My Confusing Day At The Track

Went to Canterbury Park with a friend today.  Tried to make money, but lost about $20, even though on past occasions at the racetracks I've lost my shirt.

The day wasn't without its extreme annoyances, though.  I tried to make a big splash by betting $5 to show on one horse in the first race after we got there, the second.  Lost and it made me gun-shy for the next few races.  Decided to eat a coney dog.  As usual when I eat hot dogs, the damn bottom of the bun fell apart.  And since it's a coney dog, all the chili fell through -- and, eventually, the hot dog.  I had to reassemble the fucking hot dog, for crissake.  And once I got done with that, I had to scoop up the excess chili by using the straw I put in my root beer float.  And then, the chili attracted a bee or a wasp or a hornet, and I'm terrified of those creatures, so I looked ridiculous out in the open swatting away at that thing like a spazz.

But then I started scrutinizing my own picks.  I usually bet at least twice per race, and when I bet more I sometimes stack picks on top of each other (where all of my bets have one horse in common), or I spread them out, or hedge (usually this means I pick at least two horses to, say, show).  I didn't have too much success, but when I hit, I realized a few races later that I didn't really make any money, or worse I still lost money because I made so many loser bets.  For example, my best race was the one where I bet the touted best bet to win, then paired it up top with three potential horses for the exacta.  I hit the exacta, but my combined winnings were $14.80.  For that particular race I made $10 worth of bets, so my profit was ... $4.80.  And in the penultimate race, I hit one out of my three winning tickets, a show bet, and my profit was ... 20 cents.

Now, I had plenty of times where I mentally kicked myself in retrospect -- I thought of a trifecta that hit, one longshot show horse won the last race and I would've wound up in the black if I bet him first -- but now this hedging really bothers me.  I put a lot of irons in the fire, but even if I win on one of them, those winnings have to make up for the losses on the other bets.  But I thought it's best if you cast a wide net; what's the use of pouring all your money into one horse if you're wrong?  Then again, I don't want to keep plodding along, winning four bucks here, forty cents there.

Does anyone out there know the right strategy when it comes to betting the ponies?  Have I done this all wrong?