Race Track Diary, Entry Number Forty-Two – Billy Budd’s (August 15, 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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42 – Billy Budd’s (Aug 15, 2026)
There was a fair crowd when we first arrived at Budd’s, at about 3:00 in the afternoon. There was the usual mix of regulars and non-regulars, largely skewing older and male. That said, there were some exceptions i.e. younger people and a scattering of females.
The local football team, the Elks (not a great name, that) were playing on one of the screens. My brother Craig had some money on the game, which had been tied at 17 when he left his house. However, by the time we got to Budd’s Montreal was just shy of two touchdowns up. Needless to say, he was disappointed.
Then things go worse. There was another touchdown. Some cheering and clapping ensued. However, it was not the home team that scored and someone was rubbing it in. A gloater, obviously.
Which reminds me of an old Blackadder episode that involved the concept of gloating.
Percy: Em, well, you know, you could be a gloater.
Lady Farrel: I beg pardon.
Percy: You know, a gloater, eh, come to gloat over the condemned man. I mean we’re up to our ears is gloaters here.
“Can I come in for a gloat?” they shout and we shout back “Oh you heartless gloaters”.
Just so. Heartless gloaters. Why do they not stop to consider that someone might have lost money on the game? :)
While waiting for the bucket-pullers, I kept tabs on some of the thoroughbred races, looking for that elusive odds drop, that signals inside money is on the job.
In Race #10 at Woodbine (thoroughbreds) I observed a drop from 14 to 1 to 8 to 1. The horse promptly won, but I skipped betting on it. Then in Race #11 there was another drop, of about 50%. So I bet that one to place. It lost. So it goes.
That was a bit concerning. I had had three straight winning days, so I figured I was probably due for a bad outing. This seemed to be an omen of that.
That was it for the thoroughbreds.
The harness races at Woodbine/Mohawk started:
Race #1 was my usual beer bet, which I need to win, in order to have a frosty brew. To facilitate this, I bet the #6 horse to show. Both of my systems liked it (for place) as did the morning line of the racetrack touts. It placed, as expected. However, though it went of at 3 to 1, the place ticked was only worth $2.70 and the show ticket was a measly $2.20. Such are the mysteries of the betting pools. In any case, I got my beer bet.
Race #2 had a horse that was a heavy favourite in the Morning Line (3 to 5). It actually went off at under 3 to 2. That was hardly worth betting, so I put a place bet on the #6 horse, which went off at 18 to 1 (show betting was not allowed). The big favourite tanked, coming in third. That freed up a lot of money in the pool, so my place bet returned $18.90 for each $2 bet. It just goes to show: sometimes your non-Win bet pays way less than you figure that it will based on the win odds, and sometimes it pays way more.
I skipped the third race, as I was preoccupied by eating my pizza. That was just as well, as the horse I intended to bet (#4 at 28 to 1) came in fourth. It is doubtful that I would have bet the winner (the #6) as it had no obvious indicators in my system (though the touts did have it at third).
The horse betting area had emptied out by now, as it was the supper hour. There were only a few of us left, including the stalwart lady known as Lil. It is too bad that the bucket-pullers and the later hour means that not too many people stick around. It is definitely more interesting when more people are around.
In Race #4 I bet the #6 horse to show. So far, the #6 had been kind to me, so why not go back to it? One of my systems did like it, though the touts didn’t agree. At any rate, it came in third and paid $5.10 to show. So, by now I had a fair bit of the track’s money to play with, which is always nice.
For Race #5, I went back to the #6 horse to show. It looked good for much of the race, but tired in the stretch, finishing fourth. My seven-race win-streak (including the last outing) was over. Though, I suppose ‘in-the-money’ streak is more accurate.
In Race #6, I doggedly went back to the #6 to show. This time it wasn’t close, coming in seventh, after looking good for much of the race.
Same thing in Race #7. I bet the #6 to show, but it came in way back, finishing in the eighth position.
Feeling a bit gun-shy, I skipped the 8th Race. That was too bad, as my system liked the #5, which came in to show, paying a healthy $5.90.
The sky was beginning to look a bit ominous by the 9th race, so that was to be our final race. I bet the #5 to show, as both of my systems and tout’s liked the horse. It came in second. Though it went of at 3 to 1, it only paid $2.50 to place and $2.10 to show (ouch!).
So, that was it. It was a good day, doubling my money. That was mainly due to a big payoff and a moderately good payoff, supplemented with a couple of tiny payouts. I made 7 bets, with 4 of them paying out. I should note, however, that I lost the single thoroughbred race that I bet.
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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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ASelection of Back-Road Trips Around Southeast 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 Drumheller, via the Backroads of Central Alberta. Others are more about the ‘destination’, such as the Viking Ribstones. The collection even includes a train trip, on the historic Alberta Prairie Railroad, which strictly speaking isn't a back-road trip but rather a back rail-road trip. I hope you will enjoy reading some of these accounts and maybe give them a spin for yourself.
Southeast 1 – Stettler Train Trip – Living History on the Alberta Prairie Railway
Southeast 2 – Viking Rib Stones – Indigenous Heritage and Tradition
Southeast 3 – Drumheller, via the Backroads of Central Alberta
Southeast 4 – Cypress Hills – An Island on the Prairie that Escaped the Ice Age
Southeast 5 – On the Road with Bronco Billy, A Trucking Journal – Southern Alberta Section
Southeast 6 – A Back-road Trip to Bittern Lake and Lake Miquelon Provincial Park
Southeast 7 – A Back-roads Trip to Rochon Sands, Buffalo Lake Provincial Park
The reader may wonder “what about the Tyrell Dinosaur Fossil Museum?” or “where is a visit to the Calgary Stampede?” 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 Southwest and Northern Alberta also have a lot of interesting back-roads journeys, but that is material for some other books. The southwest collection is available now on Amazon, the northern excursions will be published in due course.
Just $1.99 on Amazon, or free if you have Kindle Unlimited. It is also periodically on free promotion.
Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon U.K: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DCWCCTKC
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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.
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