Horse Racing questions and answers

[batt33]

Changing topics for a minute, I have only needed a hole in one on 16 in the Masters since Friday in the SBR Bingo game. Lol. Can everyone that watches today help will somebody’s tee shot on 16 into the hole please ?
I will have to record it because today is the racetrack reunion at Laurel Park for all the old or still current people that worked there in any capacity back in the day .

Some HOF people will be there as well as a lot of us that spent our time in various capacities there, doing what we do, everyday. I will try and get some pictures to post for you but if anyone is going to be there, come check it out or say hi. I’m str and if you are looking for me just ask about anyone and chances are they will know who str is. It is from 12-4pm on the 2nd floor clubhouse side.

I was rooting for ya! Hope you had a great day yesterday! That would have been fun to be at!

[str]

I was rooting for ya! Hope you had a great day yesterday! That would have been fun to be at!

They moved the traditional pin placement for round 4. Lolol.

I did have a really good time seeing my old friends. It was special.

Thanks Batt.

[Madison]

Here's an interesting one.

AQ R7 #1 Reason Analysis. Last was 1st since 6/24. Cox. Thoughts??

[JBEX]

Here's an interesting one.

AQ R7 #1 Reason Analysis. Last was 1st since 6/24. Cox. Thoughts??

with these connections imo whatever was wrong is probably corrected .. wouldn't be concerned if he's ok and the last race he exits winner ran a huge figure

[Madison]

with these connections imo whatever was wrong is probably corrected .. wouldn't be concerned if he's ok and the last race he exits winner ran a huge figure

Always appreciated!!

[str]

I promised some pictures from the reunion and I do have 1 that I took but can get my hands on some others most likely.

Work is taking all my time lately but that won't last.

I do check in so let me know if anyone needs anything.

[batt33]

I promised some pictures from the reunion and I do have 1 that I took but can get my hands on some others most likely.

Work is taking all my time lately but that won't last.

I do check in so let me know if anyone needs anything.

Sounds good, I'm dealing with my Dad you had a minor stroke .....but wanted to come home.....ugh 85 years old.

[batt33]

two horses running today Caldera race 6 Oaklawn number 2. Moonlight courage race 10 Santa anita.

[Madison]

Sounds good, I'm dealing with my Dad you had a minor stroke .....but wanted to come home.....ugh 85 years old.

Getting old sux. Have patience. Been there. Best advice "No Regrets"!!

I sleep better at night knowing I took care of my mom and dad while my other siblings were far away on the sidelines.

[Madison]

two horses running today Caldera race 6 Oaklawn number 2. Moonlight courage race 10 Santa anita.

Caldera has some tough company with the 1 and the 7. BOL!!

[str]

Getting old sux. Have patience. Been there. Best advice "No Regrets"!!

I sleep better at night knowing I took care of my mom and dad while my other siblings were far away on the sidelines.

Yep.
They did find time to attend the reading of the will though.

I was darn proud to be able to. They kept me warm and fed when I could not.

[str]

Sounds good, I'm dealing with my Dad you had a minor stroke .....but wanted to come home.....ugh 85 years old.

So sorry to hear that Batt.

Glad it was minor. Hopeful for the best.

Your a good man Batt.

It's a fulfillment many children never feel. The ones that do that, couldn't imagine not.

All the best and good luck today with your horses.

[JBEX]

Sounds good, I'm dealing with my Dad you had a minor stroke .....but wanted to come home.....ugh 85 years old.

sorry to hear batt..hope things go as well as possible

[JBEX]

caldera

heck with 15-1 ml ..how about 1-5 with 16 mtp !

[JBEX]

caldera

heck with 15-1 ml ..how about 1-5 with 16 mtp !

oh yeah..mrh bettors

[batt33]

So sorry to hear that Batt.

Glad it was minor. Hopeful for the best.

Your a good man Batt.

It's a fulfillment many children never feel. The ones that do that, couldn't imagine not.

