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ADDING PHYSICALITY TO YOUR DAILY HANDICAPPING VIA THE RACETRACK FEED-----Part 6 4---THE READY HORSE (continued) In Part 5 we discussed positive energy levels for the “ready horse”. Hand in hand with positive energy goes color. Much like humans, the color of a thoroughbred is not only a barometer of his overall health but his total readiness. Luckily for all handicappers whether on track or getting a racetrack feed at a satellite outlet or over their computers, the color of any runner can’t escape a trained eye. If you are at a satellite outlet and forced to use a TV monitor, walk thru the premises until you locate the clearest screen. Use this screen for the entire day rather than going to another monitor that might be cloudy or fuzzy or out of focus. Viewing horses over bad monitors will make all horses’ coats appear dull and lifeless. It’s easy to see color in any thoroughbred. If his color is rich and deep while reflecting sunlight, he’s plenty healthy. Reflecting sunlight merely means the sun is bouncing off his coat just as it would off any clean colorful surface. If his color is dull and absorbs sunlight, he’s either not feeling all that well or he’s lacking somewhere in his nutritional make up. This is not to say that all dull coated horses are sick. But when you see a dull coated runner, be rest assured that he’s far from top condition and far from the winner’s circle. What’s more, you too are far from cashing a ticket if you back him. “Ready horses” most often have brilliant coats. The sun bouncing off them nearly blinds you if you’re in the paddock and is still quite evident in the racetrack feed even if getting only a “5 second glimpse” in the post parade. They are usually happy and well adjusted runners who get the best of everything from their daily diets and vitamins to tender loving care from their barn personnel. “Ready horses” also receive measured amounts of exercise between races that include morning workouts as well as long and slow gallops to increase stamina. This program of exercise helps horses to stave off both boredom and “stall staleness”. If a runner’s coat is radiant and he has good energy, he’s most likely mentally prepared to compete. Some “ready horses” with brilliant coats are also dappled. As horses come closer to top condition, the color of their coats gets deeper and deeper. Some horses develop small dark oblong circles or “dapples”. They appear to be under the skin itself and travel from the base of the neck to the end of the hindquarters. While these “dapples” indicate a horse at the peak of his conditioning, not all brilliant coats are dappled nor must they be so for you to accept them from a wagering standpoint. As long as a runner has good color that reflects sunlight, he totally acceptable. So where and how do you separate good color from bad color. The best place to start is in the paddock under bright sunlight. Even if you normally wager at a satellite outlet or over a computer, seeing good color on track for a day will further aid you in identifying it when you next use a TV monitor. As mentioned above, a good coat will reflect sunlight. It’s easy to spot when 12 horses are strolling thru the paddock. Some coats will have poor color, a few coats will have “so-so” color, and other coats will appear to be like fine pieces of furniture with deep and rich color. Assuming that you have paint on your car, go wash and wax it. Note how the sun bounces off the surface and blinds you just as it did when it rolled out of the showroom for the first time (a horse with good color). As time passes and the wax thins due to frequent washings or the car sits out in direct sunlight for too long every day, the once brilliant color slowly begins to fade. The once blinding reflection of the sun is now somewhat muted (a horse with “so-so” color). The slow mutation continues along with normal road dirt until direct sunlight has no effect on the car’s color and swallows any possible reflection (a horse with a dull coat and poor color). Now that you understand good and bad color, transferring that knowledge to satellite monitors is a snap. Even on cloudy days, horses with good color will still stand out much like your newly waxed car would under the same conditions. Good color is good color. And good color is hard to hide in any degree of light. And yes even if playing night racing, good color is plainly evident because the floodlights substitute very nicely for the sun. If a horse has great color, the white beam from the floodlight is reflected back to its source. If a runner has bad color, the white beam gets absorbed in his coat as would the sun on your dirty automobile. Once you see a few horses with bad color finish up the track, you’ll begin to appreciate the importance of good color. If a horse’s color isn’t up to snuff, he’ll most likely have other readily recognizable negative characteristics. Colorless coats often encase the totally negative package that lies underneath and suggests a needed vacation. Good color on the other hand always implies good health. You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to come to the conclusion that healthy horses with good color win many more races than dull coated specimens. PART 7-----Muscling
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