Race Track Diary, Entry Number 35 – Billy Budd’s (June 13, 2026)

  

Race Track Diary, Entry Number

 Thirty-Five

35 – Billy Budd’s (June 13, 2026)

Introduction

This blog and some following blogs are sections from an informal diary of “visits to the race-track” at a particular time and place, by a person who has followed the races with varying levels of participation over a long period. These relate primarily to some visits to the track and/or off-track betting venues in the 2025 period and onward. They contain observations about the activity, both specific and general. Although these remarks are personal, they also reflect general cultural and historical trends, as they have impacted horse-racing, wagering and culture in general.

The setting is Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (population of about one million plus). However, I imagine that the observations would apply to many places in the world, as they are a reflection of how changing trends in technology, globalization and culture in general have affected this ancient and honourable activity of horse-racing.

For now, I will use what I call “polished point-form” for the narrative.

======================================================================

• 35 – Billy Budd’s (June 13, 2026)

  • I was under the spell of a minor virus for much of the week, but had mostly recovered by Saturday. Given the big races at Woodbine/Mohawk, I decided to gather up my energies and observe the spectacle, which would include throwing a few coins on the races. However, I decided it would be best to shorten the day and skip the thoroughbreds. So, it was just the Harnnies today.

  • This Saturday was National Golf Cart Day (you can look it up). I prefer walking the course when I golf, but it has been a while, so I might just appreciate a golf cart by now. Mostly I just go to the driving range (indoor place in the winter) with my son and hit a bucket of balls. It is a good father-son thing. So, anyway Happy National Golf Cart Day!

  • All kidding aside, this was a pretty big day at the Woodbine/Mohawk Harness Races. There were a number of high-purse races on the card, including a Million-Dollar race. There was also a 240K race, a 65K race, a 215K race, a 320K race, a 100K race, and a 420K race. Who knew that the bucket-pullers had so much money to throw around?

  • By the time the harness races started, in late afternoon, most of the racing crowd had withered away. It was rather sparse in the bar and games areas as well. This seemed odd, as the soccer World Cup was beginning, featuring some teams that one might assume would draw some interest (e.g. Brazil and Scotland). But, apparently not.

  • So, off to the horses and sulkies then:

    • For Race #1, we arrived a bit too late for any betting. That was just as well, ­since my system didn’t pick any of the WPS horses.

    • During Race #2, I was distracted by the World Cup soccer game, so I was shut out. That’s too bad, since I noted on my cheatsheet “would have bet #4” (based on a big odds drop from morning line to race time), which did come in first. So it goes.

    • For Race #3, I bet the #5 horse to place, which did win the race at odds of $7 per $2 bet. The horse had a nice stretch run. However the Place pool was seriously shorted, down to $2.90, due to a heavy favourite taking second place. Well, I will consider it my beer bet for the day. Craig picked up the triactor, though that was at a comically short price as well.

    • In Race #4 I took a flyer on the #6 horse, given its long odds and a usually reliable post. But it came in well back, so chock it up as a loss.

    • I was shut out again, for Race #5, perhaps distracted by some nearby fellows who were catching up on their respective news, after not seeing each other for quite a while. Their chatting saved me some money, as my preferred horse finished out of the money.

    • In Race #6, the 5 horse was going off at huge odds, and was favoured by my system. I bet it to show, figured that its better than 4 to 1 odds should still pay off ok for show. But, no dice, as it only paid $2.50 per $2 bet. That’s kind of annoying. Once more, Craig picked up the Tri, but it didn’t pay much either.

    • Race #7 was a high-priced contest, with a $215K purse at stake. It was also a Trot, rather than a Pace. That meant over half the field were from other tracks, in for the big payday.

      • Sometimes these are call invaders, some time shippers. The former reminds me of an old TV show, “The Invaders, a Quinn-Martin”. I remembered it vaguely as quite scary when I was a kid, and found it held up quite well after getting the DVDs as an adult. The latter reminds me of a couple of summer jobs during my undergrad years, shipping a receiving windows and doors. Good times!

      • Given those factors, I skipped the race. It turned out that a 45 to 1 horse won, which my system didn’t select. However, I note that its average time to finish, in races where it finished in the top 3, was ranked first in this field. So, it wasn’t entirely unpickable.

    • Race #8 was much the same as #7. Its purse was $320K, the “Roses are Red” final race, for Fillies and Mares. Thus, it also brought in a lot of horses come-from-away, as they might say in the Maritime provinces. Given those facts, I decided to skip this one too.

    • Race #9 also had a pretty good purse, at $100K. I decided it was time to make a bet, so I put some show money on the #5 horse, generally a reliable post and going off at good odds. It looked good for a while, but faltered in the stretch, to come in fourth, just missing show. So it goes.

