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Take a look at the photo. That's me trying to pick a winner at the racetrack.
I'm Tom Hagerty. I'm the one who wrote the book The Psychology of the Winning Horseplayer
based on the knowledge I picked up as a racetrack gambler for many years. Before Internet gambling
and account wagering took off, playing the horses was harder work but it was also a lot
more fun. It was hard driving out to the track every day to place a few bets and it was even
harder driving from track to track between seasons. For example, I used to drive from
Hawthorne to either Santa Anita or down to the Fair Grounds in New Orleans when the Hawthorne
season ended. But it was easier to make money in those days because the competition wasn't
as tough. That's what made it fun. And there was also a lot of dumb money in the mutuel
pools in those days. All this dumb money now is being spent, thrown away at the casinos
that are springing up everywhere.
What made racetrack life more fun back in those days were the guys I used to sit with.
Now the stands are almost deserted and most professional gamblers play the horses from
their computers. In fact, I rarely go to the track anymore. The computer has become my
way of life. But the concepts that I write about in this book, gleaned from many seasons
at many tracks, still keep me a winner. And these concepts are easy to learn but hard
to put into practice. Some of these concepts may even seem counterintuitive. But I think
all these concepts make complete sense once a gambler engages in serious long-term play
at the track.
I hope you enjoy reading this book. I enjoyed writing it because I had hundreds of pages
of notes to rely on for ideas. Without the notes it would have been hard to remember
all the anecdotes I included. And I think the anecdotes are important because they give
a context to the various ideas I try to develop.
Of course I'm not going to wish you good luck. That would be a little too glib. You'll need
a lot more than good luck to stay ahead over a long meeting at the track. But I think the
ideas I present in my book will help you stay ahead through extended racetrack meetings.
I've read many of reviews of my book. The people who wrote these reviews I think understood
and appreciated the material in my chapters. And I want to thank these people for taking
the time to express their thoughts. But I want to discourage people from reading this
book who just are looking for a way to make a quick buck at the racetrack. This is not
a book for the novice, and it's not for the functionally illiterate. Even though there
is humor and fun on many of the pages, this book is essentially a serious book and it's
for serious horseplayers.
Thanks