Half a Brain

Hanging out with my Bronx boys, Jo Jo the Ace, Eddie Boots, Fat Lenny, 'Rocket', Beaver and 'Cue Ball Mikey' at Belmont and Saratoga, you learn a lot about handicappers.

All these Bronx boys love the races, at dinner one nite, 'Rocket', a brain cancer survivor, was detailing how he hit the pick 4 that afternoon, but 'Cue Ball' interrupted him.

"What do you know? You got half a brain!"

Below, 2013 at Belmont Park with the boys:

Left to right: Beaver, Eddie boots reading the form, Racingwithbruno behind him, Jimmy or Johnny the Penguin [I dont remember which one was which, and Fat Lenny far right.

Jo Jo the ace was late that day.

Eddie Boots, with the form in hand, a legend, not only is he a legend for his Borgatti Ravioli's but Joe Pesci stole his persona. One of a kind legend!

'Rocket' was an amazing story, survived a brain tumor despite losing a hefty % of brain tissue, but 'Cue Ball', cuz' he had very little hair, didn't let him off the hook.

I learned handicappers, handicappers think the other guy has 'half a brain'.

Handicappers are always worried what the other guy knows, he doesn't want to see his price on his horse drop.

I have only met a handful of geniuses at the track, the self proclaimed ones are a dime a dozen.

"I'm the best, he's the best, THEY are the best...."

There a no such thing, anyone can be the best on any given day.

I agree in part, 'don't wisen up no dummy'. (I love the double negative), but that's the kind of stuff I used to hear all the time.

Horseplayers worrying about another player, is the common inherent contradiction.

Despite all the bravado, handicappers can be insecure, of which makes their own paranoia that someone would steal their picks and knock their price down, an oxymoron statement, as two words with contradictory meanings are placed side-by-side.

Good Grief!

Horseplayers worry about the silliest thing, I had a friend, who would ask me who I like and then cross it out on her program.

You're laughing, and nodding, you know the person.

Take my workout videos, I get the 'everybody will know' argument.

Handicappers give too much credit.

I tend to not worry about who knows what, I do my thing, and hopefully you benefit from it.

I know one thing for sure, most handicappers will screw It up at the windows, that's their nature.

Many of you are nodding, you know that guy too!

Doc Bonura, a great friend and and fabulous human being, is THE worse gambler in the world.

I knew, when I told him I liked a horse, I would win, and he would screw up his wager.

I even went to lengths to tell him how to play it.

An ER Trauma psychologist, Doc, brilliant man, would screw that up as well.

One afternoon, he calls me leaving the track:

"I just missed the pick six, hit 5 of 6, I almost had the whole pool", he says, now I am curious and asked whom he missed, "I missed the Frankel in the turf race,'' he responds.

Me, bewildered, "but Doc that was our best bet of the day!''

Doc was a subscriber who received it everyday via email, via his request.

"Oh No! I don't open them, I just delete them...[Silence].... can you send me tomorrows I am going to try to hit the carryover!"

So, he requested, I email his sheet, I do, everyday, and he deletes it. Now, he wants me to send it for tomorrow.

Oy vey!

You can only lead them so far, so when I hear about horseplayers being worried about who likes what, it really becomes a comedy routine, thus, you can lead them to water but you can't make them drink.

I had one subscriber, he chastised me about having a 4 star work on a horse that got beat in the team work.

"It's wrong'' in ALL CAPS!

I told him, ''DUDE, you seriously going to question my judgement in that situation?"

He was adamant, I was wrong and couldn't wrap his head around it.

"I can't like that horse"

The word 'Can't' shouldn't be in a handicappers vocabulary, but yet there it is.

It was a situation of a speed horse winning a drill over a late running closer, the speed horse wins all the time, but the closer is sharpening their speed. I give the closer extra credit.

The horse, the closer, with 4 star work, wins, pays $10 or something close to that, crickets.

... and handicappers worry what others like.

I used to hang out in the Hollywood Park VIP room with my buddy Eric and Danny, Hollywood agents, and they would ask who I loved, and they would bet with both hands on the horse, but in the next Golden Gate or Bay Meadows race would bet the same amount of monies on a cheap claiming race.