    • The 10^th Race was also a high-purse race, at $420K, so that brought in plenty of invaders. The horses attracting most of the money were from that category. I liked the odds on the 6 horse, as well as the post and the driver, so I put some show money on it. Once more, the 10 to 1 win odds listed for the horse dwindled to only $2.60 to show on a $2 bet. So, I picked up another small profit.

    • The 11^th Race was the big $1million purse. Apparently the race is called The Pepsi North America Cup, for 3 year-olds. The super-horse, Beau Jangles was in this race. It had recently lost a bit of its lustre, coming in third during its last outing. It was still the favourite, but much less so than it had been in recent outings. For this race it was going off at 7 to 10 odds (i.e. somewhat below even), whereas it had been bet down to 1 to 10 in these earlier contests. Could it come back strong and take the winner’s share of the million dollar purse?

      • Unfortunately, it did not win, coming in third. In this race it ran to the front quite early on, but couldn’t hold the lead in the stretch. In previous races, it tended to come on like a force of nature late in the race to win in the stretch. I had bet it to win, since anything less was unlikely to pay more than a token profit.

      • The winner was the same horse as had beaten it in the previous race, Odds on Mr Mamba. It had echoes of what had happened in the Triple Crown, with the talked-about horse losing to the same less-talked-about horse, in two of the three races.

    • It was getting dark in Toronto, as the 12^th Race prepared to go off.

      • I had one of my hunches, “the six is due”. That post had been very reliable earlier, and for many races. On this day, it had only managed a place and show. Given those facts, as well as decent odds in the morning line, I bet it to win.

      • It did win, but by the time the race was run, its odds had slipped from 4 to 1 to under even money. However, my hunch was strong enough that I had stepped up my usual bet, so that helped. It’s nice when that happens, but just luck I suppose.

    • I skipped the 13^th Race, having not handicapped it. Besides, 12 races is enough!

  • And here are a few random observations of the day:

    • As noted above, while we were betting in the horse-racing area of the pub, a couple of fellows sat down. They sort of watched the races, but mostly chatted. I don’t think they did any betting.

      • They seemed to be a couple of tradesmen, maybe foremen by this point in their careers, as they talked a lot about work, jobs, hiring, other people on the job, things like that. Having put in many decades as an electrician, Craig finds that kind of talk a bit tedious, especially when he is focusing on the horses. I don’t care one way of another, as long as people keep it down and not be too distracting. However, their talk did distract me enough to miss betting on a race I would have lost, so there’s that.

      • One fellow noted our presence and asked whether we had given his friend any tips. He said we must be stats guys, since we were pouring over papers and such. He was right about that – I had worked in statistical data analysis for decades (we call it “data science” now, because that sounds cooler, I guess). This horse-racing gig is an extension of that.

      • Some other guy talked about how the Mexican mafia was fixing races in San Diego (Del Mar Racetrack). I suppose there could be a bit of that. We horse players tend to be a bit cynical and conspiratorial, or at least talk that way.

      • People got pretty excited about a 43 to 1 winner at the Meadowlands.

      • One guy chatted with us as the races ended. He asked how were were doing. I guess he had noticed all the papers and calculators too. Maybe we are getting a reputation. I said “breaking even, mostly”.

  • Which brings me to summing up the day, in terms of money. I calculate that I made a 0.3% profit, so breaking even is a good way to put it.

On the Road with Bronco Billy

Sit back and go on a ten day trucking trip in a big rig, through western North America, from Alberta to Texas, and back again. Explore the countryside, learn some trucking lingo, and observe the shifting cultural norms across this great continent.

Amazon U.S.: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon U.K.: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Germany: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00X2IRHSK

=======================================================

What follows is an account of a ten day journey through western North America during a working trip, delivering lumber from Edmonton Alberta to Dallas Texas, and returning with oilfield equipment. The writer had the opportunity to accompany a friend who is a professional truck driver, which he eagerly accepted. He works as a statistician for the University of Alberta, and is therefore is generally confined to desk, chair, and computer. The chance to see the world from the cab of a truck, and be immersed in the truck driving culture was intriguing. In early May 1997 they hit the road.

Some time has passed since this journal was written and many things have changed since the late 1990’s. That renders the journey as not just a geographical one, but also a historical account, which I think only increases its interest.

We were fortunate to have an eventful trip - a mechanical breakdown, a near miss from a tornado, and a large-scale flood were among these events. But even without these turns of fate, the drama of the landscape, the close-up view of the trucking lifestyle, and the opportunity to observe the cultural habits of a wide swath of western North America would have been sufficient to fill up an interesting journal.

The travelogue is about 20,000 words, about 60 to 90 minutes of reading, at typical reading speeds.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And here’s an account of some road trips in south-western Alberta:

A Selection of Back-Road Trips Around

 Southwest Alberta

There are two main aspects to a road trip: the journey and the destination. Sometimes the trip is all about the journey, sometimes it’s all about the destination. Usually it is a little of both.

