Race Track Diary, Entry Number Fourteen Billy Budd’s (Oct 25, 2025)

 

Race Track Diary, Entry Number Fourteen

Billy Budd’s (Oct 25, 2025)

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.

• 14 – Century Mile 7 (October 25, 2025)

  • 

    On a pleasant late October day, it was back to Century Mile, the actual racetrack near the International Airport.

  • Early in the afternoon, things weren’t too busy, but by early evening we had a spot of trouble finding our car in the parking lot, as it was nearly full by then.

  • Traffic on the freeway had been horrible that day, so my brother was late picking me up. But that gave me extra time to hit some golf balls into the backyard net, always a good idea.

  • Unfortunately, it also meant that I was rushed when he arrived and forgot my reading glasses. Thus, reading the program was an adventure in squinting and guessing, as the numbers are rather small. A quick perusal a few days later showed me that the results were not very different, with or without the glasses. I didn’t make that many mistakes and the mistakes on the high side were generally offset by mistakes on the low side, so the overall average numbers were pretty close. This supports Enrico Fermi’s principle of approximation.

  • For this day, I decided to key in on Santa Anita once more. It was starting at about the time we arrived, so that made it possible to analyze the entire card, not being distracted by other tracks. I don’t like to spread my handicapping too thin, especially when I don’t have my reading glasses and my calculations are all of the eyeball/mental arithmetic variety.

  • Almost immediately upon sitting down, there was some entertainment:

    • One older gentleman was being quite enthusiastic, as were several others, yelling "Come on 5! Come on 5! Beat on! Beat on!"

    • This turned out to be one of the later races at Gulfstream Park. He must have had all three of first horses in a bet called a Superfecta, where the bettor picks the first four horses in the order they finished. If a few long shots come in, it can pay off very handsomely.

    • It was close, very close, a photo finish. Did he get it, we wondered? He made the sign of the cross, silently. It could pay off, people were saying.

    • But sadly, it didn’t. The horse he needed (the 5) did come in second, but his other horse (the 8) was beat out in the stretch by the 11 horse. There was an inquiry but it didn’t affect the outcome. He needed 10/5/12/8 but they finished 10/5/12/11. Tough break.

    • It turned out that it paid $1100 for a 20 cent bet. Perhaps his bet would have paid somewhat less, perhaps somewhat more. But either way, it would have been a nice piece of change.

    • One of his mates kidded him. "You did not pray, my son. Had you only prayed." I don’t know if he saw this fellow make the sign of the cross or not. Had they not been friends, that would have been reasonable ‘not guilty’ grounds for murder. But, the fellow who lost took it in good spirits. That’s just how the game should be played.

  • It was that kind of day. People were bantering with each other.

  • At one point, I said to my brother Craig "I’d order a beer, but it is a bit too early for that." That was during the fourth race. The fellow sitting next to us said "It’s never too early for beer."

  • Maybe that’s true, but it is a long drive back home on a busy highway from the racetrack at the airport. So, discretion is called for. Besides, immoderate consumption can lead to impulsive betting, which is fun, but it rarely pays off.

  • Later, when I did order a beer, I asked that fellow if I could take one of the napkins at his table, as my beer was a bit ‘spilly’ (the glass had been overfilled). He replied with a grin; "You spilled beer? That’s alcohol abuse." But, he gave me the napkin.

  • As for the races at Santa Anita, it was a funny day. Here is a blow-by-blow account:

    • I worked out my numbers, squinting at the form as best I could, then transferring the numbers to a small notebook I had. Then I did some mental addition and averaging on the numbers in the notebook, to handicap the race. This was to be the process for the rest of the day (note to self: remember your reading glasses).

    • We were a little late for the first race, so I gave it a pass.

    • The second race only had four horses in it (what’s with that?). I bet an exactor, 4 and 3. The 4 horse was the overwhelming favorite. His numbers were very good, so there was no surprise there. It won the race, but the 3 fell way back, with the 1 horse winning. So, I picked the winner but not the place horse.

    • The third race was a maiden race (no horses had yet won a race). It also was a short field, with only five horses, only two of which had run a race in its lifetime. The only numbers for the rest of the field were times for workouts, for which I don’t feel enough confidence to use them. So, I passed on the race.

