The Daily Bankroll Challenge

by Seth Merrow Matching wits--and a mythical bankroll--with the top handicappers

www.equidaily.com

2007 Racing Season

Saratoga Race Course Monday, September 3, 2007 Total for the meet... $693.60

We start the 2007 Saratoga thoroughbred race meet with a mythical bankroll of $1000. Each day we'll use this space to record our mythical best bets and calculate the accumulated wins and losses.

Complete archive of 2007 daily Best Bets picks and plays pages.

Yesterday...

This was our day to shine -- but we just couldn't get over the hump. We popped on the early double and the 3rd race exacta, so after three races we were just about at the break-even point on the day -- everything else would be gravy. We hooked our wagon to a Sheppard Special, Silver Ransom in the 5th. From Sheppard/Augustin this one had the look of one being primed for a Saratoga upset. Going into that 5th race we were alive with two $1 P3's using Silver Ransom as the anchor. A late scratch of Wild Quake in the 4th and a win by the favorite, Minister's Appeal in that race gave us the bonus "live" ticket. It seemed like things were breaking our way. The P3 "will pay" was $498.50/$2. Clearly a win by Silver Ransom, with that Pick 3 payoff added to WP money and exactas would have moved us well into the black. Confidence was high. Unfortunately Silver Ransom ran no better than the rest of the Sheppard flat runners at the meet. His usually turn on the after-burners in the stretch -- but like the others Silver Ransom showed no punch when it counted. Someone made an interesting comment as I lamented after the race, perhaps the rock hard course this year was simply not conducive to their come-from-behind style. Whatever, the dismal effort by Silver Ransom was probably the difference for us this season. On the positive side -- we backed the race up with a small "saver" exacta that managed to give us a modest profit on the afternoon.

RACE 1/2... $5 doubles... R1/Stag Dancer/Ahvee's Destiny... R2/Rollers/Good Law.
Collected $58.00 on the doubles [$23.20/$2].

RACE TWO... $5 exacta box... Rollers/Good Law.
Ran 1-5.

RACE THREE... $10 exacta box... Queen Joanne/Cat Charmer.
Collected $103.00 on the ex box [$20.60/$2].

RACE 3-5... $1 P3... R3/Queen Joanne/Cat Charmer/Stilled/Queens Full... R4/Estimator/Dade County/Minister's Appeal/Wild Quake... R5/Silver Ransom.
Ran R3/WON-2-4-7... R4/WON-2-4-scr... R5/8th.

RACE FIVE... $10 WP... Silver Ransom. ...$2 exacta box... Silver Ransom/ALL.
Ran 8th/ALL.

...$2 exacta box... Silver Ransom/Inda/Final Refrain.
Collected $36.80 on the ex box [$36.80/$2].

...$1 tri... Silver Ransom over Inda/Final Refrain/Who Fu.
Ran 8/1-2-7.

RACE 8-11... $1 P4... R8/Tishmeister/Jesse's Justice... R9/Distorted Reality/Ambassador... R10/More Happy/Irish Smoke... R11/Influential/Parachute Jump/Crusader's Code.
Ran R8/WON-2... R9/2-8... R10/WON-5... R11/WON-9-10.

Profit for the day...$37.80

Today

We had a better feeling about the shot we took on Sunday as opposed to anything on today's card. But there are a few races we find intriguing -- and it is the last day. We'll take our shot and we'll need something good to hit for us -- probably at least a couple of good hits to move us back into positive territory.

For this last day: We want the action so all bets go whether on turf or not -- and if any of ours are scratched, sub the next pick available form the Best Bets selection page.

RACE 1/2...$5 doubles... R1/Royal Electrician/Joe On the Go... R2/Winning Punch/Golden Vista/Jovanna.

RACE FIVE... $10 exacta box... Globalization/Doctor Cal.

RACE SIX... $30 exacta box... Dynaglider/Grand.
...$2 tri... Dynaglider/Grand/Ground Hero over Dynaglider/Grand/Ground Hero/Military Major over Dynaglider/Grand/Ground Hero/Military Major.

RACE 7-10... $1 P4... R7/Classic Neel/Tanguista... R8/Pictavia/Makderah... R9/Maimonides/Ready's Image... R10/Storm Treasure/Warn.

RACE 9-10... $2 doubles... R9/Majestic Warrior/Georgetown... R10/ALL.

RACE TEN... $30 exacta box... Storm Treasure/Warn.

All turf wagers are turf only

Total bet...$262

If we are interested in both halves of an entry -- in event of a scratch -- it is noted that way [in other words, both halve are named]. If only one-half of the entry is named, then we prefer that half and will move to our next pick listed [rather than the other half of the entry] in event of a scratch.

Archives of daily Best Bets picks and plays pages: 2006 ... 2005 ... 2004 ... 2003

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