Racing is still fun - blogging not so much!

Well, hello, anyone who's still following this blog!

Thought I'd just post a quick note and let you know that, while I'm still enjoying watching the races from Santa Anita, Turf Paradise, and Churchill Downs, I'm no longer blogging about it.

No problem - there are lots of other great horse racing blogs and websites out there.

So go find one - have fun - and enjoy your life!

It's working!!! and my non-alcoholic Derby Mint Not-Julep recipe!

Good news, everybody - my little "system" (picking certain words & betting on any horse that has one of those words in his/her/its name) has actually been paying off!

Or at least I'm losing less than I was. Here's my theory: Since I'm only picking horses from Santa Anita or Turf Paradise (locals), chances are if I pick horses with the words "Cat", "Warren" or "Gold" in their names, they're all from the same sires/dams and thus more likely to be thoroughbreds that are more likely to win on a regular basis.

Or whatever. I'm just happy to occasionally see a "plus" sign next to my account at Twinspires instead of the usual negative.

Anyway, on to the Derby! It's May 3/4 this year, and although I've never been to Churchill Downs and probably never will (wahh!!), I do like to celebrate at home, by singing along to The Song while hoisting some sort of drink with mint in it (usually iced tea).

HOWEVER, this year I'm going to at least TRY to get some semblance of resemblance to a real Mint Julep! So to that end, here's Aunt Chrissy's non-patented non-alcoholic Mint Julep, Sorta Kinda!

1. Fresh mint leaves from your garden (or from the supermarket)
2. Tea
3. Sugar (or sweetener, depending on how diet-ific you're feeling)

A. Pour sugar over mint leaves.
B. Pour tea over sugar & mint leaves.
C. Stir.
D. Add ice cubes if desired.
E. Add more tea.
F. And, er, if you change your mind and want it to be alcoholic, Kahlua works pretty well.
G. Or maybe just a beer.

Oh yeah, and if you haven't already, maybe finish off any leftover Easter eggs you may have left in the fridge. Though you probably should have done this a few weeks ago.

ENJOY!

On handicapping systems in general

You know, handicapping systems always sound great in theory.

In ... (long pause) ... THEORY! (happy Talk-like-William-Shatner Day, btw!)

But in practice, you wind up winning ... and losing ... about the same amounts of money.

Except in books and movies, I've NEVER known anyone who actually won a lot of money, consistently, on every race day.

Definitely not ME!

So my best advice to you would be: come up with your OWN handicapping system!

Make sure it's:

1. EASY TO REMEMBER: "Let's see, was I betting on all horses with the post position of 3 who have a sire or dam who once ran on turf? Or was it #3 in turf races only? OR ... ?"

2. HARD TO EXPLAIN TO ANYONE ELSE EXCEPT YOURSELF: See #1.

3. FLEXIBLE: "Oh, no, #3 got scratched! But #4 looks good ... but ... but ..."

4. FUN! If you aren't having fun at the races then it doesn't matter what system you're using. If you've lost three races in a row, skip the fourth and invest that $2.00 in a hot dog (assuming you can find one for $2.00 - it may just be a down payment!).

My current system is actually working pretty well. I've got a few "key words" floating around in my head and I look for horses whose names correspond in some way to those key words.

And that's actually not as illogical as you might think. For example, one of my "key words" is CAT. I look for horses with the word "Cat" as part of their names. Now you might think, "Oh, how stupid and arbitrary."

But actually, I've noticed that there aren't that many horses with "Cat" in their names - and strangely enough very few once you get away from the U.S. tracks. I have yet to find one in the U.K. or Australia.

So perhaps horses like "Tiger Cat" or "Tale of the Cat" tend to be bred and run more in the U.S. - particularly the West Coast - than elsewhere.

And since I'm primarily only looking at two Western tracks - Santa Anita and Turf Paradise - I'm going to see a lot more "Cats" than I would if I were in Melbourne.

And as long as they don't start singing, we're golden.

(Oh, and "Gold/Golden/Oro"? Another key word!)

So bottom line: (a) figure out what works best for you, (b) do it, and (c) never apologize!

Trust me, you are winning just as much as anyone else is with their ridiculous systems!

(No, I'm NOT saying your system is ridiculous! I'm just saying ... aw, forget it!)

And ... HAPPY ... BIRTHDAY ... MR. ... SHATNER!  Live ... long ... and PROSPER!!!

Meow!

Well, yesterday's seemingly spontaneous method of handicapping actually worked out pretty well for me!

