Curlin won the Preakness by a nose, which is about 12 inches if you're a horse or saw the replay.

The payout was $8.80 on a $2 bet.

I picked Street Sense to win; I didn't bet the race since the odds s-u-c-k-e-d.    I won't take virtually even money on a favorite, ever.  Too many bad things happen.   Since I didn't bet the race, I bet myself I could drink two beers from the start to the end of the race.  I still got it!

I don't expect many to respond to this instant BLOG and I don't care.  Yet, I know Nostradamus will be here.

Some of us were fortunate enough to grow up near a track.  In my case, it was Ak-sar-ben(Nebraska spelled backwards...rocket science from the Midwest and a popular Johnny Carson comment).  The track used to have the largest mutuel handle in the nation, yet wasn' regarded as a national player.  It was in Omaha, NE.  I worked in a sporting goods wholesaler/retalier while in college and was fortunate enought to have plenty of doggy owners, er, racehorse owners come into the store and talk about their horses.

The first track bet I ever made was on the Maiden Race for a gelding.  She went off at 40-1.  I bet $50 on her twenty years ago.  She won.  You do the math.   The owner said the horse set an unofficial track record.  I mentioned this to the lawyer(scumbag)brother of my best friend.  Suddenly, I had lawyers calling me at home for racing tips.  My Dad laughed his A-S-S off and my Mom was concerned.

Right there, I was hooked on horse racing(not harness racing, which is fixed...hahahahaha).  When I hit that first bet, I went home and dropped $100 dollar bills in my Dad's hands, telling him that I was re-paying him for paying my college tuition.  I told Dad that I would always pay him half of my winnings to pay for college. 

You can watch movies about the racetrack and you'll laugh, yet the stereotypes are correct.  Plenty of fools are hyping a horse they don't bet on.  They're trying to increase their odds.  That's the real world.

When I did graduate, the track had paid for my 4 years of college and I was proud every time I brought my Dad cash.  I know he was really happy.  I still remember the first and only time my Dad poured me a drink of Whiskey, three fingers and three ice cubes.  His advice was priceless.  "Put the same effort into becoming a better man as you have into paying Mom and I for your college."

Since then, I have loved horse racing.

I've gambled on Quarter Horses in Vinton, LA.  I'm so ashamed.

To this day, I watch every Triple Crown race, hoping that some lucky horsey will win the big enchilada....all three races.

It's become apparent that winning the Triple Crown is harder than winning Back To Back NCAA Football National Championships.

This year, no horse will win the Triple Crown, again.