March 15, 2013    |  By Bitram Bitran

“Playing the angles” is a term used by a number of horse players, like “horse and jockey” or “horses for courses” or the return of the “beaten favorite,” to find their “best bet” of the day.

There are some jockeys who can ride nearly any kind of horse and get it to perform well. And there are some jockeys who can only ride a few horses well enough to place in the money.

(That’s where you as a bettor get paid when you put your money on win, place and show.) Many times that special horse with that special jockey will pay at higher odds than one with a top jockey because the top jockey is expected to win or at least get in the money. Thus the angle, “horse and jockey.”

“Horses for courses” are those horses which only like to run in specific conditions such as running on a special race track or in a special kind of weather—like rain or a muddy surface—or running on grass rather than dirt. Thus the name “horses
for courses.” The return of the “beaten favorite” represents a horse who was the favorite (the one with the lowest odds) but ran out of the money (did not win, place or show) and returns to a race in a few weeks from his last race. We as bettors always assume that it just wasn’t feeling good that day and we are going to take a chance on it today for the higher odds.

Thus the name “the beaten favorite.” For those who choose to try their luck handicapping horse, there is another type of horse worth mentioning. It’s the horse that looks like the worst of your best five horses but has odds or such that he is almost the favorite. Bettors call this the money horse and one that they will almost always place in their exotic wagers. (Exacta, trifecta, etc.) I as a bettor never play this horse to win, place or show, because I have seen where large bettors have placed thousands of dollars on these horses and seen the horse run complete out of the money. This is a gambling game and as luck would have it, there can be good luck and bad luck. A horse could run wild and be uncontrollable, the jockey could accidentally drop one of the reins or lose his footing in the stirrup, or the horse could fall down. There are many ways that a horse could lose a race but only one way it can win and that is when it crosses the finish line with the rider on its back.

I have been taught to always bet with my head and not my heart and very seldom do I violate that primes. There is gossip around the track that Hollywood Park (or Bet Fair) has a new manager for the track and that the food prices are outrageous. I know that unless the laws have changed, the owner of a casino cannot own the track and the casino together. If and when I find out about this, I will be sure to let you know.

So until the next edition, Good Luck and be sure to bet with your head and not with your heart—unless you just love that horse’s name!

March 01, 2013    |  By Bitram Bitran

The time is here where the trainers are preparing their horses for the Kentucky Derby in the month of May.

Since the horses can’t talk and tell the trainer when they are feeling good or bad, the trainer needs methods to check on the condition of the animal. They use blood-work to figure out if the horse is getting the care they need to become stronger or getting enough oxygen in their blood to run the grueling race of that fateful day. Some trainers will not only train their horses by running them but also by swimming them in a training pool made especially for the horse. They will also train for the type of race that they were bred for.

Horses are bred for different distances, different types of track and even for different types of weather.

All horses have a best way of running their type of race. Some like to speed from the gate and go as fast as they can as long as they can and some like to start out slow and finish as fast as they can at the end of the race. Because of this mentality of the horse, some handicappers believe that the pace of the race makes the race.

This is the reason that trainers will always try to place their horse in a race with horses possessing different handicaps so as to give their own horse(s) the best advantage to win the race. An example of that is when a trainer will try to place his speed from the gate type of a horse with those horses who like to start slow from the gate. If all the horses in the race are slow starters with only one or two horses that are speeders, the slow or plodder type horses will not be able to catch up with the speed unless two or more of the horses are speeders who will run them- selves out before they reach the finish line. Handicappers will find this type of information about the horse from papers like the Daily Racing Form.

If you want to learn to handicap a race, you must learn the relative hieroglyphics of the Daily Racing Form’s “Past Performance Explanation.” It is not printed in every form but it may be found if you visit the Web site, www.DRF.com.

If you don’t wish to learn all this information but still want to play the horses, you can avail yourself to the in- formation given by professional Touts, people who make their living by selling information to their steady clients.

These professionals will try to give you a horse that will give you the best odds of the day for your money so as to keep you as a customer. Be aware that all handicappers have their bad days and their good days of handicapping, and with that in mind, you need to establish yourself a bankroll to last you over a period of time to recoup your losses and give yourself a chance to catch a race where the horse wins with great odds or an exotic type of race to make great profits. As a bettor, you always hope to win but you must be prepared to lose. As the saying goes, never play with money that you can’t afford to lose. This game at best is a gamble.

