It's a special day for the Big Turk and his sidekick handicapper and son, The Little Turk. 223 Posts, 6,255 visitors and 365 days have past since collectively we began to write in the third person about horses, handicapping and our hijinks's, be it the Big Turk's travels or cigar and bourbon preferences, or the Little Turk's savant like skill as a horseplayer that has earned him many a Lego Star Wars kit as reward.
The Turk isn't a journalist and I don't try to scoop news stories. The Turk is just a horseplayer who actually loves the horses, cheers for them no matter what and remembers them when they fallen. Along the way we've had some good handicaps and made some money, and a few duds here and there as well, but never have we gloated about the wins or hidden from the losses. It's a humbling game that we play, but if you play it consistently our past year proves you can scratch out a positive return on your money. One message we have always made is to bet responsibly and to learn when not to bet, something all the handicapping books I read graze over.
One statistic I didn't want to rattle off is the number of new horse racing friends and acquaintances I've made in the past year through this blog. I went to tracks for years and never talked to anyone but the nice ladies at the betting windows. It's fantastic to meet up with kindred spirits and talk shop. If this was a commercial, that would be the priceless moment.
Turk will be back later today with a Woodbine Mile handicap and hopefully some cashed tickets to celebrate the milestone.
Have Fun, Turk Out!