** 5th ANNIVERSARY! **

[Ted Craven]

the 1st member: Admin/Binder/Bill !

In 2 weeks on June 10, 2010 Pace and Cap will be celebrating its 5th Anniversary! Pace and Cap is the love child of Bill Varone (Bill V.) and grew out of the old VDC Messenger Yahoo Group and many back-o-the-napkin sketches and dream-sessions with RichieP. I say love child referring to Bill's love of and devotion to Howard Sartin for what he did for him - and so many others - in so many ways, but I'll defer to Bill himself to say more on that.

Contest!

To honour the event, we've organized a little celebratory contest which Bill will be moderating: write a message about your most memorable PaceandCap.com article or post or event and post it here or PM it to Bill V. - including for example, posts which have entertained you or enlightened you or shocked you, changed your game or changed your life; or live events such as the Laurel or Saratoga gatherings, etc, etc. Keep it up-tempo, but sincere. Bill will be judging these submissions and the best post will win a prize or prizes to be announced. You have until June 9, then on June 10th the winner will be announced!

Throughout the next 2 weeks, I'll be posting some articles from the 5th Anniversary Edition of the Follow Up (Issue 25) which seem to me as pertinent to success today as 19 years ago.

Meanwhile, let's go back to the very first post, by a well known member , the 1st pick in the Selections Forum serendipitously resulting in a curtain-raising winning Win, Exacta and Trifecta hit at Mountaineer Park June 13, 2005, Race 5.

The First Post!

Ted

[RichieP]

First off a huge congrats to Bill!! Everything came from his vision of wanting to help folks and giving back as Doc had gave to him for so long and so personally. Happy 5th to Bill and everyone here!


My most memorable post/message is really easy:
It was the day that "RXLawyer" said he had found Jim "The Hat" for me and forwarded me his email address so I could make contact. Little did I know how that one event would so drastically change my life for the better. After writing Jim a couple of times he gave me his home number in Tulsa and wrote "give me a call Rich".

From there started the greatest learning experience of my life with one of the kindest human beings I have had the pleasure of meeting.

Gary L (RXLawyer) I thank you for that moment in time here at Pace and Cap!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbNDm...eature=related

[Bill V.]

Thanks Richie

can't think of a better person to post on the beauty of the dream than you

What has Pace and Cap done for you ??? Please let me know

I will be putting a nice prize package together Please post or send me a personal message if you feel better doing it that way


Here is my great moment ... although the Saratoga winner circle is very much
a great treasure for me something that money can not buy. It was a great
peak to the dream. A dream that said that I could gather others who loved Howard and Jim and all the teachers and folks from Pirco and the Methodology into one special place as what first VDC messenger than to become Pace and Cap was and is today ..

The another moment was at Luarel our first gathering I was very emotionally
effected by all the people who came out I still get chills when I see in my mind the vision of 6 long tables of Friends helping friends and the winners circle celabration there with Ace and Cap on the scoreboard


many other moments of joy but nothing more effected me than the day we called Howard from Saratoga and our group each got to speak to Howard.
He later told me privatly that it helped him more than I could ever know.
I felt so great that I gave Howard a gift after all he has given me

Pace and Cap made this happen How about You ... pleace let me know

Bill V
admin
Binder

[Rxlawyer]

Richie:

I am thrilled that you formed a wonderful relationship with "The Hat" ! I will always consider him the best handicapper I have ever known.

Gary L.

[Ted Craven]

I have been thinking about my most memorable Pace and Cap moments for some time now, and having such difficulty with the concept of 'most' until I realized that there has literally been a continuum of memorable moments starting from virtually the 1st day - and certainly well before then. Talking to Russ McLeod (kiltman) yesterday, I realized again the truth of what I have felt much of my adult life: that everything is connected to everything. Every memorable moment depends on a preceding linkage of events, the absence or change of one of which would have lead to a completely different sequence of events, and I would have been a different person, have known different people, done and not done different things, lived a different life.

