The Zodiac horseplayer

When 305 horseplayers converge later this week at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas for the $1,119,000 Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) most contestants will immerse themselves in the Form, their trip notes, the sheets and all sorts of handicapping data and information. Not Frank Jakubowsky. He couldn’t care less about who has the best speed figures, who will move up in the slop, or who has a trainer in the midst of a winning streak. He’ll be more interested in whether or not Pisces is ascending and what Mercury, Venus and Mars are up to. Or something like that.

Jakubowsky lives in Oakland, is a 79-year-old retiree and has been playing the horses for ten years. He started out like most, with a Racing Form and a determination to beat the game with traditional methods. But after his losses started to mount, he figured he’d be better off relying solely on astrology. It had been his hobby for years and he thought it might just unlock the mysteries of who’s going to get to the wire first.

“I don’t pick horses,” he said. “I pick positions. For instance, the race number and the horse number. I look at certain relationships between astrology, numbers and letters.”

After he has done his research and looks into upcoming races, Jakubowsky doesn’t conclude that, say, Blame will beat Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, but, perhaps, that the four is going to come home in the sixth race Thursday at Santa Anita. Why? Because that’s what’s in the stars.

“I use a lot of astrology and do a lot of research,” he said. “I look at, for instance, what position the sun is in and so forth. I put it on a computer and I evaluate each of these positions. I have the computer look into a half-a-dozen different astrology ideas and the computer adds it all up. The computer evaluates each race and each number for me.”

He decided to open up an on-line account with Xpressbet and entered that company’s “Beat the Host” contests. On this particular day, everything clicked for Jakubowsky, who, through the Xpressbet contest, earned a spot in the finals of the National Handicapping Championship.

“I think I just got lucky that day,” said Jakubowsky, the oldest player to qualify for the championship.

At least he’s honest. Jakubowsky, a $2 player, says he hasn’t been winning at the track since he started in with his astrology system, but he’s trying and he’s convinced he’s on to something.

“I’m doing more research all the time,” he said. “Every week I try a new idea that I look into and I discard what doesn’t work. I’m an astrologer and I figured no one else was doing it, so maybe I could come up with some winning long shots. There’s no one else that has a system like this.”

He even looked into the signs of the horses. Born May 2, Blame is a Taurus. Born April 1, Zenyatta is an Aries. Might that have had something to do with why Blame beat her in the Breeders’ Cup Classic? Jakubowsky isn’t sure. He says the time of day the horse is born is a relevant factor and that information isn’t readily available, which is why his research in this area hit a dead end.

Jakubowsky is also an author, releasing his books under the name of “Bold Books” publishing. According to his bio, he “has discovered the mind pattern of a person. It is revealed in a person’s writing pattern. There are ten parts to the pattern. Each part has a certain quality. That means that people write in a cycle with ten parts. He has done word counts on the ten parts to prove it scientifically.”

Jakubowsky realizes a lot of people are no doubt skeptical that you can pick horses using astrology. And he’s the first to admit that he hasn’t proven a thing yet. But he thinks he can do this and come up with a system that links astrology and the races. The end result, he hopes, will be fame and fortune … mostly fortune.

Born Oct. 11, Jakubowsky is a Libra. Here’s his horoscope for Saturday, the final day of the contest:

“You feel that you have to fight for what you want or believe in, and you are very clear, decisive, and convincing right now …”

” … convincing right now?” Hmmm. Sounds like there are going to be a lot of people who believe in Frank Jakubowsky come Saturday.

Originally Posted on ESPN