The unofficial horseplayers dictionary defines a Bridge Jumper as: A person who wagers his life savings on the dead-lock favorite in any given race to come in at least third, or a SHOW bet.  If this favorite does not make it as one of the top three finishers, well the person making this wager then…well, jumps off the nearest bridge or tall structure.

I am always inclined to look for the ‘value play’.  Not necessarily a “bomb” but something better than a 3-5 favorite.  Favorites win 35% of the time, so I’ll always be on the lookout to beat the favorite.  If the post time favorite beats me so be it, at least I  tried to get a better bang for my buck.

Why risk large sums of money for a relative small return.  To me the risk is greater tan the reward.  I’ve seen guys bet a $50 dollar exacta box (running 1st & 2nd in any order) with the two favorites.  That’s a $100 dollar play !  So much can happen; both horses need to break well out of the gate, run at their peak, and have a great trip.   In a mid-size field of horses I’ll take a chance with other horses offering better value, or bettor value, if you will.

Wager less, and win more.  I prefer to use 3 horses in an exacta box.  Maybe I take the first or second favorite and box it with horses with 5-1 to 10-1 odds or sometimes even higher.  So a $2 exacta box would cost me $12 dollars as opposed to larger play with the favorites.  If the both the favorites finish 1st & 2nd too bad for me, but I’m only out $12.  But if one of the high-roller $50 dollar exacta horses throws a shoe and doesn’t finish…bye, bye Mr. C-Note.