    • The fourth race had six horses in it, so that was more bettable. That said, one of the horses was scratched (owner decided to pull it from the race), so maybe not so bettable. At any rate, I worked out my numbers and identified a decent play, a favourite with good speed numbers and a longer-odds horse with good numbers and good odds. I boxed those two horses (so that the bet paid off regardless of the order of finish). Those two came in, with a fairly decent six-to-one payoff. So, a nice little win.

    • The fifth race was another five horse effort. The betting on the favourite started off at ridiculous odds of 1-9. Eventually it went off at about 1-2, still very low odds. That said, it did have far superior numbers to the rest of them. So, I bet it and a long-shot, though a different long-shot came in. So, no money, but a moral victory, I suppose.

    • The sixth race had a seven horse field, so it took some time to work out my numbers. In fact, it took so long that I got shut out (too late to make a bet, the betting was closed). That turned out to be fortuitous, as it came in 1-5 and I intended to bet 2-5. So, just as no news is good news, no bet was a good bet.

    • The seventh race had six horses, another short field. The 6 horse had very good numbers, the equal of any of the others, and it was going off at a very good price. I decided to just go win on it, then backed off for place. With its odds, I thought that place would still be a good price. Boy, was I wrong. It paid $10.60 to win but only $2.60 to place. To boot, it paid the same $2.60 to show. So the odds were definitely messed up, not at all like economic theory would predict. The second and third place horses were the favorites, so they also paid next to nothing ($2.10 to place, as it was a dead heat for second). It was nice to win the bet, but it paid a lot less than I expected. A funny race, indeed.

    • The eighth race had a big field, eleven horses. In fact, with so many horses to evaluate, I only got up to horse 7 before the race was ready to start. My handicapping had also been delayed via ordering a beer, paying for it and chatting with the waitress. Then, horror of horrors, the beer came in a Bud Light glass, though I do think it was the same as an earlier beer that I ordered, some sort of local craft beer. So, it was another passed race via shutout. The race came in 5-2, and paid pretty well. Both of those horses had good numbers. I probably would have bet the 5, but I can’t say for sure that I would have bet the 2, if I had worked out the other horses in the race.

    • The ninth race was actually a very big field, fourteen horses. It took some doing to work out all these numbers, but I managed it, by studiously avoiding distractions. Yet, even with all these horses, the favourite 11 horse was bet down to even money, with most of the other horses at 10 to 1 or higher odds. I was rather vocal in my surprise at that, as its numbers were good, but not much better than the rest. But I guess the crowd knew what it was doing, as it won the race. Given the inherent weirdness of the odds, I decided to pass on the race.

    • The tenth race was a shorter field, at eight horses. The 8 horse won, though it only had one race under its belt and not great speed numbers. However, it had won that earlier race, so the crowd rather liked it. I didn’t, which was too bad for me, as my pick came in fourth, though it had by far the best numbers in the race. So it goes.

  • Craig put down some wagers on the bucket-pullers at Woodbine before we left. There were some big races there, Breeders Stakes. It is rather surprising how big the stakes can be for these harness races, which I avoid like the plague, with the exception of throwing a little money into the bucket pool with Craig, just for laughs. But, each to his own.

  • I left under the impression that I had a small net loss for the day, but when I checked the vouchers the next day, I realized that I had actually made a small profit. I probably got that impression due to working out so many numbers, yet passing on a number of races. That is the smart thing to do, but not easy advice for the average horse player to follow.

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

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.

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

And here is an account of backpacking in Northern Ontario, that a friend and I did some years back. It also has a bit of canoing and some day hikes with my wife.

A Summer Working on the Railroad

What follows is anaccount of a few weeks one long-ago summer, when I was 19 and was working for the Canadian National Railway (CNR) on a railroad construction gang, in the wilds of north-central British Columbia, Canada.

The journal is in the form of a letter, that was never sent. Decades later, I think it has an interesting historical resonance. At times I come off like a callow youth – I plead guilty as charged. I swore a lot more in those days than I do now, but in places the writing is surprisingly good, at least in my humble opinion. And the story has a compelling narrative arc.

There were a lot of interesting and dramatic events that occurred – a number of industrial accidents being the most serious. There were also some colorful characters on the crew, which resulted in some dramatic and at times amusing conflicts and altercations. I perhaps flatter myself by including myself in that number. Or perhaps I condemn myself – I’m not sure.