All the best and good luck today with your horses.

sorry to hear batt..hope things go as well as possible

Thanks you two.... didn't even get to see the race live as was dealing with stuff....
Interested to see your takes on the ride.... saw nothing wrong with it... but of course there are a bunch of jockeys in the MRH Crowd

Caldera doesn't have push button speed and doesn't like strong handling.... short version

[JBEX]

Thanks you two.... didn't even get to see the race live as was dealing with stuff....
Interested to see your takes on the ride.... saw nothing wrong with it... but of course there are a bunch of jockeys in the MRH Crowd

Caldera doesn't have push button speed and doesn't like strong handling.... short version

thought the ride was fine ..think the 3 drifting cost him in the upper stretch,around the 1/16th pole and the slow fractions didn't help his cause ..also instant replay might be have been at least a little more fit off his race vs caldera's in the la derby ..I think they're probably happy with that effort and could see them trying the preakbess

[str]

Thanks you two.... didn't even get to see the race live as was dealing with stuff....
Interested to see your takes on the ride.... saw nothing wrong with it... but of course there are a bunch of jockeys in the MRH Crowd

Caldera doesn't have push button speed and doesn't like strong handling.... short version

He broke fine and as you said, is not big push button speed, but has plenty of gas for early position. That is exactly what he did. The rider leaving the gate tries to get him running early, but the 1 is way too fast and the 6 has more early as well. The rider sees this after about 10 seconds, looks to his right to be sure he will be clear, and does the reasonable thing. Sits 3rd, with a clear right eye, so as to try and relax a bit and get into the flow of things.
He is fine down the backside and avoiding kickback.
Down the backside the jock has done everything right. He has the 5 pinned and knows exactly where the favorite (7) is.
He feels the 7 starting to advance and starts his move right on time IMO. The horse does not have a burst of foot but like you said, has a steady run that improves when asked. But not a burst, which is fine. That's who this horse is.
So the 7 gets even with him and seems to have his head in front as well but Caldara is far from done. So when the 3 drifts out which he has every right to do because he is clear, it looks like Caldera has a reason to back off if he wants but he does not. He continues on game as can be, between horses and eating dirt, and also fights through the 7 drifting in enough to make Caldera move out a path. The 7 had the position all the way through the stretch. Caldera and his rider did everything you could ask of them. That rider, IMO, did nothing wrong at all. The horse does not have a sudden kick, but will wear you down. He was game throughout.
The fact that the 7 closed into those crawling middle fractions was very impressive. The fact that the pace setters were done late speaks volumes as well IMO. And while the winner ran great, Caldera ran easily 2nd best by continuing on and getting past those two pace setters .
If the owners want to blame someone, blame the horse. But I find that hard to do because he is who he is, and he never stopped trying. So, IMO, there is no blame to be had anywhere.
Caldera ran a real solid race. And agree, it sets him up very well for a swing at the Preakness if he is ready at that time. But no way that rider did anything wrong IMO.
Nice effort Batt ! I honestly was not sure if he was of that caliber, but today, he was. I thought it was very encouraging for the future.

[JBEX]

str asked if I could put the army mule's back in here


weds

horseshoe 8 @ 5:47

#6 army fever (12-1)




.

[Easy-Rider 66]

i inquired with STR this early morn on where the ARMY MULE PROGENY THREAD was? He said he preferred the info to be put back in his thread and I replied whatever works for him I am game. I thought it would be nice to have a distinct thread for this type of posting and info but again whatever STR prefers is good with me.

[JBEX]

I think if there's going to be occasional commentary/review of races I'm sure str would rather do that in this thread so makes sense to keep posting them here

[JBEX]

I'll try and double up days at least once a week..between that and days when none are running won't take up a lot of space

[Easy-Rider 66]

I am Not a big fan of following Army Mule progeny and I told STR that. I think a distinct thread would bring more value to your exercise in the long run. However, My main agenda is whatever is most convenient for STR. So keeping it here is fine by me. We move forward. all good.

