Does anyone make a living betting harness racing

[FirstUpFrom8Hole]

This is a serious question. As a driver I know all the things that can go wrong. Locked in, stuck first up, horse off, bad cover, bad drive, etc. Add in all the other shenanigans going on and I honestly don't know how anyone can actually handicap these races well enough to pay the bills.

The last big bet I made was years ago at Scioto. All I had to do was make the front and not fall off. I'm on the lead going to the half and some kid with a P beside his name was sitting in a gapped pocket and decides to close it by doing a full whip swing to his horse who accelerated like a rocket, ran up onto my back and the poor thing got this leg stuck between my wheel and the wheel shaft. I went from going 35 mph to 0 in about 3 feet. Luckily both horses came out ok. But that was a $500 bet down the shitter. Which was a stupid bet to begin with because I was 3/5. Risking 500 to make 300 is not very smart in this business

[Emperor Dapple]

This is a serious question. As a driver I know all the things that can go wrong. Locked in, stuck first up, horse off, bad cover, bad drive, etc. Add in all the other shenanigans going on and I honestly don't know how anyone can actually handicap these races well enough to pay the bills.

The last big bet I made was years ago at Scioto. All I had to do was make the front and not fall off. I'm on the lead going to the half and some kid with a P beside his name was sitting in a gapped pocket and decides to close it by doing a full whip swing to his horse who accelerated like a rocket, ran up onto my back and the poor thing got this leg stuck between my wheel and the wheel shaft. I went from going 35 mph to 0 in about 3 feet. Luckily both horses came out ok. But that was a $500 bet down the shitter. Which was a stupid bet to begin with because I was 3/5. Risking 500 to make 300 is not very smart in this business

gambling is a gamble no matter what.. better off just taking an envelope and going dead at 3/5 .. easier to lose a race than win as too many things can go wrong ( as you very well described) in a race  no matter how good ur horse is..plus honestly and i say this both as a former horseman and friendly with gamblers and fixers , once ur making bets on urself in a race it effects ur judgement knowing u might have a large bet on the line .. every gambling horseman i knew were bust outs in the end.. they all had great stories to share but were all broke in the end ..

[Superfecta]

gambling is a gamble no matter what.. better off just taking an envelope and going dead at 3/5 .. easier to lose a race than win as too many things can go wrong ( as you very well described) in a race  no matter how good ur horse is..plus honestly and i say this both as a former horseman and friendly with gamblers and fixers , once ur making bets on urself in a race it effects ur judgement knowing u might have a large bet on the line .. every gambling horseman i knew were bust outs in the end.. they all had great stories to share but were all broke in the end ..

You have to be extremely disciplined and MOST gamblers aren't.

[Emperor Dapple]

You have to be extremely disciplined and MOST gamblers aren't.

Agreed

[Unclejerry]

My problem is I like to sit down on evening and play the entire card and that's a bad idea for the ROI.

[Bernie Madoff]

There is no such thing as a successful gambler.

[Open bridle]

In the last 50 years I've seen friends lose their shirt trying every system possible. In my opinion too many variables in a horse racing. Short term you can get on a hot streak, but long term almost impossible. Just ask any dealer in Vegas. Even if every horse did race true to form, the drivers win only when they want to.  You can't handicap that. Even the horses I've owned and their drivers are unpredictable.

[Yonkers1A]

Just the race fixing drivers and trainers

[Calhoun]

Yeah, it's about impossible.  If you bet only the +EV carryovers, yes, by definition you're going to win. It's like putting a $1.00 bill in a change machine and getting $1.02 back.But it's a fucking grind and sometimes your +EV falls short of getting there.

[Emperor Dapple]

i once met an old timer on a train and for a taste of my whiskey he gave me some gambling advice..

You got to know when to hold-em
know when-to fold em
know-when-to-walk-away-and-know-when-to-run-
you-never-count-your-money-when-youre-sittin-at-the-table-therell-be-time-enough-for-countin-when-the-dealings-done

in the end he broke even.. even knowing all that ..

[Brown jug]

once you own horses and know all that goes into training and racing you should not bet 99% of the time/races
but there is the odd time a horse should not/cannot lose and might pay even money so you hit it hard
if you only bet those ones once every few weeks you could do fine
but very few can just make one bet every few weeks

[Superfecta]

once you own horses and know all that goes into training and racing you should not bet 99% of the time/races
but there is the odd time a horse should not/cannot lose and might pay even money so you hit it hard
if you only bet those ones once every few weeks you could do fine
but very few can just make one bet every few weeks

If you hit it hard at most tracks you won’t get that even money that you are looking for.

[remington]

I did know a bunch of drivers that made a lot of money betting. The smart ones held on to their money. The ones that were degenerate gamblers probably lost everything that they made while the smart ones held on to their money.

[Frank the Zipper]

You can't make a living at it but, It's a lotta' fun