I have not ever written about it or even talked about it much, but one part of my secret life or secret lives – the parts that don’t make it into books or blogs – was my time making a living at the racetrack, I spent several wonderful years cruising up and down the East Coast – from Hialeah to Saratoga – hanging out with jockeys, handlers, trainers, racing bums and touts, a few wise buys and some drifters like me who never got rich, never went broke, just kept our eyes and ears open and made a comfortable living betting on the ponies. It was a grand time, we played poker every week kept an eye out for one another, got jockeys and writers drunk in bars and pumped them for news,  I would recommend it to anybody who is curious, has some will power and discipline and wants to see the world from a rich and unique perspective.

Today I went with my former girlfriend to the Saratoga Raceway on a beautiful (it had to happen) summer day. We got some seats up in the grandstands, bought three or four tip sheets and studies them. I was a bit shocked by Maria’s enthusiasm, acumen and gambling instincts. She pored over the racing forms and stats, watched the betting boards, peppered me with questions,  rushed to the paddock to see how the horses looked, had her favorite tellers and won a whole string or races in a row, four I think. She had that mad gleam in her eye when she one – and she won a lot – and we both  both lost the the last two and left with a few extra dollars in our pockets, enough to buy apples and berries on the way home.

Maria is studying the exactas and trifectas and I suspect we will be going back shortly. How great it would be to go to Hialeah this winter and make our way East. But life is different now, I am trying to figure out how to take Maria to Florence, a place I know she would love a lot more than a winning trifecta. We had a blast.