[batt33]

thought the ride was fine ..think the 3 drifting cost him in the upper stretch,around the 1/16th pole and the slow fractions didn't help his cause ..also instant replay might be have been at least a little more fit off his race vs caldera's in the la derby ..I think they're probably happy with that effort and could see them trying the preakbess

He broke fine and as you said, is not big push button speed, but has plenty of gas for early position. That is exactly what he did. The rider leaving the gate tries to get him running early, but the 1 is way too fast and the 6 has more early as well. The rider sees this after about 10 seconds, looks to his right to be sure he will be clear, and does the reasonable thing. Sits 3rd, with a clear right eye, so as to try and relax a bit and get into the flow of things.
He is fine down the backside and avoiding kickback.
Down the backside the jock has done everything right. He has the 5 pinned and knows exactly where the favorite (7) is.
He feels the 7 starting to advance and starts his move right on time IMO. The horse does not have a burst of foot but like you said, has a steady run that improves when asked. But not a burst, which is fine. That's who this horse is.
So the 7 gets even with him and seems to have his head in front as well but Caldara is far from done. So when the 3 drifts out which he has every right to do because he is clear, it looks like Caldera has a reason to back off if he wants but he does not. He continues on game as can be, between horses and eating dirt, and also fights through the 7 drifting in enough to make Caldera move out a path. The 7 had the position all the way through the stretch. Caldera and his rider did everything you could ask of them. That rider, IMO, did nothing wrong at all. The horse does not have a sudden kick, but will wear you down. He was game throughout.
The fact that the 7 closed into those crawling middle fractions was very impressive. The fact that the pace setters were done late speaks volumes as well IMO. And while the winner ran great, Caldera ran easily 2nd best by continuing on and getting past those two pace setters .
If the owners want to blame someone, blame the horse. But I find that hard to do because he is who he is, and he never stopped trying. So, IMO, there is no blame to be had anywhere.
Caldera ran a real solid race. And agree, it sets him up very well for a swing at the Preakness if he is ready at that time. Buwo....t no way that rider did anything wrong IMO.
Nice effort Batt ! I honestly was not sure if he was of that caliber, but today, he was. I thought it was very encouraging for the future.

Thanks you two for your takes ...I've been dealing with dad.... so haven't been on much

[str]

As I had mentioned previously, the annual Horseman's reunion was a couple of Sundays ago. And as many of the long time readers of this mess know, for years I was unable to talk about the track or even visit it when I first left. It took about 10 years to be able to start talking about the track at all. I only mentioned it when asked and said little. But over time, it became very clear to me that not only was leaving the right thing to do not only for my family as well as myself but talking to people about it is as well.

Having only worked at the racetrack since leaving high school, I had very little idea of what was going on elsewhere. It's like when you walked through the stable gate, you were closed off to everything else that mattered and I found myself in that realm only. Everything else was so secondary to me that I didn't pay any attention. It was all about the horses and the game within the game. And as I have said in here before, it had nothing to do with betting on the horses at the track, it was playing that game within the game where the betting was on thousands of dollars bet in the form of claims on horses that could make a lot of money, or lose just as much or more money. And starting training at the age of 21 years old, ten thousand dollars in 1976 was as serious an amount of money as I had ever dealt with by far. It was about every moving part of the racetrack except the betting windows and the tickets they produced. The only news I cared about was the local weather. It was my own little world and it was my focus at all times.

So when I left, I found myself kind of lost. I had a lot of time on my hands. I started a company in the building business building new houses, just one at a time and that allowed me to have so much extra time for my kids, my wife, my father who was quite old, and I even got to coach baseball which was my first love as a kid. But all during that time, I talked about the track only when asked and said very little.
I finally , and I am not so sure why, started talking about why I left the track after years of avoiding the question. It has taken a couple of years now but I am quite comfortable with it these days. I do try hard to get it right as 25 years can alter the facts somewhat if I am not careful. So I respect that.
I say all this because in the last several months, I have told three people about this thread that I always respected. Nobody knew about it for years. One was an owner of mine that I had as much or more fun with than probably any other stable I trained for. He also is a lifelong dear friend that I knew as a kid. The 2nd one is a former owner I trained for with a few other people in his partnership. They were school teachers and man did we have fun during those times. Especially at my favorite track of all time, Bowie .The 3rd one, was a writer for the Washington Post, as well as several other publications . I have mentioned him in here before as he was the writer that wrote an article on Jimmy Hamilton, the crippled man who wanted to be a groom. Nobody would give Jimmy a chance and for some reason I decided to give it a try. That story is embedded in this long and winding thread from years back.

