Chicken Soup for the Soul

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Over the course of the past nine years, my sister and I along with various other family members and friends, have trekked to Colonial Downs for exciting days at the horse race track. Over that time, I’ve grown to love that track and have learned a lot about the sport. The more I learn; however, the more I realize how much I don’t know.

Colonial has begun to make a name for its high quality turf courses. Yesterday, Colonial was celebrating the ninth running of the Virginia Derby, second race in a $2 million turf bonus series. This year, race organizers were offering a guaranteed $1,000,000 purse-making the Derby one of the richest races in the sport. The weather forecast was for typical blazing mid-90 degree heat and suffocating humidity. Although the day started overcast, the sun finally won and unleashed its weapons upon its prisoners.

We set up shop on the 35 yard line on the right side of the finish line. Unfortunately, we didn’t arrive early enough to garner a canopy bench seat; instead, we plunked down and camped on a sun-stroked aluminum bench right next to the tent.

My sister and I tend to come from the same school of betting. We don’t believe in making big bets. She is more likely than me to place a greater than $2 bet, while I’m more likely than her to bet every race. In short, neither of us will ever get rich nor go broke following this sport. I usually come to the park with $20 in my pocket to bet all ten races. When my funds dry up, I sit and watch. Many times in the past, I’ve been relegated to sitting; but not yesterday.

The first race of the day was a five furlong sprint involving babies. Basically, a large group of two year old juvenile horses are “loaded” in to a gate and shot off down the track. After looking through entries, I was struck by the fact that only two of the horses had ever run a race, so past performance would be no factor in deciding where to place money. Instead, I had really only a few bits of information to guide me. I decided to focus on jockey reputation and trainer stats when dealing with first or second time starters. Using that approach and by doing a confirming look-over in the paddock, I decided to box two horses in a $1 Exacta bet-Sporting Print (4) and Hot Guy (5). The latter was being ridden by Alex Karamanos (Special K), the local leading track jock. "Special K" always seems to get first choice of mounts at Colonial, so it’s never a bad bet to go with him. When the horses came home, 4 and 5 were leading the way, and I pocketed my first win in the first race, a staggering sum of $6.40. I know that's not much cash, but in my book, I had gotten the ticket cashing monkey off my back in the first race, and now I would be playing with house money!

Race two was a mile jaunt over the inner turf. Looking over the entrants, I noticed that there was an overwhelming favorite, Kayla’s Smile and several horses with longer odds. Of those, I decided to go with a horse named Piano Bar. Most of the horses had ups and downs during previous races, but Piano Bar seemed to me to be generally improving from race to race. So, I confidently placed a $2 win bet. When I met back with my sister, the renowned “Annoyed Handicapper,” we compared picks. She, being relatively calm and not the least bit annoyed despite being trapped in the tropical heat, had actually chosen Piano Bar too, except she splurged with a Win, Place, Show bet. When we placed the bets, the odds were riding at about 11 to 1 on this horse. But as race time approached, people flocked away from our horse and the odds rocketed up to 21-1 before falling to 19-1 at post. As you may have gathered, Piano Bar took an early lead and never gave up, exploding to the finish. I hollered my way to a $40.40 win while my sister raked in even more. Overall, two races and two winning bets had to be my best start ever at the track.

In analyzing the third race, I saw no play that I felt strong enough to bet on. I suppose that’s a sign that I’m maturing as a handicapper. Know when to park your butt in the chair as my sister would say. She was parked for this race, and I was going to also until she brought up the fact that one of the horses, Compelling Fantasy, shared a birthday with my daughter. Obligated now, I slinked to the window and played a weak Show bet. It became my first losing bet of the day.

Race four came and went. My sister and I sat out this race counting the spoils of our victories. I spent some of mine on a Philly Cheese steak and a beer. Race Five brought a misguided win bet on a horse named Windward Cat. I was sucked in to the game of greed and played my $2 bet on a long shot that finished well back.

Somewhere along the way here, my sister and I met up with our friend J.O. and his wife Patti. J.O. is a real handicapper and an all around good guy. He and his wife live a life that is literally surrounded by horses. They have a place near Middleburg, VA and have adopted two retired race horses.

Brought back to my main stream of reality, I really studied Race 6 carefully. It was another 5 and a half furlong sprint with horses that had little career success. Special K was taking the race off in preparation for bigger races later, so the local track “K” crowd was leaderless. However, in to rescue their day was Rafael Bejarano, one of the country’s leading jockeys. Predictably, Bejarano solidified the “Special K” money. I was thinking differently, however. Two horses again peaked my interest, Ten Eyck (4) and Get to Steppin’(5). Both of these horses had been consistent performers in recent races while the other horses in my opinion had spotty records. So I placed my $1 exatcta box bet on numbers 4 and 5.

When the race started, Get to Steppin’ went right out and was the early power of the race. He drove it hard while Ten Eyck languished near the back. However, when the final turn hit, Ten Eyck, probably fifteen or more lengths from the leader, split wide and turned on the jets. He blasted through the field and blew past Get to Steppin’ by a length at the finish. Steppin’ bravely held on by a nose for second, and I was the proud owner of another exacta win! My exacta paid about $16 ($31.20 on a $2 bet). J.O., meanwhile, was calmly standing beside me and grinning. He had the same exacta, except he had wagered $30…

In race 7, I lost with a silly $2 exacta bet. So that brings us to the Virginia Oaks. This is a race for 3 year old fillies going one and an eighth miles. Some excellent horses were entered, but the chalk favorite was Aunt Henny. There was no clear-cut second favorite, however. So I chose to boldly place a $2 exacta bet on Aunt Henny (1) and May Night (6). Again, the race went well for me with May Night charging at the last to get second by a photo nostril. I pocketed another $17.30.

Race Nine was the much anticipated Virginia Derby. I played a silly 10 cent superfecta and didn’t factor in the contest. I was more interested in watching the race as William Mott’s trained horse, Go Between, won and one of my favorite three year olds, Seaside Retreat beating out Spider Power for second. Go Between collected $600,000 for the win for his owner, Peter Vegso. Mr. Vegso is perhaps more widely known as the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series magnate.

J.O., Patty, my sister, and I chatted our way through the tenth and final race. I think I made another silly losing bet on a horse that shared my son's birthday. Then we slowly parted ways and began to head home. All in all, it was a marvelous day at the track. If I was more of a risk taker, like J.O., I probably would have won a lot of money yesterday. As it turned out, I won enough to make the day more enjoyable, but I really enjoyed just watching those horses power their way around the track.