Bookish Bettor Knows How to Read the Horses

When Dr. Brent, running in the first race of the day on May 12 at Hollywood Park in a six-furlong sprint against 4-year-olds and up, jumped into third from the No. 1 post position, “Read” was sitting in his reserved seat in the Clubhouse and reading a book.

At the quarter pole, Dr. Brent moved up to second and held his position until the stretch, where he suddenly made a bold move to take the lead. At the finish, Dr. Brent was two lengths in front of his second-place competition.

Although Read had bet on the race, he continued reading until the prices were flashed on the totalizator board. Once he found that his horse had paid a $4.80 mutuel, Read rose from his seat and headed for the betting windows to collect on his winning ticket.

When Read visits the Southland race tracks, he never buys a tout sheet, a Racing Form or any of the many other papers and magazines that would help him choose a nag. He doesn’t need them, because of the way he bets. And when he loses for the day, he’ll generally make up his losses when he wins, coming out a little ahead or ending up even after the season ends.

Read always walks around the Clubhouse at Hollywood Park with a book in hand, eyes downward, reading as he moves along slowly and carefully from his seat to the betting windows.

In fact, Read is so engrossed in his books that he starts reading as soon as he leaves his car in the parking lot, continues to read until he gets to the Clubhouse entrance, hands over his money and collects his change without looking up from his book, and enters the Clubhouse still reading.

On the escalator that takes him to a higher level of the track he keeps on reading, and on his way to his seat his eyes never stray from the book.

What is unusual about Read, easily recognizable with his shocking red hair and lanky figure (about 150 pounds and 6 feet, 5 inches tall), is that he never bumps into anyone. He makes his way past the bettors like a blind man being led by a guide dog.

The people who know him, however, think that someday he will hit a person on the way to make a bet or cash in a ticket and will thereby end his record of never having bumped into an individual. They are so positive this will occur that they make wagers among themselves that it will happen.

Although some people think Read is independently wealthy, since he never misses a day at the track unless he is ill, it is far from the truth, because Read is a librarian at a college in the Los Angeles area. His supervisors let him work out his own hours--four in the morning and four in the evening, thus giving him time to visit the track in the afternoon.

What Read does is bet a money-management progression that covers each race from the first to the sixth, whether he wins or loses, wagering $2 to win on the first race, $6 on the second, $10 on the third, $16 on the fourth, $22 on the fifth and $28 on the sixth.

In the seventh, he starts over with his initial $2 wager, then bets $6 on the eighth and $10 on the ninth. And the reason he doesn’t need newspapers or magazines or tout sheets is because on most days he bets only favorites.

However, if he sees that one of the local newspaper selectors is running hot, he will bet the top choice of that handicapper instead of the favorite. But no matter how he wagers, it is strictly an automatic reaction, since he relies on others and not himself.

Although Read won only $2.80 on the first race on May 12, it was the start of an exceptionally good day, despite his losing $6 on the second race and $10 on the third.

Losing $13.20 by the fourth, Read bet on Lucky Lucky You, which went off at odds of $1.40-$1. The nag, in a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-old maidens and up, took the lead at the quarter pole by a head. At the half-mile marker, Lucky Lucky You increased its front-running margin to 1 1/2 lengths, pulled ahead by 2 1/2 lengths entering the stretch and finished three lengths in front. As the favorite, the nag paid a $4.80 mutuel, and Read collected $38.40 for his $16 bet.

Ahead $9.20, Read wagered $22 on the fifth race, which was a 1-1/16-mile route for 4-year-olds and up. The favorite, Hollywood Hays, won at the finish by half a length and paid $5, putting Read ahead $42.20.

The sixth turned out to be a big win for Read. His horse, Proclamation, running a mile in a race for 3-year-old fillies, took a three-length lead at the three-quarter pole and easily finished in front, paying a big $8 as the favorite. Read’s bet of $28 was worth $112. His profit of $84 put him in front $126.20.

When Read lost $2 on the seventh and $6 on the eighth, he wasn’t worried. He was still $118.20 ahead for the day.

With only one race to go, he bet $10 on the heavy favorite, Taffta Shawl, which was running 1 1/8 on the grass. The nag took a head lead going into the stretch and finished 2 1/2 lengths in front. Although it paid a $3.80 mutuel, Read made $9, profiting $127.20 for the day.

Why Read picks the favorite to wager on is anyone’s guess. Favorites only manage to win about 30% to 33% of the time. And newspaper handicappers, who win about 28% of their selections, are even worse.

Read, however, is philosophical about his betting.

He says that if you compare the totalizator board to a book, with the horses the inside pages, then there’s a winner flashing on the totalizator board every race. You only have to read it!