MEDIA / KEVIN BRASS : He Doesn’t Consider Horse Ownership a Real Handicap

San Diego Union handicapper Jeff Siegel is a rarity, a handicapper who occasionally gets to visit the winner’s circle as something more than a spectator.

As most experienced horse players know, Siegel is an active horse owner, as well as a handicapper. Because of his dual role, he often handicaps races that include his own horses.

“I don’t think it conflicts,” Siegel said. “I don’t know what I can do to make (the horses) run faster.”

More than a guy with a small share of one or two horses, Siegel owns all or part of 75 thoroughbreds, 35 of which are currently racing. He is also vice president of the successful Clover Racing Stables, producer of several stakes winners.

Siegel never mentions his ownership in the “comment” section of his handicap column, although the information is readily available to anybody who reads the fine print of the Daily Racing Form.

The main questions that arise from Siegel’s ownership revolve around betting because the odds are established by the amount of money bet on each horse. In theory, Siegel could affect the odds by saying negative things about a horse.

“We have kept an eye” on Siegel, said Bob Wright, the San Diego Union’s executive sports editor. “The primary concern is, is the handicapper undervaluing a horse to allow him to bet on it? We have never seen it happen with Jeff.”

Siegel is just one of many handicappers and tipsters used by bettors. His may be one of the most prominent columns, but bettors are fickle and rarely, as a group, rely on any one source of information.

“I can look at a race as objectively as anyone else,” said Siegel, who supplies handicaps to three other dailies in Southern California, in addition to the Union. “I’ve never seen any evidence that my picks affect the odds.”

Among horse players aware of his dual role, Siegel still has the one ingredient essential to a handicapper: credibility.

“We are aware he owns horses,” the Union’s Wright said. “If he allowed his position as an owner to interfere with his handicapping, he would be cutting off his nose to spite his face. He would lose credibility.”

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