HPWS Final HTR Finish

[km]

HPWS final results for HTR members to be printed in the March newsletter. Please help me by adding or correcting any information on this list - thanks to those that posted info in the other threads or emailed me.

Mike Brown (IN) 4th (1st day money Saturday)
Barb Buckley(CA) 5th $20400 (day money Saturday Leaky?)
Mike Mayo (TX) 9th $ 6800 (4th day money Friday)
Dennis Tiernan (TX) 19th $ 3400

In addition the following members finished 31-80th place and were awarded $1000 , we were unable to get the exact finish positions.

Jim Dowell (CA)
Rich Goodall (NV)
Bob Gregory (NM)
Ken Massa (CA)
Don Nadermann (IA) (9th Day Money Friday)
Wayne Kwan (Canada)
George Smith (is this the George Smith from MA or IL?) - i thought i saw you both there!
Bobby Barbaro (CA)

[Jorge]

George Smith from Illinois slithered his way into 72nd, and is thus the one in the top 80.

[Mike Brown]

Mike Brown- Floyds Knobs IN 4th Overall 1st Saturday Contest

Guys, most don't know me and I have just been on board for a couple of months. Just had to drop a note on how valuable the HTR software was at the recent Orleans World Series. Like I mentioned, I am new and still trying to figure-out exactly how to use the program for my style of play. I can't tell you how instrumential the software was in my decision making process down the stretch on Saturday. With out a doubt, I could have not finished 4th without HTR. To be quite honest, if I was not so gun shy early Saturday and used a couple of plays, I could have doubled my score.
KUDOs to a great tool !

Thanks !

[km]

Awesome Mike! Congratulations on a tremendous showing. You must have been on fire on Saturday.

I sure apologize for not checking my subscribers list and catching your name. Thanks for the compliments for HTR.

So you won about $30k for 4th place and $10k for the day money?! Wow - great.

[Donnie]

Beautiful job Mike! Welcome aboard!!!

To be quite honest, if I was not so gun shy early Saturday and used a couple of plays, I could have doubled my score.

I hear ya! I hear ya!! Same thing for me. New approach next contest!

[Bob]

Congrats Mike...fantastic performance! You are dead on right about HTR!

I know it frustrating when you save bullets for later cards and chalk and mid price horses dominate. I saved 6 bullets myself for races after 2:00 pm myself. On the other hand, there were some very playable races after 2:00 and, who knows, next time the cappers may come in.

Here were my thoughts on the races I considered and my plays after 2:00. Please chime in with your thoughts.

OP race 7, DD rating

Full field of mid claimers. Ton of speed in race. I played the 12, best late fraction, HTR 1, good jock and good trainer, decent workout. Ran 3rd at 8-1 (10-1 when I played). 5 bullets left.

GP race 9, CD rating, 11F on Turf, grade II.

I passed after looking at it closely...both Fr3 horses bet down, and I thought that the 11F race would be more formful than other races later.

SA race 5, DC rating, 8F Turf, OCL.

3 razor horses (as Ken mentioned, cold trifecta) and I played the speed horse. I felt speed was holding good on SA Turf route. Wrong choice of the 3...finished 3rd at 10-1. 4 bullets left.

GP race 10, DC rating, 8F Dirt MSW.

Made my worst play of the day in this race. Chose the 12 horse when I really liked the 10 (Polished) but I let the odds dictate my play in this race. The 10 was 7-1 and the 12 was 14-1 (but the horses don't know this...do they!). Speed held, favorite won, 10 finished 2nd and 12 finished 3rd. The 12 actually made a move on the turn but gave way. (He had a terrible Fr3...46.3...I really made a bad play in this race.) 3 bullets left.

I did not like the GG card at all so I concentrated on 3 races left on the card. First of 3 was 10th at FG.

FG race 10, CF rating, 10 horse field, 5.5F. Cheap Claimers.