Here is just a snippet of the interwoven and dependent, memorable sequence for me, some of it related to Pace and Cap :

June 2004, bored with writing software for others, googling for any tell-tale remnants of the Sartin Methodology and finding a post by Bill Varone on his new VDC Messenger Yahoo group (eureka!), then Sartin Alums and Guy Wadsworth (the old rascal still alive!) and his Speculator software (clever name!);

Receiving from Guy the code for Speculator then Validator (I felt like I was being handed the Holy Grail!); endless discussions with Guy re Speculator for Windows (WinSpec? WinVal? ArtofPace? RDSS?);

Bill morphs VDC Messenger into PaceandCap on June 10, 2005;

To Guy: 'doesn't Doc Sartin really still own this code...?'; Guy's health goes downhill and he shuffles off the mortal coil Jan 1, 2006; Peter Tolan, Marty Dahl and others organize Guy's memorial Feb 2006 (http://paceandcap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=766); I meet many fine people including Russ McLeod, and the spirit of Doc Sartin looms over Beaumont but remains silent;

RDSS comes out of the closet; Spring 2006 Bill asks if I know how to contact Doc Sartin, and Russ provides his phone number; Bill and Doc reconnect;

Validator gets fixed (Val4) and Doc gets a copy and checks out PaceandCap on granddaughter Mariana's Apple (apple of his eye!); Doc posts on PaceandCap (via Bill: http://paceandcap.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11290 - kindly ignore Doc's hype );

Doc and I reconnect (goosebumps!), he gives a thumbs-up to RDSS and challenges me to make it both simpler than but more than Validator; One of his letters (extract):

Gary L. introduces Jim 'The Hat' Bradshaw to Pace and Cap and to my friend Richie P (Richie's life changes, so does mine, vicariously);

RDSS goes public, warts and all;

Jim Bradshaw teaches Richie the Match Up and Richie writes it all down in the Hat Check Forum, teaches many, tries to teach me but I'm number-bound;

Time passes; April 2008, Jim's spirit departs this world and we mourn and celebrate his life; we gather at Saratoga in August 2008 and many fine people meet each other; we all talk to Doc by phone and he is deeply moved that people still remember him, care about him and his teachings (http://paceandcap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4394);

January 2009 Howard G Sartin completes his work in this life and moves onwards to join his buddies, mentors and loved ones in the next, and I am glad to have known him (http://paceandcap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5104);

Doc's granddaugher Mariana joins us in Saratoga 2009 again for a commemorative race in his and Jimmy's honour (http://paceandcap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6088)

In 1983 in Chicago, I attend my first horse race, won by something named 'John Henry'. In 1986 I meet my beautiful wife and read about a curious handicapper/teacher named 'Doc' Howard Sartin in a Jim Quinn book. In 1992 I am sucked into a traveling road-show-revival type happening in Toronto starring Doc, Hat, Brohamer and others, and fantasize about making horse racing my livelihood. In June 2010, about 5 years after a guy named Bill, who honoured a guy named Howard, set up the playground (Pace and Cap) to study in, who both inspired me to go for it, use my words, use my computer, be more than I thought I could be - in 2010, I am living a version of that dream and am spending most of my time on horse racing: talking with students of Doc and Jim and the rest, learning and teaching, working on horse racing software and websites, betting some, winning some - thriving actually!

I am grateful, and I like living that way. Thank you Bill Varone for the seeds you planted - I would otherwise be elsewhere now. Thank you Howard Sartin wherever you are: you have had quite an impact and have made these past 5 years and the preceding 15 years a cornucopia of memories for me, and for many, many others.

Ted

[Ted Craven]

Folks, a reminder that if you care to share memories of Pace and Cap related events or posts that have inspired, changed or educated you - feel free to write them down here or send them privately to Bill V who will select one for a prize, and publish it here on Thursday June 10 - the 5th Anniversary of life here at Pace and Cap. (Please do this by Wednesday morning to give Bill time to review them).



Ted

[Rxlawyer]

Ted and Bill:

I am very happy that I was able to introduce "The Hat" to Pace and Cap. He certainly made a wonderful contribution to the followers of Pace and Cap.

May "The Hat" and Doc rest in peace.

Gary L.

[barb craven]

As I come up to the end of my third year with pace and cap and with the world of thoroughbred racing and all it entails, I think of the whole new interest in life and excitement it has brought me to.

I had, of course, been following Ted's growing interest in this and had heard for long time about Howard Sartin, Guy Wadsworth, and then his own direct involvement with RDSS and then more recently, about Bill V. Richie P, and Jim Bradshaw.

I wish I had met the ones that have gone on. I didn't,which I sadly regret, but I did meet Bill V, who has come to be a great friend. In the beginning when I knew nothing, Bill, Ted and Rich all took me under their wings and filled my head with so much information I thought some times it would burst. By reading Pace and Cap every day (everybody's comments and especially the library)and with their help, everything started to come together.

I thought my greatest moment was when those who met at Saratoga in 08 phoned me from there and I got to talk to Bill V. and some of the others and when Bill made up the goodie bags, he made one for me too, shirt and all.

