You've waited your turn in line, done a little research and the cash is ready to go, but before you place your bets, there's one guy you might want to tune in to.
NYRA handicapper Anthony Stabile is a racing analyst, co-hosting "Talking Horses" alongside Andy Serling. The pair discuss the card each race day.
"I'm a little pig-headed,” said Stabile. "I'm a little stubborn; I'm a little opinionated, which every handicapper and horse player should be. I'm probably more so than most, which does not always benefit my pocket or my NYRA Bets account, but it is what it is."
From a child, Stabile saw no other path than to be in the racing industry.
"When I was born, Angel Cordero and George Velasquez, widely considered two of the greatest jockeys of all time, their flowers beat my dad to the hospital room, so to say I was born here is a bit of an understatement," said Stabile.
Now notorious around Saratoga for his picks, fans call him “The Big A.”
Stabile says the first variable he's looking for is to identify the speed horse.
"From there, I'll take a look at the human connections," said Stabile. "I know it's horse racing and not jockey racing. I think the jockey and the trainer play really big roles in how a horse performs. Then I’ll keep an eye on the weather, see if there's any kind of bias on the race track, see if there’s a certain barn or a certain trainer that's winning in bunches."
What Stabile says to the public is what he actually bets on. He says he's only changed his mind four times in his career.
Speaking of a sure thing, Stabile says there's no other gig that would suit him better. He's exactly where he wants to be.
"I don't say I have a job," said Stabile. "I don't have a career, I have a life, because I don't feel like I'm ever at work."