You're nodding, so you know them, as well. The kind that bets anything and everything, and I mean everything.

A good friend told me once:

"At the track, you might as well tell the truth because everybody think your lying anyway!"

Talk about a psyche job, you tell them truth so they think you lie to them and don't believe you.

Only at the track.

Overall, good players, think like 'Rocket' while the mass droves who lose consistently think like 'Cue Ball', because they are the ones who got 'half a brain'.

*All the above stories are true and names have not been changed.

'Rocket' was an amazing story, survived a brain tumor despite losing a hefty % of brain tissue, but 'Cue Ball', cuz' he had very little hair, didn't let him off the hook.

I learned handicappers, handicappers think the other guy has 'half a brain'.

Handicappers are always worried what the other guy knows, he doesn't want to see his price on his horse drop.

I have only met a handful of geniuses at the track, the self proclaimed ones are a dime a dozen.

"I'm the best, he's the best, THEY are the best...."

There a no such thing, anyone can be the best on any given day.

I agree in part, 'don't wisen up no dummy'. (I love the double negative), but that's the kind of stuff I used to hear all the time.

Horseplayers worrying about another player, is the common inherent contradiction.

Despite all the bravado, handicappers can be insecure, of which makes their own paranoia that someone would steal their picks and knock their price down, an oxymoron statement, as two words with contradictory meanings are placed side-by-side.

Good Grief!

Horseplayers worry about the silliest thing, I had a friend, who would ask me who I like and then cross it out on her program.

You're laughing, and nodding, you know the person.

Take my workout videos, I get the 'everybody will know' argument.

Handicappers give too much credit.

I tend to not worry about who knows what, I do my thing, and hopefully you benefit from it.

I know one thing for sure, most handicappers will screw It up at the windows, that's their nature.

Many of you are nodding, you know that guy too!

Doc Bonura, a great friend and and fabulous human being, is THE worse gambler in the world.

I knew, when I told him I liked a horse, I would win, and he would screw up his wager.

I even went to lengths to tell him how to play it.

An ER Trauma psychologist, Doc, brilliant man, would screw that up as well.

One afternoon, he calls me leaving the track:

"I just missed the pick six, hit 5 of 6, I almost had the whole pool", he says, now I am curious and asked whom he missed, "I missed the Frankel in the turf race,'' he responds.

Me, bewildered, "but Doc that was our best bet of the day!''

Doc was a subscriber who received it everyday via email, via his request.

"Oh No! I don't open them, I just delete them...[Silence].... can you send me tomorrows I am going to try to hit the carryover!"

So, he requested, I email his sheet, I do, everyday, and he deletes it. Now, he wants me to send it for tomorrow.

Oy vey!

You can only lead them so far, so when I hear about horseplayers being worried about who likes what, it really becomes a comedy routine, thus, you can lead them to water but you can't make them drink.

I had one subscriber, he chastised me about having a 4 star work on a horse that got beat in the team work.

"It's wrong'' in ALL CAPS!

I told him, ''DUDE, you seriously going to question my judgement in that situation?"

He was adamant, I was wrong and couldn't wrap his head around it.

"I can't like that horse"

The word 'Can't' shouldn't be in a handicappers vocabulary, but yet there it is.

It was a situation of a speed horse winning a drill over a late running closer, the speed horse wins all the time, but the closer is sharpening their speed. I give the closer extra credit.

The horse, the closer, with 4 star work, wins, pays $10 or something close to that, crickets.

... and handicappers worry what others like.

I used to hang out in the Hollywood Park VIP room with my buddy Eric and Danny, Hollywood agents, and they would ask who I loved, and they would bet with both hands on the horse, but in the next Golden Gate or Bay Meadows race would bet the same amount of monies on a cheap claiming race.

You're nodding, so you know them, as well. The kind that bets anything and everything, and I mean everything.

A good friend told me once:

"At the track, you might as well tell the truth because everybody think your lying anyway!"

Talk about a psyche job, you tell them truth so they think you lie to them and don't believe you.

Only at the track.

Overall, good players, think like 'Rocket' while the mass droves who lose consistently think like 'Cue Ball', because they are the ones who got 'half a brain'.

*All the above stories are true and names have not been changed.