Thanks to a friend's birthday party, we entered the world of horse-racing at Bay Meadows in San Mateo the other day. It was my second foray into this other realm since my Chicago office's annual picnic at Arlington Park 10 years ago. Beginner's luck won me $20 back then, and it came through again this time for my guy's maiden voyage. After being burned in a previous race on bets to "win" (where, to collect, the selected horse must finish 1st), we timidly bet to "place" (horse can finish 1st or 2nd) in Race #5. The horses in this race were in the category of "4-year olds and upwards which have never won three races". The old fogeys were going to run "five and one half furlongs" or about 0.7 mile.
While I lost another $5 on beautiful gray speckled horse Roaring Springs (#8), my date's pick of Chanting Warrior (#11), came in 2nd place and won him $22! Before our addictive personalities got the better of us, we excitedly pocketed our winnings, gave our hosts big hugs, and made a wide-eyed and swift exit soon afterwards.
With this 74-year old landmark slated to be torn down for redevelopment later this year -- and campaigns being waged to stop it -- this may have been our one and only visit. Kinda sad, as historic racetracks continue to be a dying breed.
1 comment:
gambling bad... horses good ;) by the way, what happened to all our winnings? you did help me pick the horse. you are my lucky charm.
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