So, if you want to be reminded of one of those summer jobs that was kind of life-changing, read on. My story may just kick-start some memories of your own.

The memoir/journal is about 9,000 words, a length that can usually be read in an hour or so. It is priced at 99 cents U.S. (equivalent in other currencies) and is free on Kindle Unlimited. Periodically, it will be offered as a free promotion.

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN661P8Z

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CN661P8Z

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0CN661P8Z

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Race Track Diary, Entry Number Thirteen Billy Budd’s (Oct 10, 2025)

 

Race Track Diary, Entry Number Thirteen

Billy Budd’s (Oct 10, 2025)

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.

• 13 – Billy Budd’s (Oct 10, 2025)

  • In our quest to visit all or most of the off-track betting joints in north-central Alberta, we hit a pub/restaurant called Billy Budd’s.

  • It is fairly centrally located, on the south side of the city (98 Street and 63 Avenue). That also means that it is close to my house and a fairly easy drive down the Whitemud Freeway for Craig. Though, with the recent surge in traffic volumes due to rapid population growth, no freeway drive can actually be considered ‘easy’, any longer.

    
    
     

  • I was impressed by the place. It was well maintained, not any kind of dive at all. There was plenty of space, with places to eat as well as drink, including a central bar. One area had some pool tables and another area had some VLTs, though not an excessive amount. The horseracing area was nicely done and the seats were quite comfortable. I suppose you might say it was a bit classier than most of the other venues. Possibly being located in a more prosperous area of the city was a significant aspect of that.

  • There were a few tables directly across from the TV screens. Beyond those was a raised area (a few steps, enough to get a clear view of the screens), which featured an arc shaped seating area, something like a very small lecture hall might have. These seats faced the screens, they also had counter-top with undermount lighting. That gave us horseplayers who like to work out our numbers on-site, plenty of desk space and light. Finally, behind that there were a number of booths, for those times when you are visiting with a larger group of players.

    
    
     

  • The waitresses were quite professional and friendly towards the customers. They seemed to know some of the regular horseplayers and chatted freely with them. They were also very willing to change a TV screen to a different track, should a customer request that.

  • As noted, there seemed to be some regulars among the bettors. Though the crowd skewed towards older males, there were also some younger fellows and a few women.

  • One guy used his iPhone to broadcast the race that he was keying in on. But it was only for a couple of minutes and added a bit of interest to that track. Of course you wouldn’t want too many people doing that, as it would create quite the cacophony.

  • Speaking of cacophony, though there was a VLT section near the betting area, it only had a few machines and was lightly used. So, it was blessedly quiet, without the repetitive blaring of snatches of pop songs, sirens, horns, buzzers and the like, that are generally associated with the machines. That said, the VLT action did pick up a bit as the afternoon wore on, though it never got intrusive.

  • Some of the bettors were rather ebullient with regards to winning ( a bit of the old Whoo Hoo!) or loudly disappointed at losing (a bit of the old #!$$#). But all in all, it wasn’t bad. You can’t blame people for getting excited, after all, that’s a good part of the reason for attending.

  • Some of the chit-chat of the regulars revolved around who was still alive and who had passed on. I think those regulars must have hearkened back to the days of the ‘real racetrack’, since some of the people they talked about seemed to have worked there.

  • Another guy talked about his cataract operation, noting that he now has 20/20 vision. One of the waitresses was quite interested in that, as she said she had contact lenses, but might soon have to go to ‘progressives’.

  • As the afternoon transitioned to early evening, the crowd shifted as well. Things audibly picked up in the bar area, likely due to the Friday night after-work crowd.

  • A couple of middle-aged women took seats in the horseracing area, in the tables below us. They played the horses for a while, as the earlier group of regulars took their leave.

  • Eventually, three youngish women and a middle-aged guy took some seats below and in front of us and played the horses. Judging from their time of arrival, I think they were probably there to play the local racetrack, which was now into the harness part of the meet.

  • As for our own betting, I have to confess to going 0 for 6 on this outing. As usual, I had a few close ones, but that was it. I will chalk this up to unlucky 13, also known as Triskaidekaphobia in its more extreme forms.

  • As for my brother, I believe he hit some winners, but I don’t know if he had a profit for the day overall. It is a sort of mutual understanding, not to be too inquisitive, unless the other fellow volunteers the information.

