Jim

Simulcast horse racing is a wicked calling

But Jim is one who claims to be shrewd

He follows race upon race with bankroll falling

While betting horses on the tube

X

Around his home there are no roses rambling

Not a warm greeting at the door

Those sacred chips are gone to gambling

His obligations left for want of one big score.

X

A dark room, a bevy of tracks on the screen

His head is filled lines of tiny type

Folly singing of a horse quite keen

Hard earned scratch gone for hype

X

Glued to the set from gate to wire

Cheap analysis from the highest tout

Caught in the net of a betting quagmire

“But down in Kentuck is the lowest take out!”

X

Good money bet on the 1st race double

Before the sirens’ call of hooves

Steed and mount their trip of trouble

A mirage of hope before bad news

X

Late at night when all the screens have gone to dark

You could call Jim a sad and bitter recluse

In a dream, he catches a 40 to 1 shot on a lark

His pillows of Racing Forms have found their use.

As everyone knows by now,  this week the last of the NYC OTB parlors closed their doors, probably for good. I was never a big OTB player, I had a telephone account with them, but I usually stopped in just to get the Daily Racing Program. Known as the “the book” to the tellers, for 3 dollars it carried each thoroughbred track that was being simulcast that day. Using the “book” is a learned affection (small type, cheap paper, etc) but it does carry 1st timer sire and trainer stats for the preceding 12 months which can be a nifty angle for MSW and MCL races. The book is hard to find now in our neck of the woods, but the magazine shop on Varick next to the old parlor below Houston usually carries multiple copies.

Now onward to the pictures! Last Wednesday (Dec 8th), the first day  NYC OTB had closed its doors, I made my way back to the New York Public Library’s Picture Collection. A few months ago I posted here about the popularity of the OTB in 1971.

Here are more from the collection and a few of my own.

From the New York Times May 1, 1971 photo by Robert Walker

OTB Pallor 1977 location unknown (uncredited photo)

Unknown OTB location dated May 17, 1971

Shuttered OTB shop on 48th St between 5th and 6th (about 75 yards from the Rockefeller Center holiday tree) Dec 8th 2010

The sign over the flagship location on W 38th St and Broadway, Wed, Dec 8th 2010.

38th St and Broadway Wed Dec 8th 2010, not long after the last at Aqueduct.

And the sign says...

The demise of the NYC OTB has been well documented. Here are a few shots from the NYPL’s picture collection from when OTB was in its salad days.

NYC OTB opened in April of 1971 and shortly began using the ticket booths in the Grand Central Terminal for taking bets.

Bettors Jamming the OTB Booths at Grand Central Terminal (uncredited photo) May 31, 1971

The New Yorker ran this cartoon in the Sept 16th 1972 issue.

Drawing by Robert Day, The New Yorker Sept 16th, 1972

This picture/story about women at a local OTB parlor ran in August of 1971.

If you look closely you’ll see a man or two.

Women at the OTB - New York Sunday News August 22, 1971 uncredited photo

Does anyone else remember when they played the stretch calls on WINS 1010 AM?

A couple of months ago I wrote here about the “The Seven Deadly Bets.” I know it’s sometimes hard to find the virtues in betting horses, but here are certain behaviors and beliefs that could be termed virtuous  (with the corresponding deadly bets in parenthesis).

Diligence (sloth) – I do the homework and come up with a possible winning horse. If I lose, then at least I have an idea why I lost. When at a large simulcasting facility this virtue usually goes out the window.

Temperance (gluttony)  – There are bets I don’t make. I hold my need for action in check.  Don’t succumb to peer pressure – just say no! This virtue keeps from the potential handicapping despair that lurks under the wire after every race.

Charity (greed) – Sometimes I feel like my pick can’t lose and I will generously share it with friends, spouse or whoever is standing next to me. Occasionally my sure thing happens to lose the race, usually at even money or less, but then I remind myself that I really can’t win every race and try not to blame  the horse, the jockey or take it out on the nearest trash bin.

Chastity (lust) – Horses are wonderfully beautiful and alluring animals. That doesn’t mean I bet half a paycheck on one. Everything in moderation.

Patience (wrath) – When my horse has a tough trip or a bad beat, I remind myself of the possible juicy price on my horse the next time. Practicing this virtue means keeping a horses to watch list.

