Games People Play
- Bruno@Racingwithbruno
- Aug 2
- 6 min read
Over my career, I have seen it all.
And when I say all... I mean all.
I've watched people try to manipulate the odds, manipulate the tote board, manipulate public opinion—manipulate people, because they know that's where everybody's eyes are.
Where there's money, there are games.
I've seen TV analysts go on the air praising one horse, then walk off camera hoping another one wins, tickets in hand.
I've seen "live horses" announced as the field was loading into the gate, giving viewers just enough time to hear the pick—but not enough time to get their money down on the horse.
I've seen markets flooded with one opinion while the real money quietly lands somewhere else.
I've seen ''Workout Reports" flooding the market for one reason, to push their narrative, a rope a dope, while they ......
Promote this horse.
Hide that horse.
Downgrade another.
Fudge a workout.
Leave one off the report.
It's amazing what people will do when they think they're the smartest person in the room.
I've never understood it.
I've always believed that if you're truly good at what you do, you don't need to play games.
You don't need smoke.
You don't need mirrors.
You don't need deception.
You certainly don't need to cheat.
Your work should speak for itself.
If you're consistently finding winners, why would you need to manipulate anybody?
The answer is simple its their nature.
Because some people aren't nearly as good as they want you to believe.
You know the individual, poor eye contact, greasy hair.... that guy
They're not trying to beat the races.
They're trying to beat the public, you.
Because they can't win on their own.
I've seen it.
Not heard about it.
Seen it with my own two eyes. 👀
I watched a clocker change a workout rating from average—maybe even slightly negative—to positive.
Why?
Not because the horse deserved it.
Because he thought it would help him get a better price on another horse he wanted to bet
He wasn't trying to identify the best horse.
He was trying to manipulate other people's opinions.
The funny part?
We didn't even like the horse he was trying to prop up. We liked a 14-1 shot. Our horse won. Paid over $30. He lost after all that.
Again, into the Fountain of Youth this year, propping up a horse to bet another.
That's the thing about playing games.
Sometimes the game plays you.
I've never understood why people go through all the smoke and mirrors. That's a lot of energy to waste.
If you're good at evaluating horses, why not just trust your opinion?
Why spend your energy trying to influence everyone else's?
I've always believed your edge should come from your work—not from manipulating the marketplace, but its out there.
I learned from horsemen, when they like a horse they are running, they won't tell you, they will ask about all the other horses, if they like their horse they tell you "I wish I had time for another work" that covert for saying he is ready. There is always a spin, a game, a gotcha game. Some people will never come out and say "i stand by my opinion on this horse".
The tote board is supposed to reflect the opinions of thousands of horseplayers.
Not the schemes of a handful of people trying to tilt the scales, but if you know where they get their info from you can easily anticipate.
If your track has a workout report and you know its passed around like Bud Light Beers on the 4th of July, you know what everybody is playing. It's on that sheet.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
If you're truly good at what you do...
You don't need games.
You don't need deception.
You don't need to manufacture an edge by steering the crowd in the wrong direction
Your work is your edge, and if you are tuned in to the alleged egde others think they have it can make you even more dangerous at the windows.
Racingwithbruno received a great compliment the other day from a fellow horseplayer.
He was referring to the DRF workout report:
He didn't have to say that, I don't know him, wouldn't know him if I walked by him in the street. I felt I was doing our subscribers a service. We don't give away our product. We protect it. You protect what you believe is valuable, you give away and flood the market with a product is not valuable. Once again, human nature.
News flash.
You earn it, you earn respect.
Here's one I've never quite figured out.
This New York tribalism.
Maybe somebody can explain it to me.
One day, Irad Ortiz Jr. and Jose Ortiz are New York jockeys.
The next day, they're Kentucky jockeys.
Really?
Did somebody brand them while I wasn't looking? and where are they branded, that's gotta hurt.
They're two of the best riders in the Americas. They've won everywhere. Saratoga. Belmont. Keeneland. Churchill. Gulfstream. Wherever there's a big race, they're there. Why arent they Florida jocks? They ride in Florida, no? Jose rides in Louisiana, in the winter, not a Louisiana jock?
But they're "Kentucky jockeys?"
I must have missed that memo.
Remember the Preakness dust-up involving Flavien Prat and Umberto Rispoli?
Almost overnight, Prat became "the New York rider," and Rispoli became the outsider.
It didn't seem to matter whether people had actually watched the replay or thought through the incident.
Prat rides in Kentucky but he is not a "Kentucky Jockey"?
For many fans, the verdict had already been reached.
Rispoli wasn't one of theirs.
Case closed.
That's the fascinating part about New York racing.
The loyalty.
It's real.
People root for their own.
They defend their own, they fight for them and call them names when they don't win for them.
And they're often skeptical of anyone coming in from the outside with a different perspective.
I've spent enough summers in New York to appreciate the passion. Just read my 'NG - No good" blog.
It's unlike anywhere else.
But I've also noticed something else.
A lot of NY horseplayers handicap... alike.
Not everyone, of course.
But enough to notice.
Sometimes it feels like they're all reading from the same script.
They sound alike.
They land on the same horses.
The same talking points.
The same pace scenarios.
The same "live" horses.
It's almost as if they're all handicapping through the same Andy Serling lens.
Harvey Pack had a tremendous influence on generations of New York horseplayers. Andy Serling has had a tremendous influence on today's generation. There's nothing wrong with learning from talented handicappers.
The question is...
At what point does learning become following?
Because if everybody arrives at the same conclusion...Everybody bets the same horses.
And now we're right back where we started.
Short prices.
Underlays.
No value.
The pari-mutuel system doesn't reward you for agreeing with the crowd.
It rewards you for being right when the crowd is wrong.
That's why I've never been interested in being part of a tribe, however.
I am part of a Wolf pack wth my Huskies and I truly am a lone Wolf, in my attitude.
I'd rather have my own opinion.
Sometimes it'll be wrong.
Sometimes it'll be spectacularly wrong.
But when it's right...
One race at a time.
One opinion at a time.
One honest day's work at a time.
I don't have to split the payoff with half the grandstand.
Did you notice Todd Pletcher today?
Five winners. Five. He lost once All-Day.
Looks like Todd is officially back in business.
Which means we can dust off one of my favorite old sayings:
"If Todd wins early... he wins all day."
Sometimes the old ones never get old.
And while we're handing out flowers...
How about the Ortiz brothers?
You know, the newly branded, tattoed, stamped, Kentucky Jocks.
Once again they dominated the NY card.
What was it... eight wins between them?
Just incredible.
If you are trying to get value with Dylan Davis, or some other journeyman, fuggetaboutit!
At this point, I'm convinced their agent owns a DeLorean with a flux capacitor.
And, he found Biff Tannen's sports almanac from Back to the Future between the cushions.
Because the way those two keep landing on the right horses...
It almost feels like somebody already knows tomorrow's results.
So, after all that let's do it all again today.
The Ellis card is strong, tons of workouts, we have done very well there.
Saratoga looks live and the rain is not due until later. We have some shots.
Yes, Let's do it, without the website issues and without the games and Waldo, F*ck that guy!
