"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people." - W C Fields

We went to the horse races at Del Mar last Wednesday. We only go once each year and that’s when our friends, Bob and Patti, come to stay at their timeshare in Del Mar. Otherwise, I don’t think we’d ever just go to the races. Neither one of us are really gamblers, but we do enjoy going to the race track.

This year I decided I was going to bet on all eight races. Everyone gets a book which tells something about the horses that are racing that day and it gives favorites, etc. Patti picks horses because she likes their name. I used to do that too, but this time I thought I’d read up on them a little more and use that information as my guide.

On the first seven races I placed my $2 bets on Win and Place. On number eight I bet Win, Place and Show. So I invested a total of $34.

In the first race, I bet on a horse named “War Element” and he won. On my $4 bet, I won $11.60.

A horse named “No Ka Oi” won the second race. I had bet on “Stormy Anna”. I kind of went by the name on that one. I have a niece named Anna.

“Ask Me Later” won the third race. I had bet on a horse named “Wild Date”, don’t ask me why.

"Tribal Beauty" by a head

In the fourth race, my horse “Tribal Beauty” came in second. I won $6.20 on her and she was a beauty. “Chokecherymary” was the horse who won.

My horse, “Winter Blossom” came in second in the fifth race too, so I won $4.20 on her. The winner of that race was “Tuesdays With P”.

The sixth race was a total wash for me. My horse, “Warrens Temptation” didn’t even show in that one. A pretty Kentucky gentleman named “Shivashakti” won.

"John Johny Jak" by a nose for the win

“John Johny Jak” won the seventh race, but that wasn’t my horse. My horse was “Monterey Jazz” and yes, I liked the name. She did show though, but I only bet Win and Place. Otherwise I would have won $4.00.

Number eight was the race that we all got a tip on. Bob and Patti had told us that they were in the restaurant the night before and they met one of the owners of a horse. They got some “tips”. I wasn’t paying much attention, and I had already bet on my horse, “Victoriously”.

Then Bob started talking about “Small But Mighty” and that was the horse whose owner he had met the night before. I thought what the heck, I’ll go and bet on that horse too.

So I bet Win, Place and Show on “Small But Mighty”. Well, wouldn’t you just know it? She won! I won $16.60 on that one.

I was pretty happy that I won my initial investment back, plus a few extra dollars. I still would have had fun even if I hadn’t won a few races. It was just nice being out there and seeing all of those pretty horses. The weather was perfect too.

Charlie did pretty well with his bets too. Bob was the most successful though. Of course, he spent hours going over the racing form and studying the odds, etc. We aren’t that serious about racing, so we did it just for the fun of it. I’m afraid that Patti didn’t do too well. She invested the same amount as I did and won about $6.00 back.

The races will run until September 7 and then it will be another year before they come back to Del Mar. Patti and Bob will be back next August and Charlie and I will be going to the races again then too.

More later........