  • But we had a good time anyway or at least I think so. The hockey season had just begun and Craig’s bette noire (the Oilers goaltending problems) was a major point of discussion, along with the races.

  • At one point I ordered a beer and almost forgot to tip the waitress. When she came back with the beer I rectified that, and said my mind had been on "horses and hockey". She nodded and said "horses and hockey, that pretty much sums things up."

  • And it did.

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

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.

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

And here is an account of a summer job I had, many years ago, when I was 19, working on the railroad.

A Summer Working on the Railroad

What follows is an account of a few weeks one long-ago summer, when I was 19 and was working for the Canadian National Railway (CNR) on a railroad construction gang, in the wilds of north-central British Columbia, Canada.

The journal is in the form of a letter, that was never sent. Decades later, I think it has an interesting historical resonance. At times I come off like a callow youth – I plead guilty as charged. I swore a lot more in those days than I do now, but in places the writing is surprisingly good, at least in my humble opinion. And the story has a compelling narrative arc.

There were a lot of interesting and dramatic events that occurred – a number of industrial accidents being the most serious. There were also some colorful characters on the crew, which resulted in some dramatic and at times amusing conflicts and altercations. I perhaps flatter myself by including myself in that number. Or perhaps I condemn myself – I’m not sure.

So, if you want to be reminded of one of those summer jobs that was kind of life-changing, read on. My story may just kick-start some memories of your own.

The memoir/journal is about 9,000 words, a length that can usually be read in an hour or so. It is priced at 99 cents U.S. (equivalent in other currencies) and is free on Kindle Unlimited. Periodically, it will be offered as a free promotion.

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN661P8Z

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CN661P8Z

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0CN661P8Z

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Race Track Diary, Entry Number Twelve Rosslyn Hotel (Prospectors Room) and Dover Hotel (Oct 3, 2025)

 

Race Track Diary, Entry Number

 Twelve

Rosslyn Hotel (Prospectors Room) and Dover Hotel (Oct 3, 2025)

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.

• 12 – Rosslyn Hotel (Prospectors Room) and Dover Hotel (Oct 3, 2025)A Dark Horse

• My brother Craig had had a slight medical mishap during the previous week, so were obliged to take a week off from our sojourns to bet the horses. Fortunately, he healed up fairly quickly, so we headed back to the Rosslyn, to test our wits against the ponies again.

• It was a rather quiet day, with only about a dozen other players at the horse-racing section of the Prospectors Room. The VLT section was also sparsely populated, so at least we were spared the constant theme music which emanates from these noisome machines.

• I picked up a nice exactor at my second shot at betting that day, basing all my bets on Santa Anita, a well-known California venue, located in the greater L.A. area.

• Beyond that, I had a few close calls, but no other payoffs. However, the exactor was enough to put me nicely in the black for the day, picking up the subsequent losses.

• Craig picked up a triactor (picking win, place, show on the same race). However a low-odds favourite won the race, so the payoff was not exactly astronomical. I don’t know if he hit on any other bets; if he did, he didn’t talk about it.

• There were a couple of things to note about some of the races that I watched and bet on:

  • In one race, there was a duel between two horses. They both seemed very determined to win. But at about the final turn, one of them shot ahead and just took off, beating the rest of the field by a good 20 lengths. It seemed like it could have gone on like that all day long. It was like a low-rent Secretariat, who won the Belmont in 1973 by that margin. That 1973 Belmont is still a pretty amazing race to watch, and easy to find on Youtube.

  • Then, another race that I watched was almost the polar opposite. I was naturally focusing on one of the horses that I bet on, for the exactor. One of my horses was easily in the lead and the other looked like it had a good shot at second, running in a closely packed group. But as I watched, I thought "that horse is really trying, but something isn’t working for it". Shortly after that, one of the horses went down. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be), the camera was focused primarily on the lead horse, so I couldn’t verify whether or not it was my horse who went down. On the replay, they must have cut that out of the loop, as we didn’t even see the mishap.

  • It’s always sad when that happens to a horse. If they break a leg, the prognosis is very poor. Some animal rights people key in on this, in an effort to ban the sport. But the obvious truth is, horses will have mishaps, whether they are race-horses or just casual riding horses. It literally is in the nature of the beast, as their leg-bone structure is rather delicate, given their weight. Banning horse-racing wouldn’t change that.