The reason I am posting this is because those three people I mentioned have been made aware of this thread after all these years. And for some odd reason, I feel like the sun has finally come out on a story I have kept quiet about for a long time. Of course, there is much more to this story, some of which I do not feel is appropriate to talk about in a public forum. But don't worry about that. It is what many would consider hot gossip at best and it really doesn't matter in the broader sense of the race track.

So the main thing I want to be able to share with those that care to read this, is that the racetrack, with all it's glory and shortcomings is no different than most places I assume. Like the clubhouse of a sports team and all that goes on that we don't see. Or a large company where people are like lobsters in a tank trying to crawl over and on top of one another to get out. It is simply a place, like many I'm sure, that have a ton of stories few have ever heard but can be interesting to those that like that particular sport.

It feels good to mention those people I just spoke about and there are hundreds and surely thousands more that make up all those years of memories in Maryland racing . And that leads me to a subject that I find painful but yet, not surprising at all. I will talk about this I guess, almost like it will be a wake of sorts, because , and I hope I am very wrong about this, but from what I see and hear, Maryland racing is just about finished as it was for so many years.
It looks like it will become some sort of a boutique meet that runs several months in the late spring and summer. Sure the Preakness will be there, but that is not at all what Md. racing was. At least not to me.
That is what I am hearing and seeing and it is about as sad over at Laurel as it can be. I could be wrong, and I sure hope I am. And I will find out more soon and keep everyone posted but that is the consensus around the backside and lifelong workers, trainers, etc. there are at a loss for words. Like I said, I hope I and everyone there are wrong. But the mood in the clubhouse as they say, is somber to say the least.
I thought it was time to share what seems to be the reality of Md. racing.

I'll keep everyone posted as I hear more.

Thanks.

[Optional]

I don't know what happened to cause the pain but it sure sounds like you are at that place of being comfortable with what is. I think I can relate a little and am happy for you.

[Easy-Rider 66]

THX for the recollection STR. Good read.

[Optional]

My brothers horse Green Shadows is resuming with a run in The Tamworth Cup today. It's a fairly large country race and a carnival meeting and a public holiday in Australia for ANZAC Day. So it's supposed to be quite a party atmosphere at this meeting each year.

I am taking the day off to go with him.

It's Tamworth Race 7 #6 at 2.20am ET

https://www.racenet.com.au/form-guide/horse-racing/tamworth-20250424/tamworth-city-toyota-tamworth-showcase-cup-race-7/overview

[JBEX]

As I had mentioned previously, the annual Horseman's reunion was a couple of Sundays ago. And as many of the long time readers of this mess know, for years I was unable to talk about the track or even visit it when I first left. It took about 10 years to be able to start talking about the track at all. I only mentioned it when asked and said little. But over time, it became very clear to me that not only was leaving the right thing to do not only for my family as well as myself but talking to people about it is as well.

Having only worked at the racetrack since leaving high school, I had very little idea of what was going on elsewhere. It's like when you walked through the stable gate, you were closed off to everything else that mattered and I found myself in that realm only. Everything else was so secondary to me that I didn't pay any attention. It was all about the horses and the game within the game. And as I have said in here before, it had nothing to do with betting on the horses at the track, it was playing that game within the game where the betting was on thousands of dollars bet in the form of claims on horses that could make a lot of money, or lose just as much or more money. And starting training at the age of 21 years old, ten thousand dollars in 1976 was as serious an amount of money as I had ever dealt with by far. It was about every moving part of the racetrack except the betting windows and the tickets they produced. The only news I cared about was the local weather. It was my own little world and it was my focus at all times.

