Learning To Bet: Day #3

by Cyrus Rahimi

Today was the day! Finally I won! Not a big win, but I picked Classicality and Brian Zendt in the eighth race to win, place, and show and he came in second. I was surprised that my excitement was matched by the people behind the counter taking bets. They had seen me struggling the past two days to make a winning wager and were genuinely excited for me.

One of the awesome aspects of being at the track often, is that I am starting to be on a first name basis with the regulars. One of the owners who helped me learn the program has become a friend, and the couple that taught me how to play an exacta, say hello every time I walk in the door. I enjoy the camaraderie you find at the track. Although everyone is placing their own bets, they are genuinely trying to share knowledge with one another. No matter the age discrepancy, everyone is trying to help and join in the wins and losses with each other.

I am starting to understand how to choose drivers. I had a race where Ron Burke had two horses in, Dave Palone was on one and Pantaleano was racing the other. I chose the one with Dave, guessing that he most likely has his choice of what horse he wanted to drive. I thought I had a great pick, but then lightning struck. A horse won that paid $443.80 on a two dollar wager. I lost, but learned that sometimes it’s worth betting a win, place, or show on a horse with odds that high. I plan to bring friends to the track on Saturday and see if we can get some wins under our belt. They are curious, and I feel like I can explain the basics of playing the horses to them.