  • All told, I think race-horses probably have a pretty good life, compared to a lot of animals (that would also include a lot of humans). They are generally well-fed and well taken care of. People groom them and pamper them in other ways – after all, they are major monetary investments for the owner(s). And I don’t think it is a stretch to say they are loved, in the manner that humans often bond with companion animals of all types. Yes, there are exceptions, but there are always exceptions to any rule.

• There were some interesting human facets to the day, as well.

  • There was a middle-aged woman playing the races, who wasn’t accompanied by a husband or boyfriend. You don’t see that very often. From overhearing her conversation with another player (it couldn’t be helped), she seemed to be very knowledgeable about the horses. In other words, she was a serious horse-player. It made me wonder, did she work in one of the stables during her youth? Or was she from the country and grew up around horses? Or maybe someone significant in her life introduced her to the sport?

  • Later in the afternoon, a blowhard came in who began talking loudly. He spoke about some city (I didn’t catch which one), where "the women were easy". He continued to ramble on in this vein. Someone asked him "what do you mean, easy?". He answered "you know what I mean – easy". Then the interlocutor said "I thought you were married." He replied "that is irrelevant to this conversation." But that seemed to throw him. I guess he wasn’t expecting it. So, after that, he changed the subject and quietened down. The truth is, after a certain point in life, most guys don’t like listening to blowhards talking like that. Especially when they are attempting to handicap the horse-races.

  • Towards the evening, some young after-work guys came in. They were quite enthusiastic for a race or two, but gave up pretty quickly after losing some money. It was Friday night, so I suppose they had more exciting plans for the night – no point blowing all their money at the track. There was booze to be drank and women to be chased.

• On the way back, we stopped for a few minutes at another off-track spot, the Dover Hotel.

  • It is in a very working-class part of town. Some people might consider it sketchy or scary, but it is mainly just working class and a little rough around the edges. A salt-of-the-Earth type of place, actually.

  • It is located very close to one of the main CNR yards (Canadian National Railways). That is a big industrial facility, with high solid fences all around. I suppose that is partly for security and partly for noise abatement, as there are modest residential areas nearby.

  • The Dover is an old hotel, going back for many decades, in fact well over 100 years (it was first built in 1912 under a different name). But given all that, it isn’t in bad shape. I think a lot of the rooms are let out on a monthly basis, by fellows who don’t have any other home, but do have a steady income (whether a job or a pension).

    
    
     

  • The horse-race betting room was kind of nice. The furniture looked comfortable and it was far from the noisy VLTs. So, basically kind of homey and charming place, in a down-scale sort of way.

  • Craig wanted to make a bet that he forgot to put in at the other place, so we stayed for a few minutes while he did that. I also think he wanted to show me the place, as part of my tour of off-track betting joints.

  • There were some older gents there, who seemed quite friendly, with plenty of bantering among the group. They were discussing jobs that they had worked at, the merits of different trades, how tough a bus-driver’s job is, that sort of thing.

  • Basically, it was a sort of old-timey place, rather like the ones that I would sometimes go to in my youth, when I wanted a trip into a working-class watering hole.

• We agreed that it might be an interesting place to revisit, then headed back home.

• As noted earlier, my exactor win on the Santa Anita race put me over the top for the day, so my streak of good fortune was back on, after a couple of losing days (8 profitable days out of 12).

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

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.

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

And here is an account of backpacking in Northern Ontario, that a friend and I did some years back. It also has a bit of canoing and some day hikes with my wife.

A Summer Working on the Railroad

What follows is anaccount of a few weeks one long-ago summer, when I was 19 and was working for the Canadian National Railway (CNR) on a railroad construction gang, in the wilds of north-central British Columbia, Canada.

The journal is in the form of a letter, that was never sent. Decades later, I think it has an interesting historical resonance. At times I come off like a callow youth – I plead guilty as charged. I swore a lot more in those days than I do now, but in places the writing is surprisingly good, at least in my humble opinion. And the story has a compelling narrative arc.

There were a lot of interesting and dramatic events that occurred – a number of industrial accidents being the most serious. There were also some colorful characters on the crew, which resulted in some dramatic and at times amusing conflicts and altercations. I perhaps flatter myself by including myself in that number. Or perhaps I condemn myself – I’m not sure.

