“Well, I pick horses about as well as I pick men. I end up empty-handed with a little less money than I started with.” – Me to Stephen after choosing another losing horse at the races.
Stephen has been a wonderful host and has planned some fun things for my return visit to Australia. I know we had our ups and downs on the Camino but our friendship has taken a turn for the better. He’s been a rock-solid friend and I’m grateful for him…the Camino usually attracts those types of people.
Sunday, he took me to my first-ever horse race at Grafton – a town near Yamba. Stephen used to own a couple of racehorses and one of his business partners still does so we went to watch…and gamble. Sinners!
I was slightly torn about going. I love sporting events and a good competition but I’ve read and heard about the ugly side of the horse racing business as well. Also, I’m an ice box when it comes to gambling. I’m fortunate in life, usually, things seem to flow my way but not when it comes to placing a bet. Years ago when I working in Major League Baseball, we had a big conference in Las Vegas and several of the staff hit up the casinos after the meetings. One of my friends from the Oakland A’s kept bugging me about going to the blackjack table with him. I said, “Drew, I’m the Cooler, you definitely don’t want me anywhere near a casino. I’ll freeze the place out.” He wouldn’t take no for an answer. So after about 15 minutes, I was in the hole 400 bucks of the $500 he gave me to play with. He said, ‘wow, you weren’t kidding.” I gave him back the $100, stood up from the chair, and said I’m leaving the building so you can win it all back…which thankfully he did. Crisis averted.
I gave Stephen this same warning and told him the Vegas story. He wouldn’t take no for an answer either. Men are idiots sometimes. You warn them and they still don’t listen.
We arrived at the track about 30 minutes before the first race. Plenty of time to get inside, grab a drink, look at the horse, and place our first bet. They were hosting a Blues and BBQ event as well so they had great music and food.
There were seven races scheduled in total. Stephen was excited about making me place the bets for each race. He swore it would break my unlucky streak. I was not so sure and felt a little uncomfortable about it. First, we did a top three mystery pick (I had no idea what this meant at the time we bought it) which means the computer randomly picks three horses to finish in the top three. All three have to match. This just seems like the odds are against you but I guess the payout is good. We did not win one of these tickets. Shocker.
Next, Stephen told me to pick a horse for the first race. I was torn between Barney Rabble and Sir Havachat. I looked at the stats in the paper and Sir Havachat was the favorite…although I liked Barney Rabble’s name better. Against my intuition of the name, I placed a bet of $5 to place and $5 to win on Sir Havachat. Barney Rabble won…by a fair amount. Sir Havachat came in 4th, meaning we didn’t place so I lost both bets ($10 AUD) right out of the gate. Loser.
I gave Stephen a second warning saying he should pick the horses. Since we were playing with his money, I didn’t want to lose it. I know I’m a freezer, no way am I throwing away good money on my confirmed bad gambling luck. This is one area where I’m not an idiot. Stephen had a confidence that I didn’t understand, I know I’m an ice cube, but as directed, I kept placing the bets.
We walked down to the area where they walk the horses before the race and the jockeys mount-up, to get a good look at the horses before we placed the next bet. We (meaning I) picked #13 (my lucky number) Marlou Millie was the name, but at the last minute, I almost picked #8 Smile Upon a Star because when we saw it walking around the preview area it looked half asleep. I said to Stephen, “that horse is going to win, look how calm it is. It’s done this before.” I even photographed it before the race because I like it so much! He talked me out of it…he said it would be dead last so I went with my not-so-lucky gambling number. The race was not even close. 6th place for our fine stud. #8 won the lot. I should have followed my gut. I’m letting Stephen take the loss on this one. And look how cute the young man is parading this beauty.
Finally, in race number three, we (I) got lucky. I looked at the stats and loved the name of horse #6, Indy Rose Warrior. I love a good Warrior. I placed $5 to win and $5 to place, again. #1 place! We actually won! In the video below you will see the first race where our Warrior won and I was screaming with excitement. Ahhhh we are winners, it feels soooo gooood. And the collection of money was fantastic. We made $21 (after the bet). Rolling in the dough, right? Wrong. We were still losing but the new money in our hands made ya feel like a real winner. I can see now how addiction starts. They do have a number on the ticket if you have an addiction. I took note, just in case I got obsessed.
Race #4, I chose Pretty Shamrock and it came in second so we got $7.50 back. We lost $2.50 even with a win. I’m not like this as much anymore. The thrill was fading.
We grabbed a sandwich and a ginger beer with the hopes of cheering us up. I think they call that “emotional eating.” Whatever it’s called, it helped. We were back at it and ready for the next race.
In race 5, I backed a horse name Brickster. It had terrible stats but something about it made me place my bet on him. I thought he was handsome walking around the track. Well, he laid a load of bricks and came in 8th. Bust again. I think this is the moment that I said the quote above.
Stephen’s business partner Mike had a horse running in the seventh race so we went down to the stables to have a look. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the horse and Mike wasn’t at the race but we did find these cute companion ponies that hang out with the horses. Absolutely adorable. I want to put my money on them.
Okay, back to business, I had more money to lose.
Race #6. Stephen and I looked at the stats and watched the horses in the preview circle before the race. We agreed that we’d put the same bets as before on Aquarius. At the last minute, while I was placing the bet, I ALMOST said, Captain Canuck. I don’t know why I had that thought but I ignored it and went with what we had agreed upon together. When we were walking to the seats, I told Stephen what happened and he shot me a look that said, “you should have picked The Captain.” The race starts, the horses take off…and then everyone is cheering because Captain Canuck (apparently a fan favorite) is ahead by two horse lengths when he crossed the finish line. Aquarius came in second. Which means we placed and would have won a little something but we were so distraught about what had happened that we didn’t even realize to turn the ticket in for some cash and tossed it in the garbage. Gambling is really not my thing. I don’t even collect the winnings! Jeez.
Deep breath.
Okay, we are down to the seventh and final race of the day. Mike’s horse has good odds to win so Stephen places a big bet to support his partner. Stephen also had a tip about another horse so he told me to put the $10 on that one just in case. Well, as you can see in the video below, the second race in the clip is Mike’s horse, Commanding Reign. He pulled out the win in the end! All I could think was HALLELUJAH, Stephen won back all his money that I lost and then some. Whew. I was starting to feel bad about losing so much.
Before we grabbed the cash and ran, we made our way down to the Winner’s Circle to congratulate the jockey – a female rider no less…woo hoo! We snapped a photo for Mike of us with “our” winning ticket and then drove to his house for a celebratory beer and Chinese food. It’s good to be a winner.
So all in all it was an excellent first time at the races. Only one jockey was thrown off a horse (don’t worry, he got up and walked off the track), Mike’s horse won, and Stephen won more money than he started with…but I’m going to leave the gambling to the professionals.
Goodnight and much love from Australia! 🇦🇺
