Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes

It was the day after St. Patrick's Day but we still had to see if the luck of the Irish would linger long enough as we placed a few bets on the horses. Things started off well enough. I placed a bet on a familiar jockey and won $2.80 on a $2 bet -- Woo! Hoo! 80 cents! (That may come across as sarcastic but really, I'm excited to win anything.) Chris, on the other hand started off following Duke's picks (some flyer you can buy at the track) and then defaulted to Steve's picks (his friend who met up with us at the track).


For the 7th race we decided to come down from the stands and watch the race up close and personal -- on the rail, near the finish line. Paying more attention to Parker than the race, I couldn't help wondering why this jockey was walking down the track. Later, when the pack came riding toward the finish line it became evident. Check out the horses up front. One of them is missing its jockey. I guess he fell off at the start of the race. The horse, "Downtime", came in second without him. Talk about initiative! Too bad the horse was disqualified (for lack of jockey).


Aimee and Thommy opted for long shots, getting their hopes up on a super long shot in the 8th race (it's odds were something like 90 to 1) -- I think it was named "Blazing Sunset". When the dust settled...well, let's just say none of us have quit our day jobs...yet. Regardless of how the adults did, though, Parker had a great time hanging out with everyone and enjoying the sights.