Aug 27, 2012

TwinSpires.com bettor plays name game to scoop Pick 6 at Del Mar

A name he liked coupled with a jockey he recognized led Mr. Hariri to scoop Thursday’s Pick 6 at Del Mar for gross winnings of $495,060.80 on a $146 play.

Playing through TwinSpires.com, the West Coast resident took a stab at Thursday’s $89,785 Pick 6 carryover by crafting nine separate tickets, including a main $96 play that hit six of six plus six consolation (5/6) payouts. A separate $4 play in which he singled the seventh race (fifth leg) winner but missed the third race (first leg) also cashed a consolation payoff of $1,790.60.

The seventh race (fifth leg) single in question was Zimmer, who shipped to Del Mar from Churchill Downs for trainer Pat Byrne and was dismissed at 14.9-to-1, the longest shot in the seven-horse field of optional claimers. Hariri was initially attracted to the horse because of his name and decided to gamble on the Empire Maker colt when he saw Racing Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith listed to ride.

“The way I play horses is by name,” Hariri said the morning after his big score. “I don’t care about odds; I play names I like. The longshot who led to me getting the whole pot was Zimmer. When I saw his name I said, ‘That’s a pretty cool name.’ Normally I’ll just go with names, and if I like it I’ll play it, but when I saw Mike Smith was riding I knew I had to include this horse.”

The only single on Hariri’s winning ticket was Orientatious in the fourth race (second leg). The Orientate filly paid $20.20 to win and helped key separate wins for Hariri in the double, Pick 3, and Pick 5 that brought the day’s gross winnings to more than $500,000.

“This is what it’s like to be hit by lightning,” Hariri said. “I didn’t believe it until I saw the money in my account. I couldn’t sleep last night.”

Despite being live through two races with $12 and $20.20 horses (first-time starter Carving in the third race [first leg] and Orientatious, respectively), Hariri also played the late Pick 4. However, by the time the final race rolled around, he was too nervous to watch following Zimmer’s upset score.

“I couldn’t watch it live, and I didn’t look at the will pays,” Hariri said. “I watched it on replay and even when I knew I won I thought since it was the favorite in the last leg [even money Bev N Bud] I thought it might pay $40,000 or $50,000.”

In addition to his Pick 6 riches, Hariri also hit the Pick 5 on a $63 play that returned $4,020.85 and the Pick 4 three times on a $49 play that returned $1,618.05.

“You never know what will happen,” Hariri said. “Sometimes horses just have their day, and yesterday was my day. I’m sharing my strategy so others can use it and win too.”

Hariri said he opened a TwinSpires.com account shortly after his initial trip to the racetrack, and although he loves the convenience and excitement of playing online he said that his favorite part of racing is when the horses turn for home.

“The stretch run is very exhilarating,” Hariri said. “I love horses, and I love watching them run.”

Hariri is planning a trip to Chicago with some of his winnings, but the big windfall did not keep him away from this past weekend’s action featuring the Travers Stakes at Saratoga and the Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

“It’s a big weekend with Saratoga and Del Mar,” Hariri said. “I’m not greedy, though. I’ll still play, but I won’t go crazy just because I won.”

26 comments:

  1. You don't win like that just by picking horses based on their names! Give me a break!

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  2. I agree... who plays the (expensive) Del Mar Pick 6 with multiple tickets just based off of names? :/

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  3. You guys have never bet on a name before?

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  4. Betting on horses is ridiculous. It's honestly the dumbest thing you can do. You might as well go play "War" in the casino.

    Also, this guy will gamble away that money in less than 2 years.

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  5. I'm sorry you feel that way, anonymous. This looks a lot more exciting to me than casino war (or craps or roulette or anything)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vr6OMVJ1RY

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  6. Tell that to Bill Benter, anonymous.

    http://www.gambler-profiles.com/bill-benter-the-richest-of-them-all

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  7. It's a good "story". wink, wink, say no more

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  8. I've never understood those who diminish or dismiss the success of others simply because it doesn't fit into their preconceived notion of how the world works.

    I guess that's why there are still those who doubt that humans landed on the moon.

