DT is really a place with a lot of potential, and is an excellent website for many.
Steve Byk has one of the best horse-talk programs around. Probably THE best. He gets big time trainers and racing figures on his show much of the time. A horseplayer absolutely loves that kind of stuff. You want to hear what these trainers say about a horse you have been scouting out, you even hang on little things like the tone of voice they use, do they sound enthusiastic? lol. Really a great thing to be able to review the archives and hear it live.
Over the past week or two I have had less of an experience with the forum part of it. Some of it is my fault. The wisecracks and derogatory remarks that once rolled off, now for whatever reason has put me into an angry "Who do you think you are talking too?" state of mind... I find myself spending more and more energy to reply to these guys and it isn't constructive. Hey right now I am writing this silly "goodbye" letter on an internet forum, when I could be watching 50 more Indian Blessing stretch runs.
It is kind of funny that someone can say hey "I can win at this game", and show it on a consistent basis, and then you still have a lot of people who disrespect and criticize this person and even call him an idiot or a jerk. You would think that other people who play the horses would have some kind of mutual respect. I know I personally have and would be asking those winners real questions and observing and learning. Even those who show ANY skill in some specialty area. Someone like the fatman says something about a trip, and I wan't to do my homework, "do I agree?" and maybe I even learn something. A guy like BBB talks about a turf rail, and something may sound silly, but I will do my own work and come to a conclusion and maybe I learn something. Andy Serling has a strong opinion, I check it out, and form my own opinion.
Realistically i shouldn't expect a website to be teeming with enthusiastic horseplayers who are all about making a profit, and/or also have reasonably civil behavior. It's hard to find a handfull of really good horseplayers in your lifetime, even without manners! Etiquette and horseplayers mix like oil and water. In some ways everyone on the internet is regularly disrespected, criticized and called an idiot and I think I need to buck up and be a little more thick skinned in the future.
I was able to benefit a lot from the site. It was a lot more fun to try some unorthodox things while using the selections forum than typing them on a notepad. I did some things with the wagers and the pools, it was like bending the rules, and keep showing a nice profit. It helped me organize and keep records, to have a website to use. There have been some good calls and some great commentary. I haven't been able to check everything but I notice that some of the guys in the pick4 selections are doing extremely well also.
If anyone wishes to contact me:
bobbyfischer@berlin.com
Thank You Steve Byk for providing this website,
Good luck to everyone / Enjoy the Season