without history you are adrift - Pace and Cap

Tim Y · 11-07-2008, 05:36 PM

We all know the great George Santanya expression about learning the lessons of history (Only wish MULTIPLE heads of state would have taken it to heart over the years), but it is NO less true in understanding horse racing.

Why do we even study history? To learn how people confronted problems of their day, with their state of knowledge and can then LOOK BACK, given our current state of knowledge, and make sense of it all. IT HAS ALL HAPPENED BEFORE, and we have to understand how to deal with it. For example, I was delighted in learning, for example, of the tale of Lysistrata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysistrata) and the "nookie" strike that occurred before the time of Christ. A problem came up; this was how they dealt with it.

It is no less true in understanding horse racing. This is an arena where the "powers that be" have really dropped the ball. I find that the rank and file handicapper are some of the most ignorant people (IGNORANT not stupid) who are wagering money using that small informational base. 99.9% of what goes on in racing has happened before. OF course that is what you want (to some degree) of people you are wagering against, but after awhile the prolonged losing will even get the most ardent fans to look for other alternative entertainment.

Of course nowadays it is all about short cuts. I see this all the time in the quasi medical fields of live cell microscopy and reflexology: completely bogus approaches to complex problems. Phineas T Barnum, ages ago, certainly had it right........Don't understand, don't learn but we have the pot of gold for you here at our website.......Amazing.

11-07-2008, 05:36 PM	#1
Tim Y turf historian Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 6,455	without history you are adrift We all know the great George Santanya expression about learning the lessons of history (Only wish MULTIPLE heads of state would have taken it to heart over the years), but it is NO less true in understanding horse racing. Why do we even study history? To learn how people confronted problems of their day, with their state of knowledge and can then LOOK BACK, given our current state of knowledge, and make sense of it all. IT HAS ALL HAPPENED BEFORE, and we have to understand how to deal with it. For example, I was delighted in learning, for example, of the tale of Lysistrata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysistrata) and the "nookie" strike that occurred before the time of Christ. A problem came up; this was how they dealt with it. It is no less true in understanding horse racing. This is an arena where the "powers that be" have really dropped the ball. I find that the rank and file handicapper are some of the most ignorant people (IGNORANT not stupid) who are wagering money using that small informational base. 99.9% of what goes on in racing has happened before. OF course that is what you want (to some degree) of people you are wagering against, but after awhile the prolonged losing will even get the most ardent fans to look for other alternative entertainment. Of course nowadays it is all about short cuts. I see this all the time in the quasi medical fields of live cell microscopy and reflexology: completely bogus approaches to complex problems. Phineas T Barnum, ages ago, certainly had it right........Don't understand, don't learn but we have the pot of gold for you here at our website.......Amazing.