Why is horse race handicapping such a male-dominated endeavor?
At a combination casino-horse race simulcast facility last weekend, I asked three women to take a break from some quarter slot machines and spend a few minutes looking at horse races. One woman was ahead $50 and wouldn’t quit spinning until she won or lost $20 more. She won it inside five minutes. She knew something of horse racing, chiefly the Triple Crown races and an occasional Breeder’s Cup Day party. Another of the women didn’t know much about horse racing beyond the Kentucky Derby. The third woman had never bet on a horse. There’s no such thing as Horse Racing for Stooges. So I bought Racing Forms all around and gave the slot players a fast but complete rundown of the fundamentals. It took about 45 minutes to handicap a race. Each sport has its own shorthand; but to somebody unfamiliar with the horse racing game, the past performances can make a high school junior’s text-messaging seem rather self-explanatory. One slot regular made a decent point: Why spend so much time handicapp
