They say it's the sport of kings. I have royal memories of being at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park with my dad and brother. As kids, we watched some of the best horses and jockeys in the world. The jocks were our tiny heroes, gladiators in silks riding tremendous beasts.
Dad taught us how to bet and study the horses. He called it doping the form. I liked the show bet. I still cashed the ticket, as long as the horse didn't do worse than third. My heart still gallops when I think of those Southern California afternoons.
Dad used to say, don't ever gamble what you can't afford to lose. I live with my brother now in Iowa. Dad is long gone, and so is the shoe, our favorite ****. There are new jockeys on the scene. New horses.
We drove to Des Moines, to do some off-track betting on the Kentucky Derby. The pageantry is decadent. The hats and mint juleps. Someone sings a beautiful version of, My Old Kentucky Home. It was truly a sublime scene.
Now, we have to figure out how we are going to pay the rent.
We didn't do that bad. It was loads of fun. Here is a link to my limited edition book, just released. https://booksie.chainletter.io/i/thomaswcase888