I think you have to be a fanatic to be a good handicapper. I'm sitting here handicapping the pick six carry overs for Hallandale and Ozone Park and I can't concentrate. I'm being distracted by the same thing that has entered my dreams the last two nights which won't let me sleep. Its the "Lane's End" at Turfway.

All the things that I was right on about were all done away with by fate and the conspiracy of the Track Gods, whoever those Gods are. (That gives me an idea, I'll name and pray to them at another time...lol)

But I digress, the track was "sealed" without my knowledge and that certainly played to a front running horse's benefit, provided he was not right along the rail. Maybe I should of known it was sealed, but I didn't. Then Hasslefree doesn't get out of the gate to run his eyeballs out along a disaster rail and force Sinister G. to move with more early energy than he would prefer to. The sealed track probably worked against my horse, because he was a one run type likely to benefit from a more tiring surface. Add to that the fact that my careful and unprecedented (for me) advice to a Jockey's agent was ignored, despite my best efforts to clearly indicate that the local jockeys were at an advantage unless a careful path was run.

I should have won and it won't leave my mind. There must be a way to keep on top of track maintenance while betting computer, but it wouldn't have made a difference to me, other than lightening my bets a little.

I can't concentrate and my ability to discern has been impacted, so I'll be betting very carefully on the pick sixes. I've lost tough ones before, but this one is haunting me.

Time to digress...lol My goal is to pick 10 Derby winners before I'm done. I'm halfway there and with a little luck could have been even closer. My winners were all solid winners and per usual when it was a tight finish I lost...lol Following is my Derby record:

2003-Funny Cide-1st
2002-War Emblem-1st
2001-Point Given/Monarchos box (No winner selected)
2000-Anees-Also ran
1999-Menifee-2nd
1998-Indian Charlie-3rd
1997-Captain Bodgiet-2nd
1996-Cavonnier-2nd
1995-Jumron-4th
1994-Southern Rhythm - Also Ran
1993-Sea Hero-1st
1992-Lil E. Tee-1st
1991-Strike the Gold-1st
1990-Summer Squall-2nd
1989-Easy Goer-2nd
1988-Forty Niner-2nd

I decided in 2000 that future bets interfere with handicapping the race, so I won't bet them anymore.

There, now I feel better.

:)

CtC