Fourteen Best-Kept Secrets of Horseplayers

Photos by Eclipse Sportswire
Somewhere near the top of the list of the quirkiest and most superstitious people in the world, you'll find horseplayers.
Another typical trait of the horseplayer is that they tend to be extremely secretive. Logically, when I was assigned this project of gathering some of the best kept secrets of horseplayers, I knew it was going to be a challenge.
My best kept secrets? Well, I'll share a few but I can't share all of them. No way. So, what I decided to do was call on a few friends to share some of their secrets. Some of the horseplayers I know flat out said "No!" The responses I did get ranged from basic betting secrets all the way to race day meals that can lead to a winning day. Enjoy.
14. Watch the jock
Peter Rotondo (@retro411) is all about playing the veteran jockey angle on second time starters. “Look for a veteran jock riding a second time starter for the second time. The key is that he rode the horse in first start.  Watch the horse’s debut and/or look for comments like “Wide throughout” and/or look for a middle move with little encouragement at any point.”
JAVIER CASTELLANO STUCK WITH KHOZAN IN HIS SECOND START

13. Watch replays, a lot of replays. 
This secret comes from my good friend Jonathan Stettin (@JonathanStettin), better known as "The Pick 6 King" on Twitter. As his nickname implies, he's hit a few pick-6s in his life, including a $540,000 score at Saratoga. With that in mind, I take whatever he says pretty seriously. On replays, Stettin told me, "watch 'em and take notes. As Tony Montana (from Scarface) said, 'the eyes, Chico, they never lie.' Trust what you see."
12. They cut what? 
So, this probably isn't the easiest secret to talk about, but it's a legitimate angle for horseplayers. We're talking about betting "first time geldings," or horses running their first race since being castrated. The decision to geld a horse is usually made by a horse's trainer when the horse tends to get too worked up or wild before, during and after races. After being gelded, many horses become more focused and, at the very least, don't overexert themselves as much before entering the starting gate.
My buddy David May (@Thorostat) shared the first time gelding secret. Recently, the Daily Racing Form and Equibase added an "FTG" designation to denote first time geldings. 
"It used to be a secret," May said. "It was definitely a go-to if you heard (a horse being announced as a first time gelding) at the track or on the pre- or post-shows."
11. Do your homework before you get to school. 
So, here's one of mine. I can't believe that I actually didn't always live by this, in retrospect. Don't expect to win at the races if you haven't prepared by studying the races before you got to the track. I usually prepare for a race card with anywhere from six to eight hours of analysis from home, which includes the secrets above regarding race replays. By the time I get to the track, I want to have a pretty strong idea of who my best bets of the day are going to be and how I might bet them. There are so many distractions at the track from the scenery to the people you'll run into to the eating and drinking, so forget about attempting to do your homework there. Do yourself a favor by coming to the track ready to play.
MAKE SURE MOST OF YOUR WORK IS DONE AT HOME

10. An unlikely snack.
I almost didn't include this one because it came from left field but after considering it further, it's worth a mention. From my friend Joe Schaeffer (@Cyph718), "Aqueduct has the best tuna salad." While I've never personally tried the tuna at Aqueduct, I wouldn't be surprised if this were true. More importantly, it speaks to a core horseplayer secret: never bet or handicap on an empty stomach.
9. Give him a break, will ya? 
My man Tony Bada Bing (@tonycbadabing) - yeah, we'll assume that's his real name - shared the following:
"Be willing to give a horse an excuse for a bad performance. We all have bad days!"
Not only is it true, on multiple levels, it's a way of thinking that gives horseplayers a leg up on everyone else. For the average person scanning a race, common sense and habit usually dictate that the person will lean most heavily on a horse's most recent performance as an indicator of how that horse might run in the current race being analyzed. However, a lot of times, you might be able to find a horse with a lot of upside at a nice price by forgiving a previous poor performance. This especially applies when most of the horse's earlier races were a lot better than that last race.
8. Jumping out of their skin.
Another good friend of mine, Steve Lasker (@NYSteve27), lives in the Mid-Atlantic which is also home to a lot of steeplechase, or hurdle/fence jumping trainers. Often times, you'll find a horse running in a flat race (no hurdles) and then they get claimed or bought by a trainer who tries to retrain them as jumpers. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. Often, the horses return to flat racing after some time with a trainer who's known more for jumpers. Steve says the following is one of his biggest money-making secrets:
"Mid-Atlantic jump trainers taking high dollar horses to Saratoga in flat (races). Made lots of money over the years on that angle."
I know Steve. If he's selling, I'm buying. That's definitely one to file away for the summer at Saratoga.
7. Avoid going on tilt.
There's nothing worse as a horseplayer than missing out on a potentially huge betting score by a nose, or getting shut out at the window, not being able to get your bet in, and then watching as the horse you were going to bet wins the race. Moments like those will raise any person's blood pressure and, perhaps, make them act in ways they normally wouldn't. One common knee-jerk reaction is rushing back to the window and firing away with a bet to recoup the money that could have been. When that's done uncontrollably, repeatedly and without the usual preparation that should go into betting a race, that's referred to as betting on tilt. Don't do that.
JONATHAN SHEPPARD TRAINS BOTH FLAT AND JUMP RACERS

