By Thomas Chambers
If you’ve ever seen a TV news anchor in action, you’d be convinced that they’re little more than cue-taking actors who can read the teleprompter and display three emotions: serious, relieved and amused.
I saw it once a long time ago at Channel 5. I swear that anchor guy walked in and sat down no more that nine seconds before he was due to go live. He tugged his suit jacket, took a quick look at the papers on the desk, and the minute he got the cue he sat up razor sharp and started reading the story. It was awesome. And jarring.
It’s that way with some horseplayers, especially the ones who still swear by using the human tellers. They wait until there is a minute to post and head for the window. Most of the time, they get their bets in, but sometimes they get shut out. I’m convinced that when the old-timers get shut out, they almost want to.
I cannot think of a time that when I got shut out that I was sorry about it. The bets I would have made were always losing wagers. And a lot of times, when I do place it at the last second, it’s also a loser.
So why wait? Especially if you’ve looked over the race in advance and have a good idea who you like?
The tote board can be very informative. Do the bettors like one horse over all the others? Or are they undecided about a couple of them? If a horse goes from 18-1 to 12-1 in a matter of a few minutes, especially at a bigger track, you can assume some whale has put down some big money. If the odds keep going down, others believe in him too. If not, the whale may know something we don’t.
I’ve always pictured the New York OTBs as dingy dens – some people say they are, I’ve never been in one – with broken-down horseplayers who wager every day and know a lot about the horses at Aqueduct or Belmont. They usually seem right. Odds in New York don’t seem to move as much as in other places. So if the New Yorkers think Anthony Dutrow has a live one, I believe it, even if I don’t see it myself in the Form.
Arlington and Oaklawn are notorious for the stroller crowd and the vacationers, respectively, pounding the horses with any kind of price into submission just a minute or two before the race. Hawthorne, not so much. They’re more grizzled.
If the third race just finished, the board says 23 minutes until post for race four and you bet with 20 minutes left, you deserve a big differential in prices from where you bet and the price when the gates open. But it becomes a big problem when you wait until two minutes to post and decide that 5-1 is a nice price on a reasonable horse and then the instant the gates open, the odds drop to 5-2 or 2-1.
“We have been told time and time again that nothing untoward is going on,” writes Bill Finley at ESPN.com. “Nobody is betting after the races start. Rather, the tote equipment takes a while to process the bets coming in from all over the country, and that’s why odds change mid-race. That, at least, is what they say.”
You hear stories of whales with enough skill to get in a bet even after the horses have taken a few strides. But that was related more to the old off-shore operations which are supposedly now illegal in the U.S. The story was that the tote system would almost wait for these bets, so as not to lose them, and their computers could play this “float.”
The tracks and horsemen argue that closing betting sooner would incense the players and hurt handle. That’s B.S.
“All that needs to happen is that the betting windows at every track, simulcast parlor, Internet betting site, etc. close when the first horse is loaded into the gate,” Finley notes. “It usually takes upward of a minute to load an entire field, normally enough time for every bet made everywhere to funnel its way into the system. But no track wants to do this because they fear people will get shut out and revenue will be lost. People will indeed get shut out, but for no more than a day or two. Horseplayers aren’t stupid. They will quickly figure out that they have to get their bets in in time and will adjust accordingly.”
Finley is right. I wouldn’t mind that at all. I could adjust. Plus, much of the time when the minutes-to-post says zero, it still takes them a few minutes to start loading. Now, if someone could tell the fine folks at Gulfstream that one minute contains a full 60 seconds, that would be great.
Bettors Beware
This is disturbing. Against my better judgement, I bought a voucher and was betting on the Stretch Run OTB system this past Saturday. I landed at Monmouth and played an exacta with a separate win-place cover bet on the seven horse. Having had difficulty with the machines previously, I stood gawking at the screen to make sure my picks were displayed properly. They were.
So the race is run and my seven, at about 33-1, places and pays over $25. I’m happy – until I look at my ticket. The machine printed out the eight horse instead of the seven. I should have had a $38 ticket. This is buyer beware in the strictest sense, and I didn’t look at my ticket after it printed. That’s my big mistake, especially when the wagering machines are maintained with bubble gum, hangar wire and adhesive tape.
Could have been worse, but it was a tough lesson. These guys cheaped it out and did not install new machines in this place. If the ticket is wrong, you can cancel before a race. I just didn’t look at the ticket. Needless to say, I went to the Motorola and fired up the phone betting account.
And had a very nice day.
Triple Threat
This is a bit of a lull week as we cool our heels before next weekend when Saratoga will present another great card with The Travers Stakes (often called the Summer Derby), the Ballerina Stakes, the King’s Bishop Stakes, the Ballston Spa Handicap and the Victory Ride Stakes. Del Mar will run the Del Mar Breeders Cup Mile and the Del Mar Handicap, both on the turf, that weekend too.
The Travers card will be on ESPN. Although Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra appears to be sitting out this race in favor of the Woodward or who knows what, there is a slim chance she’ll run. If she does, that would bring together all three Triple Crown winners in one race. Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, coming off “minor” throat surgery, and Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird are scheduled to go. Throw in likely starters Warrior’s Reward, Kensei, Charitable Man and others, and it’s a real horse race.
These are not the same three-year-olds they were on the first Saturday in May.
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Thomas Chambers is the Beachwood’s man on the rail. He brings you Track Notes every Friday. He welcomes your comments.
Posted on August 20, 2009