ADDING PHYSICALITY TO YOUR DAILY HANDICAPPING VIA THE RACETRACK FEED---Part 15

13----SEEING THE PRE-RACE WARM-UP VIA YOUR RACETRACK FEED

Although many years ago I predicted that some day we would be able to watch “live” racing via our computers and wager over same, I have to admit that some of today’s racetrack feeds are excellent and about as good as it’s ever going to get.

Quickly coming to mind are Del Mar, Santa Anita, Hollywood, Churchill, Woodbine, Saratoga, Belmont, Aqueduct, Gulfstream and a host of 2nd tier tracks such as Arlington and Ellis Park.

Not only are the paddock shows great from all the above mentioned tracks, they even show you every horse warming up (or not warming up) once the post parade ends.  You can see what every single horse is doing for the 10 minutes or so before loading. 

There is a treasure chest of “proprietary” betting information to be had in that brief 10 minute pre-race warm-up period.  This “proprietary” info is totally “free”.

To be had in this 10 minute or so period, are multiple views of every runner right up to loading.

You can see if he’s “hot and washy”, fractious, or balks when asked to load.

But most importantly of all is the simple question of “did he warm-up”?

While not the same as being on track with your own binoculars watching each and every horse in the pre-race, it has become very easy via your racetrack feed to see who is “working” before the race.  Because if they are “not working” before the race, it’s a given that they aren’t “going” today for any number of reasons that has been fully explained earlier in this series.

That said, exactly “how do you watch” a pre-race warm-up via a racetrack feed?

Here’s how I do it when I’m on track and wagering outside of my Southern California circuit.

With over 40 years of daily attendance at one track or another, I’ve spent considerable time at every major racetrack in America, not to mention years spent learning my trade in the minor leagues----and I do mean “minor” leagues. 

There’s no better way to learn “physicality” than from the bottom up.  When you know what “bad” horses look like, “ready horses” literally jump out at you.  

Let’s say I’m betting on a race from Philly Park.

Since I spent many years there and know the immediate outside of the mile oval such as the barns on the backside or the trees on the turns, I also know where every single pole around the track is located in reference to the background---all 16 of them.  I can watch their feed and tell you exactly where any horse is at the moment when they show one. 

I also know that if a horse is warming up and his body is moving toward the right of the screen going around a turn, that’s he going in the same direction as does any race.  If his body is moving toward the left of the screen around a turn, he’s going counter clockwise.

I also know the same information for every major racetrack in America through nothing more than personal observation when being on track.

While you might not be as traveled as yours truly, I believe the American Racing Manuel still offers track diagrams, layouts, stretch distances, etc. so you can totally familiarize yourself with any racetrack across America.

What you do is try to see who is warming up and how far they’re warming up.

Since the racetrack feeds offer you many shots of every horse many times during that 10 minute pre-race exercise period, you can often make rock-solid determinations as to who is warming up properly and who is being walked or merely slow trotted.

If you view a specific runner 3 or 4 times and each time he’s being walked or slow trotted, he’s not getting a good warm up.  If he’s cantering (especially during the first 5 minutes of the 10 minute period), he’s warming up just fine.

If this seems like a lot of work, it really isn’t if you know the oval you’re betting. 

It’s actually fun and a final “failsafe” that either confirms or denies your “paper handicapping”.

PART 16----FINAL THOUGHT (conclusion)

© Joe Takach 2007