Phillips Racing Newsletter

Top Things To Do This Weekend, May 11, 2011

The Amgen Tour is coming to town soon, and you can get into the spirit of a fun family gathering: Bikes & Bites. College of the Canyons and the city of Santa Clarita will join a community fun ride, and if that is not enough, a food festival. The event begins with a 8.5 mile bike ride COC Canyon Country Campus and goes to explore the park and back. After the hike, there will be a community food festival food trucks, campus events, booths, prizes and gifts - all in a festive atmosphere. It's also a chance to see the Canyon Country campus.  The ride is open to all riders age 12 and older.  All riders must wear a helmet and observe road safety regulations.  The ride takes place Saturday starting at 9am.  The bike ride registration fee:  $25 for single rider; $10 for youth rider ages 12-17 (and COC students); $20 for groups of four or more.  Click here to register.   The free festival starts at 11:30am.    Proceeds benefit the COC Canyon Country campus improvement projects.  Family fun all centered round the family pets.  Pet Expo USA is sponsoring this huge event on all things pet related.  There will pet adoption, music, famous food trucks, kid zone, free and low cost vaccinations, and so much more.  Celebrities attending are Shorty Rossi, Linda Blair, Mackenzie Phillips, Megan Blake and Champ the Skateboarding Bulldog.  Bring a new or used dog bed or blanket to support animals in shelters.  There is a new location for this year’s expo:  Central Park on Bouquet Canyon Road.  The expo takes place Saturday from 10am-4pm.  Tickets are on sale now.    Ticket prices are:  Adults $10; Seniors $5; Children under 12 $3; Family 4 Pack $20. Family pets on a leash are welcome – no retractable leashes.Annual Santa Clarita Dodger Day is here! Show your pride in the city and have a ton of fun watching the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dodger Day is Saturday with a start time 4:00 pm Thurs. Local residents participated in a contest to sing our national anthem. The money generated by this event will support our schools and nonprofit groups.  Click here for a story on Cary Quashen, Executive Director of ACTION and host of KHTS’ Families in ACTION radio show, has been selected to throw out the “1 Classic cars from all over the southland and 45 gourmet food trucks are coming to town for an awe inspiring event.  The Gourmet Food Truck Festival & Classic Car Show will take over the Valencia Auto Center on Creekside Road this Sunday from 11am-7pm.  Masters College Swing Band will provide classic swing music.  With gourmet truck names, like Fishlips Sushi, Fresh Fries, Crepes Bonapart, Tapa Boy, Valentino’s Pizza and Global Soul, to name a few, this extravaganza will surely fulfill your every foodie delight.  The Classic Car Show welcomes muscle cars, antique/historical vehicles, racing and exotic cars, as well as others.  Bring your family, friends and appetite for a not-to-be-missed event.  Admission is free.  VIP parking will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis for a nominal per-car fee.  Proceeds benefit the SCV Sheriff’s Foundation.

Tom Console's Personal Racebook Method

The ‘Homerun’.  That’s what I hear them talking about at the racebook all the time.  No, they’re not referring to baseball, but rather to the out-of-the-ballpark ‘hit’ they’re hoping to make on the horses to carry them thru the rest of their days.  So they line up at the windows, race after race, playing wild longshots and impossible Trifectas and Superfectas, most with little thought before the fact.  In fact, the main motivation for playing these type of bets is because they’re ‘there’.

Now I’m not trying to discourage playing these potentially lucrative exotic bets.I go in often when I feel I have a reasonable chance of cashing. What I am trying to discourage is the mentality of "homerun", where every race the player is shooting for the moon. I played this game for profit long time now, and "homeruns" I hit the $ 135,000 Pick Six and $ 68.990, the Superfecta $ 42,000, the $ 22,600 and $ 19.008 Trifecta, etc., are all come on time. In others, in any of these situations I have my hopes was to pay the mortgage for the next five years. I just on my normal game play it, and the occasional big shots just happened.

What I learned from 30 + years of playing this game is that the race is at equilibrium rather than the flash in the pan. Most horseplayers I am in contact with the runway racebooks and appear to be in a "hurry" to make the big score. Very little thought and almost no preparation before race day. And emotional fluctuations, from ecstasy to depression, pure and simple, wreak havoc by making these fellows and girls who are very cynical about the game they are always looking for someone to blame their loss to explain - the athlete, coach, management of racetracks, etc.- Stop thinking that maybe, just maybe, the fact that they have no plan of attack and are unable to control their emotions are the reasons for their misfortunes. Not that I'm basically trying to say is that the hope of turning a profit at this very difficult game, you need a plan. You need to know how to handle a losing streak. You need to know how to address these steep hills and valleys that regulates emotions. You need to be consistent in your enforcement actions, ie, playing only when you feel the odds are in your favor.  Basically, you need to approach this game as you would any other business you run for profit.  Not one in 20 horsplayers have ever given this more than a passing thought, which is why only a small percentage of all players win consistently!