i hear ya, taipans.
consider myself a student of racing (however short-bus oriented i might be). have taught myself many lessons at the track -- from earlier fantasies of thinking i would make the big hit and all my troubles would be over, to a now more sober, rational approach. but it's a great game in my opinion. like hitting 'fast departure' in the the 5th at gulfstream today. just a 2 dollar bet returning 23, but still that's pretty cool.
and i like your opinions about touts. i took a couple continuing educ classes in lex, but really what it taught me was different options in betting, like wheels, like a unit to win and two to place. maybe buying picks from touts is like buying picks in other sports, not a good idea, and takes you completely out of the game, like you were sending your money to a mutual fund or something.