This collection of back-roads journeys feature a little bit of both of these aspects. Some accounts are more about the ‘journey’, such as a road trip on scenic Highway 22. Others are more about the ‘destination’, such as the show-jumping at Spruce Meadows. I hope you will enjoy reading some of these accounts and maybe give them a spin for yourself.

Southwest 1 – A Road Trip on Scenic Highway 22

Southwest 2 – The Equestrian Competitions at Spruce Meadows (Calgary)

Southwest 3 – The Bar U Ranch, south of Long View

Southwest 4 – Kananaskis Country

Southwest 5 – Blackfoot Crossing

Southwest 6 – Back-roads, from the Prairies to the Foothills: Brazeau Dam Trip

Southwest 7 – A Back-roads Trip to Hinton and the Forestry Trunk Roads

The reader may wonder “what about the Ice-fields Parkway?” or “where is a visit to Banff?” I would answer, that these famous destinations are covered very nicely by other books. This account is meant to focus on some less travelled areas, thus the “back-roads” descriptor.

I should note that the other three quadrants of Alberta also have a lot of interesting back-roads journeys, but those are material for some other books which will be published in due time.

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon U.K: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DCMJP47G

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Zoo Hypothesis

We present a story giving a possible scenario for the so-called Zoo Hypothesis, an explanation known in Star Trek lore as the Prime Directive. It’s an explanation sometimes given to account for a mystery in the Search for Intelligent Life, known as The Great Silence, or Fermi’s Paradox.

Basically, Enrico Fermi argued (quite convincingly, to many observers), that there had been ample time for an alien intelligence to colonize the galaxy since its formation, so where are they? The Zoo Hypotheses says that they are out there, but have cordoned off the Earth from contact, until we are sufficiently evolved or culturally advanced to handle the impact of alien contact.

This story takes a humorous tongue in cheek approach to that explanation. It also features dogs and sly references to Star Trek. Talk about man’s Best Friend.

It is only 99 cents U.S., equivalent price in other currencies. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited and is sometimes on a free promotion.

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B076RR1PGD

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B076RR1PGD

Race Track Diary, Entry Num 33 – Billy Budd’s (May 30, 2026)

Race Track Diary, Entry Number 

Thirty-Three

33 – Billy Budd’s (May 30, 2026)

Introduction

This blog and some following blogs are sections from an informal diary of “visits to the race-track” at a particular time and place, by a person who has followed the races with varying levels of participation over a long period. These relate primarily to some visits to the track and/or off-track betting venues in the 2025 period and onward. They contain observations about the activity, both specific and general. Although these remarks are personal, they also reflect general cultural and historical trends, as they have impacted horse-racing, wagering and culture in general.

The setting is Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (population of about one million plus). However, I imagine that the observations would apply to many places in the world, as they are a reflection of how changing trends in technology, globalization and culture in general have affected this ancient and honourable activity of horse-racing.

For now, I will use what I call “polished point-form” for the narrative.

======================================================================

• I had to skip the previous weekend’s horseracing venture, as the need for gardening and related yard chores had become rather urgent at my place. In this neck of the woods, the tendency is for people to have their planting done by Victoria Day, which is generally around the 20^th of May.

• 

  So, we got that done on time, only to have a minor late frost (only for a couple of hours, and only slightly below the freezing point temperature) descend on the area. It was looking bad for the begonias (they can’t handle much frost), but with tender loving care they recovered. Shortly thereafter, there came a minor heat wave, then torrential rains for a few days. But most of the flowers, tomatoes and potatoes seem to have survived the wildly varying weather conditions.

• So much for the weather and garden report. Time to get back to racing!

• This was another series of Saturday race-cards. I expected the place to be rather crowded, since there was an important World Cup semi-final hockey game on, Canada vs Finland. But that didn’t turn out to be the case.

• It was the usual crowd with a few new people added to the group, a few women among them.

• One voice arose from the crowd saying "I came here to gamble, man, so let’s get going!" Taking a cue from this fellow, lets jump right into the thoroughbred races at Santa Anita.

  • After working out my numbers for Race 1, there looked to be a couple of good picks, but I was too late to bet them. Good thing too, as they did nothing.

  • Race 2 only had six horses, two of which were scratched. Santa Anita, what is going on with you? Needless to say, I skipped that one. My top pick did place, but coming in second in a four horse field is no great betting opportunity.

  • For Race 3, I made a wager on the #1 horse, which not only came in dead last, but didn’t even seem to try. It just came out the gate, tucked in last, and ran a desultory race. Maybe sick, maybe should have been scratched? The winner was a 30-1 horse. Go figure.

