There's No Place Like.....

A commenter has brought a salient point to light and it's that there is no substitute for being at the track and seeing the horses live. That's not something I've been able to do during the Saratoga meeting so all my picks have been sight unseen. But I do recall that my biggest day ever at the track included a score in the 2003 Canadian Handicap. There was a solid field lined up and my initial analysis of the race had me settling on Diadella but when I got to the paddock everything changed. A filly named Inish Glora was jumping out of her skin. To this day I have still never seen a horse look so impressive in the pre-race buildup. She looked colossal and I simply had to back her. She ran an excellent race that day to score at 10/1 with me fully behind her. There is simply no substitute for seeing them in the flesh.

In the absence of such a privilege though we soldier on. It was another rough day for me all around but the problem does not lie with my overall handicapping. The problem is simply which horse I choose to make my primary pick. Once again this week my second choices are carrying the banner. My primary picks are 19-0-7-1 while my second choices are 19-6-4-4. It's gets pretty frustrating to see horses win when you liked them but have no stake in them.

I played three trifecta's yesterday and none of them cashed but in race 3 I had the 2-3-4 finishers and in race 9 I had the 1-3-4 finishers. Past the Point and Paul's Hope scuppered my dreams of some nice returns. Things have to fall into place some time.