Horse Racing 101
By Pants | May 15, 2008
Category: The Sideline Report
Pants blogs every Thursday for PhillyJock.com.
This Saturday is the 133rd running of the Preakness Stakes, break out your big hats and Blacked Eyes Susans and bet Big Brown in an exacta with all. The Preakness is held at Pimlico Horse Track in Laurel, MD. I realize horse racing is a fad, like texas hold ‘em and bangs, people pick it up when it’s popular, then drop it when there is no benefit to themselves or they realize they look stupid.
Philadelphia was lucky enough to have a sort of three-peat that all started in 2004 when Smarty Jones got our hearts into horse racing. Smarty won the Kentucky Derby went on to win the Preakness and, with the Benjamin Franklin curse on his shoulders, came up just short of the Triple Crown, losing to Birdstone in the Belmont. Afleet Alex then stole our hearts in 2005 behind the story of Alex’s Lemonade Stand, taking third in the Derby, just a length behind the winner, Giacomo. Afleet Alex went on to win the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes pretty handily. Finally there was Barbaro who broke our hearts after winning the Kentucky Derby then shattered his leg in the Preakness two weeks later.
With the 2008 Preakness approaching, there is no real Philadelphia connection to any of the ponies in this year’s Triple Crown Race. Combined with the Sixers and Flyers going into the post-season, the Turf Clubs of Philly have taken a hit. But, I see this as an opportunity for Philadelphians mainly due to the fact that the Erin Express is over and it isn’t quite “down the shore” time yet. I see a chance to show those chumps in Maryland (sorry George and Ker) who can really tailgate – enter the infield at Pimlico.
During Smarty Jones’ race for the Triple Crown I had a Triple Crown of my own: first stop the Kentucky Derby. Myself and my horse racing guru Rusty - along with some other family and friends - loaded up into a Winnebago and headed to Lexington – Boot and all (I broke my foot drinking the weekend before). After an interesting trip from trailer park to Churchill Downs we made it to the infield of the Derby. It was as if the gods wanted us to be there. The sky parted as we walked under the track through the tunnel and came out into the lightness of the infield. IT WAS A FREAK SHOW. Costumes were the norm, mud wrestling was a must, and I saw more boobs than the shower scene in Porky’s. This just set the stage for the other two races that season, which had very similar infields.
I encourage all of you to take a road trip down 95 into Baltimore this weekend, pay the 40 odd dollars to get into the infield and participate in the craziness that is the Preakness. You will need a few things to survive your first infield though and here they are:
Cooler - full of Miller Lite and on wheels, maybe bring some food – anything goes, that’s why it’s so expensive to get in, you bring whatever you want with you.
Chairs - those great ones that fold up into a bag and you can carry on your back – you’ll be walking a far way from wherever you park.
Beer Bong -
Crazy Hat
Costume Box - doesn’t everyone just travel with theirs though?
- Be sure to represent Philly in a positive manner – via jersey, beer shirt or bag of pretzels from the vendor on your way out of town.
- Some chump change to place on bets.
Speaking of which, when walking up to the booth you will need to know, in this order: The race track, the number of the race you are betting upon, the dollar amount of the bet and then the horse or horses involved in the bet, identified by poll position. A sample bet sounds like this - Pimlico, Race 7, $2 exacta 5 with 10.
I do not claim to be an expert, but will tell you my picks. Big Brown cannot lose this race, the horse is far and away better than any other horse in the pack. So, you are really betting on second and third place.
After poll position and odds were announced last night this is going to be a money maker, if you pick the right ponies. Big Brown is currently at 2-1, and the next closest horse is Gayego at 8-1. Gayego still hasn’t finished the race at Churchill Downs, hopefully he’ll do better in Maryland.
Your best bet is to do a couple $2 place and show bets with some of the longer shots like Icabad Crane, a hometown horse, and Kentucky Bear, a young three year old with a lot of potential. I also like matching up Tres Borrachos (Three Drunks in Spanish) and Behindatthebar (Todd Pletcher-trained horse, one of the best trainers) with Big Brown in a trifecta, but that might just be a drinking themed pick.
Really the second and third spots in this race are up in the air. Don’t get thrown off by the odds like Gayegos who is at 8-1, but took a beating in the Kentucky Derby and almost didn’t make the Preakness cut off. Don’t blame me if you lose, here’s hoping you cash em and don’t trash em!
And for those of you who just want to drink, here’s the Black Eyed Susan Recipe which is the official drink of the Preakness Stakes:
-2 part Bourbon
-1 part Vodka Citrus
-3 part sweet and sour mix
-1 part orange juice
-Garnish with orange and cocktail cherry
As You Were, Pants.
Formerly, Pants was the Director of the Philadelphia Big 5, and worked in sports information for nearly a decade. She’s currently the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Sustainable Energy Developments, based in upstate New York.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
The biggest travesty of all is that they no longer allow you to take your own alcohol into the grandstands. How many black eyed susans can one man drink? Probably still just one and then a lot of $8 beers.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Pimlico is in Laurel, MD??!! Them be fighting words in Baltimore. Some of the powers that be have been talking about ruining more than one hundred years of tradition and moving the Preakness out of Pimlico. Laurel is mentioned as one of the possible tracks. It’s like saying that M&T Bank Stadium is in Pittsburgh, PA.