forward to any tips your friend might be able to share!
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