2 speed horses in here. I played the Fr3 horse, 10 (Lacy Too) at 19-1, finished 4th. Was coming at end but 5 wide. In hindsight, the 10 had won its last race 21 days ago in restricted cheap claimer and no workouts since. Not a good sign. This is where I need some more experience. BTW, 2nd horse in this race was 43-1 and had a bullet 4f workout, by far the best of these. 4F bullets with these are comparable to razor in my opinion. He paid $25+ to place. Oh well, 2 bullets left and both are for Santa Anita.

SA race 7, CD rating, big field, 8F on Turf.

I liked 2 horses here, 8 Russian Liquor, speed horse, HTR 1, top AP horse, top VEL horse, $$ long. Once again, the speed on Turf was stuck in my mind. The second horse that I liked was 11 Frankelstein. Presser with good internals. Negatives against Frankelstein in my mind were: Just claimed by low rated trainer from Jones barn, ridden by low rated jock, no longshot indicator, only visible turf race not impressive. Of course, he won at 21-1! In hindsight, I missed that he was 3 for 4 in money at SA, 2nd rated PED, 2nd rated Cramer. I didn't have a clue at the time but Frankelstein would have put me 3rd overall. 1 bullet remaining.

SA race 10, FD rating, big field, 7F, cheap claimers.

I salivated over the FD rating...thought that favorites would be under pressure. I chose the 5 horse at 9-1. Decent works, HTR1, $$ long, very good connections, early horse with excellent final fraction. Not to be...ran evenly finished 7th. Sadler horse won at 6-1.

My biggest HTR mistake was on the first day when I passed the 7th race at Tampa, Classy Flower. Presser in a field full of speed, 4+ H4C, $ long, good final fraction, figured to be close to pace, good connections. Favorites were part of the speed duel. Oh well, that's where experience is the best teacher.

I had a wonderful time and had a decent shot at it all. As a matter of fact, WE ALL DID, thanks to HTR!

Ken, you have developed a tremendous tool for us. I cannot tell you enough how much I appreciate the opportunity to learn from it. And to all on this board who have been so willingly free with your experience, knowledge and insight, thanks so much for sharing. DanG, I have learned so much from your posts...thank you doesn't seem like enough to say. Donnie, you are the man...thank you for helping me with Access (which seemed like Pentagon Code 3 years ago to me).

I learned a lot in my first tourney, and I had even more FUN! In closing, I only have one question:

WHEN IS THE NEXT TOURNAMENT! :D

Regards,
Bob Gregory

[TEJASKIDD]

South point Casino on April 17th, 18th
I believe HP Qualify is doing a qualifier for that contest this weekend.
Also, NTRA NHC TOUR contest this weekend.
Twinspires AMERICA TAB open is winding down. April 4th is finals. Qualifiers held Saturdays. Must finish in top 5 to qualify. Finals 100k pot.

[km]

Thanks for the post Jim (Dowell), i'll add you to the list of HTR subscribers that finished 31-80th, which seems to be growing by the day.

Congrats on a good try, what was the winner's secret? Stone Cold Luck?

[Donnie]

Must be an odds-watcher. With no form (I assume no programs as well) they only thing we all have access to is the odds fluctuations.

[Bob]

Tejaskidd,

Thanks for the tourney info. I do play HPQualify.com and will be trying for the South Point this weekend. Actually, HPQualify is where I won the entry to HPWS.

Regards,
BobG

[Donnie]

Dammit Bob!! There ya going making it tougher for the rest of us again!! :D:D

Seriously tho.....thanks for the kind words. I enjoy teaching and I get a thrill everytime one of you guys use Access to get the numbers to do what you want them to do. Obviously, a lot of the things you can do are now available to everyone in the Robot. But I still smile when someone like Henry posts up about his success, or when Gambler wins the mini-tournament on here, cause although not the only arrow in their quivers, a number of players have dabbled in Access, finding success dovetailing off what they have learned in the seminars in Vegas. I would like to think I helped plant the seed. Being from Iowa I guess that would be apropos. But I am not the only one....MikeDee and Rick are HUGE resources as well!! Obviously any Access question posted here never goes unanswered!

