Back in my Junior High School days we'd sometimes visit (old) River Downs in Cincinnati for a Saturday afternoon of racing where I'd run bets for The Old Master of the Turf - the same venue a youthful Peter Edward Rose would run bets for his own father. Neither of us much cared for (old) River Downs. The grandstand was of the County Fair variety. With the obliteration of (old) River Downs, I had been eager to see its multi-million dollar state-of-the-racino-art replacement known now as Belterra Park. The Old Master of the Turf had been there once or twice before me, and while he liked generally the Belterra Park facility he thinks it's too far a drive when Miami Valley Gaming is so much closer to his top secret bunker in an undisclosed location.
During the month of August some of the better known race tracks host live racing; Gulfstream, Arlington, Del Mar. We've always preferred, and made it our annual Father-Son birthday celebration, to focus our handicapping/wagering efforts on the live racing from historic Saratoga Race Course.
We didn't arrive at Belterra Park until mid-afternoon and mere minutes before the 7th race from Saratoga. We took our seats and got down to business!
You will recall my description of the race book at Miami Valley Gaming. I find the MVG accommodations analogous to a Soviet-era gulag. Belterra Park provides their simulcast wagering patrons with a luxurious space that is both stylish and comfortable (photo, above). Well, except for - oddly - their betting machines. The interface and display functions are old school, Atari 2600-like.
Upon opening my Daily Racing Form program to Saratoga's 7th race I quickly discovered that Race 7, set to go off in less than 5 minutes, was the start of that afternoon's Pick 4. I speed-handicapped my way through the upcoming four races and made my bets as the horses were being loaded into the Saratoga starting gate, fumbling my way through the archaic mechanism of the betting terminal. Sitting down at my desk, Mr B and I compared wagers as the field charged down the backstretch; we both bet the same horse (morning line odds; 8-1). Our selection roared home first and The B Team was off to a profitable start.
My selection in Race 8 (unfortunately named Ah Gaga) finished a close second, torpedoing my live Pick 4 ticket and simultaneously making me regret not playing my horse to both Win and Place.
The multiple selections I used for the third leg (Race 9) of my Pick 4 finished 3rd, 4th and 5th.
Needing a change of luck, I employed a time-honored strategy; I took a walk.
The track itself wasn't in great condition that afternoon thanks to heavy rains earlier in the day, but the grandstand is nice, architecturally modern and the backdrop has always been the visual gem of racing along the banks of the mighty Ohio River. In the two photos above, the trees you see line the northern bank of the Ohio River, the rolling hills are the geomorphic signature of the Bluegrass State.
Returning to my desk, The Old Master of the Turf was rooting home a winner on the turf at Arlington:
Taking a cue from him, I decided to expand my wagering opportunities to a couple of other tracks. That's normally a recipe for financial disaster. However, I was just betting minimums so there wasn't a lot of harm to be done to my bankroll. While pouring over the next races from Gulfstream and Arlington, the last leg of my (now dead) Pick 4 came home a winner:
I really liked the #11 (above; and that's why I circled her program number), a filly named More Everything sired by Ghostzapper, but she was scratched when rains at Saratoga moved the 10th (and final) race off the turf and onto the dirt main track. My fall-back pick was the #10 Untiltherewasyou, sired by Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown. Mr B looked askance at my pick, dismissing my filly's chances by saying "She's breaking from far outside." I replied, "So did Big Brown in the [2008] Kentucky Derby."
I collected an invigorating $11.50 for my $4 wager.
Twelve minutes later (you can check the time stamps on my tickets for confirmation), and with no more live racing from Saratoga to wager on, I bet a filly in the 9th race at Gulfstream named Georgia. In four lifetime starts, Georgia - recently jettisoned from the barn of noted trainer Bob Baffert - made three starts on synthetic surfaces and lost them all by a combined 55 lengths (and with good jockeys, too). Yet this day's race was on the dirt and Georgia had won her only previous career start on the dirt. What clinched it for me were the two bullet workouts Georgia carried into this race.
Georgia returned to me $11.20 for my $2 Win/Place.
13 minutes later (check the time stamps) I scored another winner when, at Arlington, the #1 (part of a two-horse entry with #1a) named Badger Bay crushed his foes in the 8th race.
My straight $5 to Win on Badger Bay paid $12.
This succession marked the first time in my life that I'd hit the winner in three sequential races at three different tracks.
Initially I harbored no intention of playing races at Arlington. That was, until, I saw a live segment broadcast from the Arlington paddock from my favorite trackside filly reporter (is that sexist? I suppose if one has to ask...); Alyssa Ali. I took that as an alluring sign.
The Old Master of the Turf had been on a roll, too, and we both departed Belterra Park in good financial order.
As a perk of being a valued season ticket holder, the Reds comped me 4 tickets to the Reds-Braves game that took place later that same evening. On the drive from Belterra Park to Great American Ball Park, we both kept referring to Belterra Park as River Downs and we were in agreement that they should have retained that venerable name for the race track.
To be continued.....
Roll the credits!
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