Saratoga Notes and Pix

[Ted Craven]

Greetings from beautiful Saratoga! Although yesterday (Friday) brought the usual afternoon deluge (preceded by the usual Thursday afternoon deluge) - today - Alabama Stakes day - promises to be dry and sunny and just a beautiful day to be at the races, with friends, beautiful horses and bettable races!

Yesterday the Pace and Cap attendees started to roll into town and we had a great showing in the Festival tent. Wagercapper (Paul), tazzerbobo (Don), Bert Mane, Gandalf (Charlie B), My Pagine (Jon) and his dad Brian from Toronto, Pilot (Wayne), Mike T, lsos54 (Lou S) joined Mum and me during the day and again at the seminar in the evening.

I'll have some photos later as either Mum or I get some free time. Mum took some video of parts of the evening seminar and when we get those stitched together, we'll get those posted too.

We had a great timer at the seminar (by several accounts), where the folks from NHPLAY dropped by and made a presentation about their services, the notion of a Player's Union - from a betting stand point. Then the ('irReverend' ;)) Bert Mayne gave a rousing sermon (I mean talk ;)) about his experiences with the Sartin Methodology from 1984 up until today (including yesterday, where he cashed a nice bet on that SAR Race 2 $30 winner). Also his thoughts on the 'inner game' of handicapping. I made a presentation on RDSS2 and took some questions, then as is our tradition, Charlie B lead us in an analysis of today's Alabama Stakes and Sword Dancer Stakes. The heat was on to keep up the record of 4 years winning predictions in a row.

So today, with the promise of no rain, some great stakes and mostly playable other races - we move into Day 2 of our get together - wishing you were here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QCCz4mtd0E)!

Some photos to come, soon hopefully. Wishing you all a fine weekend of racing!

cheers,

Ted

[DocSartinLearner]

Hi Ted,

This is to let you know I'm reading some great news. But, I still want to learn more on RDSS2 Handicapping, and that this Festival Tent at Saratoga 2012 (Aug. 15-20) has been a great success!

God Bless you and let the bet make you,

DocSartinLearner (DSL)

[barb craven]

Only one forthcoming tonight. They have been keeping us hopping and I haven't had time to do more than download most of the pictures yet.
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[barb craven]

left to right Ted, Lou, Bert, Bert's daughter Jenny, Wayne, Charlie, Paul, Barb, Don
More tomorrow or Monday.

[barb craven]

Beginning of the Alabama
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[barb craven]

A day at the races with Charlie Bedard
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[barb craven]

Bert Mayne and his daughter Jenny
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[barb craven]

More to come later

[Ted Craven]

Next 6 hours

Widespread showers and thunderstorms developing by mid-afternoon. Partly cloudy with temperatures steady or slowly rising into the low 80s. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 95%



I will do my do not rain dance for all those going today, let me know how well I did , please, lol.

Maybe an umbrella will be needed, have fun and stay dry.

patrick

Patrick,

We owe you a BIG ONE - your not-rain dance worked wonderfully on Saturday, and we had one of the best weather days I can remember at Saratoga. Perfect for watching the Alabama Stakes from the 8th pole seats. In the Friday eve seminar, we worked the Alabama as we usually do, and easily came up with Grace Hall and Questing as winners, but particularly identified In Lingerie as a strong Place contender. The thrilling finish saw Questing setting burning fractions ALL THE WAY AROUND, and In Ingerie pressing to come on at the finish for a very nice Exacta, which many of us had. Just a thrilling race by a likely 3 YO filly champion Questing.

So, thank you Patrick for your small role ;). Several folks asked after you, and we wished you were here.

Ted

[wagercapper]

Saratoga 2012 may have come & gone, but it won't be forgotten! Great pix, great weather, great racing & great betting!

