Running for It

Horse racing can be viewed from two dramatically different perspectives, and anyone aspiring to understand the insidious power of the "King of Sports" will not have a complete picture without knowledge of both of them. One point of view is concerned with racehorses; the other is concerned — perhaps "obsessed" is a better word — with horse racing.

   Neither side gets its kicks exclusively from cashing in win, place or show tickets or even from pocketing prize awards. Mere day-to-day involvement in the racing world somehow appears to provide sufficient seduction and excitement to make the investments of both the owners and the bettors seem worthwhile.

   A few racehorse farms fortunate enough to breed or buy consistent winners or own a sought-after stud do manage a profit, but the general consensus is that average racehorse owners usually end each year substantially in the red. Almost certainly, the average racetrack wagerer does. An important difference is that the wealthy owner probably doesn't worry about his losses.

Page 78

If he had to, he wouldn't be indulging himself with those unpredictable and outrageously expensive animals in the first place.

The World in the Stands and the World in the Stables

   Just as marked is the difference between the racetrack's up-front world in the stands and its behind-the-scenes world in the stables. The former is inhabited by customers lining up at the betting windows or cheering favorite horses down the homestretch. Hidden from sight in the stable area is a bivouacked world always on the move and perpetually on the make.

   The horse himself is unchallenged emperor of this busy kingdom — and many of the presumably dumb beasts actually appear to savor their status. If the horse is rightly described as king, then his court and his legions are composed of multitudes of assorted hangers-on: jockeys and jockeys' agents, exercise boys, hot walkers, clockers, grooms, trainers, vendors peddling alfalfa and 60-gram horse aspirin, and — inevitably — stereotypical characters eternally in search of a tip.

   Those "tips" seldom provide the promised winner, but they form the bridge to the up-front world that springs suddenly to life with the shout, "They're off!" The hottest tip on today's races begins to circulate at 6 A.M. when the behind-the-scenes world comes alive, but by noon that same tip has faded to lukewarm status, and by starting time it probably has been discredited altogether — replaced by new rumors someone heard that someone else overheard in conversations between,

Page 79

say, the trainer and his jockey.

   The barns below are in rows, and the stalls inside the barns also are in rows — but there are never quite enough stalls for all the entries. The first thing most visitors notice about a racetrack stable probably is the flies. They are everywhere — most notably pestering the horses, resting in windowsills and perched precariously on hanging bridle pieces. Next come the smells. The mingled sweet-sour aroma of liniment and manure permeates the atmosphere around  the stables and a hundred yards beyond. That distinctive odor battles for supremacy with the smoky smell of bacon (for the people) frying in the stable kitchen, and oatmeal (for the horses) cooking in giant tubs.

   Barn areas have their own peculiar sounds too: metal gates clanging, tails swishing and hooves stomping in the stalls, strident voices shouting orders to stubborn mounts, shrill protesting neighs, leather bridles slapping and horseshoes clicking on the cement or blacktop pavement. That is the unique ambience of the racehorse world. It creates a strange sort of enchantment for those who make it their home.

A Contagious Disease Loose in the Horse Race World

   The atmosphere of the stables is a far cry, however, from the ambience of the horse race world. What is happening in the stands is even more obsessive than what is happening behind the scenes. Grim-faced bets at the ticket windows, followed by frenzied shouts at horse and jockey beside the oval track is a routine that is dangerously contagious. Life up-front at the races appears to

Page 80

find it's ultimate meaning at betting windows and finish line.

   The horse race world revolves around a paper called the Racing Form. The form's readers make up one of the world's most dependent and loyal followings. "If I had spent the time studying law books that I've put into the Racing Form," an aging attorney at Belmont¹ was heard to lament, "I'd probably be on the Supreme Court by now."

   The Racing Form occupies the place in the life of the horseplayer that the Bible is intended to occupy in the life of a committed Christian. For the genuine racetrack devotee, it is the source of all knowledge and the basis for all hope. Its incredible reservoir of information on horses and their performance record is the stuff from which life's most important decisions are made for the unhappy man or woman hooked on the races. Its code-like symbols and the handicapping principles that incorporate them provide all the guidance the sophisticated bettor requires.

   There is, indeed, a highly developed science of handicapping, but few ever master it and prove their mastery by their consistent winning. Yet a working knowledge of the handicapping system apparently makes the principal difference between the amateur and the professional at the racetrack betting window.