    Don't get me wrong, pessimism is fine -- even prudent -- when it comes to gamblers and fishermen, but to call racetrack gambling "dumb" when there are people that have and continue to beat the game on a regular basis seems awfully self-serving to me.

    I maintained a 20-30% ROI for five years as a PUBLIC selector. Was I just lucky? Should I have been playing "War" instead?

    I don't know what your experiences have been, but, as I tell my kids: If you want to succeed at something, talk to people who have had success, not those who have failed. I'm here on the blog, Facebook and Twitter and I welcome your scrutiny... and your cynicism.

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  9. Nicely said Derek, being a public handicapper as well it often helps our sport with stories like these, it gets people interested. I have made a few name bets for myself when it is contrary to my handicapping the race, especially when it's my first (Blase) name which is not ordinary by any means. Do they win most of the time not but it is fun. The only way I publish my name as a selection is after I have done my homwork. I love feel good stories such as these, they can't hurt and can only help those first time horse racing participants and maybe just maybe help our indusry.

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  10. A group of us were at the races and one lady had no spare money to bet with. She kept track of her bets on a piece of paper. While we ran around making all our "knowledgful" bets, at the end of the day she beat us all. She only bet on horses who wore Pink.

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  11. Good fiction! An enjoyable tale but hardly believable. I've been playing Pic 6's for the last 15 years, so this guy is surely pulling the legs of many. A $96 Pic 6 punch is a solid play for the "little guy". To single Orientatious a no other horse in the sequence is great handicapping! Also not many people go to the track for the first time, then go home and open an account with an ADW. Is he friends with Syd Finch of the Mets?

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  12. Many lottery winners use dates like birthdays to pick their numbers. This is just another example of the true odds one faces wagering on horses. An industry that loves the shawdows and refuses to punish lawbreakers creates results that can only be hit this way. Want proof?

    Sounds like this person hit every impropable result in multiple races with multiple tickets and had the only pic 6 correct. Give the government their 60% cut and learn to play poker. It will last longer...

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  13. Hariri makes me want to commit hari-kari !!! I can understand adding horses with names you like to the horses you handicapped, but not singling them.
    The best part is afterwards, he starts talking like he is a great handicapper--"looking forward to the Travers Day card..." Just like the lucky stiffs who won the NHC in some past years; they stab at long shots and get lucky and think they are great handicappers. In the 13 years of the Nat'l Handicapping Championships in Las Vegas, no previous winner has come back in any subsequent years and finished in the top 100 !!!
    So, Hariri should just say he was very lucky and leave it at that.

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  14. Imagine the fun he'd have with these current names of Aussie horses running Down Under:

    WHATCHA WANT --- SADDLE THE STARS --- TOTAL VACATION
    AMERICAN MORSECODE --- NO SMOKEN --- HANDS IN POCKET --- GO BOSSY PANTS
    COOL SHEETS --- STEERAGE --- MISS PUSSIGATO --- OUR LUCKY RAIN ---

    SHADOW ON THE MOON --- THE TOP --- RECKLESS RAT
    GUFFAW ---- THE SHANK --- CRABS --- A THOUSAND WORDS
    THAT'S MY NAME --- UNSEEN --- LITTLE BROWN HORSE --- BEC SAID NO CREDIT
    COCO MOX --- GLAMOUR PLANET --- I'M HANDSOME TOO --- SO KOSHER

    GAME OF SHADOWS --- IT'S FRED --- THE ROAD AHEAD --- I'M MYSTERIOUS
    SIDEREAL MESSENGER --- ACT STRAIGHT --- THE EIGHTIES ---

    FOR KINGS I DANCE --- THREE ROYAL BEES --- POPCORN TAXI
    VOTE FOR LUST --- DUBAI ME ROSES --- ANGRY APPLES
    CARDS 'N' OWLS --- WHO CARES WINS --- TWO NIPS --- PSYCLONE MISS
    MR YOGI BEAR --- INNOCENT INMATE --- ICE BAA --- SPY SCHOOL

    HAPPY SNAP --- THAT'S A GOOD IDEA --- VISIT US --- IDLE MINDS
    LITTLE WHITE HORSE --- FROM THE VAULT --- WHO STOLE MY NAME --- SPIN BALL
    THE OWL --- BAH HUM BUG --- SHINY BUTTONS --- JANE JETSON
    HEX --- BEG --- BELINDA LOVES PINK --- NIXON (Re-election run?)

