Turf vs Tech Handicapping Challenge for Feb. 22

The Turf vs Tech Handicapping Challenge is a public tournament featuring some of the best handicappers from the world of Thoroughbred racing taking on some of the best and brightest from the tech world. Many of racing's new fans are building their own companies or working on the next great mobile app and we thought it would be great to see what happens when they take on established handicappers in some of America's best races. 
Stay tuned as this group of tech all-stars take on some of America's most recognizable handicappers in a winner-takes-all battle that pits the new school against the old school.

Peter Rotondo Jr.

Peter Rotondo, Jr. has been going to the races since he was 4 months old with his first trip being to Saratoga Race Course. His passion for racing led him to the University of Arizona Racetrack Industry Program in Tucson, Ariz., where he earned a bachelor's degree. Following school, he worked for one year at Daily Racing Form before moving to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. In 2006, he began working for the Breeders' Cup and holds the position of vice president of media and entertainment. His experiences have led him to be part of a new reality show for the recently launched Esquire Network. The show is aptly named “Horseplayers” and follows Rotondo and his castmates on a tour of the best racing venues in the U.S. in the pursuit of the title of Handicapper of the Year and a $750,000 prize at the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship. Click here for a Q&A with Rotondo.

Andrew Rideout

Andrew Rideout is a 31-year-old entrepreneur based in Vancouver, Canada. He is the founder of the iOS app Hack The Races and is involved in several other exciting projects within the horse racing industry. When not traveling the world or shouting at his computer, he enjoys drinking coffee, eating food and long-distance running - but not all at the same time. 

GAME ON

This week our two handicappers will have a $100 bankroll with which to use on the following races on Saturday, Feb. 22: the $200,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, Fair Grounds, Race 9; the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes for 3-year-olds, Fair Grounds, Race 11; and the $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes, Gulfstream Park, Race 11.

ROTONDO'S PICKS
RACHEL ALEXANDRA STAKES The Winner: #4 Untapable  The Rachel Alexandra comes down to Rosie Napravnik. I think Rosie puts Untapable on or close to the lead and wins one for the home team. On paper (and my iPad), it appears to be a paceless race except for Streaming and Untapable. I think they may jog around the track together with Rosie getting the nod in the final jump. Look for Got Lucky and reigning 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies champ Ria Antonia to round out an ice-cold superfecta!
$20 win - Untapable ($20)
$10 straight Superfecta – 4-2-5-6: Untapable w/Streaming w/Got Lucky w/Ria Antonia
Total: $30  
RISEN STAR STAKESThe Winner: #6 Gold HawkFirst off, this is a wide-open race. I could make a case for seven of these runners. Unlike the Rachel Alexandra, this race is full of pace or horses that want to be on or near the lead. I’ll be looking for a stalker or closer to work out a trip so I’m going with Gold Hawk (same owner and trainer as Untapable). Gold Hawk had some trouble as the favorite in his last race. I am going to forgive him for that race and take the generous 8-to-1 odds with new jockey Corey Nakatani. I’ll be using Gold Hawk with a few of the other contenders as well as a couple of longshots in my exactas and trifectas. I have a Kentucky Derby future wager on Rise Up, so I’m hoping to see him run well. My two longshots that I hope sneak into my exacta or trifecta are Son of a Preacher and Quick Indian. Both should be closing late. 
$20 to win – Gold Hawk ($20)
$2 exacta key: 6/2-8-9-10-11-14: Gold Hawk with Rise Up, Hoppertunity, Intense Holiday, Son of a Preacher, Quick Indian and Vicar’s in Trouble ($12)
$1 trifecta key: 6/2-8-9-10-11-14 ($30)
Total: $50
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH The Winner: #2 We Miss Artie Who do I want to win vs. who do I think will win? I want Top Billing to win since I'm a fanof and friendly with the connections (owner and trainer). While I would like to see Top Billing win by five and become the clear cut Kentucky Derby favorite, he’ll be short odds and stuck with a bad outside post position going two turns. Ultimately, I need to take a chance and bet against my heart. My head tells me this race is also wide open if Top Billing gets beat by his post position, so let’s look for some value. I think the value is with We Miss Artie. Artie has run decent in his two dirt races, one of which was the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He is trained by Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher and owned by Eclipse Award-winning owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey. Artie gets a favorable post and the cagey Joe Bravo aboard for the trip. I can see him working out a ground-saving trip about six lengths off the pace and wearing down some of the pacesetters near the finish line at a generous 15-to-1!
$20 to win – We Miss Artie ($20)
Total: $20

