BETTING THE SYSTEMS : Crazy Annie Is Nuts for the Handicappers

Her friends at Santa Anita Park call her “Crazy Annie” because she looks as if she were more suited for the homeless colony in downtown Los Angeles than for the Club House, where she always sits in the same reserved seat every day of the race season.

Crazy Annie has long, stringy, gray hair that she never combs, walks with a cane, which she sometimes uses as a threat to people who get in her path on the way to the betting windows, talks loudly to herself and afterward glares at certain people around her as if they had said something reprehensible. She wears the same black dress every day and old, torn tennis shoes and carries whatever belongings she has, including her money, in a shopping bag.

What intrigues her friends is that she has the funds to bet every race, day in and day out through the season. Actually, although Crazy Annie doesn’t look it, she is a wealthy woman.

In her youth, she was a part-time actress, married a businessman who piled up a fortune in real estate and office buildings along Wilshire Boulevard, and she received a huge settlement after a divorce.

Crazy Annie isn’t as crazy as she seems. Since she isn’t a handicapper and has no patience with the Racing Form, she assumes that someone else should pick the horses for her. And that someone, she reasons, should be the handicapper who is getting paid for making such selections in her local newspaper.

Before the Herald-Examiner folded, she had been following Bob Mieszerski. When Mieszerski moved to the Los Angeles Times, she continued to follow his selections, betting $5 to win a race, no matter what the odds were on the horse.

On March 14, 1990, Crazy Annie’s nag, Highland Mint, came in third in the first race. Hollywood Reporter ran out of the money in the second and Maid O Gold lost the third.

Then came a streak of four consecutive winners. In the fourth race, Mieszerski chose Business Prospect, which turned out to be the favorite at $1.60 to $1.

Business Prospect broke from the No. 11 post position and raced into second place behind the leader. The nag then charged to the front by two lengths at the quarter-pole. At the finish, Business Prospect won by six lengths. Crazy Annie picked up $13 for her $5 bet.

In the fifth race, about 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf for 3-year-old fillies, the lineup and odds to $1 was as follows:

1. Nu Myoozik, 35.90

2. Icy Folly, 18.30

3. Phil’s Illusion, 17.70

4. Effusive Bounty, 11.50

5. Nijinsky’s Lover, 4.30

6. Somethingmerry, 7.40

7. Saros Treasure, 16.30

8. Forest Fealty, 4.40

9. I Canon I Will, 35.20

10. Wakia, 10.60

11. Brought To Mind, 2.20

The favorite in the race was Brought To Mind, but Mieszerski’s choice was Somethingmerry at $7.40 to $1. At the start, Somethingmerry tucked into fifth and continued in that spot until the stretch, when it moved up to fourth. Then Somethingmerry shifted into high gear and made a big rush down the stretch to win by two lengths and pay $42 for $5.

In the sixth race, six furlongs for 3-year-old maidens, Crazy Annie bet on Itsthefax, which went off the favorite in the race at $1.30 to $1. Itsthefax started out in the outside post position of a 12-horse field but immediately took the lead as the gate opened. At the quarter-pole the nag was running easily 1 1/2 lengths in front. It ended up a winner by five lengths, going wire-to-wire and paying $11.50 for $5.

The seventh race saw another favorite win for Crazy Annie. Kimo’s Kid, Mieszerski’s best bet of the day, was entered in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance sprint for 4-year-olds and up. Kimo’s Kid was first by a head at the quarter-pole, increased its lead to 1 1/2 lengths by the stretch, then tired but held on to win by a head. It paid $13 for a $5 wager.

In the eighth race, Crazy Annie ended up third with Devil’s Orchid and ran out of the money in the ninth with Free Living.

For the day, Crazy Annie had invested $45 for the nine races. Returns amounted to $79.50, and her profit turned out to be a nifty $34.50.

The next day, March 15, also was a winning day for Crazy Annie, inasmuch as Mieszerski repeated with four winners. Rash Decision, running in the second race with 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles, took the lead at the quarter-pole by a head. It faded back to second until the stretch, where it made another move and took over the No. 1 position by 2 1/2 lengths. At the finish, Rash Decision won by 1 1/4 lengths. Backers received $17 for every $5 bet.

The favorite, My Niriko, and Mieszerski’s best bet of the day, won the fourth race to pay $13 for a $5 wager. Paisano Pete won the fifth with a $17.50 payoff and It’s All Relative, a heavy favorite, paid $8.50.

For the day, Crazy Annie again had wagered $45. Although the day was profitable, returns amounted only to $56, for an $11 profit.

What Crazy Annie may tell her cronies is that handicappers generally win or lose in streaks.

She has discovered with her system that most handicappers average about 28% winners. “When they’re hot, they’re good,” she says, “but when they’re cold, they’re awful.”

No one has to strictly follow a handicapper. To cut down on losses, the player can skip maiden and 2-year-old races.

Even when using the picks made by professional handicappers, there is no way to guarantee that a horse that may have won in the past will do so again in the future, no matter how many races it runs. However, a nag that has recorded many wins and has won a lot of money for its owner is more of a sound investment than is the occasional winner.