  • Race 4 was a Maiden Claiming Fillies and Mares race; most of the horses had no past performances to speak of, so I gave it a pass. It included 5 year-old horses. If a horse hasn’t won by then, well, it seems doubtful.

  • In Race 5 I bet the #6 horse which rank ok for a while, then died. Some of the old yellers in the pub were shouting "Come on six! Come on Six! Son of a bitch". That’s more or less how I felt too.

  • For the 6^th Race, I was planning to bet a "beer bet". That’s a bet guaranteed to make a small amount, so that I can have a beer (I have a rule not to partake of alcohol until I have won a bet). My horse did come in second (for a beer bet I will settle for show), but I was shut out. Alas, no beer for me.

  • At that point, I was not feeling good about Santa Anita, so I segued to the Woodbine-Mohawk bucket pullers. Had I bet these races, I would have finally picked a winner, though it would have just done slightly over breaking even for those races. So, basically the Santa Anita day was a washout. That said, shut-outs and a generally negative feeling towards the track that day meant that I only lost two races. For, for the record, some later calculations showed:

    • Santa Anita Race 7 – my preferred horse came in dead last

    • Santa Anita Race 8 – my preferred horse came in third in a 5 horse field. The morning line had him at 2-5 odds.

    • Santa Anita Race 9 – my preferred horse won, paying $6.40 to win.

• Here are a few random general observations from the other horseracing fans in attendance:

  • The Canada-Finland hockey game didn’t seem to matter much to people. In fact, I don’t think it was on any of the screens. However that might be related to some sort of licensing agreements which don’t cover that tournament.

  • A group of people came in to bet, who were "Century Mile" folks (that’s the actual racetrack, located near the airport). But, they were upset with food prices there, if I am not mistaken:

    • One of the women chatting with another one. "$24 for 8 chicken wings and no fries! I won’t be going back there again!"

    • She should have taken a picture and put it on Facebook - that’s what people seem to do these days.

  • A couple of older guys discussing Jack Cartier and the exploration of the St. Lawrence River. Probably triggered by the name of some jockey or trainer. Then they segued into talking about the cartoon and song "The Logdriver’s Waltz" (which is very good, you can check it out on Youtube).

  • Another older guy chatting up the English lass waitress. He noted that her name is the same as (or similar to) one of the characters on the old Beverly Hillbillies TV show (Elly-Mae, I presume). She said she had never heard of the show. Different country, different age cohort, different era of popular entertainment.

  • The black fellow who is something of a regular was having a very bad day, with much low cursing and muttering. It can be tough, especially if you lose a lot of money. Later, he and another fellow recognized each other from some past betting at the Dover hotel. They chatted about that. It seemed to help his mood. Here’s hoping he made back some of his losses.

  • A couple of older guys, still big shooters, still a bit competitive:

    • A - "How are you doing?"

    • B - "Up $200".

    • A – "That’s great".

    • B - "How about you?"

    • A - "I’m up $260".

• Now, on to the harness-races at Woodbine-Mohawk:

  • In Race 1, I bet show on the 6 horse, attempting to make my beer-bet. But Lady Luck was having none of it; the horse got beat in the stretch, though it took a photo to prove it, taking fourth place.

  • In Race 2, I was all set to beer-bet the #4 horse, but was shut out. It won, and paid a pretty good price to win, at $11.80.

  • For Race 3, I made my beer bet, a show bet on an even-money favourite. It didn’t run a great race, but did manage to catch third, so my beer bet was out of the way. I also hedged on a long-shot 6, which deserved its long odds, finishing in seventh place, 12 lengths behind the winner.

  • I cautiously put show money on the #6 horse in the 4^th Race. It did manage to catch third, but didn’t pay much. However, I did step up my bet, so that helped a bit.

  • In Race 5, I took a flyer on a long-shot #1, but it didn’t come in.

  • For Race 6, feeling slightly optimistic, I bet win on the #6 horse, which was the favourite, but was still at 2-1. However it came in third. Craig and I got the triacta, but it was all chalk, so it paid a ludicrously low price. Still, a moral victory, I suppose.

  • In Race 7, I got lucky and was shut out.

  • In Race 8, I bet the #6 and lost. It had a decent kick in the stretch, going from 8 lengths back to 3, but too little too late.

  • In the 9^th Race, Craig and I were alive to the Win-3. We needed either of the 2 favourite to come in, so we figured that we would pick up something, even if the price wasn’t great. But they both choked, with a couple of high-paying longshots coming in for first and second.

  • At that point we decided to pack it in. On the way out I bet show on the #6 in the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th. I figured that post was due. And they did all come in, a first, second and third. However, they all came in at low prices. Still, a moral victory, of sorts.

• In summary, it wasn’t a great day, but not a total washout. At Santa Anita I lost my two bets, but wisely skipped on four others. At Woodbine, I actually won 5 of 10 bets, but they were all short prices, so it was an overall loss.

