posted July 17, 2008 at 18:29 in Triple Crown Articles

No matter how good a horse may be, if that horse is mismanaged, the runner will never reach its full potential, so that is the main reason why horse betting enthusiasts have to look to the human factor to smoke out winners.

This year at the Del Mar meet there will be some off track betting value among conditioners and only patient horse wagering players will be able to wait for the exact right opportunity.

In this instant gratification sort of society, whatever trainer gets off to a super hot start at the Del Mar meet this year, will be over bet throughout the stand.

It happened last year, as early in the meet everything that Craig Dollase sent out was live. The result on the tote showed that he cashed with 32% of his starters, but the bad news is the average win price was only $6.84.

That’s a tough way to go during a carnival meet.

Veteran successful trainers like Bobby Frankel and Neil Drysdale also showed little value last year with the average winning price of their runners paying $6.35 and a paltry $5.27 respectively.

Hard-working horse bettors that didn’t give up eventually got paid with persistence.

Amazingly, a world-class horseman like Julio Canani flew under the radar last year. Despite popping at nearly 18% for the meet, his average winning price came back a whopping $18.94.

A little guy that has to be followed this meeting is Paul Aquirre. I used to be in a basketball rotisserie league with him years ago and he pulls no punches. Aquirre doesn’t have a ton of horses so he has to be careful to put them in spots where they can compete. He cashed with 3 of his 19 beach starters last year but the average win price came back $19.30.

If you are the type of player that needs action and high volume, you can still use some high-profile barns and hope to ring the bell at the windows. Consider that Doug O’Neill, the leading trainer at last year’s Del Mar meet, popped with 14% of his starters but they paid an average of 5-1 to the bettors.

King Jerry Hollendorfer was nearly a 19% trainer last year at the beach and his winners average a cool $17 and big change.

Getting paid with prices is tricky. It can often be a case of zigging when one should zag, but if you are the kind of horse bettor that needs to keep in the black and keep the money rolling, you need high percentage barns to keep the string intact.

Players with that style can expect guys like Rafael Becerra, Wesley Ward, John Shirreffs and Jeff Mullins to keep the wheel turning. Those trainers popped at 29,29,31, and 26% respectively during the meet.

Of course, the human factor is just one part of the equine puzzle and the best bettors look at connections along with current form, speed and pedigree to come up with premium plays, but cagey horse bettors should keep these names in mind at the beautiful resort known as Del Mar.

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