RIDEOUT'S PICKS 
RACHEL ALEXANDRA STAKES  Ria Antonia - win; Got Lucky - exactaRia Antonia has a good shot here and I expect the likely favourite (Streaming) to be beatable. The last work for Ria Antonia jumps off the page and the last few before tell me she’s in good form. I’m excited to see what she does this year. I think Got Lucky has the look of a there-or-thereabouts type and should move forward nicely off the maiden score.
$10 win/place Ria Antonia ($20)
$10 exacta Ria Antonia/Got Lucky ($10)
Total: $30
RISEN STAR STAKESVicar’s in Trouble - exacta; Rise Up - exacta; Hoppertunity - exacta; Gold Hawk - exactaVicar’s in Trouble obviously looks talented but 5-to-2 is pretty short in this field; I’m interested to see how his price moves on the day. I don’t think Bob Baffert would send Hoppertunity this way for nothing and, looking back to his first race, you can see there were some really good horses coming out of that one and he was all business in his next race. Rise Up strikes me as a “people’s horse” with plenty of blue-collar appeal - racing at Mountaineer Racetrack and Presque Isle Downs before winning the Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes with a front-running trip. I’m not sure if he can carry his speed the whole way, but I think he’s got guts and he gets the exotics nod from me. Gold Hawk seems to be a horse who likes to do it his own way but clearly has a lot of talent. If he settles down and focuses, he certainly could be a factor and he’s worth including at a decent price.
$2 exacta box Vicar’s in Trouble/Rise Up/Hoppertunity/Gold Hawk ($24)
Total: $24
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTHWe Miss Artie - win; Top Billing - exacta; General a Rod - trifecta; Casiguapo -superfectaI was at Keeneland when We Miss Artie took the Breeders’ Futurity and, though the form has cooled a bit, I expect him to put in a good performance here and be a price as well. I’m not 100% he will get the job done here considering the talent on offer but I think it will be worth a gamble. The other big win contender is Top Billing, who I was able to see schooling briefly on HRTV Thursday morning. He looks great and we clearly haven’t seen the bottom of him yet. It’s a tough draw being out that wide but, with a vintage Joel Rosario ride, he’s a logical winner. General a Rod looks to be one for the latter places and certainly proved that he has guts in his last race after a long stretch duel. The other one I like to round things out is Casiguapo who has hit the board in three stakes (one of them a Grade 1) and could be a wild card considering he hasn’t had a timed workout in nearly a month.
$9 win/place We Miss Artie ($18)
$6 win/place Top Billing  ($12)
$1 exacta box We Miss Artie/Top Billing/General a Rod/Casiguapo ($12)
$1 super We Miss Artie/Top Billing over General a Rod/Casiguapo ($4)
Total: $46

Commonly Used Gambling Terms

Account wagering – Betting by internet or phone, in which a bettor must open an account and deposit money with which to bet.
Across the board – A bet on a horse to win, place and show. If the horse wins, the player collects three ways; if second, two ways; and if third, one way, losing the win and place bets. Actually, three bets.
Bounce – An especially poor performance on the heels of an especially good one.
Box – A betting term denoting a combination bet whereby all possible numeric combinations are covered for certain horses.
Bridge jumper – A person who wagers large amounts of money, usually on short- priced horses to show, hoping to realize a small but almost certain profit. The term comes from the structure those bettors may seek if they lose the bet.
Chalk – Betting favorite in a race.
Chalk player – Gambler who wagers on favorites.
Daily Double (or Double) – Type of bet calling for the selection of winners of two consecutive races.
Exacta – A wager in which the first two finishers in a race, in exact order of finish, must be picked.
Exacta box – A wager in which all possible combinations using a given number of horses are selected.
Exotic (bet) – Any bet other than win, place, or show that requires multiple combinations. Examples of exotic wagers are trifecta, Pick 6, Pick 4.
Handle – Amount of money wagered in the pari-mutuel system on a race, full day of races, or entire racing season at a track.
In the money – A horse that finishes first, second or third.
Key horse – A single horse used in multiple combinations in an exotic bet.
Morning line – The starting odds set by the track handicapper.
On the board – Finishing among the first three.
On the nose – Betting a horse to win only.
Overlay – A horse whose odds are greater than its potential to win.
Pari-mutuel – System of wagering where all the money is returned to the bettors after deduction of track and state percentages.
Parlay – A multi-race bet in which all winnings are subsequently wagered on a succeeding race.
Part wheel – Using a key horse or horses in different, but not all possible, exotic wagering combinations.
Pick (6 or other number) – A type of multi-race bet in which the winners of all the included races must be selected. Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, Pick 6 are commonly used by tracks in the United States.
Place bet – A bet on a horse to finish first or second.
Quinella - Bet in which the first two finishers must be picked in either order.
Show bet – A bet on a horse to finish in the money; third or better.
Speed Figure – A metric that rates a horse’s performance in a race, which is determined by a combination of the horse’s performance and the level of competition he/she competed against.
Trifecta – A bet in which the first three finishers must be selected in exact order.
Trifecta box – A trifecta wager in which all possible combinations using a given number of horses are bet upon.
Underlay – Horse whose odds are more promising than his potential to win.
Win – A bet on a horse to finish first.
Wheel – Betting all possible combinations in an exotic wager using at least one horse as the key.