Originally Posted by
str
Q1 Is there any relation to a horse's performance when a "claim" is in the box? Reason I ask is that I've often seen some horses have "blow out" wins and others finish up the track.
A1. Simple answer is no. Now I can muddy that up with maybe that was the best horse or one of the favorites or whatever but the simple straightforward answer is no.
Q. Also, why is it that tracks typically announce to the public that a claim has been made AFTER the race and not before?
A. Every track where I participated had a claim cutoff at 15 minutes. So when the claim box closes, the claims clerk must carefully read each claim for accuracy. The date, horses name, race number, signature or authorized agent signature , race number on the envelope as well and the envelope sealed all have to be perfect. If any little thing is off, including crossing a T or doting an i, the claim is voided. To show how tough it can be, if you claim a horse that was bred in say G.B. (Great Britain) and spell out the horses name and do not put next to it, G.B., exactly as the program has it, the claim is voided. It must match the program exactly.
The claims clerk must then verify funds for any and all claims with the horseman's bookkeeper. Claim money must be clear to disperse and all cash .That can take usually 3-7 or 8 minutes depending on how many claims there are. And sometimes there are multiple claims for the same horse. That can take several minutes longer.
After that, the clerk must verify eligibility of the trainer and owner. Usually that takes little time but at the beginning of a meet it can take longer.
If there are multiple claims for a horse a "shake" will occur after the race. A shake is when each claim slip is stapled to the envelope it was delivered in. They are mixed together in front of a representative for each owner and placed across a table for all to see. Then, a number is written on each similar claim, on the back of the envelope so nobody knows which is which and whose is who, 1,2,3,4 etc. Next, the corresponding numbered balls are put into a non see through bottle , shaken up, and whichever ball comes out gets the horse. This cannot happen without a representative for every owner that is involved in the shake is present to witness it.
So, with only 14 minutes to do all these tasks , they might be able to announce a claim 3-4 minutes before post but sometimes they would run out of time. The inconsistency would not fly with the public as you can imagine. Some would cry fix, or collusion or whatever, and that is understandable. As a result of all of this, they announce after the race is over.
Q. Conversely, I've been to a few harness races at Woodbine and have heard BEFORE the race goes off that claims have been entered on specific horses.
A. I suppose they could announce the intent to claim prior to the race, with maybe 8-10 minutes to post, but honestly, from a handicapping perspective, I personally would not see the relevance. Also, if a jock knew that horse was claimed and they rode extremely hard for the slightest bit of purse money, like 4th or 5th or whatever, and the horse fell, or broke down, I could only imagine the outrage that would follow. It is probably best for all parties that they announce after the race. Again, IMO I see no help to the customer by having that info prior to the race being run.
Please let me stray away from the exact questions for a minute and say the following:
Customers understandably think the "insiders" know everything and that goes for all sporting events where bets are placed. And while some do know quite a bit, a lot of these insiders are pretenders in terms of gamblers perception. That is not their fault. They did not ask to be perceived in that light. But we all were and they all are.
Sure, they know plenty about horses, but in my experience, probably 20 % barely knew that, meaning that 8-10 trainers are at least competent. But, probably 80% minimum knew less about wagering than an average fan. They might or might not say they do, but trust me here, they don't . I speak of my timeline at the track on my first post of certainly all of Maryland and to a lesser extent most other east coast tracks. Some more than others , depending how often I raced there. They know what they know, and gambling is not something very many know that much about.
Q. Lastly, from a trainer's perspective, would they use this to their advantage or is this simply 'smoke and mirrors'?
A. Not sure what angle you mean by using it to there advantage. If you mean from a gambling perspective, my last few paragraphs have put that question to rest, but if not, please let me know in a followup.
Q2: I've often heard that close to 40% of the money bet on any given race comes from owners and trainers and the rest from 'Joe Public'. In your experience, is this statement true or false?
A. From the trainers side this is as totally false as any statement I have ever heard. Most trainers I trained with, or against, rarely if ever bet any money. If so, in say 1980, a guy loved his horse so he bet 50 and 50 on it.
I know that many customers are sure that I am not telling the whole story but I am. The owners will bet within there means. But they typically bet on all there horses if they bet, so that is a non factor. Some owners bet 20-20 some while an extremely rich owner might bet bet 500 or 1000 across the board but they do it on all there horses or 99% of them.
OK, we have all heard about a certain ruled off trainer that said after the race the he bet 100k or something like that on the winner. Well, he never said that when they lost did he?
And the guy from New Jersey that had the video and wins 40% or whatever and brags about betting large sums on 3-5 shots. Well, if he bets on all of them , doing the math, he is getting crushed. But he only shows the video of the winners, not the losers. I guess those videos get deleted. Guys like that are similar to airplanes in that they only talk about the ones that don't land. Customers never see or hear the whole truth but I was privy to that type of info when I was there and there were just as many wise guy wannabe's then too. It's a show but all it ever showed me was how insecure most of them were. It's not the whole truth, just the portion they want you to see.
These stories circulate at the track typically by certain customers that find they need an excuse because the game is darn tough and maybe it is because the game is fixed or the guy pulled the horse last time, or this time, or whatever. But don't we read the same thing here in players talk when someone takes a knee, kicks a FG instead of going for the touchdown , etc, etc.
If you have gambling, you have these stories. Thankfully , I , having played a gambling game for a long time, actually know how wrong 99.9% of these thing are and can share the truth with players that want to find out what the track is "really like" instead of listening to someone that thinks they know.
Q. I'm a big believer in watching the tote board and one can often see some interesting movements in the odds when compared to the morning line. It's those horses attracting that attention is typically where I'll begin to look at first.
A. This, is a solid angle to be aware of. (Please do make sure that whoever is setting the morning line knows what they are doing. Most seem to, but some totally do not.) Just as there are many poor gamblers on the backside , there are also a lot of very loose lips. When information is available on a horse that is primed for a big effort, it usually gets out. And it is not just the trainer and owner betting , it is everyone that witnessed it in the morning which can be a lot, and all the people that heard about it and then, players like yourself that pay attention all be it from replays, equipment change, surface, trainer or rider change , or something else.
I applaud you for that as it is as solid a tool as there is to use. I always like checking the doubles for payouts. Why? Because as I have alluded to, most race trackers are not the most savvy bettors. They think that if they avoid the win pool nobody will notice so they wheel in the doubles. Yep, they actually do that. They play ALL into a higher takeout pool that is there for all to see after the first leg. Lol. I told you they weren't the sharpest pencils in the drawer when it comes to gambling.
Great questions. I hope I answered them well enough for you.