The Shadows Lengthen, The Leaves Are Falling

The Assembled met yesterday at Belmont, but without a quorum. Only Bobby G. and Johnny D. were present. Johnny M. was back from fishing, but was now attending a wedding, and Jose, who originally said he'd be there, had a change in plans and opted to run a garage sale to raise money for hurricane victims in his native Dominican Republic where he was due to attend a wedding in two weeks. And Joe C. who really hasn't been seen in a few years, is having something done again around the house. Joe has now moved into ex officio status. His name still appears on the letterhead, but we really don't know when we will see him again.

But two is better than one, and the resolute handicappers attacked the 10 race card with numbers, logic and a sense of what life is all about. A different setting was tried for the first time, the Belmont Cafe,  a ground-level facility past the finish line that offered tables, lots of TVs, dedicated TVs at tables, booths, food service, teller assisted wagering and lots of self-service betting machines. It was designed to please.

It also held such a complete domination of Jamaicans and Spanish speaking patrons that the lingua franca was seldom English, and was never spoken below a near shout, or anything below 110 decibels between at least three individuals who were speaking to each other simultaneously. You knew you weren't alone.

The first race went as expected. However, the top two horses were not closed off in an exacta bet and therefore a $22 exacta was left on the table. This is not a good omen. Having your handicapping go right but your betting going sideways is no way to start the day The second place horse had been played to win, with no bets made on the exacta. Ouch.

The drought lasted for several races, but was broken by Bobby G. in the 4th when he hit the exacta several times, had the winner solo, multiple times, and picked the triple cold for $60. Playing a cold triple is as near as you can get to being declared insane, but perhaps considering the other bets he made, Bobby G. was just flinging one out there. No matter. He was well rewarded with an aggregate payout that righted his sinking ship and gave him wind for sailing profitably through the rest of the card. This was the height of handicapping prowess.

Taking advantage of the new location for all it was worth, it was an easy stroll outside the Belmont Cafe to the apron and a rail-bird's view of the jockeys as they emerge from the tunnel under the stands on their assignments. I always said I wanted to learn enough Spanish to be able to speak (or curse) to the jockeys in their native tongue, but I never did. Of course there was someone who knew enough Spanish naturally who chirped a few words to Joel Rosario as he paraded by that a connection was made and Joel grinned and said something in return.

It was from this vantage point that a fellow who was standing next to me expressed his likeness for Kendrick Carmouche's horse Bancroft Hall in the 5th--the 8 horse. I also was on board with the chances for the 8, so we had something to talk about. As the hot walkers were going back through the tunnel leading ponies back to the stable one looked up at the fellow next to me and held up an index finger.

I asked my rail-bird mate if the guy was now just giving him the 1 horse? He said he was, and further explained that last week or so he have him two of Linda Rice's horses that resulted in nice exacta payouts for him. Linda Rice is an accomplished trainer who seems to have a knack with winning races run as turf sprint races. She also wins with dirt trips.

Linda's horse in this 5th race was the 1 horse, Professor Snape, running in a dirt sprint and was 3-1 odds. Bancroft Hall was similarly priced at 3-1, and had my money on him to win. No exacta bet. Again. Definition of stunad.

Linda's horse wins, mine runs second, and another exacta is left on the table, this time for $37. This is no way to go home even, or even ahead. After the race, my new-found friend spotted me and shrugged his shoulders. I guess I wasn't alone in not using Linda's horse. Tiny consolation.

Meanwhile, Johnny D. continues to get picked off by apparent winners who were run down just before the wire, or exactas that were split with 1-3 finishes. A 10-cent superfecta box was flung out for shits and giggles in the 8th, with the hope that Chad Brown's odds-on horse Engage would develop leg cramps coming down the stretch and finish worse than first was hit.

But Chad's charge did finish first, and the $2.40 box was a perfect reminder of the joke Stan Musial used to tell people that he knew how to make a $1 million dollars: first you start with $2 million, then you open a restaurant. The $2.40 wager became worth $1.21. Johnny D. was poised to finish the day with a voucher worth a penny.

But not before he once again roared back and leveled the playing scales by hitting the last race on the card. I have no statistics to back this up, but in his now very nearly 50 years of going to NYRA tracks he seems to hit the last race on the card the most often.

Just because it was the last race and there was a deficit in the wallet, no change in plans on who to bet was made. This is where many horseplayers go further amok. (The first amok is going through the turnstile.) Stay on message, don't change your betting patterns, or suddenly ramp up the bet by flinging money on some longshot that will right the ship if it comes in.

Johnny D. liked the 5, and liked the 10. This is the Woolworth bet, the five and dime. The 10, New Jersey John, is a Linda Rice horse going a route on the grass, and is going off at near to 4-1. The 5 is Warm Springs, trained by Robert Reid and ridden by Dylan Davis, a trainer jockey combination that registers nothing on the win scale. Both are competent, but register low win percentages.

Since Bobby G. left Johnny D. after the 9th race, Johnny D. went upstairs to the peace and quiet of the third floor. Compared to the Belmont Cafe, the third floor is like strolling though a cemetery. If everyone there was herded into an elevator the passenger limit wouldn't be exceeded.

The now lowly $8.01 voucher was used to place a $4 bet on Linda's horse, and a $2 exacta box on the combination with Warm Springs. Johnny's numbers said this was the bet, and at this point, the ship is not being abandoned.

The transition from the Belmont Cafe to the third floor via a bathroom stop left little time for checking out the board for exacta payout possibilities. There is a new tote board at Belmont and it is much brighter and easier to read. The cloudiness of the nearly 6 o'clock sky made the tote board look even brighter, and is a favorite time of day at the track. It is nearly time to leave, the racing is nearly over, the shadows are longer, the leaves are falling, and Johnny D. has nearly won or lost. Again. A continuity of time hangs in the air as the tote glows ever brighter as the day darkens. It is nearly time to go home for the dinner that is always there.

But first, there is the  need to watch and hopefully collect. The 5 wins and the 10 is a close second, close to becoming third and ruining everything, but Linda's horse holds on for second by a neck, which is very nearly a half a length, and is plain to see from the stands.

The exacta ticket is good, but there is no idea of the payout. The second floor is where you have to cash out with the lone teller who will be there for possibly three whole minutes after the race is official. (The place is thinly staffed these days.) Otherwise, a trip to the first floor is needed, which is manned a little more because of the simulcasting bets being handled for the West Coast.

The ticket is inserted, and a whopping $51 return is lit up on the teller's machine. It's been a good day after all.

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