But then, I got to Saratoga myself last year. Walking around the barns on a down day, and walking through that great track, empty, walking through the stands, standing down on the track, and in the winner's circle with Ted, all empty, and imagining what it would be like filled, and then the next day seeing all my imaginings come to life, and finally on the Sunday,standing again in the winners circle with Bill and his parents, Mike and his beautiful wife, Ted and Alison,our hosts for the week, Charlie and Missy,and especially Marianna Sartin, for the presentation of the Howard Sartin, Jim Bradshaw Memorial Trophy. It was like magic.

During our stay in Saratoga, I was able to meet more of our pace and cap friends who were just down for the day and they all made me feel like an equal. You don't know how big that is! To top it off, on the Saturday, I had 2 great wins and exctas in the last 2 races and Bill, you were there with me.

As you see, it was no one thing, but a succession of things building up and a meeting on the way of a lot of wonderful people who have all been most generous in helping me.

None of this would have been possible if it weren't for you Bill, and your fulfillment of your dream of starting this site. Congratulations on five wonderful years.

Barb

[Ted Craven]

Originally Posted by pktruckdriver

Hey Bill

I have been here for a year, with a little hiatus in the middle of the year, but never stopped reading or lost the passion of RDSS and Doc's way of winning.

Doc made it clear that you will win when you are ready and to win and you are ready to win when you know you will win, and only when you know you are capable of taking control of your life in such a way to become a winner.

Doc's knew handicapping was the easy part, but hard part was mental, having the right frame of mind will be the difference in a winner or a loser.

Case in point ,me and RDSS, my first stint using RDSS was a breathe of fresh air and the people were too friendly, not something I was use to, but I knew I found the tool I needed to win, no more looking for it, I had it, now I just needed to do the hardest part and that was to take charge of my life, and become the persona of a winner, and so I left RDSS for awhile to try and do just that, and the process is still in motion. I broke my life down and I'm starting over , but this time doing the things I always wanted to do and enjoy doing, and my biggest passion in life is the horses, as I am happiest when doing any horse stuff, reading , studying , or playing, and of course winning is always just a bonus, but with Doc and RDSS winning is easy and expected in such a range that other's can not believe, because they are set in their ways, and do not think besting this game is even possible, well I know it is and so did Doc and Jim and Tom, you and Ted and Richie and even Barb, and me too, while not yet in the level of ya'll, I am going to be there soon enough, that I promise.

I have had days with RDSS since my return like on KY Derby day, where if I had played on my ADW, just win bets and DD and 3 Pick 3's and 1 pick 4 that day would have taken my account from 7.00 to over 5,000.00, yes 7.00 to over 5k, that first Sat in May, but still gave me a great shock when I went back online later that day to see how my 7.00 grew, and I had other days where I was practicing only, that would have been awesome days too, thou never as big as that day in May, maybe cause the mutuels were so big that day, but still with RDSS I am now in control of my handicapping, and feel real confident with my choices , pace line selections, and realize that with practice I will only get better and better, but never 100% , AS NO ONE IS , thou 70% is very attainable, and higher if I master when to pass a race and when to play, and also a few other minor things too.

I also feel that this meeting in the Spa this year will be my turning point in my life , and I will never look back from all the knowledge I will gain from it and will most definitly become the winner I always knew I could be, the winner Doc says I can become, and will become.

Everyone here involved with Docs work in any way has changed my life for the better and it was like being reborn, thank you all for your time and many hours of dedication Doc and all who love and and follow his techniques today as they did back then.

If this is kinda what you wanted, I can get more in depth with details, and maybe put up some winning numbers with payouts,but for me Doc was a life changing experience, but must get off line soon and will continue if you want more, and my story is something you want more of, then let me know, please.

Thanks for your dedication Bill

Patrick

...

[Ted Craven]

Bill is on the road, but wrote asking me to post the results of his judging of the submissions he received in our little 'Memorable Pace and Cap Moments' Contest, celebrating our 5th Anniversary. Here is what he wrote me:

The winner of the "what has Pace and Cap been for me" is Patrick 'Pktruckdriver'. His letter to me was
Judged to be the winner. Patricks willingness and desire to win and his
Bravery to be himself are what Pace and Cap is based on
Patrick wins a Pace and Cap golf shirt
And a $$25.00 Subway gift card.

Also added is a TrackMaster data subscription. Congratulations Patrick, and thank you for your inspiring words and for sharing your goals.

Here's to another great 5 years!

Ted