Kindness (envy) ­­­– When I show real cheer and enthusiasm for a friend’s winning bet. Even after said friend berates me for not taking their advice.

Humility –  Similar to the virtue of kindness at the track, humility is trying to scale back the times I say “I gave you the Tri!” when I’m holding a winning ticket.

There isn’t any live racing in New York City right now and the local OTB shop was shuttered at the end of July. Recently I paid my eight bucks at the Lincoln Tunnel to make it to the Big M for some simulcast action. Betting on horses, especially at a simulcast center with that many races going off at once is not unlike throwing coins in a fountain and hoping for luck. There are very few virtues in betting like this: never fully prepared for any one race, irrational bets are made on certain longstanding beliefs. Whether it’s a puzzling Penn 5K MCL or a wide-open Grade I, I have come to believe in certain fall back positions.

The Big M

When in doubt, I will go with the grey or roan horses on the turf, especially if it is a filly or mare contest. Call it simpleton-breeding analysis 101. I don’t have any hard evidence to support this angle but you’d be surprised how often they win turf races. On another note, now that the Meadowlands live flat meet has been canceled I will miss the annual Grey Ghost Handicap held at on the Friday night before Halloween – only gray or roan horses invited to enter.

Numerological betting ­is comparable to playing a lottery ticket, but with calculated risk. Pick the combination like the # 6 over the #2 and #4. Or the # 5 with the #1 and #4. It can be any combo, but most bettors have a FAVORITE combo that adds up or has another significance such as a birthday or anniversary, etc. The calculated risk comes from watching the board when betting this angle. It is often, but not always, wise (and safer) to add the favorite underneath in the exotics. I might add that harness players, I’ve noticed, are more likely to use this position. The kicker is when a $700 exacta comes in on your favorite combo at 30/1 over 20/1 and you didn’t play it because the odds were too high.

The last example of a 30/1 over a 20/1 may seldom happen, but when it does the IRS wants your name, SS# and 25% withheld if your winnings are over $5,000 or if it is more than 300 times the original wager ($600 for a 2 dollar bet). Many of us repeat $2 bets 2 or 3 times to avoid the possible with holdings. Usually this happens right before a race and my fellow fans waiting in line start to scream “hurry it up” or some other politeness. I don’t think you should bother with multiple tickets for tax purposes, it rarely happens anyway and than there is always someone who will cash it for a small fee…

When in doubt play the dime super. A late addition to the current wagering menu, the dime super is a time consumer at the window. Unless you’re playing a numerology combination, be prepared to spend minutes hunched over a program at the machine going through 360 permutations of a 10-cent bet. Playing dime supers probably won’t make you rich but for 10-cents a pop you get some bang all of those combinations.

There are virtues in all of these opinions, most notably because they are my own. There will always be others who are winning more than I am and those who have met larger defeat on the betting field. No matter what the position I usually fall somewhere in the middle. My final bit of impractical knowledge to impart on comes from Hamlet “to thine own self be true.” When to comes make your picks, who else is better qualified?

On a long ago November afternoon when Easy Goer didn’t catch Sunday Silence in the BC Classic I became hooked on horse racing. Following is a list of Seven Deadly bets I have made over the past years.

The Greed Bet – I bet way too much to win on the 8/5 “can’t lose” favorite. They do give money away at the track, don’t they?

The Gluttony Bet – These type of bets will often come from a feeling of desperation and a need to pick a winner: that is to say boxing 7 horses in the Kentucky Derby field of 20.

The Sloth Bet – Those guys in the Daily Racing Form can’t be wrong!

The Envy Bet – This wager usually comes from my resentment toward a friend or family member whose betting advice I did not take in a previous race. “I told you I liked the #4!” My envy wager is typically a long shot in an attempt to inflate my handicapping self-esteem that much more when my horse comes in.

The Pride Bet – Similar to the Greed Bet, this wager involves copious notes and numbers with the certain belief that my pick cannot lose and my handicapping skills are superior to those guys in the Daily Racing Form .

The Anger Bet – Usually directed at myself, the angry bet comes not from picking the wrong horse, but from coming up with a winner yet not having made the right bet, i.e. “I didn’t have it over the 7!” or “Why didn’t I just bet it to win!”

The Lust Bet – This is probably the most understandable of the deadly bets.  I have fallen in lust with many beautiful fast race horses.

