Jackrabbits, Horses and Greyhounds

When I first moved to New Mexico to work on newspapers, one of my favorite hobbies was hunting jackrabbits.

I would take a single shot .22 rifle or a Ruger pistol with mini-mags and drive a couple of miles from town to a ranch where I would introduce myself to the owner to ask permission to hunt on his land. In most cases, they were glad to have me. Jackrabbits eat a lot of grass -- six jacks will consume enough grass in a day to feed a cow -- and those ranchers could use all the help they could get.

The speed of those jackrabbits amazed me. They could take off from a standing position beneath a barrel cactus or a yucca plant and hit a speed of 60 miles per hour within seconds. It was quite a feat to bring down one of them with a single shot, but practice makes perfect and after a while, I began hitting my elusive targets.

Early speed is the key to winning at the race tracks. It doesn't matter if you are betting on thoroughbred horses or greyhounds: speed is the factor that determines the winner.

When I lived in Las Vegas, I had a friend who handicapped horses and who did a good job on picking winners. His system involved determining a horse's early speed. If Mike could find a horse that broke in front of the others, that horse was his bet.

The Daily Racing Form carried data that showed a horse's latest workouts. If it was a maiden race and a horse worked out in under 35 seconds for three furlongs or 46 furlongs or under for four, that was Mike's choice.

It's fairly easy to read a Daily Racing Form. Some horses have early speed, some run just off the pace, while others are closers. It's up to you to decipher the material to determine which horse has the real early speed.

Greyhound dogs have a decided advantage when they break from the one post. There is less of a chance of being impeded by the other dogs or of a collision. And if the one dog breaks well, the race is generally over.

Trainers can instruct jockeys to hold a horse back in order to condition the animal for a future race. You can't do that with a greyhound. These fast dogs were born to run and they generally are very consistent in the way they perform.

As for thoroughbreds, I remember a day at Turf Paradise Race Track in Phoenix, AZ. A maiden race was coming up and one of the horses had posted a three furlong workout in 34.2 seconds.

Wow, I thought. That's fast. I made up my mind to bet on the horse if there was any betting action on it.

But as post time neared, the odds on the horses kept lengthening. They started out at 10 to one...then 12...15...18...and at post time, the odds were 22-1.

Silly me, I didn't bet the race. The horse broke from the gate, led all the way, and won by fourth lengths.

Jackrabbits, horses, and greyhounds. Speed is the name of the game. Let the games begin.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).