• At the end of the day, I had made a note to myself (after 5 beers, track and home):

  • "The day was a lesson. A lesson that there are days when you can’t win, but you can show, you can cut your losses and survive. And that is worth knowing."

  • Granted, it is kind of hokey. But sometimes reality is hokey.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Below are some promos for a few short books that a horseplayer might enjoy:

On the Road with Bronco Billy

Sit back and go on a ten day trucking trip in a big rig, through western North America, from Alberta to Texas, and back again. Explore the countryside, learn some trucking lingo, and observe the shifting cultural norms across this great continent.

Amazon U.S.: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon U.K.: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Germany: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00X2IRHSK

=======================================================

What follows is an account of a ten day journey through western North America during a working trip, delivering lumber from Edmonton Alberta to Dallas Texas, and returning with oilfield equipment. The writer had the opportunity to accompany a friend who is a professional truck driver, which he eagerly accepted. He works as a statistician for the University of Alberta, and is therefore is generally confined to desk, chair, and computer. The chance to see the world from the cab of a truck, and be immersed in the truck driving culture was intriguing. In early May 1997 they hit the road.

Some time has passed since this journal was written and many things have changed since the late 1990’s. That renders the journey as not just a geographical one, but also a historical account, which I think only increases its interest.

We were fortunate to have an eventful trip - a mechanical breakdown, a near miss from a tornado, and a large-scale flood were among these events. But even without these turns of fate, the drama of the landscape, the close-up view of the trucking lifestyle, and the opportunity to observe the cultural habits of a wide swath of western North America would have been sufficient to fill up an interesting journal.

The travelogue is about 20,000 words, about 60 to 90 minutes of reading, at typical reading speeds.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And here’s an account of some road trips in south-western Alberta:

A Selection of Back-Road Trips Around 

Southwest Alberta

There are two main aspects to a road trip: the journey and the destination. Sometimes the trip is all about the journey, sometimes it’s all about the destination. Usually it is a little of both.

This collection of back-roads journeys feature a little bit of both of these aspects. Some accounts are more about the ‘journey’, such as a road trip on scenic Highway 22. Others are more about the ‘destination’, such as the show-jumping at Spruce Meadows. I hope you will enjoy reading some of these accounts and maybe give them a spin for yourself.

Southwest 1 – A Road Trip on Scenic Highway 22

Southwest 2 – The Equestrian Competitions at Spruce Meadows (Calgary)

Southwest 3 – The Bar U Ranch, south of Long View

Southwest 4 – Kananaskis Country

Southwest 5 – Blackfoot Crossing

Southwest 6 – Back-roads, from the Prairies to the Foothills: Brazeau Dam Trip

Southwest 7 – A Back-roads Trip to Hinton and the Forestry Trunk Roads

The reader may wonder “what about the Ice-fields Parkway?” or “where is a visit to Banff?” I would answer, that these famous destinations are covered very nicely by other books. This account is meant to focus on some less travelled areas, thus the “back-roads” descriptor.

I should note that the other three quadrants of Alberta also have a lot of interesting back-roads journeys, but those are material for some other books which will be published in due time.

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon U.K: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DCMJP47G

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Dark Horse

In “A Dark Horse”, a gambler’s desire to hit a big win seems to lead him to make a Faustian bargain with a supernatural evil.  Or is it all just a string of unnaturally good luck?

The story is just $0.99 U.S. (equivalent in other currencies) and about 8000 words. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited and is occasionally on free promotion.

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MDMY2BR

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Here’s an interesting review from Goodreads

(BTW, the writer has never met the reviewer and was not even aware of the review until very recently – You can look up the review on Goodreads, if you like)

A Dark Horse

Every gambler is bound to run out of luck eventually, right?

By far my favourite type of horror is psychological horror. I was quite pleased with how Mr. Olausen frightened his audience without spilling a single drop of blood or so much as hinting at anything gory. He knew exactly what hints to drop for us that made us deliciously dread the next scene simply by throwing out hints about who or what the dark horse might actually represent. This is the kind of stuff I love getting scared by, especially as Halloween approaches.

It would have been helpful to have more character development in this short story. While I certainly wouldn’t expect to see as much time spent on this as I would for a full-length novel, I did have trouble connecting to the main characters due to how little I knew about them and how much their personalities seemed to remain the same no matter what happened to them. If not for this issue, I would have felt comfortable choosing a much higher rating as the plot itself was well done.

I must admit to not knowing much about gambling at all, so I appreciated the brief explanations the narrator shared about how placing bets works and why some people have so much trouble walking away from a bet. While I will leave it up to experts on these topics to say how accurate everything was, I did enjoy learning more about the main character’s addiction and what he hoped to gain from betting on just one more game or race. It gave me a stronger sense of empathy for folks in his position.

