Merrin & I had a big night at Lone Star Park last night with the horsies. We’ve been plenty of times over the past year, maybe as many as seven times! I don’t remember how many exactly, but I know I’ve written about them here, here, and here.
Well, last night was our best night ever. Merrin won in 7 of 10 races. She has a real knack for reading the horse sheets, looking at work out times, spotting the better trainers and jockeys, and really picking great horses. I know she walked in with $20 and won enough that she bought drinks and food for us all night. She still had a big wad of cash leftover as we left!
I have a less precise system that really relies on the people who should know something about the horses: the handicappers. I’ve found 3 or 4 that do very well and I follow their direction for the most part. My system is to combine those top 4 handicappers and exacta or trifecta bet their consensus picks. (Note: This is a new system replacing my previous “good horse name” system!) Like all new systems, I had to work the bugs out of this one by losing 5 of the first 5 consecutive races.
But boy does it pay to stick with it. I hit several of the last 5 races for big exactas and a really, really, really big trifecta. Needless to say I was giddy as a little schoolgirl and went straight for the cash window. Merrin was kinda shocked at my new-found fortune and stood there repeating, “nuh-uh,” which in and of itself made me break out in a big grin. 
Well, it’s safe to say we’ll be back to Lone Star before too long. Next time we’ll take a duffel bag or something with us though, just in case we hit it really big again!