American Turf Magazine
/ December-January 2015-2016
22
Standardbred Report
Accurate Big Fish Stories
By Bob Pandolfo
N
ew
Y
ear
’
s resolutions tend to
be redundant and boring.
But I’ll give you an idea for a
ew Year’s resolution that I wish I had
implemented years ago.
One of my favorite movies is Big Fish.
It’s a Tim Burton movie. I generally
don’t like Tim Burton movies, except
for Big Fish. The movie is based on
the book, Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic
Proportions by Daniel Wallace. The
story is narrated by the son of Edward
Bloom, whose father likes to tell tall
tales, such as the story of how he caught
the biggest fish anyone had ever seen.
Perhaps I liked the movie because
most horseplayers have their own “big
fish” stories. These scores usually start
with a boxcar longshot that we came
up with on a day when our deductive
skills were as keen as Sherlock Holmes.
Here’s my New Year’s resolution tip:
Keep a Journal.
I’ve been betting horses since I was
17, and I’ve had many nice hits. And
I kinda of remember most of them.
Sort of. I remember calling charts at
Yonkers one night a long time ago with
my friend and co-worker Irwin Cohen.
I played a superfecta key and hit for
$1,800. Okay, so far so good. But I
don’t remember the name of the key
horse that I used on top, how much it
paid to win, who was driving, or who
was the trainer. And I wish I did.
I know it may not mean much, but
there are moments that I remember
vaguely that I’d prefer to remember
vividly. They teach us all sorts of infor-
mation in school, little of it useful. I
don’t remember a teacher ever telling
me to keep a journal. But wouldn’t it
be nice to look back and read, in your
own words, exactly what you did on
the day you proposed to your spouse?
Or what was going through your mind
the day your first child was born? How
about your first kiss? Can you recall
your first big score at the racetrack?
Do you remember all of the details?
In my twenties and thirties I did a
lot of socializing with dear friends. We
had great times with tons of laughs.
We often took day trips and sometimes
we vacationed together. Some of these
days and nights are at least partly docu-
mented by photographs, but not all. I
remember sometimes that afterwards
I would think, as soon as I get home I
should write down some things we did
and said, because it was so funny, or
interesting, maybe some day I’ll use it
to write a screenplay. But I didn’t.
And as for betting horses, I wish I’d
kept a journal just for this alone. In
his classic book, The Winning Horse-
player, Andy Beyer uses anecdotes
from his betting scores, or tough beats,
to explain how he analyzes things like
track bias and trip handicapping. The
book is informative and entertaining.
Fortunately he kept good records and
was able to chronicle his experiences
at the racetrack. The Winning Horse-
player helps horseplayers understand
the nuances of handicapping.
I do the same thing in my books,
using examples of horses that I hit. But
I tend to use recent examples. Going
back to that $1,800 superfecta score
at Yonkers, I think the winner paid
8-1 odds and was driven by Rejean
Daigneault. But I can’t remember the
name of the horse, and worse yet, since
I can’t remember the exact date, I can’t
go back and research it. Consequently,
I don’t remember why I bet the horse.
As a professional handicapper who
writes about handicapping, this was
a mistake. I should have kept records
of all of the double-digit winners. You
don’t want to forget why you won. You
want to repeat the pattern. You also
don’t want to forget why you lost. You
want to delete the pattern.
And if you’re a creative person, or a
entrepreneur, a journal is crucial. You
don’t want to come up with an idea for
a ground-breaking invention but forget
to write it down. Then a few years later
you see the next Mark Cuban selling
something similar and making a for-
tune.
In harness racing this year, there
have been a lot of big longshot win-
ners. On October 17 in the first race
at Rosecroft, the winner, Jada Queen,
paid $745.40 to win. Only $3.00 was
bet to win on the horse, but someone
had it.
With the Meadowlands winter meet
coming up, there will be plenty of long-
shot winners. In the colder months,
harness racing is really at its best
because the races are slower and more
closers win.
So if you’re one of the lucky ones who
had that $745.40 winner, keep the past
performances, keep the result chart,
and put it in a folder somewhere for
safe keeping. If you still have a copy
of the payoff receipt or ticket, file that
away as well. Wouldn’t it be nice to
remember all the details of a once in
a lifetime score like that? You can bet
horses for 50 years but you’re not going
to hit too many 370-1 shots. And some
moments in life are worth remember-
ing in every detail.
To find out more about Pandy’s handicapping
theories check out his
www.
handicappingwinners.comwebsites, his free picks
at handicapping.ustrotting.com/pandycapping.
cfm or write to Bob Pandolfo, 3386 Creek Road,
Northampton, PA 18067.
