by Frank Cotolo

British-turned-American humorist John Oliver talked about the ups and downs of legal betting (which was never an issue in Great Britain) on his HBO show Last Week Tonight. He said, “I’m not going to tell you gambling is bad. Gambling is also fun. Especially if you are good at it. Which no one is.”

Even after meeting every good and mediocre and addicted and rotten pari-mutuel handicapper and bettor on both sides of the Atlantic there remained my fascination about their ways and means of approaching any form or gambling on horse races. And why the vast majority of them would lose a lot of money quickly or in the long run.

I set out to ask random bettors to reveal their ways and means of playing the ponies.

Though I was an editor at TIMES: in harness in the late 1990s I continued contributing to American Turf Monthly (ATM) the decades-old thoroughbred-fan magazine where I was known as “The Turf Investor.” After a decade of writing for the magazine about betting angles and handicapping theory I asked the ATM editor-in-chief if the publishers would support a survey for readers to respond about their handicapping and wagering methods.

When ATM agreed a survey would be good for circulation, I wrote questions about handicapping and betting. I separated the categories. The first set of questions dealt with handicapping. The second with wagering. ATM published the questions in a single edition and invited readers to respond.

The reception was voluminous. This was no surprise to me. The template pari-mutuel player — then and now — is always available to explain tactics. Responders carefully answered each question and added unrequired editorial comments. It was open season for the grandstanders.

In facts from the results, I use first names and home states when quoting responders. The variety of states was important to ATM for circulation purposes as well as it indicated the expanse of pari-mutuel fans in the United States in the ’90s.

On handicapping:

1. Do you handicap races before you go to the track or when you get there?

A response from Jim from Washington State began with a statement answering all questions with a single statement.

“I’m not opposed to anything if it helps me beating the ponies,” he said.

That opinion was the subtext for every respondent’s theory about pari-mutuels. But every one served personal opinions.

The answer was near unanimous. Handicapping was done before going to the track. Also in the majority were people adding most of their horseplaying was done at a racetrack.

2. Do you focus on finding horses for win bets or do you look for contenders?

These answers split 50-50 between handicapping for contenders and as George from New Jersey said, “a horse that should win.” A few like Betty from Texas said, “Both.”

3. Do you handicap a race until you have picked a winner?

The “Only if the race is a remarkable one,” answer is an example of how editorial comments are added. Many others shy from direct answers and find a tactic so as not to pass on the race. Chet from Kentucky wrote, “I certainly want to, but if the race is extremely balanced with no true ‘key horse,’ I almost always refrain from betting.”

4. Do you ever give up handicapping a specific race?

“No,” said David from Texas. “I handicap every race whether I play it or not.” Vera from New York said, “I sometimes write ‘no,’ but after seeing odds I may bet.” Jon from California added, “Of course, I can’t bet every race.” I imagined he might well have just written, “Duh.” Lee from California wrote, “No,” with comments: “I don’t expect a profit every day. Losing days are disappointing but that is all.” Curt from Kentucky said, “I’m smart enough to know that sometimes it’s Mission Impossible [sic]. I go sit down and drink a Pepsi.”

5. Are you likely to handicap certain types of races more than others?

There were mostly answers with a mixture of definitions for race types; some were explicit. An unidentified responder said, “I only handicap maiden races. Primarily 2-year-old maiden races.” Archie from Georgia answered, “Weekend feature races from around the country.” Many others went for dirt sprints over any routes and one wrote that is because “sprints are more predictable.”

Blaine from Texas wrote that he did not care about types of races and F.J. of Virginia wrote, “I don’t like turf and prefer sprints over routes.”

Howard of Pennsylvania was so specific he wrote his own conditions. “I only play horses 4 years old and older on the dirt in claimers, allowances and stakes that have won at least one race at today’s distance or close to today’s distances.”

The survey broadens in the area of handicapping in Part 2 and then the proverbial crap hits the fan as we hear answers about how pari-mutuel participants handle the money backing the rules of their gambling.