Full of Run

“You can beat a race, but you can’t beat the races.”

At one time or another, every aspiring handicapper has heard this. And, at one time or another, most of us have believed it. I mean, it sounds good and seems reasonable. The “races”, after all, appear at first to be this huge mountain of obstacles all stacked against the lone horseplayer. Then, when he wins a single “race,” the horseplayer may decide that a single race can be beaten, but the races will eventually beat him.

Like so many of life’s so-called axioms that people all over repeat and most believe, the opposite is true (like rubbing snow on frostbite).

First, there are a million or more ways to lose a single race. There is no guarantee that when the bell goes off and the gates open the 3-5 shot that you bet the rent on won’t be startled and drop dead of a heart attack right there on the track. Luckily, I have not had that particular event happen, but I’ve come close. Trust me, a single race can beat you, and beat you badly.

Second, I firmly believe that with proper study, discipline and a sound betting strategy one can, over time, produce a profit and therefore “beat the races.” Of course, beating “the races” is not truly the goal at all. The only goal in a pari-mutual betting system is to beat enough of the crowd to take a larger share of the pool than you put in.

So, can it be done? I believe it can. And, I believe that during any given race there can be any number of things go wrong that are not only out of my control, but also have nothing to do with my handicapping.

So, “You can get beat by a race, but you can beat the races.”