[Mr.Pagine]

As I sit at my Aunt's house in Buffalo this morning, and reflect on the two days at the "SPA". I have never seen crowds like that at a racetrack...... fabulous to see....the Strawberry Lemonade, and the Lobster Roll are worth the $3.00 to get in. Meeting Bill Parcells was kind of fun.

The betting - I bought a voucher on friday for $500.00, and cashed out on Saturday, $542.80.

I raeally made a mistake on Saturday. I had many winners - but for some reason, I started betting Exacta's and Tri's....... lesson learned.

I will stick to win betting from here on in.......I could not win a triactor st save my life.

Great time, Great People, and thanks for doing this. Next time I think I might try to hit the Travers.

Happy Punting,
JL

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[lsosa54]

Nice to see everyone there and finally meet Bert. After 23 years of reading him in the Follow Up and listening to him on seminar tapes, I started to think he was a ghost! It was a blast to listen to and talk with him about all the fun he had in those old days when the PIRCO team was all together.

As most of you know, I'm not an RDSS user but have always believed in what Ted was doing in terms of preserving and modernizing the Sartin Methodology and so didn't mind spending all those hours digitizing tapes and manuals. I joined PIRCO as a member back in 1989 when Synergism 2 was the program one started with. Plus, Ted is a nice guy, isn't he? Must get it from his Madre (that would be Mum in Spanish).

Some quick takeaways:

1-Make bets, not picks (Ted)

2-Consistency in one's approach above all else. Stop zigging and zagging with approaches or software (Ted)

3-Have fun. If you're not, find something else for a hobby or profession (Bert)

To be clear on my approach, I use CJ's pace figs uploaded into AOdds 98 Super Gold exported into EXDC/Thoromation. A slightly manual process but no manual input. If I was starting out today and I had no comfort level, I would probably start with RDSS. Bert stated that he was thrilled to find software that had modernized and automated Doc's concepts. High praise coming from a charter member of PIRCO.

The other interesting thing that Bert said that took me by surprise was that he was not a handicapper and didn't really know much about it. His strength was pattern recognition through modeling a track. Very sound advice, esp. to newbies. There is no free money in this game - one has to put in a lot of work. Ask Bert about his "Trinity" play - and no, it has nothing to do with his ministry!

All in all, I spent a great 4 days. We had a lot more intermingling of the PA, Pace N Cap, and PaceFigs folks than last year. OTM Al from the PA board did a great job being there with the tickets, arranging the tent seating, and sneaking some extra Toga swag to everyone. PA himself provided a great spread with some excellent food and custom designed Tshirts on Saturday free to ALL - no matter what forum you belonged to! Ted made sure everyone that had a laptop had access to a power strip. Great stuff.

Forgot to mention, if I lived in a state where I could use NHPLAY, I certainly would. These guys are bettors themselves and they are very good at what they do. Impressive presentation.

[Mr.Pagine]

Picture of my Dad ..... leaving the the "SPA".......

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[Ted Craven]

Here I sit with my bags mostly packed for 3 weeks in Italy, checking off more of my To Do's. I had one of the most enjoyable trips ever to Saratoga, partly due to the mostly great weather, part to a profitable time betting and a lot due to meeting old friends again and several new ones.

Our Friday evening seminar was attended by 14 people, by my count. We have videos of Bert Mayne and myself which will be posted later once they're stitched together and tidied up as best we can. Barb C will post those in due course.

First up was Scott and Gary from NHPLAY, our hosts at their offices and conference facilities in Saratoga, talking about their ADW/Players servies organization. I think everyone was impressed at their dedication to bettors, and the investment in tools to provide a great wagering platform.

Bert Mayne talked about his days in the Methodology from the early 1980's and his best memories of what he learned from Howard Sartin, also his newest experiences getting a handle on RDSS and modern racing.

Charlie B lead in our group handicapping of the Alabama Stakes as always, and we identified not only the favourite winner, Questing, along with the other likely winner Grace Hall, but more importantly we zeroed in on the likely Place horse In Lingerie which helped many of us get the $45.20 Exacta - the best bet in that race.

