A few things on my mind that I want to share:
First, you may wonder how I can play every week while in Australia and New Zealand but then miss Derby weekend after returning home. The answer is that I played some tickets with a buddy of mine who lives in Maine and I also gave my older brother all my picks over the two days. This left me preoccupied when it was time to post picks here. (And post time came really early both days.)
Second, it's bragging I know but it was the second biggest ticket I ever cashed. My buddy in Maine and I played a 50 cent Pick 4 on Derby Day starting with Race 6. It cost us $48 each to cover the $96 ticket. When Graham Motion's horse won the 9th race at 47-1, we hit the Pick 4. It came back $6,536! No federal tax is due - under the new laws passed a couple years ago you have to collect at 300-1 for every dollar spent on the winning ticket. Since I bet my half of the cost at NJBets and that turned out to be the winning ticket, I would have to have collected $48 x $300 or $14,400 before my bet would have been subject to federal wagering tax.
The truth is that this kind of hit would have meant the world to me in my younger days. Nowadays not so much....but it was a lot of fun!
|