Who's Right?

Anybody who has sat in the grandstand or a teletheatre for an evening at the races, knows that everybody has a different theory. Some spend much of the night celebrating their handicapping knowledge while others lament their near misses. Horse racing’s customers are definitely characters! TROT spent one evening recently, at Woodbine Racetrack, talking to horseplayers about their personal history at the track, biggest wins, favourite angles, and unique wagering strategies.

By Garnet Barnsdale

What’s your favourite handicapping angle and why? What’s the biggest score you have ever made? Your worst night? What is your favourite type of wager? TROT brought those questions and more, to more than a dozen punters on a frigid Friday night in March at Woodbine Racetrack, and left with an array of answers, some predictable, some not, but most entertaining.

We also found out that if you’re looking to find a place that still has a true racetrack atmosphere, then the 3rd floor at Woodbine on a cold winter night is a great place to be. The horse racing itself is usually entertaining… the people who are betting the races are always so!

Take, for example, hardcore veteran gambler Scott D., from Etobicoke: “I love to bet horses with the letter “R” in their names,” he explains with the straightest of faces. The letter “R”…..really? “Yes. I hit a horse called “Love For Money” last year because of that angle,” Scott recounts emphatically. “He won from here to across the street and then I had to wait out a 10 minute inquiry that was disallowed.”

Alright; the letter “R”. And the name was Love For Money. We’re with ya Scott. So what was the biggest score you ever made using this angle? “$3,800,” Scott replies immediately, stone-faced. “And last year I nailed a 20-cent Super that paid $600 using it!” Scott is no newbie when it comes to handicapping and betting, having spent the last 35 years of his 52 on the earth frequenting the local ovals, with Greenwood being the first. “My friend Donnie took me,” he remembers. “I miss the place,” (don’t we all, I think immediately). Scott’s biggest score ever? “$33,000! I hit a $2 Triactor at Greenwood with a horse driven by Harold Smalley on top.” I immediately volley back: “Nealies Snap!?” Scott shakes his head no. I thank him and move down the row somewhat dejectedly. (It had to be Nealie’s Snap, didn’t it?)

Next, I come across three people obviously sitting together, and the first two show no interest in conversing, but both point to the third. I approach him. “Sure; what do you want to know,” asks John. Let’s start with your age, John. “I’m 39,” he laughs – which is an obvious reference to Jack Benny, which I note to John’s surprise. “Jack was 39 every year, too, John,” I retort. We laugh then reminisce. “I’ve been coming to the races for 30 years; my uncle brought me the first time here to Woodbine.” John begins, then quickly adds that he prefers harness racing over ‘the flats’. “It’s the only racing for me. I owned a few many moons ago, that’s why it’s in my heart a bit.”

I have to ask: “John what was the best one you owned?” I’m a bit floored by the reply. “Nealies Snap!” What? Wait…who? “We owned him in his old age,” John adds. “He made us some money.” He lists “equipment changes and first or second start off the claim” as his favourite betting angles. “You claim them because you think you can improve them,” he explains. John’s favourite local driver is Jody Jamieson. “He gives you a fair steer 9 times out of 10 and that’s all you can ask for,” he remarks. John is a “Win” bettor who says his best night was one where he left $1,000 ahead. “I’m not a big bettor,” he adds, and is clearly enjoying both being at the races with family and participating in the story.

But, Nealies Snap? What are the odds? I meet up with my partner-in-crime, TROT’s Director of Advertising, Dan Fisher and recount the story behind how the name of the 56-time winner (who last raced in 1991) came up twice in two separate conversations that happened minutes apart. “Dan, I have a better chance of hitting both Win 4s and the Hi-5 jackpot tonight, then I do of that happening!” I laugh, and he nods and laughs too.

One of the more interesting people that Fisher interviewed was a gentleman that sat glued to his two laptops, Patrick, 59, from Toronto. A 40-year handicapping veteran, Patrick recounts that he started going to the track on his own because at the time it was the only gambling in town. More of a thoroughbred bettor preferring the NYRA tracks and the Pennsylvania tracks like Parx and Penn National – “I don’t like poly,” he says – Patrick talks of a wish for “exchange wagering” which allows gamblers to bet on or against horses (by accepting other players wagers at an agreed to price). Patrick says there is money to be made taking wagers on over-bet horses that likely won’t win, and looks forward to a day when exchange wagering is made available here. As for favourite betting angles he looks for barn changes – “Low percentage trainer to high percentage trainer.” His biggest night ever resulted in a winfall of $6,000. The worst? “A loss of 5,000,” he replies. Hey Patrick, have you ever heard of Nealie’s Snap? Never mind. We move on.

Just a couple of rows back from Patrick sits the familiar face of Robert, wearing his North America Cup hat. Robert is a youthful-looking 68 and has been a regular bettor for 38 years after his buddy Rick Gamble first introduced him to Woodbine. He can be found in Champions most days or nights of racing but doesn’t consider himself a big gambler. His biggest night at the races resulted in a $300 win. His worst night ever saw him lose $240 at Greenwood on a night that he was “supposed to be delivering pizzas” but took the night off to play the ponies instead. Robert’s favourite “angle” is betting horses that start out at 5/2 in the morning line because “they come in a lot.” It seems as though they don’t come in often enough, however. “I worked for 17 years at Purolator,” Robert says. “But I may have to go back soon as I only have three years’ worth of money left!” Other than betting the local standardbreds, Robert also spends about $40/month on the Lotto 649 with his former co-workers from the courier giant. If that doesn’t come through for him, he’s going to need a bit more luck betting on his favourite driver (Rick Zeron) and against his least favourite one (Dougie Brown).