A Dark Horse – A Gothic Tale was a deliciously chilling story for the Halloween season and beyond.

Race Track Diary, Entry Number 34 – Billy Budd’s (June 6, 2026)

  

Race Track Diary, Entry Number

 Thirty-Four

34 – Billy Budd’s (June 6, 2026)

Introduction

This blog and some following blogs are sections from an informal diary of “visits to the race-track” at a particular time and place, by a person who has followed the races with varying levels of participation over a long period. These relate primarily to some visits to the track and/or off-track betting venues in the 2025 period and onward. They contain observations about the activity, both specific and general. Although these remarks are personal, they also reflect general cultural and historical trends, as they have impacted horse-racing, wagering and culture in general.

The setting is Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (population of about one million plus). However, I imagine that the observations would apply to many places in the world, as they are a reflection of how changing trends in technology, globalization and culture in general have affected this ancient and honourable activity of horse-racing.

For now, I will use what I call “polished point-form” for the narrative.

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• 34 – Billy Budd’s (June 6, 2026 D-Day and Belmont)

  • This Saturday was the 158^th running of the Belmont Stakes. The race was actually at Saratoga Racetrack this year (New York State) rather than Belmont Park (also New York State) as the latter track is undergoing renovations and rehab. It is the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, usually a mile and a half, but the relocation made it a mile and a quarter this time around. 

    
    
     

  • Here’s a fun factoid about the races, along with money, the winner gets a bunch of flowers:

    • Kentucky Derby – Roses

    • Preakness Stakes – Black-eyed Susans

    • Belmont Stakes - Carnations

  • Of course the other important event that is attached to June 6 is D-Day, when the Allies landed in Normandy. As we all know (or should know) this helped to lead to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the Second World War. The winner of this contest got some campaign medals. My dad was in Italy then, during that dust-up at Monte Casino, so he and his mates got different campaign medals.

  • Besides these auspicious events, the day also included a Blue Jays game, a notable golf tournament (The Memorial) and a Stanley Cup final hockey game.

  • Thus there was a considerable crowd at the horse-betting stations. As has been the case for the other big races, the crowd was a bit younger and a bit more female than usual.

  • Most people seemed to be in a good mood, crowd and staff. The wait staff was friendly and attentive and the horse-players were somewhat more chatty than usual.

  • The races at Belmont were rather far advanced by the time we arrived, with the 9^th race about to go off. That said, they dragged the rest of the card out pretty good. The big race was being covered by one of the TV networks, so they needed to give the network plenty of time to put in features and ads, enough to fill an hour of TV time. Plus, since it is a day that attracts casual fans, dragging out the race gives people more time to bet (or so it is hoped).

    • There wasn’t enough time to work out numbers for the 9^th, so I skipped that.

    • I did bet the 10^th Race but my pick came in dead last. Craig, on the other hand, picked the 7-6 exactor, though he assumed it wouldn’t pay much. He was to have a successful day, as it turned out.

    • I skipped the 11^th, as I wanted to keep my powder dry for the big race. Craig nearly picked up another exotic bet, but missed it by one horse.

    • I skipped the 12^th as well. It turned out that the horses I liked did quite well, with a Win and a Place. I guess I should have jumped on the winner, which had the best numbers by my system, as it paid nearly 12 bucks.

    • Finally, it was the 13^th race, the Belmont Stakes. As noted above, the milked the run-up to the race for quite a while. That included a fellow singing "New York, New York", which seemed painfully lip-synced to my eye and ear. The sound of the crowd singing "My Old Kentucky Home" before the Kentucky Derby was much more effective and sincere.

    • I was all set to bet Renegade to show, as I had done for the Derby. However, I was shut out, as the machines were busy just before the race, and I like to observe the odds as the betting proceeds. I would have gotten the bet, but it wouldn’t have paid much ($2.52), so it was no great loss. Still, it would have been nice to say that I made some money on all of the Triple Crown races. Note: Low payouts were to be my fate for the day.

    • As it turned out, Golden Tempo won the race, as he had done in the Kentucky Derby. However, he wasn’t entered in the Preakness, so there was not Triple Crown for him, as was the case for me. Of course, Golden Tempo had a lot more at stake than I did. Still, you wonder what might have happened, had he been entered in the Preakness.

    • There was a 14^th race at Belmont, but we had switched gears to the bucket pullers by then. Besides, there were 16 horses in the race, which makes for a tough race to pick.

  • But before going on to the harness races, here are a few random general observations of or from the other horseracing fans in attendance:

    • There was one old fellow, who was using a walker to get to the machines to buy his betting vouchers. He was obviously in pretty bad shape – gnarled up, one might say. But Craig and I agreed that he was a hell of a trooper to be still in the game.

