OPEN SEASON FOR HORSEPLAYERS.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Horse Racing 

Bet a little, win a lot. It's kind of a motto to Louis Constan, a third-time contestant in the National Handicapping Championship beginning today in Las Vegas. You might say it has been the Glendale horseplayer's strategy since before he had a strategy.

Constan, 38, made his first bets on horse races at Santa Anita on a February afternoon in 1986, having gone to the Arcadia track with friends. After making conservative show bets on the first four races and losing them all, he had nothing in his pocket except a dollar bill and some change. He counted out $2 and put it on the longest shot in the next race, a gray horse named Swallage.

Standing in the infield, Constan couldn't see the early stages of the sprint down the Santa Anita hillside turf course and had to rely on Trevor Denman's call until the runners came into view in the homestretch.

``About 200 yards from the finish, this gray horse comes sweeping by,'' Constan said this week. ``It was an incredible feeling.''

Swallage rallied from seventh to win the race by 2 1/2 lengths and return $133.80.

Constan's approach is more sophisticated now, the beginner's wild stabs and hunch bets replaced by careful analysis of Daily Racing Form data and pedigree statistics.

But the hunt for long shots remains a staple of his approach to the national tournament, a five-year-old event billed as the U.S. Open for horseplayers.

``In a way, in a tournament, that's the type of horse you have to win on,'' Constan said, referring to Swallage. ``The people who do well in tournaments usually hit at least one big long shot.''

The tournament's 261 players must make 15 theoretical $2 win and place bets on races at Santa Anita and eight other U.S. tracks on each of the two days at Bally's casino. The player with the highest total winnings will get the $100,000 first prize. Defending champion Steve Wolfson, 2000 winner Steve Walker and 2001 winner Judy Wagner are in the field.

Constan, one of 32 Southern California residents in the tournament, is one of a dozen men and women who have qualified for the event three or more times with high finishes in smaller contests at tracks, off-track facilities and online wagering sites. Constan has qualified through meet- long handicapping contests at Fairplex Park in Pomona.

Though he hasn't done well in the national tournament, finishing 129th in 2001 and 161st in 2003, simply qualifying three times is an achievement for a horseplayer who is far from a professional handicapper.

Constan, a Glendale High graduate who is single, is an H&R Block tax preparer and financial advisor. The thought of a horseplayer telling people what to do with their money might strike some as odd. Not Constan.

``I think dealing with numbers helps (make someone a good handicapper),'' the soft-spoken Constan said on the phone from his Glendale home. ``A lot of people in the tournament work with numbers.''

Besides, Constan describes himself as anything but a two-fisted gambler. He's a once-a-week race-goer who takes about $200 to the track, sets aside $50 to $100 for exotic bets and makes $20 win bets his bread and butter.

``I'm serious to the extent that I don't bet blindly,'' said Constan, who competes in baseball and football fantasy leagues and makes point- spread wagers only when he's in Las Vegas. ``But I'm not serious to the extent that I try to make a living with it. I don't make a lot of money at horse racing. Over the last five years, I'm probably up. I know, though, that over the next five years I could lose money.''

He could lock in a long-range profit by winning the National Handicapping Championship, or even by taking home the $40,000 second prize.

``I'm actually more confident this time,'' Constan said. ``With experience, I've learned how to manage my handicapping time better. ... I think gradually, over the years, I've improved as a handicapper.''

Not easy to do when you debuted with a $133 winner.

--The weekend: Although it is promoted as lavishly as one of the sport's traditional classics, the Sunshine Millions appeals to fans on a more basic level. Saturday's program, pitting California-breds against Florida-breds in eight races divided between Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park, offers large fields of horses facing each other for the first time.

The 95 entrants are nearly 12 per race, a rarity these days. That's a lot more interesting to bettors than the contrived California-vs.-Florida track meet, which in last year's inaugural Sunshine Millions was decided early in favor of Florida.

Santa Anita hosts today's main event, the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic, a 1 1/8-mile race for 4-year-olds and up. Florida-bred Peace Rules and jockey Jerry Bailey are the likely stars and are 9-5 on the morning line. California-breds Grey Memo and Continental Red are the top locals.

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- Kevin Modesti