Forging Ahead: Some Goals for 2014

Now that I’ve gone ahead and taken a look back, it’s “resolution” time.  I hate to call them resolutions because I think then I’m just setting myself up for failure.  I guess that these are more like “goals” I would like to reach and want to build a plan around them to help me get there.  Here are the top 5 for 2014:

“WORK” At My Handicapping.  I know, we all think that we work at it when we sit and break down a race card but the truth is that being successful at this game requires you to have better insight than the people you are wagering against.  Back when I was moderately successful at this, I took notes on races and horses, I kept track of my wins and losses, I broke down the results of races against the past performances to see what it is that I missed.  More often than not, I missed something and documenting that helped keep me from repeating that error.  I’d like to get back to a strike rate of 40% at average odds of 7/2 or better again.

I’m also going to re-sign up for the National Handicapping Championship this season and try and play in an event per month to try and qualify for the 2015 Championships in Las Vegas as well as utilizing my balance at Derby Wars to play in more tournaments as well.  Competition forces you to keep you skills sharp and, let’s face it; I’m a very competitive person anyhow!

Promote TURF.  A few years back we formed a loose group of bloggers with the announced goal of writing about and promoting our sport of horse racing.  Some of the best bloggers in North America became part of TURF and I’ve decided to take that on for 2014; at least try and promote members blogs on our Facebook page (Turf Bloggers) and Twitter (@turfbloggers) account.  I’ll see if I can end up doing more than that, but for now that may have to be enough.

Blog More Often.  This one seems simple enough, but it never seems to work out.  Ted needs to sit his ass down in front of the PC and get it done.  There are going to be a few things I’m going to try this year that are new, like some video pieces such as putting together a video of bringing a horse up to their first ever race that hopefully would be fun and interesting. 

Expand the Club.  Managing the Canterbury Park Racing Club was fun, interesting and rewarding.  We got some nice press through the Paulick Report in the Spring, but I have not seen this concept take off anywhere else.  That strikes me as a gig that could be developed into something nationwide.  I don’t think that Magna Group, NYRA or Churchill Downs Inc. would be interested per se (though they should be) but what about other racetracks around the US like Tampa Bay, Hawthorne, Oaklawn or Turf Paradise?  No one may be interested, but I’m going to give it a try.

Get Organized. My move this past summer left me totally discombobulated. I have files everywhere and paperwork that needs to get into them! I need to take the time it takes to get them set and maintained.  Realistically it only takes a few minutes of extra time a day once I’m set up to do it so I need to remind myself how much easier life is when I’m organized and not procrastinate when it comes to taking those five extra minutes.

Certainly not unattainable goals, I don’t think.  I also want to lose weight, exercise more, expand my partnerships, write better, get the book in my head onto paper and on, and on, and on.  However I think that these five are good and in one way shape or form, interrelated. Being organized affects all the other goals.  Being more active in writing and promoting TURF will help expand my platform and could help open doors to generating more business.  The lifeblood of our sport is the wagering and being better at that aspect can permeate all the others since it would force me to follow racetracks and horses more carefully, record my thoughts and expand the potential pool of subject matter.  It would also keep me from my embarrassing 2013 finishes this year in the Hello Race Fans expert picks!

Best of luck in all your goals for 2014.  I look forward to hearing about yours and sharing with you the progress as this stable turns into the wind and tries to take flight.

 

 

So Much Going On, So Little to Report

It’s an interesting time of the year right now.  So much is going on yet nothing is going on.  I want to write a blog post about something but no single subject can adequately fill a post.  So let me break up THIS post into four pieces and maybe that will fill up the better part of a page.  I can say that once things start breaking loose, there will be no shortage of things to talk about!

TABBY LANE

Tabby was covered early last week by Eastwood Dacat (Storm Cat – Western Eternity) and now we wait.  She was exhibiting signs of heat even after her first cover so she went back to the shed.  After that she was fine, so now we will wait for a pregnancy check in another week or so.  She handled the experience like a champ for a maiden mare and all the credit goes to Lisa Duoos at Dove Hill Farm and Reproductive Services for her patience and expertise.

ELUSIVE EDITION

Our 2-year old Minnesota bred filly (Late Edition – Mystical Elusion) is doing as well as can be expected in the snow covered Minnesota tundra.  Thankfully the snow is melting away and she should be getting her work in on a larger oval shortly instead of the makeshift oval she has been using – BUT that’s WAY better than nothing and foundation miles are foundation miles.  Also, she’s learning her trade: how to be handled like a racehorse, what’s expected of her in the morning, how to interact with her humans – all important as well.  As a 2-year old, I wouldn’t expect her over to the track for a few more months but we are really anxious to see her stretch her legs and see what we have.

CLAIMING GROUP

I have to say that this is one of the most energetic and fun groups I’ve ever put together.  There is a core of really strong handicappers and racing fans that love exchanging opinions which has made our Yahoo Group a ton of fun.  It doesn’t hurt that many of the horses that we discuss dropping a slip for go on to win.  It’s become a pretty profitable betting angle for the group.

We have dropped slips on three occasions and been outshook each and every time.  While that DOES tell us we are on the right track, it’s still frustrating as all get out.  We have reached out for a private purchase that we hope to be able to consummate this week that will get us a really nice horse that should fit well into the upper claiming/possibly allowance ranks at Canterbury for the summer.  But we will wait and see – it’s way too early to count chickens!  That said, the horse would be coming from a great outfit and I’d be really excited to have him part of our stable.

CANTERBURY RACING CLUB

The management of the Canterbury Racing Club really begins in earnest now that signups are done and we’ll start looking for horses.  It looks like we exceeded last year’s membership by about 17%, so that’s nice and gives us the basis for a nice start with a couple of horses with Clay Brinson out of Hawthorne.  We also got a nice mention in the Paulick Report’s Good News Friday column which was fun to see we well.

As I said, there is a lot going on but, for now, everything is on edge.  Once it all starts to break loose, however, it should be one very busy summer and this keyboard should get beat pretty good!