    • Later in the evening, when the horseracing section was mostly empty, a couple of the waitresses chatted about him. He was something of a regular and known to joke around with some of the other bettors. Apparently he was 93 years old, still sharp as a tack mentally, and could be rather funny (in a good way, i.e. comical). I suspect he was popular with the ladies, in his younger days.

    • There was plenty of yelling from a group of guys, watching a race at the Woodbine thoroughbred track. I couldn’t say whether their horse came in; if it didn’t, it was not for lack of trying on their part.

    • Later in the evening, when most of the patrons had gone home, there were a few other fellows still betting.

    • One guy, a regular, was obviously not doing too well. He was getting a bit excitable, but managed to control it.

    • Another stalwart chatted with a waitress, who was curious about how he was doing. I think he is a regular too. He explained his bet to her, which was on a long-shot exotic wager of some sort. Unfortunately, it didn’t come in. The waitress explained it to me later – noted that he stood to win a more than $10,000 bet if his horse had come in. I don’t know how much he had invested on the bet, but that’s got to hurt.

    • That same waitress asked me what the most I ever won was. I related a story to her, from when I was a young university student.

    • I had worked one summer on the railroad, but dragged up before I had made enough money to pay my next year’s tuition (there were a lot of people getting hurt on that track-laying job, which was my reason for bugging out). So, I took my pay to the track, on the last day of the meet, in late August. I had a decent score on the feature race, but the odds weren’t that high, so it was still touch-and-go for making my tuition. Therefore, in the tenth and last race, I boxed the three longest shots in the race, with a moderately high bet. The two longest horses came in, with the exactor paying off at about 150 to 1. That set me up for my second year of studies, in a math-physics program.

  • And now for the bucket-pullers at Woodbine-Mohawk.

    • I was getting a bit thirsty, so the first order of business was to win a beer-bet. To that end, I bet show on the #3 horse, which had a lot of good indicators as well as decent odds. But it was not to be.

    • Still pursuing my beer-bet, I put a few bucks to place on the #4, which was the second favourite, behind a heavily bet-down #2 (0.55 odds). Neither of them came in. I see in my notebook I have written "Can’t even manage of beer-bet show ticket today!"

    • I was shut-out in the 3^rd race. Which was just as well, as my preferred horse finished way down the track.

    • This was getting silly, so for the 4^th Race, I decided to put a place bet on a 1 to 9 favourite. Finally, it came in, so I could enjoy a cool Rickard’s Red. It paid a comical 2.10 to place. Normally I would never bet a horse with odds so low, but for the sake of a beer, it had to be done.

    • In the same race, Craig’s 6-1-4-2 Superfecta came in. It didn’t pay super-great (about 20 to 1), but while cashing that ticket, he discovered that one of his other vouchers actually did win, which he wasn’t expecting. That was a surprise win, and a nice payoff of about 300 to 1.

    • For the 5^th Race, I put a win bet on the old reliable 6 post, which had tolerably decent odds. Unfortunately, it got edged out in the stretch, coming in second.

    • In the 6^th Race, I bet a long-shot #7, since it had good indicators, for a horse going off at 45 to 1. Yeah, but no, it came in dead last.

    • In the 7^th Race, I went back to the 6 post, though it was a short-priced favourite. I bet to win and stepped up the bet. Luckily, it did come in first. The stepped-up bet helped too. (I will admit it – I was sure I was ‘due’).

    • I didn’t like anything in the 8^th Race, so I gave that a pass. Plus, I believe I was chatting with the waitress at the time, which was a bit of a distraction.

    • The 9^th Race had the monster-horse Beau Jangles. It is a 3-year-old with a nearly flawless record, that won over 1.65 million dollars as a 2-year-old and was continuing to do similarly as a 3-year-old. My notebook says "THE UNBEATABLE HORSE!".

    • But, you guessed it, it was beatable after all. It didn’t even place and there was no show betting on the race. Fortunately, I had bet the #4 horse to place. In fact, the #4 won. Weirdly enough, the place bet paid more than the win bet ($8 to place, $7.4 to win). So, that worked out just fine for me, not so well for all those who dropped some big coin on Beau Jangles. It just goes to show, even monster-horses can have an off day.

    • In the 10^th Race, I went back to the #6, which was going off at surprisingly good odds. I bet show, but it paid pretty well for that, at $6.10 per $2 bet.

    • For Race #11, I was panning to go back to the 6, but got shut-out. That was just as well, as the horse finished well back. Craig however, hit a 200-1 triactor, continuing his streak.

    • For Race #12, I bet the 4, which did nothing. Craig hit another triactor, though, for another $150. Then, to add to his good luck, he picked up another win on some sports betting from earlier in the day, once the hockey game was over (Vegas beat Carolina).

  • So, in summary, I lost one small bet and got shut out on one I would have won, at the thoroughbreds of Saratoga. For the harness-races, I almost precisely broke even (a minuscule profit). I think it is fair to call it a break-even day.