So, if you want to be reminded of one of those summer jobs that was kind of life-changing, read on. My story may just kick-start some memories of your own.

The memoir/journal is about 9,000 words, a length that can usually be read in an hour or so. It is priced at 99 cents U.S. (equivalent in other currencies) and is free on Kindle Unlimited. Periodically, it will be offered as a free promotion.

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN661P8Z

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CN661P8Z

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0CN661P8Z

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0CN661P8Z

Goaltending Results Since the Oilers-Penguins Goaltender Trade

 Goaltending Results Since the Oilers-Penguins Goaltending Trade

The Edmonton Oilers hockey club has long been seen as having inconsistent goaltending – sometimes their goalies have been stellar, other times seemingly hopeless. The latest tandem to exhibit that tendency was Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. Many observers felt that more reliable goaltending would have led to at least one Stanley Cup victory, rather than a 7 and 6 game losses, as was the case in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Thus, in mid-December 2025 they made a key goalie trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, swapping Stuart Skinner for Tristan Jarry. As a side-effect of that trade, they also called up Conner Ingram from their AHL affiliate, since Jarry had experienced an injury shortly after the trade. The net effect (pun intended) was that they transitioned from Skinner-Pickard to Jarry-Ingram, with Calvin Pickard in a third goalie role, at least for a while, as insurance should one of the other two become injured again.

At the time of this blog, it has been a little over a month since the trade. So, how has it gone? Read below for some statistical evidence.

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NOTE, next day: Hilariously enough, Oilers and Penguins played a game the very night that I published this blog and Jarry absolutely bombed (0.727 in that game), sending his save pct to 0.881 (from 0.904) in saves/shots and 0.878 (from 0.903) in average of game save percentages. His win pct dropped to 57% (from 67%), and his point pct went down to 64% (from 75%).

As I pointed out in the blog: his trend with the Oilers has only a limited number of games, so it should be taken with a large measure of caution.

Statisticians say this all the time, because it’s true.

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Tristan Jarry

Jarry has played 6 games, as of Dec 21, 2026 for the Oilers. Previous to that, he had played 14 games with the Penguins. His Oilers save percentage since the trade has been over 0.900 , customarily thought of as an important benchmark. In terms of overall saves/shots, it is 0.904, while in terms of averaging the save percentage in each game, it is at 0.903. Note that the two methods can yield slightly different results, depending on how many outlier games the goalie has had (i.e. very much better or worse than usual).

His record with the Penguins this year, was not all that different from that with the Oilers, in terms of save percentage, at 0.909 for saves/shots and 0.895 when averaging the save percentages in each game. This result shows how the two methods can give different answers. That is further demonstrated by the high ups and downs of his Penguins games, as shown in the graph.

The graph shows that Jarry’s linear trend with the Penguins was slightly downward, while the trend with the Oilers it has been upward. That said, his trend with the Oilers has only a limited number of games, so it should be taken with a large measure of caution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jarry won 4 out of these 6 Oiler games, for a win percentage of 67%. In terms of points, he has played net for 9 of 12 potential points, for a points average of 75%.

For the Penguins earlier in the year, his win percentage in 14 games was 64%, with his points percentage coming in at 68%.

So, as far as Jarry’s play goes, the trade has worked out well so far for him and for the Oilers.

Stuart Skinner

Stuart Skinner has played 9 games with the Penguins, after having played 23 games with the Oilers previous to that. His Penguins save percentage since the trade has been a bit under 0.900. In terms of overall saves/shots, it is 0.891, while in terms of averaging the save percentage in each game, it is at 0.895. Note again that the two methods can yield different results, depending on how many outlier games the goalie has had (i.e. very much better or worse than usual).

The graph shows that Skinner’s linear trend with the Oilers was downward, while with the Penguins it has been upward. That said, his trend with the Penguins has only a limited number of games, so it should also be taken with a large measure of caution.

His record with the Oilers this year, was not as good as it has been with the Penguins. His Oilers save percentage was 0.891 for saves/shots and 0.872 when averaging the save percentages in each game. Again, this result shows how the two methods can give quite different answers. That is further demonstrated by the high ups and downs of his Oilers games, as shown in the graph. It is also the case that his games with the Penguins have had a fair bit of variance.

