Bettor’s Edge #43: Don’t You Feel Sympathetic?

you're listening to an article from canadian thoroughbred.com. bettor’s edge #43: don’t you feel sympathetic? by: ivan bigg. no horseplayer on the continent is more deserving of our sympathy today than the player who seemed poised to win a million dollars at santa anita on saturday — but didn’t. turning for home in the final race on the downhill turf course, #1 lady jae – the horse worth a special million-dollar prize for a single ticket in the 20-cent pick-6 – was on the lead by 2 ½ lengths. the mare needed to hang on for a player to become an instant millionaire—but along came the favourite to catch her at the wire. groan. so nobody had six-for-six and the track paid $1,335 for tickets with five winners. and the player poised to win a million dollars will be left replaying the stretch run again and again and. such is racing. (watch that race below and imagine you’re holding a $1 million ticket with #1.):. advertisement scroll to continue with content don’t forget “horses for courses”. race 8 at woodbine yesterday reminds us of an expression that seems to have fallen by the wayside: “horses for courses.” you don’t hear that very often anymore but when 40-1 ready for the lady, a colt who lost two races at keeneland and gulfstream by a combined 44 lengths, almost won the race (he finished third, setting up a superfecta that paid almost $4,000 for 20 cents) you’re forced to look for clues on what accounted for the sudden improvement. and what jumped out of his past performance lines? he loves woodbine turf. nothing else. in four turf races last year, he won two of them, including a grade 3 stakes race, and finished third in another. he showed little ability in any of eight other races on other surfaces or at other tracks. it’s rare for a horse to be so exclusive in his preference — or to improve so dramatically with a track switch. but there it was. it was a most glaring confirmation of “horses for courses” — an angle that obviously can reap juicy longshots, demonstrated by that 40-1 bomber. will kirt & stretch continue their winning ways tonight at asd? no track handicappers navigate more deeply into the wagering weeds than kirt and stretch at assiniboia downs from monday to wednesday each week. not only do they discuss the race card in detail 45 minutes before the first race post time at 7:30 p.m. ct, they come back to list their wagers while perusing horses in the paddock and return a third time just before each race to hammer home their bets in a one-minute countdown. their plays can be anything from single horse wagers to boxes, wheels and parlays. and the graphics, by the way if you haven’t been watching, befit a hollywood production. watch the sizzle when horses are introduced in the post parade. but the ultimate question is: will their suggested wagers make you money? let’s find out. this past week was a winning one. they analyzed 21 races in three nights, monday to wednesday. stretch’s profit was $1,330.64 and kirt’s was $69.10. stretch hit the $1 pick-4 and the 20-cent jackpot pick-5 on wednesday with tickets costing $64 and $28.80 respectively. the bets paid $291 and $1,314 respectively. kirt, by the way, is both the track announcer and assistant race secretary and helps race secretary dustin davis formulate the morning line odds. and stretch is a golf pro who was named pga of manitoba’s teacher of the year last year but has been involved with racing since his teens, developing a handicapping method which is heavily geared to the internal fractions of a race. will they continue their winning ways this week? see what happens tonight by clicking on the “player portal” at asdowns.com at 6:45 p.m. ct. &&>