Last weekend, for me, was very horse racing centric as the local track celebrated the opening of its 25th year of existence.
Sam Houston Race Park did a fine job with full cards and, unfortunately, formful racing that was capped off with a huge card on Sunday, including six stakes races.
The two marquee races were the John B. Connelly turf, won for the third year in a row by Bigger Picture and the Houston Ladies Classic, won by Mike Smith and Midnight Bisou who had to come from last to first on the home stretch to pull out the win.
Midnight Bisou is trained by Steve Asmussen, who had a huge weekend at SHRP where, on Saturday, it seemed as if every horse he entered was taking down the top prize. That wasn't the case of course, as there were two pretty big upsets on Saturday where his runners didn't fire. Still, he took most of the major awards in races where he had entries.
William Calhoun and Micheal Maker also had good weekends there.
For the horse player, the weekend was mixed. It was, for the most part, formful, so much so that the Late Pick 4 on Sunday only paid out $21 and change. The Mid-card Pick 4 did pay out around $350 however due, in large part, to back to back upsets in the 3rd (Uncle Whitt at 9-1) and the 4th (Too Tall Tony also at 9-1) The early Pick 5 was a good bet as well, if you hit it paying out around $650 to winners.
I, sadly, did not hit on either of those bets. Nor could I hit on either of my shots at the Space City Pick 6, a new "jackpot" pick 6 bet with 12% takeout that should be more popular than it is. On Friday the Pick 6 paid out $429.64 for 6 correct, on Saturday it paid $133.52 for 5 correct (with an $1100 carryover) and on Sunday it paid $390.14 for 6 correct with about a $3500 carryover.
The Space City Pick 6 is at a $.20 denomination with a payout of 25% with multiple winners and the "jackpot" payout if there is a single winner.
I was able to hit on a small-ish late pick 4 at Gulfstream on Friday ($83.60 on a $20 card) and I did hit the late pick 4 on Sunday ($21 win on a $32 card) but I also hit a $10 late daily double that paid out $41 on the two chalk favorites. Midnight Bisou (1-9) and Susie Bee (2-1) which brought me to down around $90 for the entirety of the weekend.
I did hit a small trifecta early on ($8.60 win on a $3 bet) but that was about it.
On Saturday I showed up at the track early, made my Bets for the Pegasus (and the Space City Pick 6) and then went home, did laundry, and watched it all unfold on TV. I thought City of Light was amazing in the Pegasus, and I, like many others, am sad to see him retire just as he's getting interesting. The next "big" race globally is the Meydan World Cup, which already has an impressive list of nominated horses. (I'm particularly interested in Battle of Midway here, if he runs)
On Sunday the wife and I rented carrels in the player's lounge (A steal at $3 per person) and spent the day there. The bar service was friendly, and we were able to spend a relaxing day betting horses and stargazing. Mike Smith was there, obviously, and he did a meet and greet that we considered, but the line was too long to wait in just to see him, have him sign something and get overcharged for a photo, and we also saw Dave Weaver from TVG. The wife and I are big fans and we thought about trying to get his autograph, but he was on the phone when we saw him and I'm not one for interrupting people so she settled for a picture.
One nit to pick:
Concessions. The main 'cafe' on the lower level is really struggling with customer service. The cashiers who take your order are surly, and the people whose job it is to deliver your food are clueless. This led to confusion, long wait times, and finally one enterprising young man taking over and just having people hand him their order tickets and start fulfilling the orders. I did not get his name, but he saved the day by eventually just giving up on the lady who was "expediting" the orders (in reality, she was just standing around shuffling the order tickets looking at the food.) and making sure people got what they needed.
I did not see a name tag on him, but he was a young Hispanic man who needs a raise. The lady working as the expediter needs to either be reassigned to another job, or let go entirely. For minutes on end she just stood there shuffling tickets, while a long line of customers stood by waiting for their food.
And, here's the thing, there was plenty of food being delivered by the chefs, it was just her inability to expedite it that was creating the problem.
To be honest the entire operation in that area needs to be re-evaluated, the staff either retrained or not retained, and operations completely overhauled. That said, when we finally got the food, it was good, so the cooks back there are at least doing their job.
The Player's lounge needs more staff on busy days, but otherwise that's about it. The weekend was enjoyable, entertaining, and we only had a slight loss.
I'll be handicapping Friday's card later this week for a return trip on Friday night. I'll probably get a carrel again in the player's lounge, because I've little desire to be at the public bar on fifty-cent beer night.
Until then....good luck however you play.
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