On anniversary of 'greatest flight ever,' Caitlin Oishi wins $8,000

Horseplayer Caitlin Oishi won over $8,000 at opening weekend at Del Mar.

Opening Saturday gets all the stakes races, but opening Sunday is when you make money. It's the weekend before everybody catches on to the angles.

Ramon Vazquez was the rider on Heywoods Beach for the last time. Mike Smith rides for Doug O'Neil. Peter Miller rides with Phil D'Amato. Hail Freedom rides under Peter.  Peter Miller and Phil d'amato are trainers at Del Mar. They are usually busy at the end of the Santa Anita meet.

There were some spread in the sequence. Leg one and leg three I had strong opinions about. The other two were two turf grab-bag races.

Caitlin Oishi won $8,000 on the second leg of the turf race. She bet against horses named Bran and against Game of Thrones' Khaleesi and Mother of Dragons. Hector Berrios came out of nowhere on Irideo at 31-1. Jersey Joe came through for her at 18-2 on Gracelund Gray.

During Del Mar's opening weekend four years ago, Derek and his wife had gone to Kentucky for his 40th birthday. Derek had toured the Four Roses distillery earlier in the day on Sunday before flying home. He had scribbled out his handicapping for DelMar’s Pick 5 sequence on the back of the receipt. In the second and third legs he hit 20-1 bombs.

Caitlin Oishi started dating her now husband in 2008. She won $150 in the first race of the day with an exacta she had made. They started going to the Santa Anita Derby together and they both handicap. Caitlin is the more successful handicapper. She plays a little more conservatively and plays smaller stakes. Her husband plays more swing for the fences and go for bold angles.

Megan Devine is one of the most accurate handicappers at Santa Anita. Rachel McLaughlin is at Del Mar. Andi Biancone used to give out dimes at Gulfstream. There are not a lot of female passionate handicapper out there. The horse racing industry has not made it very accessible for female fans and handicapers. There is a strong undercurrent of misogyny in the industry.

Caitlin Oishi cashed in a TVG tournament and finished in the top 5. She is a statistical bettor and trends better. Her basis is numbers, statistics and trend. She has strange betting angles like betting horses named after Taylor Swift or her songs. Caitlin's biggest score was $1700 at Fair Grounds. It was made after she got up early for the Dubai World Cup card. TVGs had a special for VIP account holders on Meydan where they would give you $50 money back for each race. When she handicapped Meyden, she summarily besmirched American horses and American jockeys.

Caitlin Oishi won $8,000 last weekend. She and her husband are taking Joel on his first trip to Del Mar this weekend, taking some of the proceeds from last week's winnings and paying for the hotel for one night.