Sports @ MindSay

I traveled north to Rexdale, a subdivision of Toronto Ontario on Weds June 25th, 2008 to see and interact with (gamble on) live thoroughbred horse racing at the Woodbine Racetrack. Unfortunately due to an ongoing labor dispute between the casino security workers and the Ontario Lotteries and Gaming Commission, the evening was very poorly attended. I was shocked to discover that the CAW, the union that represents the casino workers, has established a picket line at every entrance! This creates a daunting traffic jam of cars all trying to get into the empty parking lot.

 

At 6:30 pm we entered the racetrack and hurried upstairs to the popular Champions patio - we were desperate to get what we assumed would be the last available outdoor seating... only to discover the well appointed patio was completely deserted. My group sat together quietly making bets and perusing the menu in the final minutes before the first race.

 

Lately I've been playing a horse race game on the computer, and I've been dreaming about visiting the track again - you see I think I've developed this sport's perfect betting strategy.

I pick a good horse (good odds) with an average jockey (good win rate) then i pick a slower horse (weaker odds) with a great jockey (very high win rate). Let's call these horses #1 and #2.  When I stand at the betting window I say, '...one dollar exactor box bet, horse #1 and #2'. This means that it doesn't matter which horse comes in first or second (its essentially two bets) and because its a $1 bet I only pay $2.00 total. The value here is the exactor combination is always difficult to win and therefore pays large $$. The $1 box bet exactor is a cheap ticket to a big payout.

 

It was somewhat deflating to find the racetrack deserted. After interacting with the strange cast of characters on the Get Sulky.com harness racing fan site, I was looking forward to meeting some of the real folks who frequent these Ontario racetracks.

 

 
The Ontario Harness Horse Association was formed on the first day of February 1961 to represent Ontario harness horsemen and horsewomen in negotiations of purses, racing conditions. They handle all matters affecting the racing industry with the tracks, Standardbred Canada, the Ontario Racing Commission, and the Provincial and Federal governments. Here's the Ontario Harness Racing lens on Squidoo.

 

Harness Racing is the third largest agricultural sector in Ontario, in terms of expenditure. This agriculture based industry helps to increase and diversify tourism. Horse racing generates well over $1 billion dollars annually in the province. On a per dollar basis, every dollar of expenditure results in $1.22 in wages, interest, rent and profits. Ontario's horse racing industry generates over 17,000 jobs, many of which are in rural areas.

 

 

Got a group of people together yesterday and drove to Detroit to go to the Tigers' game.  I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I had a blast.  It was a really exciting game, and the Tigers came from behind to score 6 runs in the 8th inning and win the game.  It was crazy.

im pretty bored once again som1 talk to me cuz im really bored... actually i want to get like 50 replys so reply even if you dont want to u HAVE TO!!! then tell ur friends to reply and put this link on a blog if u want. reply as many times as u want and if i get 50 or more replys ill ummm.... i dont know but leave a reply and leave suggestions of what i should do to reward ppl who reply anythin but money or stuff that costs a lot of money.

ok well im pretty bored so im just writing here and yes im going to publish this on my blog.... well i guess your reading this and your probably bored too.... dont leave!! ill come up with something exciting to say....... hmmmmm....... ummmmmm..... dont leave.... lets see.... OH I KNOW!!! im going to tell a story! hows does that sound??? well i dont care if you dont want to hear it! your going to listen to me untill im done!!!  here it is.... i was gonna tell a real story but i cant think of any so im going to make one up..

 

once opon a time there was a girl who decided to go to the park. her mom said no she cant go because bad men will want to melest her, so the girl killed her mom. The girls name was Crystal.  Crystal decided to hide her moms body after she went to the park.  When Crystal went to the park she brought her friend Pedro just incase someone wanted to melest her.  they went to the park and while they were there the got lost and separated from eachother. Then Pedro got bit by a rattle snake. (the park was in a desert in Africa.) When Crystal found Pedro he was dead. She didnt cry instead she decided to have some fun with the body. Crystal decided to carry the body and put it on top of a giant tree, (yes there was a tree in the desert.) then she dropped it off to see if it would bounce. it did! it bounced so high it came back up to the top of the tree and knocked Crystal off then she fell and died, but she didnt bounce. After all this happened Crystals arm got ripped off and flew all the way to Japan. It hit the prime minister of Japan and he thought it was a threat from the U.S.  The prime minister decided to launch a few nukes at the U.S. in response. The nukes killed everyone and then the whole Earth got into a nuclear war and everyone died. Then the world blew up. Then the universe imploded from all the energy! =].... =[....??

 

THE END.

 

i know you liked it.