It was indeed a weekend for Fathers and sons, Mothers and sons, Fathers and daughters :)

Following are some photos from various days of the weekend.

Most of us posing for the 2012 group shot: Ted C, Lou S (lsosa54), Bert Mayne, Jenny Mayne, Wayne N (pilot), Charlie B (gandalph380), Paul Y (wagercapper), Barb C, Don E (tazzer). Missing are Jon L (Mr Pagine) and his father Brian L, Mike T, Rich M.

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Don E and Lou S

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Don and Wayne N and Thoromation running on Lou's computer

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Paul Y (wagercapper) - not shown is his fabulous Apple Mac running RDSS and Twinspires video (crystal clear, many oohs and aahs)

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Bert Mayne and his daughter Jenny

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[Ted Craven]

The beginning of the 2012 Alabama Stakes

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Looking forward to more of my mother's photos, and anyone else's!

Charlie - any photos of your 40th anniversary with Missie (celebrated at the track, and announced in the Saratogian newspaper ;) Happy 40 years - many more to you both!)

It was nice to mingle and reconnect with many of the PaceAdvantage members too. I got to spend a lot of time with Chris D (Track Collector) and Bob D (Red Knave), also spent some time with Tom, Darryl (Zaf), Andicap, Overlay, PA (Mike) and never forgetting OTM Al who does the legwork for these gatherings every year.

Thanks to everyone who made the weekend so enjoyable

[Mr.Pagine]

Ted, and members of P and C,

Overall, it was a fantastic trip, and I would tell all to go. Great hats, Great food, Great track, Great horses.

The one minor suggestion I would have....... introductions; besides knowing Ted, and Bert introducing himself. I had no clue who anyone was?

I knew Barb C from pictures.

Great job by all.

JL

[barb craven]

Thanks for bringing that up. It was a bit of a problem as we were intermingled with the folks from Pace Advantge. We'll see if we can do something about that.
In the meantime, I have a partial video of Bert Mayne speaking at the seminar on the Friday night. I had a very new camera (three days old) and a small card. I thought I had the whole thing, but only have the last part. I am not sure how to post a video. If anyone could help me on that I would appreciate it.

[wagercapper]

They say that Saratoga is the graveyard of favorites. Well, what do they expect with all that beer being dumped onto the track between races?

[DocSartinLearner]

Hi Ted,

I'm amazed with the good information, the pictures from Saratoga 2012. The truth is, I'm still reading these good news. But, I need you to tell me that you're back from that wonderful trip to Italy. So, please let me know.

DocSartinLearner (DSL)

[Ted Craven]

Hi Ted,

I'm amazed with the good information, the pictures from Saratoga 2012. The truth is, I'm still reading these good news. But, I need you to tell me that you're back from that wonderful trip to Italy. So, please let me know.

DocSartinLearner (DSL)

DSL,

I am indeed back safe and sound from that trip to Italy, thanks! Here's an interesting horse racing related post: http://paceandcap.com/forums/showpost.php?p=84968&postcount=8

I am trying to dig up some videos we took at the seminar at Saratoga, of Bert Mayne, and of me. When I find them, I'll post them here.

cheers,

Ted

[DocSartinLearner]

Ted,

I'm very glad that you are back safe and sound from that trip to Italy, and many thanks for the video of horse racing, Palio Race, Siena, 16-08-2012. You are right to describe it barbaric, from http://paceandcap.com/forums/showpos...68&postcount=8 related post.

hoping you post the videos you all took at the seminar at Saratoga, of what Bert Mayne said about RDSS, etc. and the latest on the bugs fix. Also, tell me how do you get attach image when capturing a picture.

All the best,

DocSartinLearner (DSL)

[Ted Craven]

Also, tell me how do you get attach image when capturing a picture.

Here you go: http://paceandcap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8335

Ted