Here's what I did:

• Compiled a list of all horses in every race at Santa Anita with the word "Cat" either in their own name, their sires/dams, or grandparents.
• Compared that list to the handicappers in the L.A. Daily News (which we maintain a print subscription to ONLY so I can have a physical piece of newsprint to mark up)
• Picked the ones I thought had the best chance of winning or placing
• Placed my bets

I wound up betting "Place" on these horses, with these results:

Race #2:

• #4 Manando (sire Bluegrass Cat) - result: PLACE
• #5 War Academy (grandsire Storm Cat) - result:WON

Race #3:

•  #7 TRIBAL DUDE - (grandsire Storm Cat) - result: LOST

Race #4:

•  #2 CLASSY LION (grandsire Tale of the Cat) - result: LOST

Race #6:

•  #5 COULD BE TROUBLE (sire Ministers Wild Cat) - result:WON
• #7 RUN CAPTIVE RUN (grandsire Storm Cat) - result: LOST

Race #7:

•  #3 A TOAST TO YOU (grandsire Storm Cat) - result: LOST
• #9 SWEET SWAP (grandsire Storm Cat) - result: PLACED

 Not too shabby! A couple of winners and placers - I broke even, but hey, still no worse than any of my other handicapping systems, and a lot more fun IMHO!

OK - now that you see how it works - today's mystery handicapping word will be:

WARREN

Good luck!

O .. kay ...

Well, the only horse from yesterday's picks that came into some money was my last-minute "extra", #7, DOOR'S OPEN.

So much for my deep handicapping!

So guess what? Today I'm going to do "impulse handicapping". That's where I bet on every horse that has a particular word in its name.

Today that word is "Cat". So: bet on every horse with the word "Cat" in its name, and tomorrow, we'll see how you're "feline".

Happy Thursday! I'm back with fresh picks for today!

Yes, that's right, all you millions of people who faithfully check to see if there's a new post at Chrissy's Racing Green, today's your day!

I'm up and I'm ready to handicap a race - how's about you?

Today I'm ONLY handicapping ONE race - race #2 at Santa Anita. I spent some quality time with the DRF stats and after some pretty exhaustive handicapping on multiple levels (and a shot of tequila), I'm ready to give you TWO picks - TWO nice little horsies that I think may be in the money today.

Pencils ready? Here goes:

HORSE #4 - WAVE CATCHING

• has had the fastest recent workouts compared to the rest of the field.
• This is her first race but she's from good stock (dad's Swiss Yodeler and mom's Aspen Gal).
• She's being ridden by Corey Nakatani, a hot jockey;
• bred by Edward Allred, a hot breeder (even if he IS married to a weird lady);
• and trained by Don Collins.

It's a good combination; I think she's got a good shot.
and

HORSE #8 - SINGLE LAUNCH

• has also had several fast workouts in a row; in the latest one she came in 3rd out of 60;
• first race but from good stock (dad's Singletary and mom's Jah;
• ridden by A T Gryder, good jockey;
• bred from Harris Farms;
• trained by Sean McCarthy.

I'd also consider #7, DOOR'S OPEN, as another long shot to consider if you're looking for one, for many of the same reasons as #8.

There you go! Let's crank open our wallets and put some moolah on these babies, shall we?

See you tomorrow with the results!

No more chasing losses - real handicapping right here!

Yeah, yeah, chasing your losses is a bad thing. If you have ever done it you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't - don't start!

It's kind of what I've done the last couple of days, in between bouts of blogging. But I've found that if I take my time, check the handicapping stats, think think think and THEN bet - I'm more likely to at least get SOME of my money back, than if I do my usual "she has a cute name, let's put ten bucks on her!" Which rarely works.

So in that spirit, I've seriously handicapped ONE race today - just one. Race #3 at Santa Anita. It's 6-1/2 furlongs, on turf; so based on the stats and info I've looked at, I'm going to recommend two horses - #2 and #3 - to consider putting money on.

Horse #2 is "Chimi Dee".  She's run on turf before (at a mile) and won; she's also shown steady upward movement in her Beyer's speed figures (from 57 to 73). So she's worth a look.

Horse #3, "Rebelution", is a long shot but here are some reasons I think she might be worth a shot:

1. her jockey, E. Flores, has won on turf before, 2 times out of 15; which doesn't sound like much but it's way better than the stats on any of the other jockeys in this race;
2. she did win her one and only race, a mile on turf, and with a pretty good speed figure (64).

Now if you really want a long shot, Horse #11, "Mary Contrary", is now in, because horses #9 and 10 were scratched. Here's a point in her favor: she's being ridden by Brice Blanc, who rode her to both her prior wins.

There you go, folks - some gen-yoo-wine handicapping! Now - which one am I going to bet on?

Hmmm .... let's see what the guys at the Daily News say ...