6. The old 2 x 4 rule.
I got this one from my friend Tom Amello (@Trackfacts), a long time handicapper and the creator of a wagering system based on reading the odds board. There's really no good way for me to set up what he told me, so I'll just let him tell it:
"I learned the game from my father and uncle, two New York punters who never met a favorite they could like. My uncle Iggy, short for Ignatius, went to the windows to make a play. Upon returning, my father asks if he bet the #9. Iggy says, 'The 9! If the 9 wins I'll hit myself in the head with a short 2x4.'
Of course, the 9 wins.
Moral: To this day, if unsure about a horse's ability to contend, I apply Iggy's 2x4 rule: Would I hit myself in the head with a 2x4 if this horse wins or runs well enough to bust my play? Been a good rule."
5. More superstitions and quirky habits. 
Recently, another one of my track friends has been in really good form, that is to say that he has been performing at the top of his game. His name is Damian Cioni (@DMoney1568) and I would say that he epitomizes the best of what a horseplayer should be. He's cool, calculated, always has a game plan, and he's a really good guy, to boot. When I asked for some secrets, he shared more than one:
- Always save your best (lucky) shirts for big days, like contests and the Kentucky Derby. As Damian notes, "you don't want to drain all the luck out (of them)."
- Never use a red pen to handicap on paper. Red is negative and so will be your bankroll.
- Always have a lucky spot at the track or when betting from home when you need a big win. Damian says his is at Monmouth Park by the upstairs bar bank of televisions.
As you can see, Damian is a real horseplayer. Was he going to give away any of the REAL secrets of his craft? Of course not! Then again, the lucky shirt thing does seem promising. I think I'll try it. 
CERTAIN OUTFITS SHOULD ONLY BE WORN ON SPECIAL RACE DAYS

4. Reading between the lines. 
My man Tony Bada Bing shared another one of his secrets, this one related to one of the more complicated elements of handicapping: class. In general terms, class refers to the level of race that a horse is running in. The quality of the level (or class) can range from a claiming race, which is at the bottom of the class hierarchy, to allowance level to stakes level and, ultimately, to graded stakes (the highest level).
Tony advises to play horses that are "in good form" at their class, versus a horse dropping in class and in bad form. What he's basically saying there is to resist the temptation to bet an allowance horse who is now racing for a low claiming price, even though he would presumably be facing easier competition in the race. This secret is often applied in scenarios where horses are dropping down from allowance level to a claiming race, where he or she can be purchased away from his owners. What that indicates to a lot of horseplayers is that the horse's owners are admitting to a lack of confidence in the horse, and the drop in class might be motivated less by a desire to win against weaker horses, as it is about the owner's desire to have their horse claimed by someone else. 
3. Network.
Just like any other personal or professional endeavor, having success as a horseplayer boils down to who you know. From Matt Pappis (@Mpappps), a handicapper who also co-manages WhoDoYouLike Stables, told me it's essential to develop relationships around the track.
"Become friends and make connections with as many people as you can, from owners to trainers, clockers, jockey agents, and so on. The past performances usually don't tell the whole story (behind) a horse, and the more information you have - that someone else doesn't have - the better."
MAKING CONNECTIONS ON THE TRACK CAN PAY OFF

2. Find ways to beat the favorites. 
Matt's networking secret rings so true, we're going to have him share another secret. This one is a little more technical but deals with ways to structure multi-race bets.
"(Before betting) find the favorite in the sequence (pick-3, pick-4 or pick-5) that you want to take a stand against. You have to determine your risk versus reward before you play a multi-race wager. If you like three consecutive favorites (in a sequence), is the wager worth playing? If you can find the one heavily-bet horse that you can beat, that is how you'll make a living at the track."
1. The top secret. 
Never, ever, believe anything a horseplayer tells you about their secrets!