Computers Decide the Odds When You Bet

   Because the betting dollar at the racetrack is so heavily taxed under the pari-mutuel system,² those who wager on the horses — or the dogs — have little chance of winning consistently. Computers calculate odds constantly

Page 81

as bets are placed. They automatically determine, according to formulas established under state law, how much a $2 bet can win on each horse to win, place or show. The computers determine how much from each purse goes to the state and how little goes to the bettor. The rare wagerer who does win probably is a person with both the superior knowledge and the superior persistence required to perfect the art of analyzing and interpreting the Racing Form. An occasional touch of good luck, too, is considered an ingredient of more than passing importance.

   Horse racing columnist Andrew Beyer begins his Picking Winners: A Horseplayer's Guide with the warning: "From time to time, every confirmed horseplayer is racked by doubts about what he is doing with his life. He is playing the toughest game in the world, one that demands a passionate, all-consuming dedication from anyone who seriously wants to be a winner. Even a winner will necessarily experience more frustrations than triumphs, and when the frustrations come in rapid succession he may wonder if the struggle is worth it."³

The Lure Is Greed

   Beyer contends that most horseplayers are lured to the racetrack primarily by greed. All but mesmerized by autosuggestion, they believe what is whispered to them by tipsters and system peddlers and make their contributions at the ticket windows with almost unshakable confidence that they will win. A never-ending stream of how-to-beat-the-races books convince them there is easy money to be made at the track.

Page 82

   Beyer points out that consistent winning would require a series of almost incredible strokes of good luck, since, under the pari-mutuel structure, the various racing states and the tracks claim from 15 percent to 20 percent of every purse. In the simplest possible terms, what that means is that more money is bet than can be won. Horse racing, like dog racing and — in Florida — jai alai, is tightly controlled and heavily taxed under the pari-mutuel formula. That makes the majority of bettors inevitable losers.

   "It is a testimony to the unique lure of racing," Beyer writes, "that once a man has discovered it and starts losing money . . . he usually doesn't abandon the sport and put his capital into municipal bonds."⁴

   Horse racing expert Walter Haight used to advise his friends, "When you're betting on the horses, be sure you think of your money as if it were chips or marbles or whatever else you might use to keep score and determine how well you are doing. You can't let money become anything more than a symbol. If you ever start thinking about money as something you could use instead to make a mortgage payment, retire a debt or buy a car you'll start having anxiety attacks and discover the truth of the old saying, 'scared money never wins.' "⁵

We Must Live with Reality

Reality cannot be banished that easily. For most of us, the more important functions of money include buying the necessities of life for ourselves and for our dependents, providing a bit of security for our declining years and bearing our fair share of the cost of the work of the Lord. Habitual wagerers usually are negligent

Page 83

in one or more of those responsibilities.

   Even highly touted "betting systems" eventually prove unreliable, though they are as varied and as imaginative as they are unsuccessful. The fact that the pari-mutuel system skims off for the state one dollar out of every five dollar bet is a powerful system breaker in itself. But on top of that the bettor must reckon with all of the unpredictables and the foibles of racing animals and the people who exploit them. His horse — or dog at the "kennel clubs" — may falter in the starting gate, be bumped in the turn, fall in the stretch, devour the rabbit or become the victim of dirty tactics by an overzealous competing jockey. The wagerer, in spite of his allegedly brilliant personal handicapping⁶ system, could even be cheated out of potential winnings by deliberate fraud — such as when a jockey is instructed by the horse's owner to hold his animal back and lose the race so the odds will be greater the next time when he runs against lesser competition. Life is full of such surprises for those whose focal point is the oval track.

The Syndicating of Horses

   On the racehorse side, the proliferation of super farms for breeding and boarding these animals has encouraged the expansion of what horse people call "syndication" of thoroughbreds — an investment strategy that can skyrocket the value of a stud horse of exceptional ancestry almost overnight. The plan is relatively simple: everyone who purchases a share in the proven stud can use the horse to service his own mares and produce racing stock. Outsiders, in some instances, may "buy in," but they pay dearly for the privilege.

Page 84

   Syndicated thoroughbreds now and then continue to be entered in races — and even to win purses for the shareholders — but the principle reason for the investment strategy is the availability for stud services to shareholding farms or the selling of those services to others. This sale of services can continue for years after the horse is too old to run but not too old to follow his natural reproductive instincts.

