A friend who lives in the Phoenix area told me that Turf Paradise, the local horse track, would open their winter season on Monday afternoon, which worked well as I was planning to see Grand Canyon basketball that night. The two venues are just 20 minutes apart, so I checked out of my hotel and drove over to the track, which is located in the northwest corner of the city.
Parking is free and it costs $5 to get in to the track itself. You can also pick up a racing form for $3, but I chose to use some online tipsters, none of whom were any help at all.
Horse tracks are usually quite similar, but Turf Paradise is probably the one with the fewest amenities of those I have visited. The grandstand is set well back under the roof and few if any fans bothered to sit up there. There were a few bars but not as many concessions as I have seen elsewhere. Of course, there are plenty of TVs for bettors to see the races around the country; I was amused to see snow at the Finger Lakes track until I realized that I would be back in New York myself in three day's time.
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The saddling area is where you get a look at the horses to see if you can glean any information that will help you pick that big winner. There were eight races on the card, and it is about half an hour between post times, during which you check the form, look at the horses, and make your bet.
Once saddled, the jockeys lead their charges to the starting gate, accompanied by a track pony. This is your last chance to see the horses up close.
The first race I saw was on dirt, which allows you to get quite close to the finish line. I was standing just past and already the jockeys were standing up to slow the horses down. The races are quite short, generally lasting a minute, so you do spend a lot of time standing around.
I watched six races, betting on three of them. How do I choose what horses to play? Like all good bettors, I have a variety of methods. For example, on the way to the track, I passed a car with a license plate that had my birth year and CLM. I took this to be a sign and if there was a horse with Clam or Clem in its name, I would bet on it. Amazingly, Clam Beach was running in the fourth race, and to clinch matters, the first name of the trainer and the last name of the jockey combined to form the name of the owner of my favourite bar here in Astoria. Despite odds of 6-1, I was sure the horse couldn't lose! I confidently made my bet and waited to collect. Unbelievably, Clam Beach finished seventh! So either there is no horse betting god, or there is and he just likes trolling me.
Notes
There was an occurrence that I had not seen before when a starter's assistant held on to the bridle as the horse left the starting gate, causing it to pull up. The ruling was that the horse would be treated as a late scratch and all money bet on that horse would be refunded.
Thanks for Meg for alerting me to this event, which I thoroughly enjoyed despite losing all three bets.
Best,
Sean
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