A way of thinking that makes horse racing fun, even if you don't win

Enjoying 'race development' as a hypothesis

When you play the horses,
you inevitably find yourself riding an emotional rollercoaster based on whether you 'won or lost'.

But I've realized something recently.
The most exciting moment in horse racing is before the results are in.

Before the gates open,
while looking at each horse's running style, draw, jockey, and track conditions,
the time spent mentally constructing the race by thinking,
'Isn't this how the race will unfold?'

I think that time is the true essence of horse racing.

Formulating 'hypotheses' instead of predictions

In this notebook,
I won't be listing marks like ◎, ◯, or ▲.

Instead, I will do only one thing.

Formulate a hypothesis about the race development.

For example,
• How many front-runners are there?
• Is it likely to be a fast pace or a slow one?
• Which horse's position will allow it to run with the least stress?

Rather than thinking about 'who will win',
I think first about 'what kind of race it will be'.

Then, something strange happens.

Even if I lose,
I can reflect and apply it to the next race by saying,
'My read was right, but the horse wasn't good enough'
or 'The race development was the opposite of what I thought'.

On days you don't win, pick up the reasons for your loss

I think the biggest waste in horse racing is
ending a losing race by calling it a 'crappy race'.
There is treasure to be found precisely when you lose.

• How was my pace judgment?
• Was the jockey's decision within my expectations?
• Where did I overlook something?
By putting this into words,

it becomes harder to make the same mistake in the next race.
I believe horse racing is

not a game of winning, but a game of improving your accuracy.
What I will do with this account
On this account, I will write only:

• Before the race: Hypotheses on race development

• After the race: Checking the answers against the results
• Reflections regardless of winning or losing
I won't hype things up.
I won't brag.

I won't post recovery rates.

I will simply
preserve horse racing as 'time spent thinking'.

Finally

If you are currently someone who:
• Finds horse racing has become a chore
• Loses interest immediately when you lose
• Is tired of making predictions

I want you to try stopping the 'chase for a win' just once.

Just by thinking about the race development,
horse racing becomes surprisingly quiet, deep, and interesting.

This is a record book for that purpose.