The Art of Risk

Horse racing has an element that most other sports do not. To the active fan of thoroughbred racing there is an added feature, risk, that sets this sport aside from most all the rest. Risk is part and parcel of racing from the fan’s perspective just as it is from those that are the active participants of the sport.

As in most other major sports, risk only concerns the players. The lay of the golf ball, the runner on third base, the dribble down the lane, the pass down field…. are all risk situations in sport that are dealt with directly by the players in the game only and can be of their consequence alone. During these “spectator sports” the few risks that involve the fans are things concerning having that extra beer (risk of DUI) or hot dog (risk of indigestion) or when to leave (risk of sitting in a traffic jam). It’s pretty much a risk less event.

Horse racing, on the other hand, is blessed with this adrenaline pumping feature for not only the players but for the fans as well. The fan can share in the financial victory of the contestant but must risk some personal capital to do it. As horseplayers decide and decipher the choice for their wager they are measuring the risk they are willing to take. The quality of horses, the type of bets or the amount of wager all have different degrees of risk.

In horse betting we measure that risk to some degree with the corresponding reward. In other words the sure favorite that looks unbeatable on paper is a low risk and will pay a low reward. But is it low risk? How many favorites have you seen that look unbeatable go down defeated. So is it just luck? Or is it a calculated guess? Is it gambling or simply risk taking?

It is my view that serious horse handicapping is more a calculated risk than those above mentioned terms. We calculate in a logical manor to decipher the statistically fastest potential horse based on the previous public record of that particular animal or animals and decide the best method to wager to be rewarded… hence “calculated risk”. Now, if you like the horses name or the color of the jockey silks or you are betting a lucky number then that is pure gambling. Both are fun and both are a major part of thoroughbred racing.

Here are some thoughts about risk:

To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself. (Soren Kierkegaard)

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go. (T. S. Eliot)

If you risk nothing, then you risk everything. (Geena Davis)

And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more. (Erica Jong)

There is the risk you cannot afford to take, there is the risk you cannot afford not to take. (Peter Drucker)

Take a chance! All life is a chance. The person who goes the furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. (Dale Carnegie)

Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good. (William Faulkner)

No noble thing can be done without risks. (Michel de Montaigne)

Hesitation increases in relation to risk in equal proportion to age. (Ernest Hemingway)

You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen. (Paulo Coelho)

A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for. Sail out to sea and do new things. (Grace Hopper)

If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary. (Jim Rohn)

It takes risks to achieve. It’s often scary. It requires something you didn’t know before or a skill you didn’t have before. But in the end, it’s worth it. (Jack Canfield)

Our lives improve only when we take chances – and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves. (Walter Anderson)

The only way to be absolutely safe is never to try anything for the first time. (Magnus Pyke)

It is only by taking risks from one hour to the other that we live at all. (William James)

Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing. (Denis Waitley)

Everything is sweetened by risk. (Alexander Smith)

The men who have done big things are those who were not afraid to attempt big things, who were not afraid to risk failure in order to gain success. (B. C. Forbes)

One must work and dare if one really wants to live. (Vincent van Gogh)