Morning line for Hollywood
 

Once again, late Saturday afternoon ET, I find myself waiting to download pp's for Hollywood Park... and waiting... and waiting... because I want pp's with a morning line. That info helps me to determine probable value at betting time.

Can't wait any longer. Saturday nights are for having fun, and Sunday mornings are for repenting, so who knows when or if I'll have time to handicap the Starlet card. And without 'capping the races, I sure won't bet them.

Equibase doesn't have the morning line odds even on its "Entries" link.

Dang.

With all due respect to the track handicapper (is that John White or someone else?), can't race fans get southern Cal pp's with a m/l at least a day in advance? All the other tracks have their pp's ready to go for tomorrow, and most of them are ready through the 23rd.

my guess would be if they were struggling for entries, it may have taken quite a long time to close and make the card official, thus putting the M/L guy behind the ball already.

are they still just on a 48 hour entry schedule?

Why do tracks need ML odds makers anyways?

That makes some sense, JBalls, except that the pp's are up--just w/o the line. Obviously entries are in.

I wouldn't mind 'capping all the entries, even the might-runs. It's SOP to handicap a day or two before and check the scratch list the morning of.

Russ Hudak is the oddsmaker at HOL... (White is Santa Anita).

Not sure when they post them... When did you start looking for the ML odds?

http://www.equibase.com/static/entry...09USA-EQB.html

I have noticed that the DRF quick sheets, which I use for the radio to have the day's fields, odds, etc., at hand, are always slower getting out for the West Coast tracks...

you are right. all the big shots always say they are meaningless and form there own lines anyway.

To boost your multi-race payouts when they completely blow one on a live horse.

Good point Brian. I'd love to see a track go one week without putting any ML odds on horses and see what kind of difference it would make in betting patterns. For example, would you have more or less odds on favorites?

Seems like nowadays the ML is in direct correlation to Beyer Speed Figure.

as are the final odds

Apples and small potatoes comparison perhaps, but I've listened to Frank Mirahmadi in his morning fair circuit track talks make mention of how he looks and sets the ML.

Of course he often starts by seeing if there is any reason not to make the Russel Baze horse the favorite, and then goes from there.

Really the only time I pay attention to the morning lines for wagering purposes is when I see I like two horses who are 3rd or more on the ML. Then I think about some targeted trifectas on those races figuring the payout should be worth the wager if it hits.