As we move on closer to the door leading to the outdoor seating area we experience a real racetrack moment, as we, and everyone else in the building, can hear Anthony, aged 54 and of Jamaican descent, cheering for a grey horse that is in contention in deep stretch of a thoroughbred race at Delta Downs. Anthony, a smallish figure sporting a Toronto Argos jacket with a hood pulled over his head, emphatically yells the same phrase over and over again at the television screen as his pick hits the wire in first place at odds of 8/1. No one even knows what Anthony is yelling but everyone in attendance is thoroughly entertained and laughing along with his celebration. We even have to ask him to repeat himself three times before we learn that his phrase of choice is “Get him up jockey”. Anthony is a 19-year veteran of the races and prefers thoroughbreds, especially at his favourite track, Gulfstream Park. He got his introduction to horse racing by “just coming on my own” and tells us that his best night ever saw him make $950, while his worst night saw him $1,000 lighter in the pockets. Although Anthony plays the thoroughbreds more, he does have a favourite driver-angle with the standardbreds; “First-time Randy Waples drives one they usually win.” As for the drivers that he dislikes? “Not any one,” he notes. “But I curse them all at times!”

Sitting not far from Anthony is a father-son combo of handicappers, John, 46 and Carmen, 13. Betting harness racing has been in this Italian family for generations it seems as John recounts that he was first introduced to betting “the trots” by his grandfather and father and now he brings his son. It’s sort of a circle of life. John is a 34-year veteran and much prefers betting standardbreds at Woodbine or Mohawk – with one caveat. “I miss Greenwood Raceway and Saturday afternoon racing more than I can say,” he remarks. (We wait for a Nealie’s Snap reference next, but John does not oblige). He does fondly recall the time that a friend of his hit a $54,000 Win 4 at Greenwood on a $1 ‘Quick-Pick’. The winning horse and driver in the final leg? Hutch, with Pat Hunt in the bike. John’s favourite driver these days is Dougie McNair, while in the Greenwood days he was never much of a Doug Brown fan. The longtime horseplayer’s favourite angles are “speed and longshots”, and his best night ever netted him $5,000 in winnings. Son Carmen seems just as into it as dad and all the other handicappers at the carrels but he has a long way to go to catch dad as he has been a “regular” for only two years.

We come across Lynn next who at 47 is a 17-year veteran of harness racing and was first introduced by her husband, who took her to Mohawk – which she also notes is her favourite track. Lynn looks for trainer changes and horses that “show progressive improvement from one race to the next.” Although she prefers betting standardbreds, Lynn notes she once won $2,800 betting a Pick 4 on Australian thoroughbreds using that very angle. “It was my best night ever,” she beams. “I took the whole pool!” Lynn explains an amusing angle that she used to her advantage one night at Mohawk. “As the horses post paraded there was one horse that kept neighing loudly,” she begins. “At first I thought he might be a colt feeling his oats but when I glanced at my program I saw he was a gelding and I thought, he must be feeling good tonight. I’m betting him!” It seemed bleak as the neigher was last at the quarter, half and three-quarter poles. But the story ended happily as he pulled widest coming off the last turn and roared by the field. Lynn swears she heard him announcing his arrival with a whinny coming down the lane. “I had never seen it before or since,” she says, noting she’ll be looking for vociferous racehorses in the future.

Mark, 50 has been betting harness races for 32 years having been initiated into the sport at Greenwood, like many others that were surveyed. He has an interesting angle that he calls “failure of the favourite.” Why is that? “Because it’s easy to spot, consistent and provides big overlays on the horses I favour,” notes Mark. “I hit a Win 4 a few months back where I played against three bad favourites. I hit it and cashed $1,200 on a 20-cent ticket.” Mark’s favourite local driver is last year’s O’Brien winner Chris Christoforou. His best night ever resulted in a $2,500 score, and on his worst night ever he lost “Less than $100, but I don’t remember the exact amount.” If only we all could say that!

Russ is a 26-year old bettor who says that he has been a racing fan for “close to 20 years”. His favourite tracks to bet are WEG and Western Fair and he says that he loves to bet horses that “got troubled trips” in their most recent race. It seems like an angle that many bettors would be onto; not so says Russ. “Sometimes I’ll end up finding value when most of the bettors choose other horses. They’ll forget about the horse I like,” he mentions. “It happens quite a bit truthfully.”

After a night spent interviewing many of the “regulars” at Woodbine – some familiar faces and some not – aside from feeling like we are in a scene from the movie Let It Ride at times, one thing is blatantly obvious. Difference of opinion is the one main factor that makes pari-mutuel wagering a thing of beauty. It’s me vs. you - minus takeout of course – and many angles that were presented were based on bettors’ opponents being wrong as much as them being right. And the true characters that can be found in every grandstand across North America and around the world? They’re just the icing on the cake!