A week or so ago on national television, one of the most knowledgeable handicappers in the world said that his plan for the stakes race up next was to look for value.

And then last night at the simulcast venue well located nine-tenths of a mile from my home, a man sitting behind four empty long-neck beer bottles said that his best plan for an upcoming $3,000 claiming race was to use all his handicapping powers to search for value.

Looking for value.

This is the most common phrase used while betting on horses.

And with War Emblem apt to be so popular Saturday in New York, many gamblers will at least consider looking for value before moving to the wagering windows.

How can a phrase that doesn't make a lot of sense be considered fundamental to the formulation of wagering strategy?

Looking for value: A philosophical discussion
Sometimes a person looking for value can sound just plain dumb.

Let's see, this horse at even-money is going to win.

But who needs a lousy 100 percent return on your money in a minute, ten.

Hey, there's a halfway decent looking animal at 7-1.

Of course, he's not going to get there.

But let's bet him anyway. As he runs ninth around the track, we'll stand secure in the knowledge that if the eight ahead of him grind to a standstill, we will then have our blessed value.

In a perfect handicapping world, value should be a bonus.

You look at the past performances with no eye toward the morning or closing lines and find something you like and arrange a bet accordingly: Say, twenty bucks to win and place. A couple of Exacta boxes for a similar sum. Wrap it up with a half a dozen or so Tri wheels.

And then you learn that the horse is 50-1, a number established by your peers, a third of whom wouldn't know which end of a horse went first around a track, a third of whom were victims of the obvious, and almost a third of whom were half drunk.

So seeing odds made by bozos, you think oh, no, 50-1, this horse can't be any good. And you pull back and reduce your bets for forget them altogether, trusting people off the tour bus to be great handicappers.

About a month ago, I let big odds chase me off a horse.

My thought: If he were any good, he wouldn't be 35 to 1.

When next you think that, take a good look at the people who make him a $72 animal, that guy over there barking like a dog, for example.

The horse I let go because of big odds ran second and paid a small fortune to place and a little fortune to show.

The Exacta with the second choice was right around a billion dollars.

Sometimes odds are like body language. They matter.

When a first-time starter with no breeding to speak of and bad works goes off at 4-5 at a rinky-dink track, this matters.

There are ways around bad-value propositions.

You bet more.

You go to the exotics.

Or there's always this revolutionary concept: Don't bet.

So it turns out that looking for value is probably another way of saying the favorite stinks.

Here's something to keep in mind in anticipation of an odds-on choice in the Belmont States: There is no value in a loser.

Belmont picks
You'd like Magic Weisner (15-1 on the opening board) to win. But you're going to be out of town. And you'd like me to bet it for you? Sure thing. Hand over the cash. Glad to help.

A word to potentially wise: Deep closers here are usually closing for leftovers here.

1. War Emblem. 2. Sunday Break. 3. Proud Citizen.