The Ol Phantom Purse Hike. Kids Do Get Into Handicapping.

There's mucho consternation about the new-found $750,000 for a Haskell Stakes purse bump.

• With the William Hill Haskell just four days away, Monmouth Park announced a $750,000 purse increase for their signature race.

Hey, for that extra $750,000 I will enter my horse.

Hold it, entries are closed?

As Jessica pointed out, this seems to have been the case all along:

@BklynBckstretch @TimeformUSfigs @theyreoff @alanLATG Hasn't that been the aim all along? http://t.co/at2lADLXUg pic.twitter.com/jFnjH50ueq

— Railbird (@railbird) July 30, 2015

I realize getting a Triple Crown champ to a track is a sausage making exercise, but this, in my view (and reading SM I am not alone), is not in the spirit of the sport.

Brian DiDonato was interviewed in this month's Horseplayer Monthly (read it here, it's free). Brian got into handicapping about 10 years ago, and is now the Racing Editor of the TDN. One answer, about tools of the trade, shows just how cool handicapping the horses is.

"Breeding just isn't as well understood by the wagering public, and good pedigree information is somewhat less accessible and also moredifficult to decipher, so it's less factored into the market. Extended pedigree and sibling reports are key for me, as Itend to give more weight to the dam's influence. I also put a lot of emphasis on 2-year-old sales breezes."

There are many ways to skin a cat. Very few betting games, if any, have data points that can be exploited as there are in horse racing. If the sport concentrates on making this a better betting game, I have always felt the sky is the limit.

Brian is one of those newer players (I think he's under 30), who enjoys the game and has a pretty sharp eye. In fact, I probably owe him a beer. A few years ago I was handicapping a Derby card. I loved a horse in leg one of the first pick four and constructed my tickets. Derby morning I read Brian's thoughts - I just stumbled upon them - and thought they were really sharp. Lo and behold, in the sixth race - the third leg - he liked a horse in an inscrutable turf sprint that I was not going to use. At the last second I threw the horse in, he won, and I hit the pick 4. My $40 winner in the first leg, keyed, might've paid off (I used an all on one ticket) but would not have been anywhere near as lucrative.

Serendipitous, for sure, and since that time I have read Brian's thoughts and shared mine. He's a good follow on the twitter right here.

Give the magazine a read, and please share it via SM or email. The boys and girls spend time putting it together and the content, for free, is worth looking at, especially considering the price!



Have a nice day everyone.