PapaChach Wrote:
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> I have a problem there as well.
>
> I started keeping records in 1994; between \'94 and
> \'07 I had 9 winning Saratoga seasons including a
> run from \'03 through \'07.
>
> Haven\'t had a winning season since. A few guesses
> why, which may or may not apply to others:
>
> - Could be this is about the time (since \'07) when
> the overall racing quality began its serious,
> steady decline. During my good run at the Spa the
> bulk of my success came in quality turf allowance
> and stakes routes. With more and more cheap grass
> races (and more and more grass sprints), maybe I
> don\'t have the number of opportunities I once did.
> Playing maybe half the days of the meet, with a
> moderate bankroll, it often only took getting two
> or three of these races really right to put me
> over the top.
>
> - The mental effect of wagering at \"Living Room
> Downs\" all year. Over the past few years I stopped
> going to \"parlors\" on weekends and started playing
> at home. If I\'m going to be home on a Saturday
> I\'ll take a bit of time early in the morning to
> figure out which races look interesting, and it\'s
> very easy to pop on to the computer, check odds,
> track conditions, etc., and make a decision on
> whether to make a play. I\'m not immersed in it all
> day and the atmosphere at home (despite the
> presence of four children) is pretty mellow. I
> guess this is a long-winded way of saying that in
> the past few years I\'ve come to feel extremely
> distracted and overstimulated at the track, much
> as I love being there. I don\'t bring a laptop or
> device with me so I find myself wandering around
> looking for TVs to show exacta prices and such,
> all with my fourteen year old son constantly
> asking if I can play him a 3-7 exacta and pleading
> his case for the fourth chili dog of the
> afternoon. I absolutely adore being at the Spa but
> ironically when I\'m there I feel like it\'s hard to
> concentrate on...betting. Going to (mostly) the
> old 711 Teletheatre was not the same as going to
> the track but it did acclimate me to dealing with
> distraction (conversations, checking TVs, etc.).
> Feeling overwhelmed, distracted, etc., obviously
> does not generally lead to good wagering
> decisions.
>
> - Losing my $h!t mentally at the end of the meet.
> Am I the only one out there who, as Travers Day
> approaches, starts behaving like pari-mutuel
> wagering will cease to exist as of Labor Day? My
> discipline, normally a strong point for me, often
> goes out the window the last week of the season.
> I\'ve seen modest profits become deficits over that
> last week several times, and a couple of times
> have seen deficits move into the immodest
> territory.
>
> Would love to hear thoughts from folks who\'ve been
> doing well at the Spa the last few years. I know
> in the end it\'s all money no matter where you cash
> but given how much I love the place it\'s a little
> sweeter winning there.
Cannot overestimate the necessity of remaining sane for the last two weeks of the meeting, as the last two weeks of said extravaganza have been \"the stuff that dreams are made of\", so, so often.
-- A New York Phillie
