If Beyer writes a new book on synthetic surfaces.....

[pba1817]

I am not sure why everyone is so pissed about Polytrack.

Did the people who sold the industry on Poly lie about it never needing to be adjusted or maintained? Yes, but I do not know too many salesman that dont lie to make a sale, do you?

Is it safe? overwhelmingly it has been at Del Mar.

Are the field sizes larger? yes.

Are the slow fractional and final times hard to swallow, yes, but I don't care how slow they go if I have the correct numbers on my ticket, I am happy!!

I enjoy the fact that the big black bold number(Beyer) in the Daily Racing Form is not the gospel any longer, it actually has made handicapping fun again for me.

I can only watch so many main track 3-5 shots at Monmouth, Saratoga, and Calder... give me some VALUE!!!

Is handicapping harder, Yes!!(especially if you are a buyer into the Beyer speed figures) And with that, we are seeing a lot better payouts. Personally, I would rather struggle to hit just a couple tickets a day and walk away big in the black that what it used to be, hit numerous tickets and barely be even, or even a loser.

I am not claiming to be an expert/professional handicapper, anyone who does is a liar IMO. Not one person can simply bet horses for a living and survive in the long run. They either have a supplemental source of income, made money elsewhere before getting into betting, received an inheritance, or are living off of someone else.

I play roughly 30 races a week. For the most part, my betting strategy is worse than my handicapping, I think we all suffer from that problem.