So when I left, I found myself kind of lost. I had a lot of time on my hands. I started a company in the building business building new houses, just one at a time and that allowed me to have so much extra time for my kids, my wife, my father who was quite old, and I even got to coach baseball which was my first love as a kid. But all during that time, I talked about the track only when asked and said very little.
I finally , and I am not so sure why, started talking about why I left the track after years of avoiding the question. It has taken a couple of years now but I am quite comfortable with it these days. I do try hard to get it right as 25 years can alter the facts somewhat if I am not careful. So I respect that.
I say all this because in the last several months, I have told three people about this thread that I always respected. Nobody knew about it for years. One was an owner of mine that I had as much or more fun with than probably any other stable I trained for. He also is a lifelong dear friend that I knew as a kid. The 2nd one is a former owner I trained for with a few other people in his partnership. They were school teachers and man did we have fun during those times. Especially at my favorite track of all time, Bowie .The 3rd one, was a writer for the Washington Post, as well as several other publications . I have mentioned him in here before as he was the writer that wrote an article on Jimmy Hamilton, the crippled man who wanted to be a groom. Nobody would give Jimmy a chance and for some reason I decided to give it a try. That story is embedded in this long and winding thread from years back.

The reason I am posting this is because those three people I mentioned have been made aware of this thread after all these years. And for some odd reason, I feel like the sun has finally come out on a story I have kept quiet about for a long time. Of course, there is much more to this story, some of which I do not feel is appropriate to talk about in a public forum. But don't worry about that. It is what many would consider hot gossip at best and it really doesn't matter in the broader sense of the race track.

So the main thing I want to be able to share with those that care to read this, is that the racetrack, with all it's glory and shortcomings is no different than most places I assume. Like the clubhouse of a sports team and all that goes on that we don't see. Or a large company where people are like lobsters in a tank trying to crawl over and on top of one another to get out. It is simply a place, like many I'm sure, that have a ton of stories few have ever heard but can be interesting to those that like that particular sport.

It feels good to mention those people I just spoke about and there are hundreds and surely thousands more that make up all those years of memories in Maryland racing . And that leads me to a subject that I find painful but yet, not surprising at all. I will talk about this I guess, almost like it will be a wake of sorts, because , and I hope I am very wrong about this, but from what I see and hear, Maryland racing is just about finished as it was for so many years.
It looks like it will become some sort of a boutique meet that runs several months in the late spring and summer. Sure the Preakness will be there, but that is not at all what Md. racing was. At least not to me.
That is what I am hearing and seeing and it is about as sad over at Laurel as it can be. I could be wrong, and I sure hope I am. And I will find out more soon and keep everyone posted but that is the consensus around the backside and lifelong workers, trainers, etc. there are at a loss for words. Like I said, I hope I and everyone there are wrong. But the mood in the clubhouse as they say, is somber to say the least.
I thought it was time to share what seems to be the reality of Md. racing.

I'll keep everyone posted as I hear more.

Thanks.

can definitely understand how being a trainer is an all encompassing profession and walking away after so many years is a major adjustment to make ..seems like you made a good choice with all the shenanigans going on and you've done well being a homebuilder for a long while now ..sure there's still a part of you that would've liked to continue on if circumstances related to the game were better

sure your friends will enjoy exploring the thread and will give them a chance to see your views on things you may have never discussed with them ..to say you've covered a lot of topics in here is an understatement .. I certainly have learned a lot and nice to be able to look at things from a trainer's perspective

related to playing the claiming game I noticed today that mike maker claimed a horse out of a mcl 4 back for $50k ..last 2 starts a win in mcl and a starter alw at oak ..about $75k purses those 2 ,up for $50k today and winners share is about $43k ..ml favorite today so highly possible they'll get a 3rd straight ..nothing to do with a pick here but just an example how good it must feel to be the trainer when you get things right like here..maker certainly one of the best in the game with his claims


if it's the case in regards to maryland racing can understand how disappointing it must be to you..sure a lot of it has to do with how it will affect people who have made there livelihood from it for a long time..if its a boutique meet certainly a whole different thing than the year round circuit it was .. hopefully that won't happen but seems from what people close to it are saying there's a good chance it will .. a shame for sure

