Chapter 1 - Money Makes The Mare Go

Horseracing is the most exciting of all spectator sports.

Each year its hold on the American public grows and brings new attendance and betting records to practically all tracks. More than 50,000,000 people every year watch the horses run and now are plunking down the astronomical sum of $2,600,000,000 to spur on their favorites.

Before World War II, betting days of $1,000,000 made news, but now even minor tracks hit that sum. On major tracks, $3,000,000 and $4,000,000 betting days attract no attention at all.

New York City has in the planning stage a super-track to handle crowds of 60,000, about double the capacity of most of today's "big-time" courses.

Once racing north of the Mason and Dixon line ended when the frost glistened the first pumpkin and chilled the hands of the bettor as he reached into his pocket for another $2. The better horses were retired to their farms for the winter to rest and dream of new turf glories to come in the spring.

The poorer horses were shipped south for a type of racing that neither man nor animal took too seriously. New York, presumably believing its fans were less hardy than those in other states, always ended racing about Columbus Day while the sun still had some warmth left.

The Thanksgiving Day handicap at Bowie, Maryland, for years was the windup of the northern season and man and horse shook hands, patted each other on the back, and wished each other well during the drab winter months ahead.

Now only the better horses go south with the birds, for winter racing has become "big time." Florida and California offer the bettor a chance to exercise his bankroll in the warm sunshine while he is becoming tanned and healthy in his flight from snow and ice. Other states, too, vie for a share of the winter racing dollar. The improvement of the breed is now a year-round diversion which brings satisfaction probably to every one concerned except the horse. After all, the horse cannot be choosy about the days on which man elects to improve him.

Racing has become "bug time" for many reasons. For one thing, racing, unlike baseball, football and basketball, has no alternating periods of offense and defense which give only one side an opportunity to cheer loudly. Once the horses break from the barrier, the action is a continuous pounding, exciting drive to the finish line.

There are no delays or "time outs" in racing. In little more than a minute, a race packs as many thrills and as much excitement as are found in an hour of football or nine innings of baseball.

Wagering permits every fan to have a personal stake in the outcome. The man who bets on his football team or baseball club is more interested in seeing his side win than he is in collecting a wager. The racing fan has only one primary interest—to cash a ticket.

There is no doubt that betting is the life blood of racing. Horses seem to improve best if the iron in their systems comes from the pari-mutuel machines. Wager-less racing was tried several times in the United States, but fans quickly lost interest and let the horse shift for himself if he wanted to improve.

Betting not only offers the fan a possible pot of gold at the end of the finish line but also gives him a chance to match his skill and wits against those of the owner, trainer, jockey and professional handicapper and even of the horse himself. The fan, on the way home from other sports, enjoys none of the satisfaction that comes to the turfite whose cunning, skill, hunch or pure luck has rewarded him financially.

To the average player, however, rewards come mostly because of luck and hunch since few fans possess the knowledge necessary to pick winners scientifically. For one thing, handicapping requires some knowledge of the more than 20,000 thoroughbreds which are entitled to use the designation of "race horse." Then, each horse must be rated every time he races not only for the type and condition of the race but also in comparison with the other entries.

The average player, setting out to joust with the horse, fares better if he leaves the selections to those more experienced in the art of picking winners. Racing is not just a mile-long peanut scramble around an oval track, but it is a sport in which it is possible to study factors and principles and come up with predictions as to probable winners.

This book sets forth those factors and principles. It is a record of what long study and experiments have discovered about the art of picking winners. It substitutes facts and rules for hunches.

This book will permit the reader to approach racing with more fun, excitement and assurance. It can make a day at the races an afternoon of real enjoyment and satisfaction—and more profitable, too.

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