We have all gone out for a few races with a short bankroll in pocket. Not everyday is Breeders’ Cup, and you can still have some fun until that dough gets rolling. I had a message on my phone and didn’t think to take it until late last night. When I finally did, it was a call that wished I would have received on the first ring.

Brian is a strong handicapper. He likes to head out to the races while his wife is working late. He doesn’t get paid until next week, and he was going to the OTB on short cash. But after all was said and done it was just enough to get the job done.

He loves Fair Grounds, and and by the way he caps the races. You would have thought he was a home-spun native of  “The Big Easy.”

Race #1 was a mdn claimer, and he wagered $2o of his $60 bankroll. Now, that goes against all of the racing gurus advice, and at first sound it had the ring of a quick walk back to the car. He nailed the trifecta. It came home, and started him in the right direction of $139.80.

Race #2 was a claimer as well, and he loved Bernie Flint. Long ago he cashed one of his first “biggies” from the Cajun trainer and has been in love ever since. The trifecta came home $299.40, and he had $20 to win on the nose of Salute Regina for another $82 clams. Things were starting to heat up for my friend. He was on fire, and he had to beat his wife home. This was the gambler’s dilemma, and he was beginning to lean in the wrong direction. He skipped races 3 through 7, and had his sights set on the eighth race. He loved the race, and this would allow him 30 minutes to make the 45 drive home. Bu, he thought the excuse was worth the risk.

Race #8 was an optional claimer, and once again he found his old Cajun buddy training a runner by the name of Cool Street. Miguel Mena was in the irons, and he was satisfied that this would be his capper for the day. He went to the windows and smacked down $200 to win on his 5-2 shot, and rolled him in the daily double with all as he didn’t have time to handicap the last race.

Cool Street broke a bit slow, and Brian was hearing his wife’s voice in his head asking “where in the hell have you been?” But after Mena settled his runner to the back of the pack, he began to start picking up tempo around the final turn. The long stretch at FG can be the heartbreaker for gamblers. But on this day, it turned out to be his best friend as Cool Street rallied from far back to get up in the shadow of the wire. He paid $7 to win, and that came out to be another $700.00. Brian was elated and took out the door like a thief in the night. His wife was caught in traffic, and he beat her home by 15 minutes. What a day for the guy who started with a bankroll of $60. He had forgot about his double bet, and when his better half went to bed. He fired up the computer before turning in for the night. He found out the winner at 10-1 was DQ’ed, and they put up a runner that paid $55.60. He smiled the winner’s grin, and looked down to see the DD paid a sweet $203.40…. The win for the day was a whopping $1,424.60… Not a bad day for a guy playing a few races while his wife was at work.