20% Is Magic Number for ‘Doc’s’ Day at Races

“The Doc” has been a pediatrician for the past 23 years, and, instead of looking forward to a day of golf on Wednesdays as other medical men seem to do, he, instead, loves to go to one of the local race tracks. Although everyone knows him as “Doc,” he doesn’t look like one. He is of average height, greatly overweight with a large paunch, and so nervous that he smokes cigarette after cigarette.

Of course, The Doc is good at taking care of babies and actually makes house calls in a day and age when no other doctors will. Also, he is on call 24 hours a day. His patients like to believe that they can get him by phone within 30 minutes, even if he is on vacation in the Soviet Union or China or anywhere else on the other side of the world.

In fact, he is so good that the mothers and fathers of the babies he takes care of recently gave him a $200-a-plate dinner. With the money they bought him a new car.

The Doc’s handicapping ability is about on a par with his huge stomach--not very good! And he realizes it! Thus, he reasons, he would be better off to use the handicapper selections from the local newspaper, which is the Los Angeles Times. He has a choice of three--Bob Mieszerski, Curtis Crayon and Pat Ray--and tries to pick the one who holds the hottest hand on Wednesdays, when he visits the track.

What he likes to do is start the day off with $200. It’s a limit he feels comfortable with. Then he will use 20% of the $200 for his first wager and continue to bet 20% as long as his money holds up. If he wins, the percentage stays the same but the bets get higher. And if he loses, the wagers decrease. Also, when wagering, he disregards the odd cents up to a dollar that he gets back in payoffs.

If he should lose all nine races, The Doc reasons that he will be left with $29 at the end of the day, which should be enough for a good glass of French wine, particularly a 4- or 5-year-old white Burgundy, which he prefers, and a steak dinner. Overall, when he has a winning day, the profit generally makes up for the losing ones and on average The Doc is satisfied with how he ends up after a season of Wednesday bets.

Last April 4 at Santa Anita, he followed Ray and admittedly had one of his best days. Here’s how it went:

In the first race, The Doc bet $40 and lost when Ray’s selection of Just Never Mind ran third. He also lost $32 in the second when Baldski’s Pidna finished behind the leader and lost $25 in the third when Chip’s De Mere ran second, cutting his bankroll down to $103.

The fourth race turned the losing streak around for the day. Mittens And Mink, in a 6-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies, started out ninth from the No. 1 post position. Entering the stretch, the horse was running second. However, once on the straightaway, the horse made a big move and pulled away easily to win by 6 1/2 lengths. For a $20 bet, The Doc received $66 on a $6.60 mutuel. With his $46 profit, The Doc now had $149.

The next race called for a wager of $29, which he placed on Devine Force. Running against other 3-year-olds, also in a 6-furlong dash, Devine Force broke from the No. 8 post position, settled into third at the start and bided its time until the stretch where it took over second by three lengths. The horse then made a move and hit the finish line one-half length in front, paying $5.40. Getting back $78.30, The Doc added $49.30 to his bankroll and was almost even with a total of $198.30.

In the sixth, Ray’s top pick, Bold Guzzler, put him into the big bucks category. The nag was fifth at the quarter-pole, then moved up to fourth at the half-mile, and ran third into the stretch. Bold Guzzler then overtook the leader to win by a head and paid a long-shot price of $18.60. For the $39 that The Doc bet, he got back $362.70 and won $323.70 on the race. Suddenly he went from a slight loss to a huge $322 profit.

The seventh race called for him to wager $104, which was 20% of his total $522. Ray’s pick turned out to be the odds-on favorite, Somethingdifferent, which paid $3.20 in winning a mile race by one length on the turf. His return was $166.40 and profit was $62.40. Now he was winning $384.40.

In the eighth race, the system called for him to wager $116 on Olympic Prospect, which was running 6 1/2 furlongs against three other horses. As a result, there was no show betting on the race. When Olympic Prospect raced to a four-length lead by quarter-pole, the race was over. Olympic Prospect increased its lead to 10 lengths entering the stretch and then coasted to a seven-length victory. The horse paid $3, returning $174 to The Doc, and a $58 profit on the race. After counting his money, The Doc found that he had a total $642.40 and was a $442.40 winner.

With one race left, there was no way he could be a loser. He wagered $128 on the last race of the day and quietly watched as Crystal Pirate broke from the No. 5 post position in a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares 4-year-olds and up. Crystal Pirate moved up to fourth at the half-mile mark and closed to second entering the stretch.

Once straightened out, the nag went after the leader, Top Quality, and won by three-quarters of a length. For his $128, The Doc received $499.20 on a $7.80 mutuel and won $371.20 on the race.

For the day, he ended up with $1,013.60 and a whopping profit of $813.60.

The Doc, of course, equates his betting system with taking care of babies. “Once you find the right formula,” he tells his cronies, “then it’s easy to end up a winner!”