the mind of the handicapper....

[timmgirvan]

Hooves: It's the puzzle first, and the cash next, and then the competition!

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

Originally Posted by timmgirvan

Hooves: It's the puzzle first, and the cash next, and then the competition!

timmy g are you bill or ted?....san d ca...is there really a circle k lol

[timmgirvan]

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

timmy g are you bill or ted?....san d ca...is there really a circle k lol

DUDE: the Circle K is 150 yds from my apartment!!! Alas, I dont remember the movie very well!!!

[GPK]

To me its the joy of picking winners, especially the higher odds horses. Seeing something the very few others see. A sense of pride really.

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

Originally Posted by GPK

To me its the joy of picking winners, especially the higher odds horses. Seeing something the very few others see. A sense of pride really.

the terror of tampa bay...................

To me it's the puzzle first & foremost.
Then there's the color;pageantry and seeing the perefct "running machines" take to the track.
Then watching the one you gleaned out of the pp's start that run at the 3/8's pole; sweep around horses on the turn and collar the leader 100 yds from the finish.
Then the finale.....cashing your winning ticket, with a broad smile, and a feeling of utter accomplishment.

You can't get all 4 of those things gambling on any other sporting event.Occasionally you get the 70yrd touchdoen pass in the final seconds of the football game that enables you to beat the spread. And occasionally you get that third ace on the river. And both of these events are a rush, it's true; but they don't happen very often (at least not as often as seeing your pick come thundering down the stretch, pasing all those in his way).
And in none of the other games of chance, do you have as much to decipher, and as fulfilled a feeling after deciphering.
It's the greatest game.

[Downthestretch55]

Originally Posted by FlaFemFatale

To me it's the puzzle first & foremost.
Then there's the color;pageantry and seeing the perefct "running machines" take to the track.
Then watching the one you gleaned out of the pp's start that run at the 3/8's pole; sweep around horses on the turn and collar the leader 100 yds from the finish.
Then the finale.....cashing your winning ticket, with a broad smile, and a feeling of utter accomplishment.

You can't get all 4 of those things gambling on any other sporting event.Occasionally you get the 70yrd touchdoen pass in the final seconds of the football game that enables you to beat the spread. And occasionally you get that third ace on the river. And both of these events are a rush, it's true; but they don't happen very often (at least not as often as seeing your pick come thundering down the stretch, pasing all those in his way).
And in none of the other games of chance, do you have as much to decipher, and as fulfilled a feeling after deciphering.
It's the greatest game.

Yes, yes...
Now think about this for a moment if you will allow me...
You find a really nice brood mare,
You search for the right "match" for her...compensate for her "defects".
You pay a very big stud fee.
You wait.
Then wait a lot more.
Then comes the day when it's born and tries to find its way to its little wobbly legs. Life.
Then more waiting, watching it play with the other foals in the pasture.
Then the time to train.
Start it slow, break it to lead, then the bit, next a light saddle.
Then you roll over its back, and later, after it trusts you enough, it lets you climb on to its back.
Then some easy rides with a retired pony horse (just so it feels a bit less threatened).

Next, the real training....the folks that you trust to make something more of what you've already invested so much time and effort into.
You watch the clock.
you hope they don't wreck him/her.
You hope it stays sound.
And then, one day...it shows up in the paddock wearing your silks.
The post parade, the gate, the break...

All I'm trying to say is that there is so, so much more than the final 3/8, though it brings the same lump in my throat when I see that special moment.
So much goes in before anything worthwhile comes out....

As I've heard said, "All in the blink of a moment...is all eternity".

That's what it is to me. Life.

DTS

[Samarta]

Originally Posted by GPK

To me its the joy of picking winners, especially the higher odds horses. Seeing something the very few others see. A sense of pride really.

agreed....but you know what takes it to the next level for me is being there, without any forms, pp's, or odds boards and being able to spot that special something by how a horse looks. how they react in the paddock, when they are saddled, in the post parade and if you are right in your hunch the thrill is just as great whether you have no money or a bunch of money riding on it. It's about the love of the game and the animal as much as it is cashing a ticket....for me anyway.....