Life’s A Gamble
Written by trackmasterplus on March 23, 2009 – 9:00 am -I don’t wager often on the races, and when I do, I don’t wager much. Most people that don’t play the races, or frequent a casino are quite indifferent about such gambling. However, it’s the vocal few that occasionally get under my skin when they get on the soapbox claiming they don’t gamble and that gambling is simply wrong.
I obviously think gambling is fine for adults and like so many choices we make; gambling to excess can be dangerous.
This blog though is about the wagers we make nearly every minute of our lives, and for those who denounce gambling, to me are being hypocritical, as I doubt there are any or at least many adults living in America that don’t gamble on a daily basis!
Webster and Dictionary.com define wager as “something risked or staked on an uncertain event.” Allow me put forth a sampling of financial and non-financial wagers that we make every day:
- Stock Market investments – do the events of the last twelve months not underscore that such “investment” is gambling?
- Index Options Trading – even a greater gamble as there are not even underlying securities, you are simply wagering which way the equity markets will go.
- General Insurance – on an expected value basis, no insurance makes sense, as the administrative costs of insurance are not returned to the insureds in total. People who buy insurance are effectively “eating” such costs in the name of diversification, effectively sharing the risks with others. Their premiums are the “something risked” and the uncertain event is what one insures against. The only difference here relative to the races, for example, is that insureds don’t want the uncertain event to occur.
- Air Bags – back in the day when air bags were optional, car buyers effectively had to assess whether the extra charge (lets say $1000) was worth the tiny chance that they would be needed to save their life or prevent serious injury.
- Life Insurance – one pays $1000 per year to insure against death, but if death occurs, survivors get a $1 million benefit. So to be risk neutral, you have to believe you have a 1/1000 chance of dying during the 1-year term. Getting the insurance is gambling that you will die, and it is a bad bet, say if the actual probability of death is 1/2000. Jeez, an ROI of -50% in this example is worse than most “traditional” forms of gaming. But people are quite risk averse in this area, that they economically justify (and I agree with them) the low ROI (or high cost), to secure their family’s future should the worst occur.
- Extended Warranties – same idea as insurance. If taken on a car, you are “betting” that the cost of the warranty is lower than the costs you would otherwise incur. Your stake is the cost of the warranty, and the uncertain events are the breakdowns that will or will not occur during the term of the warranty.
I will grant that the wagering done by everyone, everyday, in the examples above tend not to be addictive, so I am not going to ignorantly argue that these forms of gambling are exactly the same as slots, blackjack, or playing the races. I do however argue that they are forms of wagering, and that those who live in the same glass houses as everyone else, should be cautious about their hurling of stones, as the very windows they will break, are quite likely their own.
David Siegel
President – TrackMaster
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March 23rd, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Hi Dave,
Legendary Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller is reported to have commented when Hank Greenberg got married, “Some people take a gamble and get married, (Hank) Greenberg marries a Gimbel (dept. store heiress).”
Yes, I agree…just about everything we do involves risk (call it a gamble). Where do I go to college? Where do I live? Whom do I marry? Yet, if one is prudent… If a person carefully weighs their options. If they are rational and allow their head to rule their heart; their chances of success are greatly improved.
This is all the more important at the track where patience and discipline are keys.
As for Hank Greenberg, even marrying a Gimbel wasn’t foolproof; he divorced her and married an actress.
On another note: As a former high school social sciences teacher, I once read an article in “Psychology Today” that extolled the virtues of gambling for the elderly. Some of the points made were: (1) it gets seniors out of the house, nursing home, etc. and into the more exciting world of the track, casino or bingo parlor; (2) it affords seniors the opportunity to mix and mingle; to share laughs, stories, etc. and (3) it lessens depression and may contribute to improved longevity.
Finally, I’ve written many stories on my harness racing experiences. Nearly all are unpublished, save one: “Dad, You Woulda Loved It!” (Hoof Beats, June 2007). I thought I’d share one.
“Everyone Remembers Their First Time!”
Some do it when they reach eighteen. Others wait till they’re twenty-one. Still others are in their thirties. I was only fifteen. Precocious. Mature. No. Just tall for my age.
Yes, I was just fifteen when I made my first harness racing bet. It was the summer of 1958. “Ike” was president and Emily’s Pride (she was later named Horse of the Year) was about to win The Hambletonian.
In late July, I had attended a birthday-party dinner for one of my friends. After dinner, my friend’s father took the bunch of us to the then Bay State Raceway (Foxboro Raceway) in Foxboro, MA. This is the first time I would ever see a harness race.
Well, as soon as I entered the track, I was enthralled. It was love at first sight. There was so much to see. It was like going to an amusement park, carnival and circus — all wrapped into one. It was exciting to watch the horses warming up on the track, to see hundreds of people milling about the grandstand and to look at all the drivers in their colorful uniforms.
As I recall, I had only a few dollars in my wallet. Besides, I was too young to place a bet. Yet, some of my friends pooled their money and “played partners.” They gave their money to my friend’s father who in turn made their bet. Wouldn’t you know it — they won. I remember the driver — Stan Tweedie. The first part of their winning horse’s name was Shadydale.