   One of the reasons for the stratospheric value of thoroughbred horses is that all of them must descend from an incredibly exclusive family line. The rules for qualification are uncompromising. All animals competing in organized flat racing must be listed in the official national stud books or registers of their countries. The British stud book was begin in 1791; the American book was created in 1873. A horse is not acceptable in the ranks of thoroughbreds unless his ancestry can be traced — literally — to three animals that were imported into Ireland and England from the Middle East at the beginning of the eighteenth century. That means thoroughbred horse breeders are dealing in a very rare commodity indeed, and those who wish to share in the benefits must pay dearly for the privilege.

The Need for Strict Control

   The racehorse and the horse race industries are sanctioned and strictly governed today by the Thoroughbred Racing Association, which came into being in 1942 and which has developed a stringent code of standards aimed at encouraging a high level of ethics in racing. The necessity of a controlling agency came on the heels of long-tolerated shenanigans at the track and a

Page 85

resulting reformist sentiment early in this century that resulted eventually in the outlawing of bookmaking, and thus racing itself, by all our states.

   With the advent of pari-mutuel systems — computer control that determines odds and fair shares based on the betting in each race — in 1930, however, 49 major tracks in the United States and seven in Canada were legalized. They quickly proved major sources of revenue for the sponsoring states — and, of course, for racetrack owners as well. Again, the bookmaking that had been declared illicit suddenly became legal once more, but this time under altered circumstances. The legal acceptance applies only if betting is done under state-controlled systems that presumably protect the average American. These systems are intended to prevent us from being exploited by entrepreneurs who now are declared law-abiding citizens — though not as trustworthy as, say, someone who owns a hardware store or teaches junior high school students for a living.

   Make no mistake about it: Americans are captivated by the idea of betting a little and winning a lot. If they cannot find one way to pursue that fantasy, they will dream up another. And for many in pursuit of the "big win" instincts, their dream come true — their ultimate fantasyland — is hitting the jackpot in a casino. Yet what about casinos? What really lies behind those glittering facades? Is the world of legalized casino gambling all it's backers claim it to be? Or is there more to it than meets the eye? Let's take a look and see for ourselves.

Page 86

Points to Ponder

1. What do you suppose accounts for the electrified atmosphere at the racetrack during the two minutes a group of horses gallops around the oval track? Is the suspense based on "Which horse will be victor?" or on "How much money will I win?"

2. How does the pari-mutuel betting system differ from the kind of wagering that takes place in a gambling casino or in an illegal bookmaking operation? Does computer control make fraud and corruption in the betting less likely?

3. What are some of the factors in horse racing and dog racing that deny even veteran racetrack wagerers, in spite of elaborate handicapping and betting systems, any guarantee they will come out ahead?

4. Syndicated thoroughbreds often earn for their owners prize money totaling much more than what was paid for them — sometimes millions of dollars. How does this kind of revenue differ from win, place or show bets at the racetrack window?

5. Suppose you were observing the activity at a racetrack and you saw your pastor; someone you regarded as a truly fine Christian; perhaps a renowned Christian leader such as Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, Robert Schuller or Jerry Falwell; maybe the Pope, for that matter, plunking down his money at the betting window. Would you be surprised? Disappointed? Cynical? Critical? Pleased? Strengthened or weakened as a believer? Why would you react in that way?

Page 87

Notes

1. "Belmont" refers to the Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, New York. Three races each year — the Belmont Stakes, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness — together comprise thoroughbred racing's "Triple Crown." To win these three events in a single racing season is the most sought-after accomplishment in the U.S. horse racing world.

2. A "pari-mutual system" is "a betting pool in which those who bet on competitors finishing in the first three places share the total amount bet minus a percentage for the management." "Pari-mutuel" also refers to the "machine for registering the bets and computing the payoffs in pari-mutuel betting." Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., Publishers, 1985), p. 856.

3. Andrew Beyer, Picking Winners: A Horseplayer's Guide (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Col., 1975).

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. In racing parlance, a "handicap" is "a race or contest in which an artificial advantage is given or disadvantage imposed on a contestant to equalize chances of winning; and advantage given or disadvantage imposed usually in the form of points, strokes, weight to be carried, or distance from the target or goal." "Handicapping" then is "to assess the relative winning chances of (contestants) or the likely winner of (a contest)." And a "handicapper" is "one who assigns [such] handicaps" such as "one who predicts the winners in a horse race usually for publication." Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., Publishers, 1985), p.550.

Chapter Eight  ||  Table of Contents