You want to have fun with this game and look forward to catching a horse who runs first second or third and who will pay you a profit when it finishes in one of those positions. For example, if you bet a horse across the board, you will have to spend a minimum of $6.00 dollars.

$2.00 to win, place and show. In order for you to make a profit in that race, the horse has to pay more than $6.00 to show. Of course if he wins and pays more than $6.00 to show, he will have paid more that three times that much to win.

Have fun playing and be sure to play with your head and not your heart—unless you just LOVE that horse’s name!

February 08, 2013    |  By Bitram Bitran

Well, we have begun a new year. With hope this one will be better than the last one. I always look forward to something better than before, something more interesting, more entertaining. I am hoping to see more horse racing and more horses developed in this great state of California. I happen to believe that this is the greatest state for horse breeding than any in America.
Many of our top horses are sold to other people in other countries at a price too large for the owners to pass up. I would sell a horse for two, three or four million dollars that I bought for a few thousand dollars as well.

For some new news in the horse-racing world—news that a few of you may already know—Gary Stevens has returned to riding again. (Stevens was a retired favorite jockey that I use to love to watch ride, and who was also in the HBO series Luck.) He looks great for a guy in his late forties who retired because of his health and bad knee problems. I wish him a lot of good luck.
Speaking of riding, I have often wondered:

What makes a good jockey? Does he talk to the horses? Is it tactical? Does he sit different from lesser jockeys? What is it? It has been said that a jockey may for- get a race that he rode in but he —or she? There are now a lot of great female jockeys that ride today and get their share of wins—never forgets the horse they rode. Therein lies one of the premises of one of my handicapping rules. I try to pick the horse who has a rider that knows him, or a jockey who is more successful with many horses.

An interesting note about jockeys when they are racing is that they don’t sit on the horse, rather they stand on the horse when racing. Their butts hardly touch the seat of the saddle until the race is over.

When I learned to ride (for fun) I realized that a horse could be trained to walk or run in different styles. It can be taught to canter, which is a very smooth way to ride without being bounced around on its back. There is also the trot, which is where you see the rider’s head bouncing up and down on every step. Then there is the gallop, or run. This is what the horse does when it races.

When I started trying to handicap the horse races, I had to find out which horse had the potential to be the strongest horse, the one with the most stamina. I found that this was very important when horses of different ages raced against each other. I found that 3-year-old horses were stronger than 2-year-olds and that 4-year-old horses were stronger than 3-year- olds, and that the 4-year- old horses have pretty much gained their full speed al- though not their full endurance to run their best at a longer distance. Once they reach their fifth year, they are pretty much ready for anything that they are bred for, and they are considered a full-grown horse.

Now here is a tip that may keep some of your money in your pocket when you bet. Once you get your program of the races, check the race that you are betting on to see if the horses in the race are of different ages. If so, you might consider betting on the horse of older age with a top jockey riding it.

Have a good time at the races this year. Be sure to bet with your head and not your heart—unless you just love that horse’s name!

December 10, 2012    |  By Bitram Bitran

Hollywood Park, known as Betfair Hollywood Park for those that play the horses and use the casino, has now started its winter meet which runs from November 9 through December 16. Its operational days are from Thursday through Sunday of each week for live racing, and Monday through Wednesday for simulcast wagers in the casino.

Today I will discuss some important step by step instructions when visiting the track and playing the horses.

When you enter the track, pay your entry fee. You will receive a program with the number of the races and horse’s running in their particular race. To the right of the horses name, there will be a morning line handicapped odds of that particular horse: 2-1, 8-5, 10-1, etc. Once the betting starts, these odds may change drastically depending on whether horses are scratched from the race because of ailments or are simply unfit to run the race. These odds have been calculated by the track handicapper. All races are handicapped by age, weight and distance to create a condition where all the horses cross the finish line at the same time. This condition is known as
a dead heat, which seldom happens with two horses and rarely happens with three. Be sure to check the last page of your program for the wagering information.

When you enter the Grandstand, you will be looking for a place to make your bets, and you will see two types of betting stations. One is the live teller, and the other is the self-serve type machine. Once you have decided on the horses to bet, proceed to the window of your choice. Get there as early as possible to avoid the rush. The closer the start time of the race, the more people will be at the teller line. It is not a pleasant feeling when you miss a winning bet.

