COLUMN: A day (not) at the races

     Sadly, you can’t always be at the races. But on Sunday I learned how much fun it can be to play along with someone who is there.

     Our friends Stacie and Joe Breitbach were in Phoenix, and went to Turf Paradise racetrack Sunday with their Arizona friends, Stu Hetherington and Vickie Holub.

     So with them enjoying a fabulous 70-and-sunny day at the track, I watched from home on TVG and bet through my account. Stacie texted me throughout the afternoon for advice as each race approached.

     It wasn’t literally a day at the races, but it wasn’t bad. I thought it would be fun to offer a transcript of our communication here.

     SB: Heading to the race track, will keep you posted.

     SB: We are getting ready to place our first bet!

     PT: Crap! The site I use said they started at 3:45 our time, not 3:30…sorry! I didn’t get my bet down in time. I’m with you the rest of the way, though!

     Footnote: The first race comes in 4-5-6.

     PT: I would have lost…was planning a 4-6 quinella (top two finishers in either order), not 4-5.

     SB: K, we're thinking about a 3-5-6 exacta box on Race 2.

     PT: OK…so I really like #6 in the second race. Two races ago she beat a better group at the same distance as today’s race. Only knock is she hasn’t raced since Jan. 31, but has had good workouts since.

     PT: Just did a $2 place bet on the 6 to see if I can grab an early lead.

     SB: We made the same bet, LOL.

     Footnote: Second race goes 6-5-1. I get $2.80 on a $2 bet.

     SB: Thank you Pete Temple!

     PT: No problem…I should have bet it to win. So did you guys hit your exacta?

     SB: No, just the 2 to win. We won $5 off it.

     SB: Thoughts on next race?

     PT: Third is a tough one. You can make a case for a lot of them. I keep coming back to the 1. Has had a lot of wins at the mile distance.

     SB: How does a quinella with 1 and 7 sound?

     PT: 7 could be in there. I’m just going to bet to show on 1. I think Joe should bet #2 just because I can hear him saying “Whoa Boy” (the name of the horse).

     SB: Love it.

     SB: We did a quinella with 1 and 7, then another one with 2 to win.

     Footnote: Third race finishes 4-1-7.

     SB: Yep, didn’t win on that one.

     PT: Fun fact…last two races have been won by female jockeys.

     SB: What are you thinking for race #4?

     PT: The #4 has done horribly but is making an enormous drop in class. In a field like this he should win almost by default. I do like the #1 because so many of these run fast early and fade, and #1 is more of a closer. I’m betting the 4 to win.

     Footnote: #4 leads down the stretch, but is nipped at the wire by a fast-closing 1. It finishes 1-4-7.

     SB: Came so close! Ran out of gas.

     PT: That one hurt a little bit…something went wrong with the 4 mid-stretch.

     SB: Who are you going with next?

     PT: I like 1 over 3. The 2 and 8 are first time starters. I almost never bet those unless a top jockey gets on…not the case here. Thinking I might just take #1 to place.

     Footnote: 7 wins the race over 6 and 3, and pays $16.20.

     SB: Joe had #7 to win at $5 (he got back $40.50).

     PT: Finally got to see the head-on replay of that fourth race, where my horse got nosed out at the wire. The jockey hit him on the right side, and the horse bolted in, then had to readjust to avoid hitting the rail. Cost him (and me) the race.

     SB: Next race?

     PT: A tricky one. I think 6 is way overbet. I’m going to take a shot at 5, and not just because of his name! (Karaoke Cat) This is a very short race (4½ furlongs), and 5 ran a decent one against slightly better last time at about the same distance. I sort of like 2 as well.

     SB: Joe is betting 2, 5, 6, 8, all to win. Couldn’t talk him out of it.

     PT: I’m going $2 to place on 5.

     Footnote: #5 closes well to win easily over the 6 and 2.

     SB: We win $44.

     PT: Congrats! I got $4.60.

     We continued like that for the last two races. I wound up exactly 20 cents ahead for the day, while the Breitbachs lost about $6.

     Maybe Stacie’s text before the seventh race summed it up best.

     SB: What are you thinking now? This is so fun!