My group had a lot to do with the handle increase, esp in the P3 and P4 pools!!
My buddy's dad was given 4 free tickets to watch the races from The Cotillion Room. This included free food and drinks, a $50 horse racing voucher, and $100 in slot dollars.
The room was packed with older people who you could tell were only there to collect their free items. There wasn't ONE horseplayer in the room besides us four. There were more $2 WPS bets on Cali Chrome than I ever thought was possible. The teller and I hit it off, joking about all of the idiotic bets that were presented to her throughout the day.
As great as it was to look around and see Parx filled to the brim, the sobering truth that this was the only day of the year for the track to look crowded was always in the back of my mind. I'm hoping that we can somehow build off that.
My brother showed up with his friend who knows absolutely nothing about horses or betting. Told him to put his $40 on Bayern to win. Needless to say, on the walk back to the car, he was hooked. He asked if we can go back more often bc he really wants to get into it. He looked at me like I had three heads when I asked Asmussen for his picture, but was astonished once I told him that he was the winning trainer of the previous race. Poe loved the interaction, and his first trip to the track was a winning one.
He'll be back, if only for next year's PA Derby. I tried to do my part in making new fans of the game. So thank ME for all the future dead money in the pools!
