jungleg
13th June 2003, 11:09.17 AM
Left in the dark without accurate and timely information
Winning money at the races is hard enough nowadays but when the player does not receive accurate information, then you are really up against it. Case in point is the 4TH race at Hollywood Park on June 4. The race was a $10,000 claiming event for California-breds, four and up. As a public handicapper and others who do their handicapping the day before the races, one is at the mercy of either the Daily Racing Form or companies such as BRIS for past performance information. This data comes from Equibase, which does all the chart calling.
When handicapping the 4TH race the day before, Stephen Trevino, who was winless on the year, was listed as the trainer of Masakado Kid (Masakado). Trevino hadn't even started a horse in 2003. The only two wins of Masakado Kid's career occurred in 1991 when trained by Jeff Mullins. Since being claimed from Mullins in November of '91, the gelding's best finish was a third from five starts for Trevino.
Masakado Kid was now returning from more than a one-year layoff for Trevino, according to past performance data. When handicapping this race where their was no standout, I was looking for something different, a horse that could be a bit of a price in a wide-open event. When I got to Masakado Kid, I looked him over carefully and decided he was a horse I would use because he was a stranger against horses who had been running. I could select him no higher than fourth, however, because I had very little confidence in Trevino getting him ready to win off a layoff. But I figured just being a fresh face might be good enough for Masakado Kid to land a share.
It wasn't until the next day, a few hours after the race was over, that I found out that we were victimized by inaccurate information. In actuality, a low percentage trainer was not training Masakado Kid but instead the red-hot Mullins, who had the horse for his only two wins. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion that Masakado Kid would have been an automatic bet with correct information. The horse was being reunited with one of the hottest trainers in the country in a spot where there the other contenders had serious drawbacks.
I was livid when I saw this because it cost me a good priced top winner and cost many others the same. I phoned the Hollywood Park racing office, introduced myself and told them I needed a good explanation to what went wrong. The racing office admitted they made a mistake by not getting the correct information out, but they had discovered the error too late for the general public to know. They did correct it for the official track program that afternoon. So unless you were at Hollywood Park on Wednesday or could download an official program somewhere else, you never knew that the trainer of Masakado Kid was indeed Mullins.
Not only that, there was no announcement made of the trainer change when you viewed the races at a simulcast outlet or no mention of it on a crawl during the Hollywood Park telecast.
Two days later I was watching the races from Monmouth Park and in the 3RD race the winner was a three-year-old named Pelican Pete (Castle Guard), who upset the field by more than six lengths and paid $23. In the Racing Form and other past performances you could purchase, they listed Pelican Pete as a colt. He was returning from a layoff after running eight times. The closest finish he ever had was two fourth-place finishes, beaten 14 lengths both times. In those eight outings he was beaten a total 123 lengths, which in plain math means that Pelican Pete was beaten an average of more than 15 lengths per start.
There was no way any handicapper could pick this horse to wake up and win for fun for a low percentage trainer, an even worse rider and a layoff. That is unless you knew he was a FIRST TIME GELDING, which was not listed in any past performances. Most of the times the past performances will indicate a C next to the horses color which stands for colt. If they return as a gelding, rarely is that designation changed and if it is it could be quite a few races down the line, clearly not in a timely manner.
I have owned a horse that was always listed as colt after many starts but in actuality was gelded many races before. First time geldings are important information to know because this angle has accounted for many positive form reversals.
The betting public is entitled to timely and accurate information but that doesn't seem to be much of a concern for racing officials. Why can't Thoroughbred racing be more professional like other sports? You can find out when a college basketball player has the flu and detailed injury reports from pro teams, but you can't find out when there is a trainer change sometimes. This makes no sense to me.
We should be able to receive proper shoe information for horses before the races even start. These mistakes and withholding important information to the wagering public happens all the time on a daily basis. We should even be told when a horse returns to the races if he or she had any type of surgery or illness. Many horses have throat operations to alleviate a breathing problem, but the public isn't informed. With the exception of the rare occasion when the trainer or somebody connected with the horse just volunteers the information, the public is never informed. Does anybody care?
How many times do you see a running line where the horse is pulled up, never finishing the race, or even vanned off only to return a few weeks later to win at a big price. When you handicap these races you never really know why this incident occurred. We're just in the dark. I guess the NTRA and racing jurisdictions strongly disagree, but we are entitled to this information.
If anybody is trying to help this game, they should look no further than beginning with accurate and timely information for all to see. All the examples listed above are very relevant to our handicapping.
