October average UHRS

[BlackWater]

In the "FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH" deparment........

I've been keeping tabs on my picks the past few months, more for my own reference than anything else, and here's what I've come up with for last month.

I handicapped 16 races at Northfield in October (was that all of them?), and my worst night was the 8th with only 2 wins, 2 places, and 2 shows for a UHRS of .291 . The best night I had was on the 13th with 8! wins, 2 places, and a show, for a UHRS of .675 . My average UHRS for the month of October was not quite what I'd like it to be, but for me not a terribly embarassing .492.

While that's up slightly from my September average of .485, I'd like to strive to keep it above the .500 mark. As I've only been doing this a little over a year, I think I'll reach that point very soon as I learn more and more about the ins and outs of handicapping from all of you!

Thanks to all of you for sharing your knowledge and insight with me!

BW

[jimhorseman]

BW:

I am a big fan of numbers and keep a variety of stats on my selections. Over the years I have definitely found there is definitely a positive relation between the time I spend handicapping a card and my results. I do keep a log of my profits/losses for the nights I attend a simulcast and try to analyze why I might have had a good/bad night. I have found for me personally that I am a lousy handicapper on sloppy nights. So bad that if there is a hint of rain in the air I should put a match to my money and save myself the 4-5 hours of frustration. My best night seems to be Friday nights and I have struggled to show a profit on Saturdays (guess I really am a Ladies man).

Since you seem to be keeping stats it may help to use your past results to find strengths and weaknesses in your handicapping. Do you have more success with the NW races on mondays or the quality feature weekend affairs? Are there certain trainers or drivers you have a better feel for? What kind of prices are you getting on your winners - and to follow up do the nicer price horses you're picking have a common thread. An example may be you picked several double digit winners that dropped in class but went off at longer odds as they drew outside. Once you have completed a self-analysis you might see a pattern to your winning selections and perhaps in the future you could recognize the pattern and make a strong play on those races.

Of course, the guy giving you advice is in the middle of a self-imposed hiatus from the simulcast and only looking at a couple of races each night which allows me to make safe across the board handicapping contest wagers because I am in my worst real life wagering slump of the past five years. I have given away (lost at the windows) about 80% of my year to date profit since late August and needed some time to clear my head. I can see I was in such a hectic period (two family vacations, a trip to Northfield in Sept, heavy work load and battling a fairly serious medical condition in late Sept/early Oct) that I was short changing my time devoted to the races. I rushed through handicapping and looked at it more as a chore than a hobby. The poor results followed. I'm beginning to feel refreshed and will probably return to serious full card handiapping before the end of November.

[BlackWater]

Thanks, Jim!

Great words of wisdom and food for thought. I'm learning all the time!

BW