Everybody's hearts sank when we saw SB pull up. Sure a few of us made money on the situation but we wouldn't want injury to horse or rider to get it. I am glad that Mike Smith is as professional as he is and that SB will fight another day. These horses sometimes give their lives for our entertainment and not a day goes by that I am not thankful for them and all their connections for what they do.

Pook

That black and white photo of Mike Smith is a classic. Clearly an emotional racing event, for a whole host of opposite reasons. Here's hoping Shared Belief recovers fully and continues his amazing career. Mike Smith = clearly a class act.

Attachment 38825

Ted

Pook, Ted, I agree 100%

Horse Racing needs horses like Shared Belief to be on the race track!

Mike

Matchup Challenge Standings (2 Months)
 

Ted and Mike hit the nice price on Saturday which shakes up the leaderboard somewhat. There were multiple winners on Sunday including Mike (Mowens33) again who now rightly so finds himself at the top. Mike has the highest participation rate AND the highest ROI after 2 months. Not too shabby!

Ted with his winner on Saturday (showed us how certain tools in RDSS like tote-Xray) can nudge you in the right direction. This helped him to score big and rocket out of the basement.

We now have 7 out of 15 in positive territory after 2 months. Some players have become somewhat dormant though it is early days. There is also quite a range of experience matching here (I'm assuming because I don't know most of your histories) but new folks to the method shouldn't feel discouraged in any way. Guys like PeteC and Tim(Capcondo) and others are long time matchers and it shows. Bill Lyster has a lot of experience too and I don't expect him to remain subzero for too long.

I've decided to (asterisk) highlight those that haven't played at least 50% of the time. Randomness can play a big part when you've only played a few so I just wanted to flag as we go from here on as a reminder. To be considered seriously:D in year end standings you need the 50%. However there is still plenty of time.

Overall I'm having fun with this and I hope everyone else is too. If nothing else it is showing those who are interested in what we do, what we can do in real time with real results good or bad. This is a little like spot playing as recommended by Mr. Bradshaw as the approach to take if you want to profit. The races selected are vetted out to a certain degree as to their Matchup quality but obviously they aren't all matchers cup of tea either. Entertainment value is also considered and the challenge aspect too. Sort of like "here....matchup this race!"

Feel free to comment on the above and hopefully confirm that you players find this endeavour worthwhile.

Derby weekend is next. Tim, for one, can't wait.

Pook

Thnaks Pook
 

Pook, thanks so much for putting this together. You've committed to doing a lot of leg work on this for all of our benefit and that is much appreciated.

As far as participation, I think it's an interesting question. I know for myself each week I am going through a decision process not only about the race(s) but also whether or not to enter a contest pick(s).

First, I decide if I have a feel for the race and can confidently narrow it to 1 or 2 horses. Then I try to project what the odds might be and decide if it makes sense ROI-wise to make a pick for the contest. Since I may be offline at or near post time this is mostly a projection based only on ML odds and a feel for what the final odds might be. There's also the consideration of needing to stay at the 50% level too so I may enter contest picks even though I wouldn't bet them because of odds.

I wonder if this is similar to how others are doing it. If ROI is the goal and you can be online near post time it would make sense to wait as long as possible before deciding to make a pick.

I also considered the idea of just matching and if I can narrow it to 1 or 2 horses, make my picks and let the ROI chips fall where they may. Mike seems to be doing just fine not worrying about odds. It helps when you are as sharp as he is at hitting those big prices!!

Anyway, just some thoughts. I wonder how others are approaching it...

Thanks again,

Pete

My approach is too do the best I can to match-up what’s in front of me (I practice during the week with DRF race of the day free PP). My main focus is to match and get my contenders, which the majority of the time will put you on the favorite. Then I will look at the other contender (that matches today's predicted pace) and look for the horse that will give me the best bag for my buck.

That’s the beauty of the Sartin Method of betting two horses to win, even if I’m betting the favorite (which comes in about ~35% of the time), I can make money when my higher price horse comes in. But again I will go with a BOM and a BOM and sometimes a BOM and a BOM, with another BOM if the opportunity presents itself. Derby time is a great time to look for these opportunities!

So I’m having fun matching, with the hope that it will make me a more disciplined Handicapper!!

Unfortunately for me discipline is still a work in process!!! But working these races with you guys is a giant step in the right direction to becoming a 2 percenter!!!!

So let’s keep matching and learning.

Thanks, Gent’s

Mike

So Mike you mean the 2 percent that supposedly consistently wins? Surely you aren't aiming for a 2% ROI. If my aim was (2% ROI) and that was all I could realistically expect I would throw in the towel.

Pook

Pook my Man, I know your smart enough to figure that one out!

Keep posting and capping, you and Pete are doing a fantastic job!!

Mike

Mike, just fooling with ya....keep up the good work.

Pook

love this site......mike if its not to much to ask..whats your feed on the derby...im dying to get the pps and posts soon....