Money management makes the pari-mutuel world go ’round, Part 2

by Frank Cotolo

Part 1 is here.

I admit that there are certain elements about horse racing in general that I enjoy watching as passive entertainment. I also confess that all types of pari-mutuel activity fail for me as passive entertainment in the long run. The myriad of ways to participate in any profession one loves is to join the ranks of the insiders and hopefully make a decent living. To embrace anything one does for a living can bring rewards far greater than financial stability or wealth. But let us face the facts: not everyone can become a harness racing driver or thoroughbred jockey or would care to do the dirty work involved in horse care or pari-mutuel administration or any other employment they offer.

Then how could one love the passive side of pari-mutuel racing and be rewarded for it at the same time? Easy. We compete among ourselves by putting money on the line. Sure, someone says, that is still passive activity because we do not do it for a living. Not true, I say; it is a demanding activity and you need to approach it with knowledge and skill and acquire a good deal of experience to be rewarded; to be paid for your skills. Otherwise, pari-mutuel betting is a rollercoaster you pay to ride and the purchase of thrills and sorrows.

The offices of psychologists and psychiatrists and the rooms in soft madhouses are filled with people who lost financial fortunes gambling on sports while there were others able to embrace the passive and the active sides of pari-mutuel racing. But you can bet your bottom dollar they did not do so by getting lucky most of the time. Nor did they find a magic formula that continually increases the tickets they cash. No prayers nor Daniel Webster-devil-deals brought them riches. No less profits of any count.

Success took math and routine. Solid and targeted attacks. Battle actions. And enjoying the rewards coming from active participation which — no doubt about it — make the passive moments shine like a silver dollar. The best gamblers, professional or part time, know about managing a bankroll and when not to invest as well as how much to invest (gamble) and when not to invest on a race. They are sharp shooters right down to aiming at the smallest circle on a shooting gallery target.

That is what it came down to for me after trying silly systems and listening to guesses from so-called experts and advice from veteran gamblers with nothing but avarice on their minds. Money management is the ultimate answer and the supreme skill every professional gambler lives with and why every big loser surrenders in poverty and self-disappointment.

Money management is a strict boss of any good gambler. This element of pari-mutuel participation and applying it like a pro makes one become competent and assured and does so without promising a fortune but proving any profit defines success by comparison to those who become active without becoming truly involved. In other words, losers.

I decided to quit betting pari-mutuels all together; at least until I understood how professionals made profits. That began with learning how professional gamblers worked and with what tools. That on its own was not enough to provoke me; I needed to understand my personal relationship with money so the positive and negative element of that relationship could work.

One professional bettor told me, “You can’t look at your dollars like tokens on a Monopoly game. You’ve got to understand how you feel when you buy Park Place and why you don’t buy it when you’ve got the money to buy it and how much it’ll pay off in the long run.”

Another told me, “It’s all about decisions and not selections. You can’t be bias towards any element. Every time you make a bet and how much you bet has got to be set in stone and you’ve got to be able to walk away from it if it doesn’t offer you the best of results. And you’ve got to play by those rules and trust them.”

And one of the more influential ones said, “You’ve got to understand the way you use money comes from your childhood and especially from your parents, you know, the lifestyle they made for the family and how they were able to hold on or prosper and hopefully how secure you felt and if it kept you safe and feeling worthy. Yeah, self-worth has a lot to do with how you profit financially as an adult. And how you can make a profit from horses going around in circles, you know?”

I know. And more of what you should know about it specifically is revealed in the following columns on the subject.