Winning money at the races is hard enough nowadays but when the player does not receive accurate information, then you are really up against it. Case in point is the 4TH race at Hollywood Park on June 4. The race was a $10,000 claiming event for California-breds, four and up. As a public handicapper and others who do their handicapping the day before the races, one is at the mercy of either the Daily Racing Form or companies such as BRIS for past performance information. This data comes from Equibase, which does all the chart calling.
When handicapping the 4TH race the day before, Stephen Trevino, who was winless on the year, was listed as the trainer of Masakado Kid (Masakado). Trevino hadn't even started a horse in 2003. The only two wins of Masakado Kid's career occurred in 1991 when trained by Jeff Mullins. Since being claimed from Mullins in November of '91, the gelding's best finish was a third from five starts for Trevino.
Masakado Kid was now returning from more than a one-year layoff for Trevino, according to past performance data. When handicapping this race where their was no standout, I was looking for something different, a horse that could be a bit of a price in a wide-open event. When I got to Masakado Kid, I looked him over carefully and decided he was a horse I would use because he was a stranger against horses who had been running. I could select him no higher than fourth, however, because I had very little confidence in Trevino getting him ready to win off a layoff. But I figured just being a fresh face might be good enough for Masakado Kid to land a share.
It wasn't until the next day, a few hours after the race was over, that I found out that we were victimized by inaccurate information. In actuality, a low percentage trainer was not training Masakado Kid but instead the red-hot Mullins, who had the horse for his only two wins. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion that Masakado Kid would have been an automatic bet with correct information. The horse was being reunited with one of the hottest trainers in the country in a spot where there the other contenders had serious drawbacks.
I was livid when I saw this because it cost me a good priced top winner and cost many others the same. I phoned the Hollywood Park racing office, introduced myself and told them I needed a good explanation to what went wrong. The racing office admitted they made a mistake by not getting the correct information out, but they had discovered the error too late for the general public to know. They did correct it for the official track program that afternoon. So unless you were at Hollywood Park on Wednesday or could download an official program somewhere else, you never knew that the trainer of Masakado Kid was indeed Mullins.
Not only that, there was no announcement made of the trainer change when you viewed the races at a simulcast outlet or no mention of it on a crawl during the Hollywood Park telecast.
Two days later I was watching the races from Monmouth Park and in the 3RD race the winner was a three-year-old named Pelican Pete (Castle Guard), who upset the field by more than six lengths and paid $23. In the Racing Form and other past performances you could purchase, they listed Pelican Pete as a colt. He was returning from a layoff after running eight times. The closest finish he ever had was two fourth-place finishes, beaten 14 lengths both times. In those eight outings he was beaten a total 123 lengths, which in plain math means that Pelican Pete was beaten an average of more than 15 lengths per start.
There was no way any handicapper could pick this horse to wake up and win for fun for a low percentage trainer, an even worse rider and a layoff. That is unless you knew he was a FIRST TIME GELDING, which was not listed in any past performances. Most of the times the past performances will indicate a C next to the horses color which stands for colt. If they return as a gelding, rarely is that designation changed and if it is it could be quite a few races down the line, clearly not in a timely manner.
I have owned a horse that was always listed as colt after many starts but in actuality was gelded many races before. First time geldings are important information to know because this angle has accounted for many positive form reversals.
The betting public is entitled to timely and accurate information but that doesn't seem to be much of a concern for racing officials. Why can't Thoroughbred racing be more professional like other sports? You can find out when a college basketball player has the flu and detailed injury reports from pro teams, but you can't find out when there is a trainer change sometimes. This makes no sense to me.
We should be able to receive proper shoe information for horses before the races even start. These mistakes and withholding important information to the wagering public happens all the time on a daily basis. We should even be told when a horse returns to the races if he or she had any type of surgery or illness. Many horses have throat operations to alleviate a breathing problem, but the public isn't informed. With the exception of the rare occasion when the trainer or somebody connected with the horse just volunteers the information, the public is never informed. Does anybody care?
How many times do you see a running line where the horse is pulled up, never finishing the race, or even vanned off only to return a few weeks later to win at a big price. When you handicap these races you never really know why this incident occurred. We're just in the dark. I guess the NTRA and racing jurisdictions strongly disagree, but we are entitled to this information.
If anybody is trying to help this game, they should look no further than beginning with accurate and timely information for all to see. All the examples listed above are very relevant to our handicapping.