Yes I do Gamble or maybe yes I did not So Much Anymore. I find handicapping thoroughbred horses challenging and exciting when you get it right and you win. I used to play a few times a week , I had an off Track Betting account (OTB), where I could make a bet anytime or any place by phone. I could play any track in the country, but I mostly stuck to the tracks that were close to me. I started by playing the Trotters then I switch to the thoroughbreds (Flats). I don't play anymore since I retired, I didn't make a lot of money, but it was fun.
The only gambling I do anymore is to play one Florida Lotto ticket per drawing (twice a week). The only reason I even do that is because I've been playing the same number since the first drawing back in the 80's. I'm scared to stop. The first time I don't have a ticket will be the week they draw my number.....
⁹ I agree with you stick with your numbers. I worked with a fellow who's son-in-law play the same lottery number for years, decided to try something new his original numbers came in that night he lost 5.2 million dollars.
There were "sure we'll let you have your input" conversations when Virginia decided to have a state lottery. Now there are machine in our grocery stores as well, along with the Pretend-We-Care stickers: "Do You Have A Gambling Problem? Call 1 (800) YOU-LOSE" We have a game called "Bank-A-Million." The commercials say that you net a million dollars after taxes...but you don't. A friend who won this game pointed it out to me. You gross $1,400,000. If this is your sole income for the year, and you are in the lowest possible tax bracket, your Federal taxes alone are $455,105 and your VA state taxes are $80,200. So you net $864,650. That's way less than a mere rounding error. No one but gummint could get away with this. Not a peep from the media.
I play two games: one where you win $250,000 and one where you win $1,000,000. Their odds are not quite as impossible as the mega-jackpot games. And that's enough to make a difference in my life, but not enough to suddenly make me best friends with the world. I can enjoy myself without having to hide and build walls around me. I will say that there's an upside to COVID. In Virginia, you cannot remain anonymous if you win a lottery. You have your picture posted on the VA Lottery website. But these days, you wear a mask.
I used to win pretty regularly boxing exactas solely based on the odds: one "guaranteed to win" (or close to it), and one long shot. When I started to win money that way (I'd say I would walk out with over $200 in my pocket most days betting maybe $30) I started trying to do my own analysis: jockeys, horse's history, track conditions, etc. That didn't work out so well.
Don't forget sneaky trainers. There was a trainer named Pascuma, who would work his horses on a private track in New Jersey, and bring them to New York track either Aqueduct or Belmont fresh and ready to win. He did this just once or twice a year, and these horses were always long shots. Some trainers don't want to Win 4 low odds they keep the horse ready for when the price is where they want it. I can go on forever which stories and playing angles it was a lot of fun.
I knew someone who knew someone who created a computer program that he claimed did a good job of beating the odds at the track. I don't know if it was particular to Charles Town (hardly a premier venue) or if it had universal application. Regarding your stories: this thread is the place for them. I wanna know how you came to know about Pascuma, and how Pascuma managed to avoid the mob, especially doing this crap in NJ and NY. Pasxuma and those guys must have bumped into each other. I've often said that every industry is Mayberry. If you're around long enough, everybody knows everybody, and no one is anonymous. I never gave much thought to horse racing and other such stuff, but I bet the circles are even smaller that most others are.
When I was playing regularly there were times I would Hangout at the OTB Outlet, store, whatever you want to call it, after a while you get to know some really sharp players. Lou was one of these, whatever his reasons he kind of took me in gave me a lot of good gambling hints. One was to watch Pascuma, he's a great first out Winning trainer. And I did win with him a couple of times. Probably the most important hint he gave me was you can't win every race, so only play the races your most confident you'll have a better percentage of wins. Even if it means only playing One race a day. This was difficult for me because I love playing The Daily Double which was the first and second race. Of course you can have everything figured out and luck is not with you. I was playing a 9th race triple, where I had a horse on top two horses boxed behind him in other words the two horses behind my top horse could come in second or third it didn't matter which one did. I'm watching the race on television and my top horse is 10 lengths in front the other two are fighting it out for second and third behind them another ten lengths is the rest of the pack I got it I said as they come around the far turn in this position, Klondike Mike my horse in front comes into the stretch hits a hole goes down and takes out one of the other horses with him. My heart sank, not because I lost the bet because they had to put Klondike Mike to sleep.
There were times I wished I lived closer to Charles Town, and times I've been glad it was not more accessible. They had OTB, but for some reason it did not interest me that much, but I didn't really know anything at all about any of the horses or the other venues. I enjoyed the "being there" experience. It was almost as though being at the track and around the horses and the people was the main event for me, with a few races sprinkled in. Again, the remote country atmosphere of that venue at that time was a big reason why. The tracks in Maryland (surrounded by concrete) were no pleasure to be at. That's too bad about Klondike Mike. I think being witness to that just one time might kill my appetite for the sport. You gotta wonder how that can happen at a professional track. I don't recall if they policed the track in between races in Charles Town. I kinda recall that they did have a harness rider or two do a loop.
Going to the track is a wonderful experience. Belmont Race Track is one of my favorites has a country look & feel to it, and once a year I would take my entire family there. They had picnic tables under the trees, we bring coolers with food & drink, they had monitors close by so you can see the races they had a tote board that you can watch and if you wanted to see the races live just went inside the track. When my grandkids were young it has a playground for them, bottom line is you can picnic play horses at the same time. Unfortunately racing does have its tragedies. One of the greatest races I've ever seen was the match race between ruffian and foolish pleasure. Ruffian was a filly who I believe won 10 straight, foolish pleasure was the Kentucky Derby winner. 2 me Ruffian had a heart as big as a track, she would not give up the lead 2 foolish pleasure she fought back every time he'd get in front, unfortunately she got injured even with the injury she kept running until she couldn't no longer, she had to be put to sleep I'm getting Goosebumps just thinking about it great horse.
John, I'm thinking now that the horse's name was not Klondike Mike, some reason it popped in my head I remembered the incident but now I'm thinking Klondike Mike might have been a trotter.
I still recall one of the two horses I boxed my first exacta on: Canned Heat. I'll never recall the second. I never worry about getting names and events confused. Good for us for having a depth of experiences to get commingled.
This happened the late 70s early 80s. It was a half hour TV show on Saturday that show 8th and 9th race. At that time that was the only race that you could see on TV. I would play every Saturday so I can watch I root my horse is in on TV. I can't tell you how many handicapping book I've read during that time. I purchase systems guaranteed to make you a winner.
Our nephew was a Los Alamitos Race Trainer. When horses started getting sick and dying, he went back to his original job working in accounting.