You will need someone to help you navigate through the self-serve machines be- cause they are not very self- explanatory. Once you learn to operate the self-serving machines, be sure to check your ticket for the correct bet and be extra careful to get your change out of the machine before you leave. Someone coming behind you will not be watching the balance on the machine and will enter their money to make a bet which will be added to your left-behind balance giving them more money than they realized.

When using the live teller to place a wager, the teller will be waiting for you to tell him or her which track, race, amount of the bet, type of bet and horse number.

Example: Give me Golden Gate Fields, 5th race, $2.00 win and place on number 6.
Once you get your ticket for your wager be sure to put it in a safe and easily accessible place in your pocket where you can find it after the race and remember to check to see if you have won.
Every year, hundreds of dollars are left on the grand- stand floors from people losing their tickets or forgetting they even have the ticket for a $6.00 win after they have seen their horse come in first at 20-1.

Winning tickets not cashed in within a six-moth time period goes to the state to operate the track.

An interesting tidbit about the Betfair Program: When you open the program to the races for the park, you will find information on each horse and a symbol a horse, turtle, hound, fox and rabbit which represents the style each horse likes to run. It will also tell you how many times these types of runners have won this distance of race. At the top of the same page, you will find three Handicappers who have picked their three best horses.

Choose at your leisure, bet with your head and not your heart (unless you just love the horse’s name.)

Lastly: Good Luck!

November 03, 2012    |  By Bitram Bitran

Hello, neighbors, and welcome.

For this introductory column, I am going to give you a little insight on the world of horse racing. After that, who knows? Like a good race, anything may happen. For now, let’s stick to the basics and a backstory.

When I was four years old, My mother took me to her little hometown to visit my grandparents, uncles and aunts. While there, my uncle was riding a horse bareback (without saddle) when he reached down and pulled me up on the horse, placing me in front of him. We rode around the yard for about five minutes. That was a special moment for me. I knew then that there is no finer animal than a horse. As one who has studied horse racing for years, I have devised numerous racing methods. At last count, I imagine I had about 20, none of which were at least 65 percent of perfect (a margin of constant profit). But I will continue trying to reach that mark. Even with the loss-and-win conditions that exist in the game of horse racing, I have all ways enjoyed the entertainment value.

Having played the horses for years, I have considered it a little stock market as such: the instant you place your bet, you become your own stock broker. And not unlike the Wall Street game, there are the occasional signs of possible insider trading. Nevertheless, there is never a guaranteed win because there are more ways to lose a race than there is to win a race. The temperament of a horse is such that if they don’t want to run the race that day, or if they don’t want to load the gate (that’s the starting gate), you might as well lead that horse back to the barn. I have seen them kick, buck and even run off, just o keep from racing. To hedge my bets as best I can, I never take more money to the track than I can afford to lose. I have often enough left the track with only my salvage money: cash that I put away to fuel up my car and maybe buy a hamburger after the races. The excitement of the action makes it easy to forget to eat, and I may have forgotten to get a bite while rushing to the track to chase that elusive long shot that I previously handicapped before leaving home.

On the other hand, I have left the track with an amount of cash that made me nervous enough to forget that hamburger and go straight home.

My race track of choice is Hollywood Park. I first visited it as a teenager. I had begged some older relatives to take me along; they agreed, saying “OK, but you can’t bet because you are not old enough.”

Once at the track, I talked my aunt into letting me pick a horse with her so we could play it together.

We picked a horse, pooled our money and placed a bet. We each played $2.00; our horse won going away. We collected $32.00 for the win and about $6.00 to place. We split the money, from which I gained a $16.00 profit. I got to thinking, I spent two days passing out flyers to the neighborhood homes for a cleaning business for $8.00 and on today’s action I just made $16.00 in two minutes. I knew then that I would return to the track again when I got older. Of course, I never forgot that horse’s name: a filly named Glory Wine that had the #7 post position.

Hollywood Park is located in one of the best places in the world for horse racing. Inglewood is located in a place where the weather is cool in the summer, dry in the winter and has one of the safest track surfaces of any other track for the horses to run on. I look forward to watching them run here. For those new to this game, I suggest you spend time at the track, take the time to study the form and learn the game—unless you have a professional player who picks your winners for you. Otherwise, play with your head and not with your heart (unless you just love the name of that horse), and good luck to you.

As a side note: November is the month when the fastest, richest and most expensive horses in the world meet for two days to race against each other. It’s known as the Breeders’ Cup, and a close study of what happens at that race may help you understand how things work.