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Through the eyes of contest player 039-By Fred Caldwell Day one Saturday: It’s 10:00am and I pull out of my driveway to embark for my forty-minute ride to New Haven CT, my destination will be Sports Haven, a very large coliseum like building/ Teletheater with four monster wall-to-wall screens to watch your favorite pony run up the track. As I entered the facility the staff is everywhere tending to the contestants. I can't help and notice all the smiling happy people who hope to win a substantial prize and to compete with some really good horse handicappers. I stop at the sign in booth where I pick up my contest package and sheets to make my fictitious bets. There I was handed a badge, number 039. The start of the contest is the best time, everyone is even and five people didn't hit that $40.00 horse that came in that you didn't have yet. Early in the day is when dreams of finishing first are still there and haven't been smashed yet with picking losers. I would have to say that the first day is exciting to all involved. As I finally make my way up the ramp the floor opens up and I can see all the contestants names on around ten huge dry erase boards, I look for my name like everyone does at the beginning and smile to myself. I find a seat in the designated contest player’s section and sit down to open my racing form; it's already 11:00. Let's see, three racetracks to handicap in two hours, that's a tall order but I've been so busy and I wasn't able to go over the racing form like I would have liked to the day before. I began trying to come up with winners and anxiously study the Aqueduct and Gulfstream card two hours before post time, it was at that time I noticed Bill Finley from the New York Daily news sitting across the way. Bill is a significant contributor for the horse racing community for NY's favorite sports newspaper. Bill has participated in all of these contests since the inception in 1997. With saying that, I’ll use this as a lead in to my first play of the contest. In my first bet I played a Pat Day first timer at Gulfstream in the 2nd race named Mission Accepted. I love playing Maiden races at these contests because almost always you get some price horses. The odds were around 10-1 and I decided to bet 100 w/p on him. Coming into the stretch it looked as if he was going to win but a 30-1 shot up the rail to win (Quite Rightly). Well since this contest is capped anyone who played him for $200.00 to win would only get $4200.00 to win. Mr. Bill Finley was one of a few who played this overlay horse whose trainer has a good record with sending out first time winners. I won some points finishing second but this second place finish was a sign of things to come for me. In my only other cash on day one I played Nickthehousebuster to w/p at 7-1. I had a couple of plays that didn’t fire and a few thirds. My first day total was an unimpressive $1170.00 Day two Sunday: My philosophy for day two was to avoid playing horses lower then 7-1, and on closers, and the outside post. I hit my first winner with Alex’s Love in the 5th at Aqueduct that paid over $17.00. I kind of chickened out not betting the whole $200.00 to win as I broke up the bet to $100.00 w/p. After that win I was optimistic as I had seven plays left with a bankroll now at $2450.00 and if I played wisely anything is possible. Well, remember that bout with second-idous I was telling you about, in one of my next plays I played a horse named Regal Explosion in the 5th at Gulfstream Park at odds around 10-1, and after the razzing I took from contemporaries betting $100.00 w/p on the last one I decided to bet $200.00 to win. Sure enough, this horse ran second and I received zippo back from my top end bet. There was a sense of urgency and I needed a $2000.00 cash not a $700.00 so I really can’t complain as you have to bet to win if you want to compete or if you’re behind. There’s no glamour in just cashing bets and moving up the ladder on standings if you’re not going to win any contest money. In my next bet I played a stalking speed type named Simmer in the 7th at Gulfstream. Again this horse finished second at close to 15-1, and again I had $200.00 to win and another no cash to show for it. Now I’m seeing my chances slip away as if I played $100.00 to w/p on those last two horses I would have had around $4000.00 with around five bets left, sounds a lot better huh? My next play I looked at the final race at Aqueduct. This race presented plenty of value, as there wasn’t any particular clear-cut choice. My strategy was the same again, look for the best possible 10-1 to 20-1 horse you can find (which is may peoples objective even on day one). I found one I liked called Sunny River 15-1 morning line that went off at odds of 13-1. So again I bet $200.00 to win, and I don’t have to tell you what happened, you guessed it, another second place finish. This one paid $17.00 in the middle to boot. If I played this horse in the middle as well I would be around $5000.00 total right now. I would have probably bet these horses 100w/p had it been day one of the contest but I went for the win the second day and came up with nothing for finishing second. A couple of my last plays I played a horse called Fresh Strike at odds around 15-1 and Fantastic Finish which was equally as high. They both gave me a ride and one finished third and the other fourth I believe. At this point I was cooked and a fork had been placed in me, if I ever was going to hit it had to of come from either of those last five bets but none could sustain the drive and a few hung in the stretch just as you thought they might go by. Those last five losing plays were three-second place finishes and one third, and one fourth I believe. Those losses were tough to swallow as my bankroll was still at $2450.00 and with a little luck could have been much higher. If I could of hit two of those I would have been in the top 10 of the contest at the time. Things didn’t break my way but I was given a golly ride all day long finishing second as all of my plays seemed to be good one’s just not winners. I didn’t get a chance to pose with the photographer with a $40,000 first place check (which is the size of a poster I might add) this year and prove to my peers and employer at http://www.phoenixsports.com/ where I work as a sports handicapper that I have the know how to compete in this contests, but there’s always next year, and like most players I went home as one of the other 320 people who didn’t finish in the top 25 filled with if and buts about what could have happened in the contest. I finished in 164th place out of 340 contestants, and out of those 340 contestants seventy-one of them didn’t cash one bet. I’d like to thank Donald Barberino and Todd Hill and the rest of the staff from Sports Haven and CT OTB for putting on another exciting $100,000 contest in the new Mecca of horse racing, Connecticut. Until next time, |