Whether you’re spending your first day at Santa Anita Park or have been a regular to the sport of kings, sooner or later you will find yourself dipping your toes into what are known as the “exotic bets,” or any type of wager that isn’t win, place or show. Typically sitting between the pick 3 and pick 6 in terms of payout versus PROBABILITY of payout, the pick 4 can be a very enticing wager indeed. Confident in your handicapping abilities, you take the plunge into the elusive multi-race bet.

And things are really going your way; you get through the first leg handily. You’ve covered your next two legs well and now if only that horse you singled in the last leg would come in, a piece of that pick 4 pool will be heading home with you.

And then your horse finishes clear off the board. Your Pick 4 is broken, as is probably your spirit.

We know the feeling, and we’re here to help relate what you must be going through and hopefully help you cope. We’ll use the Kübler-Ross model (better known as the five stages of grief). Let’s begin.

Stage 1: Denial

It might be hard to believe that your handicapping skills aren’t infallible, but no amount of denial is going to bring on that steward’s inquiry you so desperately want. And don’t blame your friend for advising you to throw out that horse you liked, even though you totally liked that horse before the race and aren’t just saying that since it finished first.

Stage 2: Anger

Maybe your denial stage is a little short-lived and your real “first” reaction is this. Maybe you’re mad at yourself, the horse, the jockey, or previously mentioned close friend or confidant. We urge you to refrain from smashing. It’ll be okay.

Stage 3: Bargaining

The above video pretty encompasses the entirety of bargaining after a missed Pick 4 (watch your volume). Enough said.

Stage 4: Depression

When anger subsides, only tears remain. Perhaps not physical tears, but not hitting ALWAYS feels bad.

Stage 5: Acceptance

But ultimately, you move on. The meet is long, my friend, and there are plenty of other bonehead decisions left to make. Don’t despair, forgive that friend whose fault it probably wasn’t in the first place and use these moments to grow and learn as a handicapper.

We hope you’ll remember all that next time a bad beat has got you down. Good luck out there and as always, wager responsibly, my friends.