Waiting tables at Pizza Hut and going to college kept me busy into the homestretch of the 60’s decade. I had money burning a hole in my pocket and reliable wheels in the form of a VW bug and a full sense of adventure gnawing away inside my gut.
Business was slow that early spring evening when a conversation developed between another employee, myself and an interesting stranger at the other side of the 4 stooled bar. Yes, Pizza Huts back then actually had a 4 stool bar for patrons who were waiting on their order, or eating by themselves, or just plain thirsty for a cold brew.
I overheard the other two talking about going to the horse track in Omaha, and I couldn’t believe my ears. This wasn’t a carnival game they were talking about, but instead, the real thing with live horses and real money! And maybe there would be Tim Tam and Seabiscuit too! I was just a bit naive.
So we drove the 3 hours to get there and get our seat in the grandstand and I am on overload…. what is this? A newspaper to play the game and a program and a pencil and more numbers and facts and names than my Dad’s Wall Street Journal, oh my! But it’s pre-simulcasting and there’s only one race track and one race to bet and the track is so nice that they give us a half an hour to figure out who we think is going to pay off. So it’s race time and I think I know who might win without bothering my concentrated friends too much. Now I need to figure out how to bet that decision… wow… this here “show bet” is a real deal cause they’ll pay me if the horse comes in 1-2 or 3, you can’t beat that, right? Wrong! My $2 paid me $2.20 and that was about as exciting as kissing your sister.
As the day grew on I noticed that our stranger friend had the same answer when asked, “Who’d ya take?” And that was, “I didn’t bet this one”. This went on for about 5or 6 races and come to find out that he was willing to sit there till the 8th race and then walk up to the $50 window and plunk down a hundred dollar bill on one horse to win. To him it wasn’t a game it was life or death, he was serious, so serious as to drive a total of 6 hours, to place a large bet on one horse. That was his style and just a bit too serious for me.
I was serious to, don’t get me wrong, but I was having too much fun getting in on every single race. And having a horse to yell at down the stretch. By the way, our strange friend placed his $100 Win bet and proceeded to watch his horse lose by a half a length at the finish and he was ready to go home. What a party pooper.
I did learn a few important lessons that day:
-When going to the track take more than $30…. by the time I bought a grandstand ticket, a program, a Racing Form, a beer, a hot dog and lost $6 by walking away from the window to quickly after placing a couple bets …. I had little left to wager.
-Show bets don’t pay squat.
-Don’t sit next to a talker when you’re trying to figure out the next race.
-Never wear white pants….. Racing Form ink travels.
-Always count your change and check your ticket after placing your bet.
-Bet quickly cause the big guy behind you might not like getting shut out.
-Horses are numbers not names at the betting window.
-Tickets on the floor are 99.999% pure worthless tickets… there are no winners on the floor!
-Don’t talk to anyone who is already talking to nobody before they meet you.
-And the most important thing I learned that day was… I love horse racing!
Waiting tables at Pizza Hut and going to college kept me busy into the homestretch of the 60’s decade. I had money burning a hole in my pocket and reliable wheels in the form of a VW bug and a full sense of adventure gnawing away inside my gut.