As someone once said, that's what makes horse racing.

Back when we were first starting, in the 80's, Brad Thomas (whom I have a lot of respect for) was also just starting, with a publication called The Fact Sheet, which dealt with a lot of things like bias/trip notes, and other esoterica. He didn't like sheet theory too much, and ran an ad in the DRF with a great quote from Dostoevsky's "The Gambler" (I think), about all the wonderful intangibles involved in gambling. I came back with an ad the following week with the Damon Runyon quote-- "The race is not always to the swift, but it's the right way to bet".

As I've said before, I don't discount pace entirely. We have a Graph Racing filly in today's stake at Del Mar, and I would be happier if another front runner (or two) scratched. It might or might not make a difference, but like chicken soup, it couldn't hurt.



TGJB