This past month it has been a challenge for me to place a winning wager. I have found that certain times of the year it becomes more difficult. In the early spring trainers are testing their horses to see what conditions work best. In the late fall, trainers are looking for conditions that favor horses that may have had trouble during the year. This can lead to unexpected outcomes and long losing streaks. If I haven’t won any money after 5 or 6 wagers, it starts to feel like a losing streak. When my bankroll gets below $100, I start to make smaller bets.
In the past few weeks, I’ve been taking advantage of the promotions on TVG to help extend my bankroll. I had an $18 pick 4 at Gulfstream Park that won 3 out of 4 races and TVG refunded my wager. Numerous win wagers, where my horse came in 2nd or 3rd, were also refunded. This really helps extend a bankroll. On 12/16/22 I decided to place a few wagers at Gulfstream to take advantage of their exacta promotion. I don’t normally play exactas because, if the favorite wins, an exacta usually doesn’t payout too well. So, I always end up placing a few small wins, trifectas, and daily double wagers.
I started late and it was already down to the last two races of the day. I put in a $4 daily double on race 8,9. Neither of my two horses won the first race, so that bet was lost. The 9th race was the last of the day, so I put in a trifecta with the 3 most logical winners. As I was looking for a possible exacta wager, I saw that the #4 horse @ 17 to 1 had a 9-pound weight advantage and had been putting in some good speed figures. I decided to put in a $1 boxed exacta with the #4 ridden by Angel Morales and the #9 ridden by Jose Ortiz. When the race started, several faster horses took the lead. In the stretch my two horses started to pull away from the leaders. The weight relief helped the #4 cross the line first with the #9 close behind. My $2 wager paid $73.70 giving me a $62.70 profit for the day.