[batt33]

As I had mentioned previously, the annual Horseman's reunion was a couple of Sundays ago. And as many of the long time readers of this mess know, for years I was unable to talk about the track or even visit it when I first left. It took about 10 years to be able to start talking about the track at all. I only mentioned it when asked and said little. But over time, it became very clear to me that not only was leaving the right thing to do not only for my family as well as myself but talking to people about it is as well.

Having only worked at the racetrack since leaving high school, I had very little idea of what was going on elsewhere. It's like when you walked through the stable gate, you were closed off to everything else that mattered and I found myself in that realm only. Everything else was so secondary to me that I didn't pay any attention. It was all about the horses and the game within the game. And as I have said in here before, it had nothing to do with betting on the horses at the track, it was playing that game within the game where the betting was on thousands of dollars bet in the form of claims on horses that could make a lot of money, or lose just as much or more money. And starting training at the age of 21 years old, ten thousand dollars in 1976 was as serious an amount of money as I had ever dealt with by far. It was about every moving part of the racetrack except the betting windows and the tickets they produced. The only news I cared about was the local weather. It was my own little world and it was my focus at all times.

So when I left, I found myself kind of lost. I had a lot of time on my hands. I started a company in the building business building new houses, just one at a time and that allowed me to have so much extra time for my kids, my wife, my father who was quite old, and I even got to coach baseball which was my first love as a kid. But all during that time, I talked about the track only when asked and said very little.
I finally , and I am not so sure why, started talking about why I left the track after years of avoiding the question. It has taken a couple of years now but I am quite comfortable with it these days. I do try hard to get it right as 25 years can alter the facts somewhat if I am not careful. So I respect that.
I say all this because in the last several months, I have told three people about this thread that I always respected. Nobody knew about it for years. One was an owner of mine that I had as much or more fun with than probably any other stable I trained for. He also is a lifelong dear friend that I knew as a kid. The 2nd one is a former owner I trained for with a few other people in his partnership. They were school teachers and man did we have fun during those times. Especially at my favorite track of all time, Bowie .The 3rd one, was a writer for the Washington Post, as well as several other publications . I have mentioned him in here before as he was the writer that wrote an article on Jimmy Hamilton, the crippled man who wanted to be a groom. Nobody would give Jimmy a chance and for some reason I decided to give it a try. That story is embedded in this long and winding thread from years back.

The reason I am posting this is because those three people I mentioned have been made aware of this thread after all these years. And for some odd reason, I feel like the sun has finally come out on a story I have kept quiet about for a long time. Of course, there is much more to this story, some of which I do not feel is appropriate to talk about in a public forum. But don't worry about that. It is what many would consider hot gossip at best and it really doesn't matter in the broader sense of the race track.

So the main thing I want to be able to share with those that care to read this, is that the racetrack, with all it's glory and shortcomings is no different than most places I assume. Like the clubhouse of a sports team and all that goes on that we don't see. Or a large company where people are like lobsters in a tank trying to crawl over and on top of one another to get out. It is simply a place, like many I'm sure, that have a ton of stories few have ever heard but can be interesting to those that like that particular sport.

It feels good to mention those people I just spoke about and there are hundreds and surely thousands more that make up all those years of memories in Maryland racing . And that leads me to a subject that I find painful but yet, not surprising at all. I will talk about this I guess, almost like it will be a wake of sorts, because , and I hope I am very wrong about this, but from what I see and hear, Maryland racing is just about finished as it was for so many years.
It looks like it will become some sort of a boutique meet that runs several months in the late spring and summer. Sure the Preakness will be there, but that is not at all what Md. racing was. At least not to me.
That is what I am hearing and seeing and it is about as sad over at Laurel as it can be. I could be wrong, and I sure hope I am. And I will find out more soon and keep everyone posted but that is the consensus around the backside and lifelong workers, trainers, etc. there are at a loss for words. Like I said, I hope I and everyone there are wrong. But the mood in the clubhouse as they say, is somber to say the least.
I thought it was time to share what seems to be the reality of Md. racing.

