There is more to handicapping than a few shallow observations, that the entire handicapping public is also making.
Handicappers emotionally handicap personalities, equine performers, racetracks, and most of all themselves.
Emotions are defined as ' a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.
Years ago I watched press conference with at the time Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick, and he made a comment about the press.
"You guys, [the press] look at our football team as personalities, we look at them as X's and O's." It stuck with me.
He was spot on, in our handicapping world we have a tendency to look at the personalities that are attached to the horse, and not the horse.
I spoke to a friend, he is like the TMZ of racing, and he knows all things about some of the personalities. We were speaking about a particular horse from Finger Lakes, and the owner, "he's a piece of '$@@%, I don't like him at all,'' I asked him to stop right there.
The horse has a big chance and at a big price, and we are discussing the virtues of the owner? He handicapped that horse emotionally, not for his chances, and judged it via his emotional feelings about the owner.
I sat in the pressbox for 20 years and heard every day, over and over, about this guy and that guy, those guys would put the Housewives of New Jersey to shame. Gossip after gossip, "I can't bet that guy" was overheard frequently,... and so on and so forth, even when the horse figured.
It was stupid, childish.
That's emotional handicapping, not asking handicappers to be a robot, be human, but for your own sake stop that extra curricular bullshit, and think X and O's instead of personalities.
I used to keep track every time a handicapper in the press box said a horse was 'dead and later cashed a nice wager at a juicy price.
We react thru our own experience with the circumstances.
How many times, your buddy tells you "I am an idiot I should have this or that'', Your response should 'Don't be an idiot!", don't cuddle him.
They are probably saying that about you behind your back anyway, that's the way of life.
Emotionally driven handicappers will lose, because they fail to understand that their emotions are the root cause of their dysfunction when handicapping.
Overhead at the track, most likely from an handicapping buddy, "I bet Jose all day yesterday, and he broke me'', now here is when its gets good, 'he is not getting any of my money today'.
Jose wins five races and our buddy didn't cash one ticket, and here is the kicker, Jose took his monies as well along other handicappers.
The emotional reaction of taking something that happened in the past, projected forward is the main reason handicappers lose. Their emotional attachment to whom has done well or poorly for them, kills their decision making process.
Every race, every day, is a different puzzle, different variables.
Another favorite, 'Speed was good all day yesterday', he continues, 'I am betting speed, all day, I hear they scraped the track this morning'.
How many of them geniuses you know, show of hands will do. Come on, you in Pennsylvania reading this, raise your hand, even if its yourself.
One of my favorites took place multiple times by multiple unique indivisuals.
Never failed, around 11 am I would get a call, about the Saratoga main track being dug up.
'Bruno! I was driving on Union Ave today and I noticed they were scraping the rail on the main track before the races' as I am rolling my eyes during the entire conversation.
My first question has always been 'how many times have you gone by Saratoga, at 11 am', and the answer never fails 'I never go by the track at that time, I don't want to get caught up in traffic.'
The emotion of seeing something and thinking you just unearthed Civil War gold, is a fatal one.
So, let's be clear Joe Saratoga, doesn't drive by the track at that time in the morning, so he thinks he has a scoop. "I am not betting speed or the inside today.''
He made an emotional decision
based on an random observation, what Joe from Saratoga doesn't realize, they do that every day, every day. He just happened to go by and see it.
By the time I got a word in edge wise, it was too late to bring him back from that point of NO return. I am sure he called all his friends as he had found the Spanish galleon, the San Jose, whom sank with 17 billion on board in 1708.
The truth of the matter, the track crew tears down the main track from the rail out, every day. Sane procedure, and Joe Saratoga thinks he found Jimmy Hoffa in the Saratoga main track.
I have been working on my ability to not react emotionally in handicapping a card, trust me being Italian, it is a very hard thing to do.
I don't care if the trainer of the horse I believe to be the horse that can win molestes collies, or the jockey thats riding the horse never wins. Can the horse do it? I don't care if I think the horse is a 'cuckaracha' like the late Julio Canani used to say. Yes or no, can the horse win, no emotional baggage.
I think Jerry Seinfeld has something to share about emotions:
Unlike Jerry, handicappers tend to go off on tangents, especially after a loss.
They blame everyone but themselves, 'as they hurdle thru space on a giant blue marble'.
I blame myself, or simply it was racing luck, thats the way ball bounces. Not the jock, not the trainer, definitely not the track or the full moon.
You can get emotional after a big win, a big score, yes a fist pump and a rebel yell, is not frowned upon.
Taking your shirt off and running around the grandstand screaming at the top of your lungs, 'I am the king of world' NO.
You really don't want to see any horseplayer with his shirt off.
At the end of each race storing the baggage is a must. We all have baggage, we need to know, especially gambling, where to store it.
Understanding history is one thing, emotional baggage is another.
If I see you walking out of the track, and you are shaking head, pissed off, throwing tickets on the ground, I know you are unhinged, and tomorrow you will carry that into your selections and plays. Your monies is as good as mine in the parimutuel world.
Next time you handicap, be aware of your emotions, they can 'scare you straight!'