Skinner won 5 out of the 9 Penguin games, for a win percentage of 56%. In terms of points, he has played net for 10 of 18, also for a points average of 56%.

For the Oilers earlier in the year, his win percentage in 23 games was 48%, with his points percentage coming in at 57%.

So, as far as Skinner’s play goes, the trade has worked out well so far for him (higher save percentage), and it has probably been a slight loss for the Penguins. However, it is a small sample size, so that may change as the season progresses.

Conner Ingram

Conner Ingram was not directly involved in the trade, though it is probable that the trade did make his call-up from the AHL affiliate necessary. Since then, he has answered the bell quite decisively, with a 0.917 save percentage for the total saves/shots measure, and 0.920 for the average of averages measure.

The graph shows that Ingram’s linear trend with the Oilers has been upward. That said, it is a limited number of games (9 in all), so it should also be taken with a measure of caution.

Ingram has won 5 out of 9 starts, for a win percentage of 56%. In terms of points, he has played for 11 points out of a possible 18, for a points percentage of 61%.

So, as far as Ingram’s play goes, the trade has worked out well so far for him. It has resulted in him being called up to the NHL team, where he has posted an impressive save percentage as well as a very good win and points percentage. However, it is a small sample size, so that may change as the season progresses.

Calvin Pickard

Calvin Pickard was not part of the trade, but it has also had an impact on him. He had several starts while Jarry was injured, more than he otherwise would have had. Previous to the trade his save percentage was mediocre at best, with 0.851 in total saves/shots and 0.848 in average of game save percentages. Since the trade those figures have improved considerably, to 0.901 for the former measure and 0.896 for the latter.

The graph shows that Pickard’s linear trend with the Oilers has been upward, largely due to the good play since the trade. That said, his post-trade sample of games (6 in all) is relatively small, so it should be taken with a measure of caution.

Pickard won 3 out of the 6 post-trade games, for a win percentage of 50%. In terms of points, he has played net for 6 of 12, also for a points average of 50%.

For the Oilers earlier in the year, his win percentage in 10 games was 30%, with his points percentage coming in at 40%.

So, as far as Pickard’s play goes, the trade has worked out fairly well so far for him. His save percentages, win percentages and points percentages have improved. However, it is a small sample size, so that may change as the season progresses.

It is not clear how long the Oilers can afford to carry three goalies. Pickard’s improved performances have made that a tougher call. He could be picked up by some other team, should they choose to send him to the AHL affilate. Arguably, his post-trade play has made that a greater possibility than it had been earlier in the year.

Overall Result

The data support the idea that the Oilers have indeed improved their goaltending situation by the trade.

As for the Penguins, they may have taken a slight hit from the trade.

However, it is still early days, so those results could change.

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

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.

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

And here is an account of backpacking in Northern Ontario, that a friend and I did some years back. It also has a bit of canoing and some day hikes with my wife.

Hiking the Wild North Shore of Lake Superior

The north shore of Lake Superior is wild and beautiful. It is also quite sparsely populated, so ahiking trip (or other adventure) will truly give you chance to get away from it all, and back to nature in its full glory.

Lake Superior is big – it is the largest of the North American Great Lakes, and one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. One could spend years exploring the area, and still have barely touched the possibilities.

This account focuses on a multi-day backpacking trip in Pukaskwa National Park, some light canoeing in White Lake Provincial Park, and some day-hiking in the Thunder Bay area.

What follows is a journal of some of the highlights of a trip to Northern Ontario in the summer of 1998. That gives the trip a bit of a historical flavor, but things don’t change very quickly in the wild country of the true north, so it will also give the reader a good idea of what to expect during their own exploration of the north shore.

You can purchase it for 99 cents U.S., equivalent price in other currencies.  Alternatively, keep your eyes open for a free promotions, which occur periodically. Or, get it with Kindle Unlimited.

U.S.:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F9TV4C8

U.K.:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07F9TV4C8 

Germany:  https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07F9TV4C8

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07F9TV4C8

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B074LZDQ9F

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B074LZDQ9F

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B074LZDQ9F

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B074LZDQ9F

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B074LZDQ9F

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07F9TV4C8  

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07F9TV4C8

Australia:  https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07F9TV4C8

India:  https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07F9TV4C8