25 – Billy Budd’s (March 9, 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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25 – Billy Budd’s (Mar 9, 2026)
- This was another Monday visit, due to various other commitments for the both of us, basically health matters, income taxes and golf.
- Of the three, golf commitments are to be preferred, though there are occasions where that is only slightly true. I say golf, but that means indoor golf at this time of year, in the more northern climes such as where we live. It is a nice diversion, though the phrase "golf spoils a good walk in nature" doesn’t apply, since very little walking is involved. Still, it is better than nothing.
- Monday at the horseracing section of Billy Budd’s is not much for people-watching. In fact, for most of the time my brother Craig and I had the joint to ourselves. Only sporadic visits by other gentlemen, who could not overcome the lure of the horses, interfered with the solitude. That made it nice and quiet, but kind of boring.
- That said, the rest of the pub was fairly busy for a Monday. As Craig put it, they must have a good lunch special. By later in the afternoon, a few of the boys at the bar got a little boisterous, but only in a good-natured way.
- The other thing about Monday is that my favorite thoroughbred track (notably Santa Anita) doesn’t run on that day. That meant choosing some other track. I chose The Fairgrounds, which is in Louisiana, since the takeout seems fairly reasonable in that state (about 17%). The other choice was Turf Paradise, in Arizona. But that state has a very high takeout (about 25%), so The Fair Grounds it was.
- The Fair Grounds is in New Orleans and has been running races since as early as 1838, so that’s pretty close to two centuries. So plenty of history, which I proceeded to add to, in my humble way.
  - The first race at the Fairgrounds that we were in time for, was the 5^th. I worked out my numbers, but missed out on betting while conversing on weighty matters with my brother. That was just as well, as my preferred horse led for a while, then faded to finish dead last.
  - The result of the 6^th race was much the same, though worse, because this time I made my bet. However, the horse that my system preferred came in sixth, which was slightly better than dead last, so I guess that’s something. This was a turf race, which I have my doubts about.
  - The 7^th was no better, with my horse coming in fourth. I was getting closer, anyway.
  - The 8^th was really close, with my preferred horse coming in second, for a nice price. Unfortunately, I had bet to win. This was also a turf race.
  - By the 9^th and final race, I was rather discouraged. I had decided that this course had bad juju for me, so I skipped the race. Naturally, my preferred horse won this time, paying out at 5 to 1. That would have paid off my other bets, with a bit to spare.
  - To make matters worse, I had accidentally bet on two horses to win in 8^th race, due to a number-punching error. And to compound that, I had foolishly also laid a mistaken bet on Western Fair instead of The Fair Grounds. So, bad juju indeed, at the Fair Grounds of New Orleans. I was vaguely reminded of the movie Angel Heart, but was comforted by the fact that things weren’t nearly so bad for me as for the detective played by Micky Rourke.
- It was now time to segue to the Harnies, at Woodbine.
  - My spirits were a bit low, after my experiences with The Fairgrounds. I noted that to Craig, saying I could probably use a beer, but I had a self-imposed rule, to not have a drink until I had won at least one bet. He very logically said, "then bet show on the favorite in the first race at Woodbine".
  - Brilliant!, I thought. So I bet the 5 to show, though it wasn’t actually the favorite. It promptly won the race at 5 to 1 odds. I suppose that meant that my luck had changed, though only slightly, since I was only rewarded with a rather pathetic show price. But, best not to complain and stir up bad Toronto juju. I’m pretty sure that there’s no shortage of voodoo in that city.
  - I had been doing some intensive data analysis of the Woodbine races, so I was feeling much more confident now. I bet the 2 horse in the 2^nd race, but it came in second. Still, getting closer.
  - Here is an example of one of the results from my study. It looks at the horses’ typical running styles: closes (gains an average of one position from half-mile call to finish), fades (loses an average of one position from half-mile to finish) or neutral (remains in the same position on average). As you can see, in this sample closers did best. It turns out, however, that neutral horses had the best return on investment (not shown).
  - I skipped the third, since Craid and I had a Pick 3 going, that we were alive on. Unfortunately, that didn’t come in.
  - I bet the fourth, but my horse came in dead last.
  - By the 5^th race, I was feeling oddly confident. My horse had good numbers and was also showing a fairly big odds-drop between the morning-line and race-time. Both of those seemed like very favorable signs, based on my statistical analysis, so I stepped up my bet substantially.
    - It won! The odds weren’t great, about 2 to 1. But by stepping up the action, it was as if it won at 10 to 1! Previously, I had been feeling low and slightly sick. Now, with a good win (and a beer or two), I was feeling great! Endorphins are funny that way.
  - After that, I was cruising. I skipped the 6^th (no good prospects), won the 7^th (3 to 1), skipped the 8^th, lost the 9^th, and won the 10^th (6 to 1). It was quite exhilerating.
  - Unfortunately, our exotic bets fell through. Well, you can’t have everything.
  - Overall, it was a profitable day. The bucket-pullers more than made up for the thoroughbreds. Since I had been intensively studying the Harness Races, I decided I could count those winnings to my tally of results, in my horseracing project.

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And here are a couple of short books you might like.

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.

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And here is an account of a summer job on the railroad, during my undergraduate years.

One 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