Now that I am in a writing frame of mind these days, I find myself looking in on old material and wondering what some people really were thinking. 

I also asked myself what was I thinking when I didn't comment on certain material at the time it was written. 

Today's case in point was painfully obvious after I read an old article on another site called "When To Bet Win", by my friend and fellow handicapper Marc Platt. 

Before I begin, I want to say that I respect Marc as a handicapper and a person. He works hard to maintain a website and he continues to work hard to improve and learn from his daily handicap, which is found every day on this site. 

Marc and I have learned a lot from each other over the past several years as it relates to handicapping. He taught me how to play (and win) at trifecta wagering, and I like to think I taught him a few handicapping fundamentals 
along the way. Betting to win however, was clearly not one of them. 

Marc is the classic home run swinger; he and Sammy Sosa would be best friends if not for the fact that Sosa lives in Chicago and probably wouldn't know a 
racehorse from a Nicaraguan mule. 

I can recall many times when Marc would be right on the money regarding a middle priced horse and he would be kicking himself after the race was over, simply because he didn't have the second or third-place horses in his 
trifecta and therefore, was left without cashing a ticket. 

Worse yet would be when he would be right about that same middle priced horse, but still wouldn't cash in because he missed the second or third leg in a pick three even with his middle-priced horse singled. 

This is not to say I haven't made my share of mistakes at the windows either? we all do. This article is not about mistakes, it's about capitalizing on being right. 

In his When To Bet Win article, Marc makes a very valid point about morning lines. It is essential to create a value line for yourself before going to the races. 

What price will you take on a horse you like when going to the windows? 

That should be the first question you ask yourself as post time approaches. 

And yes, I will further agree that there are instances when betting the trifecta or pick three might make you considerably more money in the long run because the value of the win bet is lower than you'd like. If you consider the risk involved however, it could be more trouble than it is truly worth. 

I'll take you through a race at Gulfstream Park from Wednesday, Feb. 17 and I'll show you what I mean. 

One of the good things about Gulfstream is that they don't offer every damn bet under the sun. There are no rolling doubles, no rolling pick threes, no pick alls... that crap does nothing but dilute the pools and distract people 
from making the simplest wager of all. 

All aspects of wagering come down to who will win the race. Unless you're a place or show bettor, every other bet on the track is designed to require you select a winner. With that in mind, let's analyze a race. 

Race 6 on Wednesday was a 6-furlong sprint for $25,000 filly and mare claimers on the main track. The morning line favorite in the race according to the official oddsmaker was #6 Co Co Buck, scratched in the morning. The 
new favorite was #7 No Winking, my top pick in my daily handicap on Racing On The Net, who had run a better-than-looked race in her most recent outing. The 
new second choice in the race was #5 Shesafortunategirl who was stepping up in class off a great win in her last start. 

Here's how the odds differed between my line and the official track odds. Immediately after the horse's number are the official odds, then my morning value line. 

(1) 12-1, 12-1 
(2) 12-1, 12-1 
(3) 6-1, 9/2 
(4) 15-1, 10-1 (SCRATCHED) 
(5) 6-1, 5-1 
(6) 7/2, 9/2 (SCRATCHED) 
(7) 4-1, 3-1 
(8) 8-1, 8-1 
(9) 20-1, 30-1 
(10) 10-1, 6-1 
(11) 10-1, 12-1 
(12) 20-1, 20-1 

As you can see, the race was extremely wide open as there were a number of contenders who could have easily made a case in the race. With the scratch of the official early favorite #6, I was convinced my price of 3-1 on #7 was not going to see the light of day. 

I was wrong. She was going off as the 7/2 second choice in the race instead much to my delight. 

But was I about to touch any other horse in a race already affected by scratches? Positively not. There was value to be found in my selection and I made sure a win wager was in order. 

Don't ever sell yourself short on a horse that isn't going to pay double-digit prices. If you find flaws in horses you don't like, you are forced to make the best of that situation.... and no, that doesn't mean playing exotics with our top horse over the rest of the field. It means 
capitalizing on a situation we can take advantage of. If the horse we like wins and the favorite runs second, the exacta price is only a tiny bit larger than the win mutuel you would have received if you'd played stronger to win. 

Here was the perfect position to be in. A horse I like, a price that is above what I anticipated and a very suspect field in the race with her. A great spot to make a killing on the win bet. 

Win or lose, it is better than kicking yourself for being right and not getting paid for it. 

Were we right? 

NO WINKING, my top choice won and returned $9.40. No gimmicks, no kicking or screaming when some 12-1 shot ran second and no waiting a half hour for the 
next race to try and cash in. It sometimes is as simple as that. 

The only point I am trying to make is this. True, you are not going to find value in every race, but there are more creative ways to make money betting to win than there are in biting your fingernails and hoping all the moons converge upon an exotic wager you need an hour to cash in on. And sometimes, you find gold when you least expect to, and when you do come across it, you should make sure you never let go.