Laurel Tournament

[HBee]

Anyone planning to be at Laurel this Saturday?

Space is still available. The tracks are Aqu, FG, GP, LRL and SA (thru race 6 or 7, depending on the 1st post time).

Diana Goddard said they will provide some power strips and extention cords as well as duct tape, but it wouldn't hurt to have your own supplies available (in your car) as a fall back position.

Doors will open at 9:30 and a manditory meeting will be at 11:45. First race is about noon.

Hope to see you there.

Herman

[dehere]

Thanks for the note Herman. I'll be there, Mel Moser will be there.

Hopefully it won't be rainy throughout the east as I think there is a threat in Maryland at least.

Its good to know doors will be open at 9:30. I expect to be there around then.

What about you Ed (Gambler). Are you going to be able to make it?

[dehere]

Ed, best of luck to him man! I'll be thinking about you.

[Gambler]

I had planned on being there. I sent Diana my $100. Oh well I just have to wait to the next one. I sure hope everyone has a great day. Good luck.

[Gambler]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! I called to see if i could give my place away and she said she would refund my money. Thanks Donnie for telling me to call them.

[dehere]

We (Herman, Mal, Dehere) are here, getting ready for a full day. I'll post an update or two as the day goes on. Looks like good weather all around.

[Donnie]

Good luck to all you guys there today! Wonder if Hurrikane and Sue are lurking nearby?
Wish I could be there.....

[dehere]

Sorry about the lack of posts - frankly, i just forgot. A fun day - as usual for contests. The "Mal, Henry, TonyNC" group had a chance. We hit a nice 25/1 horse at FG for place with 60 bucks on him that gave us a bit over $525 at that point in the contest - good for 8th place at the time and 300 out of 3rd, but could not parlay that into another win ticket at the end. The horse missed the win (where we had another $60 on him) by a length or so which, as in all these things, would have made the difference between all the glory and where we ended up. I get tired of saying that "all you can ask in these things is to be in contention" because that seems to be fairly consistent. I guess that one of these times being in contention is not where you wanna be - its in the winner's circle.

When I left the last race had been run at FG (10th) and an 11/1 horse won. At that point the winner was a $1,936, which is incredibly low for one of these LRL events. Second was at $1,091 and 3rd was at $978. Tenth place was at $631. No recognizable names - at least to me. The VA Beach guy who won the NHC was there, but I think he was playing for his partner who helped him in Vegas. Since I don't know that guy's name I couldn't tell if he was up there or not.

It was great to see Herman (HBEE). Hopefully, Herman will make it to CNL for the summer event.

When I got home Herman had emailed me the following - gives a little more updated stuff about the finish. As it turned out, and as to be expected, $1,936 was only good for 2nd.

"You missed a fantastic finish! Last race - FG 10th. A couple who were not even on the leader board bet $300 win (I think 'all in') on the 8 horse. The horse won and paid $25, moving the couple into the winners circle with $3800. The former leader seemed to sit out the last hour, finishing 2nd with $1900."

Next up - Ellis next week end.

[JimG]

The VA Beach guy who won the NHC was there, but I think he was playing for his partner who helped him in Vegas. Since I don't know that guy's name I couldn't tell if he was up there or not.




It's JimG, and I was there sitting next to Stan. Met Mel Moser, a very nice and knowledgeable guy. No luck for Stan or myself today. Too much chalk came in for either of us to do well.

Jim

[dehere]

JimG - I just wanted to apologize. I realize after reading my post and your follow-up that my phrasing might have seemed kinda rude. Being referred to as "that guy" and me proving my ignorance when I didn't mention Stan's name, in hindsight, wasn't too cool. Next time I see you and Stan at a contest I'll stop by and introduce myself.

A final note about the LRL event this year that I didn't mention yesterday. I was very impressed with the constant updating of standings - pretty much after every race - yesterday. It sure helps to see what sort of target you're shooting at as the day goes along. I know lots of people feel that the real target in one of these contests is the number it should take to win rather than what the competition is doing. But for those of us who like the latter approach, it was nice to see that the LRL folks met our needs quite nicely.

[JimG]

dehere:

No apology necessary. And I agree the constant updates were nice, although as poorly as I performed in the contest, I did not need to review them at any time. Hopefully see you at CNL or DEL. I hope to play in those tournaments and many online tournaments throughout the year. I would wish the HTR group good luck, but I do not think you guys need it.

Jim

[Mall]

I enjoyed meeting Herman & you as well, Jim G., & I appreciate your kind words, particularly as you could have said a "nice guy who outsmarted himself by changing his mind & making an all in bet on a horse he didn't consider until the last second, instead of sticking to his original plan & playing the winner of FG10, the last race of the contest, who he & dehere both liked." I may have mentioned previously that a fellow I know owns Better Than Bonds, so named because he decided, when a bond fund matured, that owning a horse would be better than owning bonds. In his previous life, he owned a famous restaurant in D.C. which was popular among powerful Dems, and his bartender there was Mike Emerson, the 1st place finisher, who he described yesterday as a real "Damon Runyon" type character. As reported by Herman, Mike stuck to his guns & made an all in play on FG10 and now, as Paul Harvey used to say, you know the rest of the story.