one thing that andy and the other posters failed to mention is the actual pre-race inspection and warmup that can only TRULY take place live at the track.

my personal experience is that i have a significantly better ROI when i am at the races and looking at the animals. you can see things that both put you onto a horse that may not be as appealing at first blush and more importantly it can turn you off from an animal that you may otherwise be high on.

there was one day in particular this past summer at MTH where a horse shipped in from chicago that looked superb on paper and was entered in a small overnight stake. i watched with amazement as chuck lopez didn't break from a walk after the post parade while all the other runners warmed up appropriately. i just eilinated him out of hand following that episode and went back top the drawing board.

he ran next to last and never threatened at any point. it happens all the time
AND even more so in claiming races. a claimer that doesn't warm up even a small amount is sore (with the exception of all out speed horses and bad weather days where horses can warm up slightly in the shed row prior to coming over).


john