I'll keep everyone posted as I hear more.

Thanks.

Thanks for sharing STR. Like Maryland racing California is also on the down hill slide..... with Northern california racing gone with the exception of a fair or two(maybe) the smaller trainers, farms , breeders and owners are getting out of the game or forced to race at Turf paradise or in Washington. such a shame.....

[batt33]

Black Tie Optional Update

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/BlackTieOptionalWT_1745435466955/MP4/BlackTieOptionalWT_1745435466955.mp4

We had an opportunity to check in on Black Tie Optional at Wavertree this past week during the OBS April sale. Your son of Not This Time has continued to progress in his training and has a series of 3/8 breezes under him to this point. He is scheduled to ship West tomorrow and will join the barn of trainer Bob Baffert at Los Alamitos. Admittedly, we don’t believe this colt will be an early 2-year-old type and that does not come as a surprise given that the Not This Times are not typically early bloomers, but we would like to get Bob and his team's hands on him and see what they think. As we mentioned following our March visit, he hit a pretty good growth spurt a month ago and looks the part of a two-turn colt--which is what we bought him to be--so we will not be in a rush with him by any means.

[JBEX]

today's was scratched

thursday

by army mule

horseshoe

R6 #9 weekend reveille (8-1)
@ 4:45



.

[str]

I don't know what happened to cause the pain but it sure sounds like you are at that place of being comfortable with what is. I think I can relate a little and am happy for you.

Thank you Opti.

The pain was in my head. Me not understanding what I was witnessing, it was like a slow moving demolition in my minds eye from week to week and month to month. I saw it all in slow motion and had no way to stop it. In hind sight, I don't think there was anything I would have, or could have done differently. Stay quiet, and watch it all crumble, or speak out and be the whistleblower. I was NOT going to be that guy, so I just accepted it, and planned for my eventual exit.
I think the hardest part was keeping it all in and not sharing with anyone. That gets lonely sometimes. But, everything eventually worked out great in my life. Everything I want and need, I have. As great as it is to see people from back in the day, and as enjoyable as it is to have all I have now, I honestly could not have asked for more.
I do think it is important to let it out, albeit slowly and without ruining peoples reputations. It is something I never dreamt would happen but that's why you always stay back when swinging at a fast ball down the middle. Because sometimes, it's a curve ball. And no matter what it is in our lives that that represents, you have to be ready for it, just in case it comes. Many a curve ball have been hit over the fence for a homerun. But never if you didn't wait for it.

Thanks again Opti !

[Madison]

In the interest of not boring everyone I'll try to keep this short.

I feel at times we have lived somewhat parallel lives. Until I was 36 my life was mostly consumed in the Greyhound universe and other matters were of little consequence. I watched as what I considered (hoped) would consume my lifetime, i.e. 1,000,000 handles with 15% takeout to 250,000 handles with 25% takeout. And inevitably the death of Greyhound racing.

I was forced to do a 180 and change my dream life to a more normal existence. As is the nature of pari-mutual gambling friends were few if any, acquaintances at best. I ground through my new life with maybe one or 2 long lost friends, thousands of miles apart who could remotely understand the change I had made and its effects on me.

Anyway, apologies for the sob story, but luckily, I came out the other side with a great life and happy ending. The humorous part is it took me 40 years to destroy 20 boxes of programs and signers LOL.

All my best!

[Madison]

If someone has nothing to do would you give me a little insight/education on KEE R4 #2 Give Me Liberty. Horse has been STK, MSW, **, laid off, and runs today off a ** win and gets IRAD back again in a 20K claimer. Just so much I don't understand with horse racing.

Thx!!