Trifecta Billy: I can't believe what I'm seeing.
Daily Dub: What's that?
Trifecta Billy: Look at the last race at Santa Anita today.
Daily Dub: What about it?
Trifecta Billy: Look at the 2 horse.
Daily Dub: Wow! How crazy is that?
Trifecta Billy: I know. It reminds me of something that happened about 17 years ago. I was cashing my check at the Rio in Vegas on a Friday night, and though I hadn't looked at a race in a long time, I was drawn to the race book as if a magnet was pulling me in.
Daily Dub: Like you needed a magnet.
Trifecta Billy: No seriously. I'd walked past that spot on many race days without sitting down. But anyway, the last race at Santa Anita was about 15 minutes to post time. So I thought, what the heck, I'll take a look at the form. There was a big table with the daily racing form open, so I began to take a look. Guess what I saw?
Daily Dub: What?
Trifecta Billy: Our Grandfathers name jumped right up off of the page. Right in order, from top to bottom, it listed the horses like this. Where's Lester was the 4 horse I think, and Simply a King, was the 5. I was amazed and thought it was a sign, and that I should bet them. Then I looked at the form, and laughed.
Daily Dub: Why?
Trifecta Billy: Because Where's Lester, was 9-1 on the tote board, and looked like he had a modest chance at best to hit the board. Simply a King, was over 30-1 and looked like his days of being competitive were long gone. He hadn't hit the board in any of his last 10 races let alone win any of them. So even though my first thoughts were to key wheel them in the trifecta, after looking at the form I decided I had to pass. You do remember my favorite trifecta bet?
Daily Dub: Oh Yeah. How much would it have cost to key wheel them in all 3 spots in the trifecta with the field?
Trifecta Billy: $48 bucks. Even though I had a big pile of sweaty money in my pocket, I wasn't about to put anything on these tired runners, so I grabbed a seat and figured I might as well watch the race. So guess what happened?
Daily Dub: Wait, Don't tell me.....They both came in the money didn't they?
Trifecta Billy: Of course! Simply a King won the race and paid $60 something to win, and Where's Lester, checked in 3rd at 9-1. I remember slumping down in the chair and a big pit in my stomach started to crawl up my throat when they showed the results on the big monitor. The trifecta paid over $3200.
Daily Dub: That sucks big time. I bet that didn't make for a great Friday night. But hey you were in Vegas.
Trifecta Billy: That's true. So anyway here we are today. Can you believe this? The 2 horse in the last race is named King Bill and he is 10-1 on the morning line.
Daily Dub: You should play him. It's a sign.
Trifecta Billy: You're probably right, but I know what will happen then. He'll run 4th or something. I think I'll pass. There's nothing like a big pit in my stomach, and I haven't had one of those in about 17 years.
Believe it or not, this is not fictional. It really happened, and the horse in the last race today at Santa Anita really carries my name. Win or lose, it'll be fun to watch. If you want to watch to see what happened you can go to Cal Racing and watch it for free. In addition, I'll post a comment here after the race with an update
The 8th race is official at Santa Anita. King Bill did not win the race, in fact, he ran 6th at 32-1. It would have been a miracle if he had won, quite honestly. Just like 17 years ago, I determined the likelihood of success and made a decision based on past performances and experience. This time I was right and passing on the race was the correct decision. The race was won by the heavy favorite, The Black, by 11 lengths as IC1.
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