[socantra]

Good luck with your new experiment, Rich. I very rarely watch races, and don't find it to be a detriment, When I do watch races, I find that it quite often impacts my decisions for the worse. I get into patterns where I zig when I should zag and vice versa. I don't doubt that biases exist, but I know that I am not worth a damn at picking them up while watching the races. I am able to focus much better by not watching the race and getting my results from the charts. I don't do much in the way of trip handicapping, but if I did, I would think watching replays would be just as effective, if not more so.

I do use the toteboard for placing bets, but am increasingly questioning the reason for doing so. I've been tracking betting at Evangeline and several other tracks lately and find that up to 2/3 of the totals are showing up on the boards AFTER the one minute mark. This indicates to me that, to some extent, I am just fooling myself by intently watching the tote for value, not to mention the increased possibility of changing my mind about a bet and the increased level of tension.

Keep us posted. While I am sure it will not work for everyone, I am sure that bets can be made as effectively by using a good line maker as by watching what is often a misleading toteboard. You are going to get burned a certain amount of the time no matter which way you go, and the advantages may well outweigh the negatives.

Dick...