By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Millions of people will be watching the Belmont Stakes on television this Saturday to see if a 3-year-old thoroughbred colt named American Pharoah will become the first winner of horse racing’s coveted Triple Crown since 1978.
Jerry Fields, 53, of Florence, has been a horseracing fan for most of his life, but the outcome of the Belmont Stakes doesn’t really mean much to him. He’s more interested in picking winners in online handicapping contests that have become his favorite hobby.
“A lot of guys who do this don’t even gamble (on horse races), they’re just in the contests,” Fields said. “For me, I just enjoy the handicapping aspect of it. I’m in it to win it, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just a blast to do.”
Fields said he sets aside $100 to $200 a month to enter online handicapping contests that are conducted by racetracks, casino race books, off-track betting facilities and horse racing websites all across the country.
The contests follow the same basic format. Each player pays an entry fee to place fictional $2 win and place wagers on selected races held at several different tracks. Points are awarded based on the payouts in each race with odds on a long shot capped at 20-1 for win wagers and 10-1 for place wagers. The player with the most points after all of the selected races are completed wins the first-place prize money.
So if you pick a horse that goes off at 7-1 odds and it does come in first, you would get the same number of points as the actual payout. That would be 16 points for the win and six points for place. The more correct picks you make, the more points you get, depending on the odds.
Fields, a network specialist for the U.S. Postal Service, limits himself to one or two contests per week because it takes a lot of time to do the research that’s necessary to be a successful handicapper. He uses the internet to track down a horse’s past performances and watches replays of races on cable television channels and websites that are devoted to thoroughbred racing.
“One Saturday, I was in two pretty good-sized contests,” he said. “I got up at 6 in the morning, had some coffee, ate breakfast and then sat there until almost noon studying the horses.”
Fields still enjoys live thoroughbred racing. He’s been going to tracks with his co-workers at the post office for years and placing bets. Like most avid horseplayers, he’ll put some money down on the Belmont Stakes. He would like to see American Pharaoh win the Triple Crown to boost the popularity of his favorite sport.
But the convenience of online handicapping contests and the potentially big payoffs have made it a highly popular alternative for racing fans like Fields. And the horse racing industry has taken notice.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association has been sponsoring its own online handicapping championship since 2000 and the winner receives an Eclipse Award each year. Fields said that’s the premier handicapping contest in the country, but there are lots of others.
“My buddy, Eddie, is retired and he plays in one every day,” Fields said. “It’s just a lot of fun. It doesn’t cost a lot and you get a lot of bang for your buck.”
Entry fees for handicapping contests vary according to the prize money involved and the sponsor usually takes a 10 percent cut. There are several types of contests, but most of them last two or three days with only the point leaders advancing in each round.
Fields has enjoyed some success since he began participating in online contests two years ago. The top prize in a contest he won last fall was a free trip to Las Vegas to compete in the annual HorsePlayer World Series that’s held in March.
There were nearly 800 people who qualified for that tournament and the winner received $264,240, according to Fields. The top 60 finishers also received a share of the prize money. Fields wasn’t among the money-winners, but he enjoyed being there with handicappers from all across the nation.
“There’s a great camaraderie with everyone there,” he said. “It’s very competitive, but we’re all there rooting for each other because there’s a lot of money at stake.”
Fields said he met Eddie Syno of Chicago at the HorsePlayers World Series in Las Vegas two years ago and they became good friends. They both qualified for this year’s tournament and got together once again last March. The betting buddies hope to rendezvous in Vegas next year, but Fields still needs to win a contest to make a return trip.
“I think I’m pretty good at it, but you’ve got to pick the right horse at the right time,” Fields said. “Sometimes you do good and somebody else just does better.”