Picking winners — it’s the most important thing to being a good handicapper.  Or, is it?  Let me explain using the Belmont card on July 18th.  On the surface, not a bad day.  I had 5 winners listed, 3 on top.  But what about races 6 and 7, which will show up in the statistics as two more losers, but it may have been my best handicapping of the day from a price standpoint.  In both races, my top selections ran second.  One was 12-1 and one was 8-1. In fact, with a late scratch, I only gave out one pick in race 7! My point is that the exactas in each race were terrific, one over $250.  All you had to do is key my top pick up and down in exactas for a nice score!  Or, how about a nice place bet for a change?

In the last month or so, I’ve handicapped 11 cards at Belmont.  In 104 races, I’ve given out 28 winners on top (about 25%) with a loss of $42 on a $2 bet. Not bad, but on the surface, not better than many public handicappers you can read in the local papers.  I will do better than them over time with winners, but if you look behind the statistics, maybe I have already.  And that’s the truth!