Money management makes the pari-mutuel world go ’round, Part 4

by Frank Cotolo

Part 1 is here.

Part 2 is here.

Part 3 is here.

I am going to take you back in time thanks to my personal documented records; come with me decades back to 1979’s book by Steve Chaplin: Advanced Harness Handicapping (Amerpub Company). I learned of Chaplin’s book from the New York-based Sports Eye newspaper where he was a popular voice during the early boom of New York harness racing in its classic period of Off-Track Betting (OTB).

If nothing else, though there is plenty else, Chaplin’s approach to going the advanced route to explain betting in relation to handicapping is bone-honest; especially considering his biggest audience — OTB folk from the dense five boroughs of New York City and throughout the other state borders known as New York State — was clearly identified from text in the book’s preface:

“Most people remain misinformed: in order to maintain their self-esteem, people tend to see problems that arise from their mistaken beliefs as lying outside of themselves and to limit or slant their observations to accord with their beliefs.”

Chaplin goes on to address the text in his preceding book and it ends this way before Chapter 1 ensues: “The know-it-alls keep on finding out what they already knew; the non-knowing keep on finding out what they did now know.” This book, aside from the honest texts in books by Barry Meadow and Mark Cramer (which I would discover after abandoning New York for California), strikes the motherlode in contrast to any text surrounding money management (MM) in betting.

The battle of knowledge is still being fought uphill; but believe me that this is the hill your wagering butt needs to choose to die upon. And so, I continue in the shadow of those before me with moxie in order to pass along the most important information on the quest for profits using pari-mutuel racing.

The bankroll issue explained in part 3 of this topic is still a main talking point in a serious attempt at profits. I cannot express this with any less of an attack than what emerged from the Trojan horse (which I feel I did in part 3 and it would not hurt you to review it before continuing here).

The basic support of MM structure for wagering is the fact that all of the math is calculated from win bets; the public bets which create the odds to win and create favorites and co-favorites and longshots. The same math will apply to playing exotics; but launching a strong MM campaign is supported financially and emotionally by the math focusing on win betting. Burn this into every move you make: your devoted bankroll cannot be touched for any other type of bet until you are skilled in the steps assigned. Bad news? Tough. The rule is non-negotiable. Your bankroll funds win bets. The temptation to apply it to exotics of any dimension is a whole ‘nother room to dance in. Your abilities in MM could improve enough to trust yourself being able to move more money than assigned for win bets; and if you become that good while seeing the strong increases in your devoted bankroll for win bets that a solid MM plan affords, it may be smart to include other types of wagers.

Chaplin again: “The information [needed] is not voluminous but it can make a significant difference… It will [make] some [players] winners instead of losers. It will enable others to become genuine experts.”

A MM project is close to perfect because of a few calculated aspects. For my money its strongest rule is the one that demands you pass win wagering on any and every race that meets the criteria (and obviously does not meet the criteria for wagering). Passing on a win bet also demands passing on every other pool as well; at least until you are able to work more than one devoted bankroll. My history proves I have ADD when it comes to moving more than one devoted bankroll at a time. I learned the hard way that winning has the same rewarding emotional boost regardless of the face value won.

That is how strong this MM topic is to those seriously addressing pari-mutuel racing. Barry Meadow’s Introduction to his requisite 1988 book, Money Secrets At The Racetrack (TR Publishing) includes this: “There’s no handicapping method or selection system in this book. It does not tell you how to pick winners. It tells you how to make money.”

It is impossible for me to disagree with that claim and this one: “Most of what has been written about [MM] has either been wrong or required an advanced mathematics degree to understand.” I agree with his claim that this book falls into neither category.