John Pricci

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Nothing whets a horseplayer’s appetite more than the anticipation of another Saratoga season, fast approaching July 27. Six weeks of full fields, virtually a stakes race a day, and all the turf and 2-year-old racing one can fit on his wagering plate. It’s not a meet for the timid.

But if a horseplayer wants to be successful at Saratoga, or anywhere for that matter, he must be prepared to lose.

No, I have not yet lost my mind. There’s nothing wrong with your bifocals, nor is this some form of handicapping heresy. Instead, think of it as a variation on a theme, that “scared money never wins.”

A winning day at Saratoga is special. Because of the level of competition, between not only the best horses but among successful handicappers as well, there is more at stake here than money. Bragging rights may seem an inconsequential byproduct of ego but winning horseplayers beg to differ.

Everyone wants to win here. Indeed, there are many who need to win at Saratoga. Trainers know that winning one race for a particular owner is like winning three anywhere else. If an owner spent mega-six figures or mini-seven figures on a yearling or a 2-year-old that can really run, he wants to show him off here while the whole racing world watches.

If you’re a horseplayer, you want to be see and be seen at the best restaurants in town. “Hey, there’s a table full of jockeys right over there. Look, isn’t that the owner and trainer of the Big Horse?” Winning here gives horseplayers a sense of belonging, knowing he’s “made it” in an arcane world where science often finishes a close second to art.

Aside from enjoying the races and toney restaurants, from the morning workouts to the nightlife, the place is pressure packed for five hours every afternoon except Tuesdays. And you would ruin all this for me, Mr. Column Man, by telling me I must be prepared to lose?

Yes, and not only in Saratoga, but at any racetrack or simulcast facility in the country.

If you’re visiting Saratoga for the season and not for a reason, read no further. But if you believe you have what it takes to be a winning bettor, consider:

Focus on money management
Horseplayers spend about 90 percent of their time handicapping and the other 10 percent on wagering. Not that this proportion should be reversed but there is a disconnect here. Good handicapping won’t overcome poor money management in the long term. But good money management and a template suited to a bettor’s individual wagering style and comfort zone will consistently make winners of middling handicappers.

Horseplayers need not wager serious money to be serious horseplayers. For them, nothing less than winning consistently over time will do. More important than short-term money won is the confidence one gains from proven betting technique. Confidence yields good decision making; lack of confidence obscures the handicapping puzzle. Nothing depletes bankrolls quicker than lack of confidence.

Horseplayers know that the handicapping process is more data driven than a baseball fan’s rotisserie league. The information age and technological advances have not escaped the radar of winning horseplayers and data providers. Many websites, including this one, provide information that can make horseplayers consistent winners. Deciphering that data is what is at issue.

A winning day at the races can be in the mind of the beholder. Horseplayers count their bankrolls at day’s end and if it’s larger than it was when they started then they are winners, obviously. But the winning horseplayer can gain confidence even on days when his bankroll shrinks.