But we still need to go way back when KM was one of the first to allow his subscribers to export to a text file which made this all even possible! Hats off to him to get this ball rolling!

Please do not hesitate to email me with questions. I will send you (by email) those manuals we had talked about at the tourney.

All the best this weekend, but I'll be out there gunning for those spots as well!! :D

[Bob]

Donnie,

My Access journey started at the seminar in 2006 when you had the mini-seminar after the mega-seminar. It was the one which introduced the trainer grades, if I am remembering correctly. MikeDee is a tremendous help, both with his template and his willingness to unstick me when I get stuck with the VB code...thanks Mike!

I got carried away in my long-winded post about my plays Saturday afternoon at the tourney and I deleted it. My apologies to everyone.

Ken, thanks for a fantastic tool. To all other posters from which I have learned so much, thank you for sharing.

Regards,
Bob G

[dehere]

Whoa Bob! You did what? You deleted your post about your plays in the contest? No, no, don't do that! That is one of the most pleasurable things to look at after a big contest - to see what went into a participant's thinking during the heart of the contest.

When I saw your post about your plays I was brought back to an old article in one of the HTR newsletters that Donnie wrote after he qualified for the NHC a few years ago. Donnie went through a recap of the entire day of the contest, including his plays and even, as I recall, the music that was playing through his headphones on that day.

I'd actually rather read more of these sort of posts than less. I think it is of great help to current and potential contest players going forward. Sorta like the joy that Ken provides us all by permitting us to export HTR data for our future research - we learn from experience, rather it is ours or others - horseplayers or horses.

And, yep, Donnie, I'd probably not be a member of HTR were it not for the export capability that Ken has given us and your help in getting started with Access. I'm sure others feel the same way.

[Donnie]

Bob--
If you still have that post somewhere in Word, or if you pre-wrote it elsewhere, by all means, re-post it. There are still people, yourself included, who are just joining the tournament scene. They have no clue what it is like to sit for 3 days in a grueling mental smackdown with 700 other people. Thru the posts like what you had added they will learn. Realizing this was your first tournament, wait till you are near the lead in a BIG ONE. The adrenaline that kicks in is like nothing I have ever felt.....or was that nervousness? (my "big one" was the summer classic where ken and I split a ticket and I quarterbacked it. We came in 5th or so, only $20 or so dollars from 1st if I recall) I am sure Henry, Mall, Ken, Mike, the Buckleys, the Goodalls would all agree. But it helps to learn the process both thru others' experiences as well as your own. So if ya got it, post it!

Henry-- thanks for your kind words. That is reward enough for me for the time spent after the seminar teaching the Access classes. I realize for most it is a tough program to learn. But those who perservered have reaped the rewards! One more tool in the tool bag only makes the entire job easier!

[Bob]

Henry and Donnie,

Thanks guys.

I did not save it but maybe Rick can re-post it. Rick, can you do this? It is the post with my Saturday afternoon tourney plays.

Regards,
Bob G

[Rick]

I was able to undelete Bob's post.

[Bob]

Thanks Rick!

Bob G

[Wright Stuff]

South point Casino on April 17th, 18th
I believe HP Qualify is doing a qualifier for that contest this weekend.
Also, NTRA NHC TOUR contest this weekend.
Twinspires AMERICA TAB open is winding down. April 4th is finals. Qualifiers held Saturdays. Must finish in top 5 to qualify. Finals 100k pot.

The South Point qualifer is on March 7th. The HP Qualify contest this week is for a chance to win the first prize of "2" free entries into the 4/11-4/12 Surfside Race Place (Del Mar) contest and $500 cash if there are 50 entries. If there are 75 entries the 2nd place prize is "2" free entries into the Surfside contest and $300 cash. If there are 100 entries the 3rd place prize is "2" free entries into the Surfside contest and $200 cash.