In terms of horse racing, I probably won’t be covering the seven virtues: Kindness, Patience, Humility, etc. I do have several superstitious betting angles yet to come.



Having little success at handicapping the Derby Under Card and faced with an eighty minute wait for the big one, I turned to the 10th at Belmont desperately seeking some value. A MSW on the inner turf going 6 panels, my favorite handicapper had landed on Solar Panel at 16/1 and I tended to agree with him. Trainer Thomas Bush was giving Mike Luzzi a leg up in this wide open affair. This was added value because I know from experience that the Luzzi is capable of bringing home a winner in a NYRA nightcap. The race unfolded like this: Solar Panel led from the gate and battled Linda Rice trainee Hear the Footsteps throughout. In the shadow of the wire hard charging Mighty Tuff with Victor Santiago urging nailed Solar Panel (that’s him with his tongue hanging out) on the line.

Mighty Tuff nails Solar Panel (on the inside) Belmont 10th 5/1/10 Photo: NYRA

Well we had a run for our money from Solar Panel. Some of my greatest pleasures at the race track come from watching a losing horse (at high odds) run a close race. Solar Panel and Mike Luzzi were giving it their all and I didn’t mind losing a few bucks on the win. The healthy show price came back $9.80 which more than made up for the wager in the first place.

The National Weather Service is predicting 1 to 2 inches of rain for Louisville tomorrow. Those 80 hooves and shoes hitting the wet ground will be kicking up the mud. The phrase “here’s mud in your eye” is a humorous toast, usually among friends. Some believe the phrase came from horse racing, where a horse in the lead kicks dirt or mud into the eyes or face of the horse following behind. All theories connote good spirit and humor. Perhaps it signifies a desire for two friends to finish well—the toaster in first, and the toasted a close second.

Drawing by Ana Mirela Tache

Check out our book for more phrases and idioms that come from the world of horse racing.

American Lion – Illinois Derby winner took the lead and held the lead from a suspect field 4 weeks ago at Hawthorne Park. He finished in 1:51 1/5 but his last 1/8 was in a respectable 13 flat. Am Lion had a little extra burst in the tank when Yawanna Twist (who finished 11 in front of the next- Backtalk) came up to challenge. That race was the runner’s first effort on dirt and with middling works at CD I can see an over looked talent at a healthy mutual price.

Lookin At Lucky – This troubled troubadour is 6 for 8 lifetime with a victory in the 1 1/16 Rebel at OP 7 weeks ago. In that race he clicked heels halfway thru but was able to repel the likes of Nobles Promise and Dublin. Baffert trainee has been professionally working the past two weeks at CD. I see him picking up the pieces late ala Pioneer of the Nile in ‘09. His trouble at the rail in the SA Derby Post may be a problem for the inside post runner.

Dublin – Durable Afleet Alex colt makes his 9th career start – all on dirt. Came in third in the Arkansas Derby but ran a very consistent final 1/8 of 12 4/5 seconds. His chances go up with the sunshine, I don’t think he’ll respond to a “cuppy” wet surface. I look for him to hold a stalking position and finish up close but not ahead of American Lion or Lookin at Lucky.

Sidney’s Candy – Outside draw may set him up for the blistering early fractions that he will need to get the lead, Joe Talamo will have his hands full keeping it over 46 and change. I like the final 1/8 time of 12 3/5 for the SA Derby while maintaining a 4 length lead. His prior two races were not as impressive as the SA Derby and the fields were not of this caliber. He is a special horse if he can win from the outside, I see him fading in the stretch.

Super Saver – Borel will get the leg up from Pletcher for the Winstar LLC. He ran a very respectable 12 4/5 the last 1/8 in the Arkansas Derby. He was closing in on Line Of Divid on the wire and lost by less than a neck. Front running type fires from the 4 hole which should suit Colonel Calvin. If Super Saver has kept/made the lead when turning for home I think that American Lion or Lookin At Lucky would be the only ones to catch him.

LATE SUPER ADD – Make Music For Me California turf and synthetic specialist is coming off a lackluster final 13 2/5 in the Bluegrass. He lost to Lucky and Nobles Promise by 1 1/4 lengths in the Cal Fut at Hollywood Park during the week before Christmas. Underrated Joel Rosario is up in the saddle. It wouldn’t shock me to see him take dirt and make some cha ching type of music filling out the super.