If you don’t know what you are good at in black and white, then it is all guessing.

Know what you are good at.   Study yourself, as this is not golf , we are playing for real money this is not a contest with fake win/place bets. BETPTC has a great tool with the account activity screen. Are you utilizing it?

I went there this Sunday and found my straight bets and my P3 P4 plays at Gulfstream are doing super and I am way up. I went to Aqueduct and was like wow!! Why am I playing there? At Turfway Park I found I was just doing OK and down a little but getting great rebates and we all know at Turfway Park you are one hit away on that Polytrack. I bet two off the path tracks from tips from guys in the group and lost $200 and neither horse ran a step. So what does all this mean?   You must study yourself as hard as you study the tracks and the forms .

If you don’t know what you are good at in black and white, then it is all guessing. When guys tell you I shoot 80 and he shoots 53 on the front nine ; you know he is full of it.   If you don’t have the facts in front of you to study how can you know? Do we all know when we get done the exact win/loss at each track and each bet, of course not. BETPTC makes it easy.

On Sunday night as you unwind from a long week of betting and family stuff just pull it up play with it and see what did I do right and what do I do wrong. What bets were dumb? What bets did I make because I was pissed at another bet? Did I chase my money? You can see each wager what time, what amount, what track, break it down how you like.

See if you are sticking to your best types of wagers.

We all need to learn every day. We all need to improve every week.   My Dad told me a long time ago, “The day you stop learning is the day you start getting dumber.”

Live by that. Think about that every Saturday as you begin to figure out what you are going to play.   Pick your spots, don’t bet a race cause you are bored. Have a plan. Search for the races you like the best and zero in and fire away.

My buddy who is strictly ROI swears by 3 bets a day and that’s it. He has his formula.

I swear by single-spread-spread P3 P4 wagers and across the board straight wagers. That has kept me swimming for years. I am 45 years old been playing since I was a teenager. For 20 years I was wild I bet every bet and ever track, yea I had monster days both ways. I had years I got killed I mean absolutely killed.   I had some good years too. I can tell you until 9 years ago when I sat down and said that is it I am going to study this and get it right or I am going to golf every weekend and the heck with it. It is all about discipline to attack the right races. Attack the right tracks, don’t go playing tracks you know nothing about I tried it , it don’t work.

You want to survive find a circuit you like and study it, I do Kentucky, New York , Oaklawn, Gulfstream that is what I do and that is what I live. I know every rider ,trainer, and most owners.

Find your circuit find what you like and start improving now. Horse Racing needs guys to win, they need guys to survive, no one wants guys losing their homes. It is always a work in progress but without that mirror to look right back at you , we are would be lost. BETPTC and the account activity is that mirror. Use it.

Keeneland Dan Cronin