Woodbine Last Week

[NJ Stinks]

There were some amusing and somewhat interesting things relating to my Woodbine visit last Saturday and now that I'm back home I thought you might enjoy hearing a few tidbits.

First off, there was the excitement involved in securing a Saturday Daily Racing Form on Friday so I could handicap Woodbine Friday night at our hotel. We left NJ on Thursday afternoon with the idea of driving halfway on Thursday and the rest of the way on Friday. (It's a 9 hour drive from my house to Toronto.) Much to my surprise we passed Tioga Downs/Casino on Interstate 86 at around the time we were thinking of stopping for the night. Surely they sold DRF and on Friday morning I could have gotten Saturday's Form if we stayed there. But we wanted to cover more ground so we drove another hour before we stopped for the night. Friday morning we were on the road again and the plan was to stop at Fort Erie Racecourse in Canada and get the DRF for Saturday. A couple hours into our drive we came upon another NY trotter track - Batavia Downs! Since they simulcast too I went into the track/casino confidently looking for the Form. Friday's DRF was for sale but Saturday's DRF arrives on Saturday morning. Damn! However, they had a machine where you could print Saturday's Woodbine PP's for $4. I paid the $4 but I wasn't happy. I wanted to read articles about Woodbine's 3 grade 1 races on Saturday and I especially wanted to read Ron Gierkink's selections and comments presented in Saturday's print edition but not in PP's I paid $4 for. Last chance was Fort Erie and Fort Erie did not let me down!

As an aside, I was at Fort Erie once about 20 years ago for simulcasting at night when I was working in Buffalo. So I knew if one crosses the Peace Bridge from Buffalo into Canada, Fort Erie is right there. It had not moved - it was the first exit (Thompson Road) after the bridge. I went into the simulcast area around 1:30pm and bought Saturday's DRF. On track it cost $8 (CAD) and had 8 racetracks in it! (Before I continue, I must thank my girlfriend Nancy for putting up with my obsession to secure the Form for Saturday! I wonder if I would have been so patient if the shoe was on the other foot.)

At any rate, as you could see from my bet here last week, my Best Bet was in the first race on Saturday. But just getting to the racecourse from downtown was a big challenge. I spoke to our hotel's front desk and was told to take public transportation to the track. Driving was a nightmare I was told. I was given specific instructions - take a subway and then a short bus ride to the track. We left the hotel at 11:00am - the first race was at 1:10.

Over an hour later we arrive at our destination. It's called Woodbine Champions Off Track Betting! Not a live racehorse to be found! So we called Uber. A guy in a Tesla pulls up and I tell him we need to get there before 1:10. The guy was great! He got us there with 5 minutes to post. Cost me $50 CAD pus tip but we made it. I bet $50 to win on Rashmi in the first race and singled him in Pick 3's. (I lost the Pick 3 bets in Race 3.) Anyway, I may bet $50 on a horse 2 or 3 times a year max but as my brother pointed out to me later - it wasn't really $50 - it was more like $35 USD. But still, it got me feeling positive again.

Moving on, the best thing that happened to me was in Race 5. I told you this guy Gierkink is great and I know this because I play the 20 cent Pick 4 starting in Race 4 at Woodbine almost every Saturday and I check his picks before finalizing my bets. Gierkick picked And One More Moment (20-1 morning line) and this is what he wrote in his analysis of the race: "And One More Time beat three next out winners when graduating second time out over a muddy track in a tough maiden special at Saratoga. Her dam produced turf stakes winners Simply In Front (G2), Churchtown, and Honor D Lady. Casse has won this race a record seven times." I bet $20 to win on the filly and had her singled in my Pick 4's starting in Race 4. I also wheeled her in DD's with all in Race 4. Finally, I bet $5 on her for the hostess at our restaurant at Woodbine because the woman had given us specific written instructions on how to get back to our hotel on pubic transportation after the races. Anybody who saw that race knows And One More Time was unbelievably game in victory. She paid $35.40 to win. My DD wheel was a dud - an even money horse won Race 4 and I got back $72. The hardest thing to deal with was I had a 40 cent Pick 4 alive going into the last leg - Race 7. It was a 5 horse field and I had 3 of them. With Moira (6-5) I was winning $240; with Blue Rose Cen about $470; and with Blush about $880. Fev Rover wired the field and always looking like winner. Anyway, we left after the 10th race.

FYI, we had reservations (needed for sure - 2nd biggest day Woodbine after the Kings Plate) at the Post Parade Dinig Room on the 4th floor. We were right on the window with a TV at our table. It was awesome!!