  • As for my brother Craig, he had a very nice run of luck and came out several hundred dollars to the good. I guess he was due.

Below are some promos for a few short books that a horseplayer might enjoy:

On the Road with Bronco Billy

Sit back and go on a ten day trucking trip in a big rig, through western North America, from Alberta to Texas, and back again. Explore the countryside, learn some trucking lingo, and observe the shifting cultural norms across this great continent.

Amazon U.S.: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon U.K.: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Germany: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00X2IRHSK

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00X2IRHSK

=======================================================

What follows is an account of a ten day journey through western North America during a working trip, delivering lumber from Edmonton Alberta to Dallas Texas, and returning with oilfield equipment. The writer had the opportunity to accompany a friend who is a professional truck driver, which he eagerly accepted. He works as a statistician for the University of Alberta, and is therefore is generally confined to desk, chair, and computer. The chance to see the world from the cab of a truck, and be immersed in the truck driving culture was intriguing. In early May 1997 they hit the road.

Some time has passed since this journal was written and many things have changed since the late 1990’s. That renders the journey as not just a geographical one, but also a historical account, which I think only increases its interest.

We were fortunate to have an eventful trip - a mechanical breakdown, a near miss from a tornado, and a large-scale flood were among these events. But even without these turns of fate, the drama of the landscape, the close-up view of the trucking lifestyle, and the opportunity to observe the cultural habits of a wide swath of western North America would have been sufficient to fill up an interesting journal.

The travelogue is about 20,000 words, about 60 to 90 minutes of reading, at typical reading speeds.

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And here’s an account of some road trips in south-western Alberta:

A Selection of Back-Road Trips Around

Southwest Alberta

There are two main aspects to a road trip: the journey and the destination. Sometimes the trip is all about the journey, sometimes it’s all about the destination. Usually it is a little of both.

This collection of back-roads journeys feature a little bit of both of these aspects. Some accounts are more about the ‘journey’, such as a road trip on scenic Highway 22. Others are more about the ‘destination’, such as the show-jumping at Spruce Meadows. I hope you will enjoy reading some of these accounts and maybe give them a spin for yourself.

Southwest 1 – A Road Trip on Scenic Highway 22

Southwest 2 – The Equestrian Competitions at Spruce Meadows (Calgary)

Southwest 3 – The Bar U Ranch, south of Long View

Southwest 4 – Kananaskis Country

Southwest 5 – Blackfoot Crossing

Southwest 6 – Back-roads, from the Prairies to the Foothills: Brazeau Dam Trip

Southwest 7 – A Back-roads Trip to Hinton and the Forestry Trunk Roads

The reader may wonder “what about the Ice-fields Parkway?” or “where is a visit to Banff?” I would answer, that these famous destinations are covered very nicely by other books. This account is meant to focus on some less travelled areas, thus the “back-roads” descriptor.

I should note that the other three quadrants of Alberta also have a lot of interesting back-roads journeys, but those are material for some other books which will be published in due time.

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon U.K: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0DCMJP47G

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DCMJP47G

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A Dark Horse

In “A Dark Horse”, a gambler’s desire to hit a big win seems to lead him to make a Faustian bargain with a supernatural evil.  Or is it all just a string of unnaturally good luck?

The story is just $0.99 U.S. (equivalent in other currencies) and about 8000 words. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited and is occasionally on free promotion.

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MDMY2BR

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01M9BS3Y5

Here’s an interesting review from Goodreads

(BTW, the writer has never met the reviewer and was not even aware of the review until very recently – You can look up the review on Goodreads, if you like)

A Dark Horse

Every gambler is bound to run out of luck eventually, right?

By far my favourite type of horror is psychological horror. I was quite pleased with how Mr. Olausen frightened his audience without spilling a single drop of blood or so much as hinting at anything gory. He knew exactly what hints to drop for us that made us deliciously dread the next scene simply by throwing out hints about who or what the dark horse might actually represent. This is the kind of stuff I love getting scared by, especially as Halloween approaches.

It would have been helpful to have more character development in this short story. While I certainly wouldn’t expect to see as much time spent on this as I would for a full-length novel, I did have trouble connecting to the main characters due to how little I knew about them and how much their personalities seemed to remain the same no matter what happened to them. If not for this issue, I would have felt comfortable choosing a much higher rating as the plot itself was well done.

I must admit to not knowing much about gambling at all, so I appreciated the brief explanations the narrator shared about how placing bets works and why some people have so much trouble walking away from a bet. While I will leave it up to experts on these topics to say how accurate everything was, I did enjoy learning more about the main character’s addiction and what he hoped to gain from betting on just one more game or race. It gave me a stronger sense of empathy for folks in his position.

A Dark Horse – A Gothic Tale was a deliciously chilling story for the Halloween season and beyond.