    SHE'S AYCE --- VOPOP --- BOOMSHAKALAKA --- THE SIXTIES
    KEEP YOUR HAT ON --- RANDOM ORBIT --- HOROSCOPES

    THEY WON'T LAST --- JANSZOON --- WEDUNNOWHO
    BON TOOSH --- HELLO BOMBSHELL --- WIPEOUT --- WRONG NUMBER
    BOREDOM --- XIPHOS --- PROPAGANDA --- BAD PARENT

    WHO STOLE MY NAME --- GET UP GRANDMA --- TA RARA BOOM DE AY
    TEDIOUS --- GO BOSSY PANTS --- WHEEO --- SWOOSH --- HEWENTWHOOSH
    LOOPHOLE --- DELIGHTED OWNERS --- WATCHA GUNNADO
    THE LOOK --- ELEECOPTER --- MILLIONAIRE'S LOVE --- WEARS RED FEATHERS

    GET OUT OF TOWN --- THE LONG ROAD --- BUXTED --- SIMPLY PUT
    WHITE PHOSPHORUS --- RELEASE ME --- GIRLS GO RACING
    ONETIMEATBANDCAMP --- URGENT BELLS --- ONECATSTOOMANY

    UNDERTHETUSCANSUN --- HEY DIDDLEDIDDLE --- BURNT TOAST
    SNUGASABUGINARUG --- BOOMERANG --- GIRLY WEEKEND
    UNCTUOUS --- IDOVOODOO --- MINT CONDITION --- MY HARMONICA
    CHEERFUL JURY --- THE WHO --- BE UNIQUE & BE AFRAID (in the same race)

    ZOOSKA --- LOVE MY ZERO ---- SWOON --- THE ZERO --- HIGH AIMS
    LET'S BE HAPPY --- PRINCE OBAMA --- REQUESTED --- KNOW YOUR ENEMY
    KOOKABURRAS --- HALYCNATION --- CLOSE THE DOOR --- LOST IN SPACE

    LET THEM HAVE IT --- OOGY SUN --- COUCH POTATO --- CUZZY BRO
    FOOTPRINT --- SAKS --- MY HARMONICA --- GENERAL STORE --- THE LAST JUGAH
    HALF PRICE --- SWINDLE --- EVERYWHERE --- DELIGHTED OWNERS
    AVOID LIGHTNING --- HOUR OF PERIL --- AROUND THE WORLD --- ONE WAY TICKET

    MRS ONASSIS --- ENTIRELY BETTER --- GOOD THINKING --- SCENE OF THE CRIME
    THE END --- JOOLS --- NO SECOND PRIZE --- BOOF'S GIRL --- I LIKE TO WATCH
    LUXURIATE --- BEER BELLY --- THE COUNTERFEITER --- DRUNKENSTEIN

    DON'T GET EXCITED --- SHADY OUTFIT --- O'BRO --- WHYDON'TYALIKEME
    SEZWHO --- SPACECRAFT --- PINWHEEL --- NOW YOU'RE FLYING
    AROUSING SUSPICION --- LOBSTER --- OUR LITTLE PONY ---CARRY ME
    UNDER JOE'S TRUCK --- SHE'S HAZARDOUS

    LUNACY --- I LOVE LEGS --- ZIGZAG --- JOLLY DRUMMER --- PUHLEAZ
    THIS IS YOUR LIFE --- MOP --- WEEKEND IN WAGGA --- MARY THE CAT
    LAW OF THE JUNGLE --- NASH RAMBLER --- TRUFFLE --- THE WILD THING

    Don Reed

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  15. My wife ended up second one year in the Brisnet online contest by picking names she liked.

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  16. TA RARA BOOM DE AY is my favourite. Certainly rolls of the tongue and tests the race callers at the same time

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