How many times have you heard that, whether for a 50-50 ticket at a high school basketball game, or for a door prize at a raffle or golf tournament.

The same is often true with horse race handicapping. You must be present to win. Or certainly, if you wan the best of it.

Saturday is a classic example of this at the Dubai Sheema Classic , Mishriff, who I have already called the best horse in the world, was dismissed at odds of 6-1. Now, I understand, the horse was switching surfaces back to grass, and faced a salty field. But were those odds justified? And when you see the move he made in the Sheema, reserved early and looping the field 5 wide on the turn, and held off 2 competitors to the wire he was definitely best.

But this was a case where you must be present to win. The ‘capper had places to go, things to do, and people to see. I did not get down early on Mishriff – I would have NEVER expected a $14.70 payout – but certainly would have hopped aboard if present.

I DID GET the best of it early with a $34 Extravagant Kid, who was also a tremendous overlay. But that was strictly an odds play – the horse was too live to be that long of a shot.

I will set some plays in advance when I beleive I have some certainty in the odds (probably an expectation of 5-2 or better) but almost never for an even money shot.

So not to belabor the point – which I have mentioned before. You have to take the opportunities that you are presented. In this case, the obvious overlay. It also stresses how much you need to get the best of it with all your handicapping endeavors – whether in takeout, rebate, data – any expense. I cash plenty of 7-1 horses. But not so many that I can’t use another one.

Take what they give you. They’re giving away money at the track ever day.

By the way, “fastest horse in the world” and “best horse in the world” are terms that I generally toss around sarcastically, as it’s heard way too often when a horse springs a big performance. But in this case with Mishriff, I think he has proven it well for the moment. Mishriff continues to headline our Older Horse/Handicap Division Rankings, which you can see updated here.