Well, I went to the race track last Wednesday for the first time in about 40 years. I was not impressed. The site was the Del Mar Race Track ("Where the turf meets the surf"), and I must say I really don't see the attraction.
You've got anywhere from six to about 12 horses racing against each other, and I swear, if you don't have a clue about the horses, you might as well forget making any kind of money. They betting goes from the basic who will win to the more exotic exactas, quinellas, pick sixes, etc. Each race, you can pick from one to four finishers. If you pick the four in order, you get a pay out of anywhere between 1,000 to 2,000 dollars, depending on the odds of the winning horses crossing the finish line.
For fun (and to keep busy during the time between races), I played on paper and picked the first four finishes of each race. I had no idea what I was doing, so I bet on one of the top three or four favorites. In the end, had I just bet on the first place horse for all eight races, I would have ended up about four bucks ahead. If I had gone with any of the other exotic bets, I would have lost my shirt! I never picked a one-two finish, let alone a four-pick. I didn't pick any two winning horses back-to-back, so the Daily Double would have killed me.
What was really funny is that in the racing form, they had the winning percentages of the race track "experts" who pick the races daily, and the leader to date had a 25% winning pick! That's it! Their best guy could only garner a one out of four record...and he's published!
In my mind you have to be an idiot to bet on that "sport," especially if you're looking to make a profit. If the record of the experts is so bad, what chance does the layman have? Heck, there are betting games in casinos that give you much better odds than that.
Even though I had no stake in the races, I did find the finishes quite exciting. So I guess if one has a goodly sum of money riding on the outcome, it's got to be quite an adrenalin pumper. What was really neat was the animated tote board keeping everyone apprised of the current places of the horses as they ran around the race track.
I will the say that the ambiance was terrific. It was a great day, mild weather, and you just barely see the Pacific Ocean from where I was sitting. Of course, that was it. Inside the grandstands was a huge open area for the bettors to line up at the windows, and about four or five eat and drink places that had outrageous prices.
I did run across some Damon Runyonesque characters. Now that was interesting. It's a whole subculture in the Horse Racing world. A lot of attendees were retired people. At least I assumed they were retired. Oddly enough, there were a lot of young people (even children) there as well. And boy, they were all busily working the betting lines in the program...excepting the kids, of course. The adults were placing bets for the kids, however.
I suppose, if you're looking for a relaxing day in the summer and can afford to lose money (which you will...at least 99% of you - there are those lucky ones like lottery winners), it's not a bad place to while away the time. Heck, just treat the loss of money as if you were spending a night on the town, and I guess it could be fun.
For me, though, not really my thing...
No comments:
Post a Comment