The horses not bet on...Damn it!

Yesterday was our trip to the Belmont Stakes. Neither Lincoln nor I have ever been to the races before so it was an entirely new experience for both of us. There was a total of 13 races and the program with all the horse information was a wee bit overwhelming. I have absolutely no scientific method for how I pick the horses other than the names that I like or think are interesting. It worked okay for me yesterday. I bet $75 total and won $56 so I was only down $19 for the day. Three things could have turned that around for me.

1) I bet a lot of money on Big Brown (My biggest individual bet of $16). It was stupid because even if he won, it wouldn't have paid out more than $20 or so. But at least it would have gotten me back into the black for the day. Of course, he didn't win. I should have played it smart and bet on some of the other horses because that was the big payout. And the one that I considered betting on, based on the name Da' Tara which in my scientific way of thinking is a lot like Tara from Gone with the Wind, actually won.....and paid out $79 for a $2 bet. Damn it!

2) I bet a Superfecta Key with Big Brown in first place with Denis of Cork, Da' Tara, and Ready's Echo rounding out the top four positions. Well, Da' Tara, Denis of Cork, Anak Nakal, and Ready's Echo took the top four (in that order) so I was close...but no cigar. Big Brown came in dead last. Damn it!

3) I didn't think we were staying around for races 12 and 13 so I didn't bet anything. At the last minute, because Michael and Shani decided to go down to the Paddock one more time, I thought about betting on Roll the Di in Race 12 but decided that I was already $19 in the hole so why make it $21? Well guess what....Roll the Di won and paid out $26.50 on a $2 bet. Damn it!

Those are a lot of "damn its" but I would say we definitely had a great time. Great company, great experience, great fun....but no great riches. Oh well. I'll have pictures to post later but I left the camera card reader at the office so I'll have to do it later this week.

Today we're off to the Red Sox game with Lincoln's brother's family. His niece turned 10 this past month so we got her tickets to her first Sox games as a gift. Of course this means our 2nd day at a sporting event in 95 degree heat. You'd think it was August around here!