My Wife Knows Everything! The Wife Doesn't Know!

Del Mar's free Online Contest starts Wednesday. You get a mythical $100 to play each day of the meet on one race. You can use the money to make any kind of win, place and/or show bet on any number of horses in the race.

Which brings up a question I would like to discuss. What is the best strategy for approaching a tourney such as this one? I know how I like to approach handicapping contests that use the win/place format of the National Handicapping Contest, but tournaments that use live-money formats still find me shaky in my approach.

You are only allowed one entry in the DMTC contest, but I am going to track a few different options. I sometimes employ what I call the 2-6-12 wager, which is based on the fact that the place and show pools are usually a third, and a sixth of the win pool. Hence, the ratios. So, on one mythical entry I am going to bet $10 to win, $30 to place, and $60 to show on one horse. On another, I am going to bet $25 to win, and $75 to show. On a third mythical entry, I plan to employ another tactic - two-horse win betting, also called dutching - in which you place wagers of $40 and $60 on two different horses with the lower wager going on the longer-odds horse of the two. And then finally, I am going to play one mythical entry in which the whole $100 will go on one 8-1 or longer horse to show. I will be intrigued to see which entry winds up ahead after the 37 races of the contest.

Any thoughts on strategy, because this is something I would like to hash out enough to come to a position where I would be comfortable playing in actual live-money tournaments (which is further complicated by the fact that most of them also allow exotic wagers!)? This is necessary, because it seems the live-money format is gaining in popularity. I much prefer the NHC format.

An interesting quick clip illustrating Zenyatta's height as compared to other notable thoroughbreds.

Good news...at the Breeder's Cup site, under Breeder's Cup Challenge, there is a "Breeder's Cup Betting Challenge" listed. Hopefully, that means a contest coinciding with the win-and-you're in races is in the offing.

Also, my wife is in 310th place in the Survival at the Shore contest, and earned back a life-preserver by staying alive this long.

Also, are any of you playing in the Colonial Downs online contest? It is free, and it has a very interesting format. Contestants make four wagers each day, usually on races 4 through 7. The first wager is a WPS, the second a 3-horse exacta box, the third a 4-horse tri, and the fourth a 5-horse super. Highest bankroll wins, so even though the contest is a couple of weeks old, one big exotic score can skyrocket you to the top. What makes it interesting is that everyone is playing the same kind of wager in each race. Naturally, my wife is crushing me so far in that contest as well! I trained her well...