As I look back, my friends had to wait out a photo. In those days, photos seemed to take an eternity. But when their horse’s number was finally posted, they were ecstatic. You’d think they had just won the lottery.
Although I didn’t make a bet that night, I had a most enjoyable time. I knew that I was coming back. About two weeks later, I returned to Bay State Raceway with one of my friends (a somewhat older boy who already had his license). As I walked through the turnstile and into the Raceway, I could again feel the excitement. Only this time, unlike my first visit, I was going to make a bet. I believe I waited a race or two and then I decided to “take the plunge.” I can vividly recall the voice of the announcer, Clayt Smith, as he introduced the pacers as they were leaving the paddock for the post parade. I remember that in those days everything seemed so much more formal. I recall that announcer Smith would call the drivers: “Mister Safford,” “Mister Hansen,” “Mister Boyd,” “Mister Day” and “Mister Copeland”.
Well, after looking over the program, I made up my mind that I was going to bet a mare, the #3 horse. Her name (I’ll never forget) — Adios Lucy. I even remember the reason I bet on her. Two weeks earlier, my friend’s dad had told us that Adios was a famous sire. He went on to say that many of Adios’s offspring had gone on to become top-rated harness horses. So there it was. My first bet was going on Adios Lucy. I was going to wager $2 to show. But first, I had to actually make the bet.
Initially, I thought about giving my two dollars to my older friend —- but he looked younger than I did. In those days, I was already six-feet tall and looked more like an eighteen-year-old than fifteen. The question was: Would the clerk accept my bet, or would I be turned away? I remember anxiously walking towards the windows. I recall nervously waiting in line. I remember calling out my bet: “Two dollars to show on the number three.” It was then that the clerk took my money, and —-without so much “as batting an eye,” — proceeded to punch out a two-dollar show ticket. Unlike today’s “plain vanilla” mutuel tickets, in those days tickets had symbols and squiggles across the top; they looked more like a piece of lithographic art. I remember feeling a sense of relief as I walked away from the windows and headed back down toward the track apron. I recall clutching my very first harness racing bet in a vise-like grip.
As the race was about to go off, I took a seat on one of the benches near the finish line. “Marshall calls the pacers,” announcer Smith called out. “Pacers now in the hands of the starter,” he continued. “The starting gate is now in motion.” Just then, I did something that, in hindsight, would seem quite immature: I shut my eyes. Yes, like a frightened child about to receive his first inoculation, I couldn’t bear to look. I just sat there — and listened: “Heeere they come… They’re off and pacing…”
Well, with eyes shut, I listened as announcer Smith called two-plus minutes of a harness race. I can’t recall any of the race details, but I do remember opening my eyes when all the horses had crossed the finish line (I knew that the race was over when the pounding of hooves had stopped). Had my horse hit the board? I couldn’t tell. I opened my eyes and began to anxiously stare out at the infield tote. Finally, about a minute or two later, I would see the numbers posted. My horse, the number three — Adios Lucy — had finished third. “I won! I won!” I thought to myself. I was overjoyed. Adios Lucy had paid $2.60 to show. I had made sixty cents. I remember thinking, “That’s just thirty cents less than the ninety cents an hour I was making as a drug store clerk.”
As I think back, I couldn’t tell you if I made another bet that night. But I can tell you this — I’ve made many more bets, since. Yet I’ll always remember that early August evening at Bay State Raceway. That was the night I’d make my first harness racing bet. Come to think of it: Doesn’t everyone remember their first time?
Sincerely,
Walter Levy
March 24th, 2009 at 10:47 am
All, I agree totally. Life is a gamble and all of the items listed in Dave’s message are a piece of that gamble.
When someone has a want to get involved in gambling whether it is horse racing, casino’s, lotto’s, scratchoff’s, bingo or any of the many more gambling opportunities they have to ask themselves (2) important questions.
1. Can I afford to lose the money I am betting. Everyone knows that you will lose. Over the pass 10 years I have been going to the horse race tracks I have manage to stay about even or a little ahead but most people I see there lose. Horse racing requires a very discipline approach and a lot of study work before ever betting. Even then it becomes somewhat a gamble.
2. Can I be sure that I won’t be addicted and enticed into more and more betting. I see many people at the track that go everyday but their bets are made without any merit and they lose. To me they are addicted and believe they can win their fortune with that bet.
But everyone has to agree that horse racing is great entertainment and can be a very cost effective way of spending a day if some previous study work is done.
Thanks for the blog opportunity.
Ron Wright
March 25th, 2009 at 7:19 am
Nice post, David! We are a nation of risktakers, or at least we used to be. Thomas Edison took risks, Alexander Graham Bell took risks, Robert Fulton took risks.
If our forefathers didn’t take risks more than 200 years ago, we’d all be talking with British accents!
October 9th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
To Walter – we read with interest “First Time” – Stanley Tweedie is my husband’s grandfather and he remembers the Bay State racetrack well. Thank you for remembering Stan – he was a great driver. Bonnie Dalton, Sanford, Fl