A Pleasant Surprise: I got a Turkey Dinner for Christmas

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

As many of you know, I like to play horse racing. While we do have live racing locally, we also have a race book at the track, where I can wager on anything that’s running in North America, even if they’re not running locally.

Understand also, that I have very little family. My closest relative is my sister, who lives in another city. But I do have a pile of friends, most of whom have left town this Christmas. So, I’m pretty much on my own this Christmas. No problem, there’s football on TV on Christmas day, and I’ve got plenty of food, and I’m well-stocked with DVD movies.

So how does the race book and me spending Christmas alone come together? When I was at the race book today, I mentioned that I’d be alone, but that didn’t bother me because of TV sports and DVDs and such. When asked what my Christmas dinner was going to be, I answered, “I dunno … maybe I’ll grill a burger, or make a plate of pasta, or something.”

Well! The staff knows me, knows that I’m a regular, knows that I’ll be back likely on Tuesday (hey, Santa Anita is running Tuesday) and they wanted to do something. So when I left, they presented me with a takeout bag from the kitchen. “It’s a turkey dinner,” they said. “For you, for Christmas. From us.”

Dammit, that was unexpected. Actually, it blew me away. It came clear out of the blue, entirely unexpectedly. I was speechless at first, but I managed to thank everybody, wish them all well, thank them again, and got on my way, before I broke down in the race book. They were so kind.

Right now, that turkey dinner is in the fridge, and I plan on enjoying it tomorrow.

Jeez, Thanksgiving is at the wrong time of year. Right about now, I am giving thanks for some very kind friends.

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That is great! A real “compliments of the season” from staff who obviously know you and appreciate you (as do we all here at SDMB!)

3

Aww. That’s so sweet.

Racing people are mostly good folks. My Daddy loved it like nothing much else. Except his pipe. They sorta went together, come to think of it.

Merry Christmas, @Spoons , from down south.

Beck

4

Congrats! So happy for you!

For us non track betting types, what’s a ‘race book’ and how does it work? (I’m imagining a myriad of curious possibilities! )

It sounds like something, yknow, racial!

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Thanks, folks! I’m looking forward to dinner tonight, that’s for sure.

A “race book” is a place where you can watch and wager on racing from elsewhere. For example, at my local book in Lethbridge, Alberta, I can watch and wager on racing from Toronto, New York, Tampa, Louisville, Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver, and many other places. Depending on the time of day, I can also watch and wager on tracks in Australia, South America, and Japan.

Every track that is running on a given day produces a TV show of that day’s racing. These are not at all like “NBC Sports Presents the Kentucky Derby” that you might watch at home; rather, they are made for those of us who need to know latest news and updates on a race: current tote odds (you’ve gotta watch, because they can and do change), scratches (horses that have been removed from the race), changes in jockeys or weights, the track handicapper’s selections, and so on. Probable payouts on exotic wagers like exactors and doubles also feature. While the camera shows the horses in the paddock and the post parade and the warmups and the race itself, that view is surrounded by numbers: tote odds, probables, MTP (Minutes To Post, i.e. the start of the race). Naturally, everything is broadcast live. Anyway, these live productions are typically sold via subscription to race books, and come in via specialized satellite services.

My local race book is typical of any North American race book. It subscribes to all North American tracks, and overseas ones too. It looks like, and functions as, a restaurant, with tables and chairs, and a bar and kitchen, though there is no obligation to buy food or drink. But there are TVs all over the place, many more than you would find at a sports bar, each displaying a different track’s subscription broadcast. I can buy a program for a track, with all entries, past performances in proper Racing Form format, mutuel selections, and so on; and when it comes time to wager, I can use what we call an “Autotote,” which is a machine that will take my money, and book my wager. Should I win, there is a cashier who can take my winning ticket and turn it into cash.

I’ve played racing for about 40 years now. It’s a pleasant hobby, and I like to think it helps keep my mind sharp, in analyzing all those numbers on screen and in the program, and making an educated guess as to which horse will win. I keep my wagers small, and consequently, my winnings are never very big, but it’s fun to have a little skin in the game.

And that’s a race book. Nothing racial about it; it is simply a place to go and watch and wager on horse racing that is occurring elsewhere. Maybe have some lunch and/or a cold beer at the same time.

Hope this helps answer your question, and thanks again, everybody!

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Thanks for taking the time to teach me about something I’d never heard of, it was/is very interesting.

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That was very kind of them and ditto what Northern Piper said. Spoons, your kindness shines through all of your posts so I’m sure they can see it in person even easier.

I love the books written by Dick Francis, which often have the racing world as a backdrop. His “good” characters are always just such terrific people and I like that it brings back those good memories for me anytime horse racing comes up.

I hope the dinner was good Spoons.

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Do any TV providers in your area carry FanDuel TV? They have a channel devoted to horse racing. It’s a US-based company, I believe, so a lot of their coverage is American racing – Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, harness – and Woodbine, at least, in Canada, but in off hours they also cover live racing from Japan, Australia, South Africa, France, the UK, and Ireland. No QH sprints, but plenty of TB flat racing, also hurdles and steeplechase races in France, England, and Ireland. Europe seems not to have pacers, only trotters, running in France and the Scandinavian countries, and the French even have under-saddle trotters (good grief, the leg muscles those riders must have!).

I don’t bet, I just like to watch the equines run, especially the over-fences races.

Now I think of it, there’s also sometimes racing from places like Qatar, mostly top-tier TB races with big-name ship-ins, but occasionally Arabians.

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It was. It was delicious. I went to the pantry, where I found a nice Chardonnay, and that was the icing on the cake, as it were. A wonderful turkey dinner, with wine. Mmmm!

I was at the race book today, and I once again thanked the staff. I ended up “at evens,” which means that my wins and my losses on the day evened out. I didn’t win, but I didn’t lose. Well, at least I had a couple of draft beers and some good conversation with other horseplayers. And I let the staff know, once again, how much I appreciated their kind gesture.

Interestingly, a couple of guys who must have lost their way were sitting at the bar. One complained that the TVs should be showing the World Junior Hockey Championships, because hockey, Canada, and something-something Canadian hockey something Canadian patriotism. He was told that this is a race book, it shows racing, and that hockey might be shown after the day’s racing ends. But only then. They were offered recommendations to nearby sports bars. A few “harrumphs,” and he and his friend paid their tabs and left.

Our racing feed comes mainly through the RTN (Racetrack Television Network) in partnership with Roberts Communications. As far as I am aware, everything we get at our book comes through RTN, and it really is a matter of “if we don’t have it, you don’t need it,” because it has every track, everywhere in the world, whenever it is racing. Heck, I’ve been able to watch and wager on Belmont Park in Perth, Australia, from our local race book, thanks to RTN.

(Aside: Belmont Park in Perth is a bit of a sentimental favourite, since I spent a lot of time in Perth back in the 1990s, and spent at least one afternoon a week at that track. It’s a nice track, and a fine place to spend the afternoon, should you find yourself in Perth.)