Meadowlands?
Your method sounds like one I would find the best.
Sigh. Pre-Meadowlands, it was still a swamp back then.
Saratoga several times, on TV other times, once in Florida and a couple of other places, I don't remember exactly. I never took it too seriously, it was just fun for me.
I did well on slot machines, too, now and again, but played the nickel or quarter ones, again for fun. I'd set a limit to how much I would bet for the day and stop when/if I lost it all. That way it was fun, not important, and I got to practice my hunches with no pressure to be right, no big down side, no real risk. Slightly better than half the time I'd be enough ahead at the end of the day to be able to have a really nice dinner somewhere or some other wee treat from the winnings.