[Suffolk Shippers]

My grandfather was an MP in WWII, which made him a crazy history buff as well. In studying early civilization wars, so many of them involved horses, from the turn of time through the Civil War and beyond. As he told me, over time he fell in love with the horse, whether it be a wild west stallion, pony, or a thoroughbred. I remember growing up looking at picture books of all kinds of horses. One memory I remember quite clear was Preakness weekend in 1988. My folks had left me and my sister with my grandparents, as they traveled to Maine for a weekend wedding. On that Saturday was the Preakness where Risen Star slipped by Winning Colors. I watched my first race with my grandfather, the penultimate horse lover, who never once placed a wager in his life. Gramps was "pulling" for the filly. The next day, as any Celtics or NBA classics fan will attest to, was the epic battle between Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird in the Hawks-Celtics series.

It was a great weekend. My grandfather was then, and always will be my hero. A decorated veteran who risked his life in the war the defines the world we live in, and a life long fire fighter who made a living risking his life to aide total strangers. Oh, and he's the reason I love horses and horse racing.

As for why I choose racing as my gambling choice, I look at it this way. Anyone can pull the lever of a slot machine, or get lucky on a scratch ticket. It doesn't take any skill or understanding of value. I'm lost in any casino until I find a race book. I don't know any cards games, save for go fish! and all those drinking games I perfected in college. What I like about racing is it takes skill. It takes having a value system and sticking to it. It's about me trying to outsmart you and take your money, but not as enemies. It's me trying to find the angle that you missed and turning it into a winning one. But, at the end of the day, we are just doing what we enjoy, win or lose.

Nice thread idea, hooves. I'm glad some people who might not be too heavy into the gambling aspect can have a chance to share their stories. Fact of the matter is, there is absolutely nothing wrong with starting off small, enjoying horses from books, or enjoying a race horse based on that animal's backstory (ie Evening Attire, Funny Cide or Nicanor, for example). For every person who enjoys racing for the animals and wagers sporadically, if it all, there is a person like me who enjoyed the game from a far growing up, and grew into enjoying the wagering aspect on a regular basis. All too often those people who are not necessarily on the wagering aspect are some what drowned out on here, and that's not right.

Looking forward to reading what everyone else has to say.