Race Track Diary, Entry Number 43 – Canadian Derby, Century Mile and Billy Budd’s (August 22, 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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43 – Century Mile and Budd’s (Aug 22, 2026)
Today was the big day for the local thoroughbred meet, with a number of high-purse races on the card.
The first big-purse race was Race #8, The Northlands Distaff Handicap 75,000 Guaranteed. As the name suggests, this was for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. The term “Northlands” refers to the old racetrack in town. I guess they kept that, to give a sense of tradition.
Next was The Century Casino Oaks 100,000 Guaranteed, Race #9. I recall there being a race called “The Heart of Oaks” back in the day. It was a long race, a mile and a half, or thereabouts. Thus, the winner would be like an old naval vessel, built for speed and endurance. The latest version is only a mile and an eighth, so it loses some of the historical connotations.
Then the 10th was The Dale The Colonel Saunders Speed to Spare Championship $100,000 Guaranteed, for 3 year-olds and upwards, one and a quarter miles. I recall this race as being called “The Speed to Spare”, back in the day. Dale Saunders was a well-known Alberta racehorse trainer, with well over 2000 wins to his credit, by the time he passed away. He actually had a winner then night before he died, at the age of 82.
Foremost among the races on the card was The Canadian Derby, with a purse of 200,000 Guaranteed. It went off as Race 11. This was the 97th running of the race. Though the purse hardly rates compared to the biggies like the Kentucky Derby, it is still a big deal around here. It used to be called “The Dash for the Daisies”. I don’t know if that still applies, though if it doesn’t they should bring it back. It is not right for a great phrase like that to be take over by wiener dogs!
Given those facts, we decided to drive out of town to Century Mile (the big track with actual horses), near the International Airport. That’s where these races were to be held.
The track was charging $30 or more for admission on Derby Day. It was very busy, so even if we were willing to part with the money, that didn’t exactly guarantee a nice spot to sit and watch the races.
Craig has had some medical treatments that cause foot problems at times, so he didn’t fancy climbing up and down grandstand stairs or standing around on the grounds near the track. Thus, we went into the casino, which had “off-track” betting, though the actual horses were just a few hundred feet outside the walls of the casino.
Even early in the afternoon, the place was packed. And it became more packed as the day went on. There were lots of ladies in dresses, especially those of the summer dress variety. Some of them were quite attractive, which is never a bad thing. Quite a few also wore the big hats, which seems to be emblematic of Derby Days around the world. There were also some fellows in suits or at least vests, doing their best to look dapper.
I don’t have a photo from 2026, but here is a picture from the 2025 Derby, back in the old Northlands Racetrack days.
We had to take up seats right at the front of the off-track betting area, within a few feet of the screens. It was like being with the naughty kids back at elementary school, who had to sit up front to be watched by Teacher. This didn’t exactly give one a sweeping view of the crowd, but it did give one a very close-up view of the odds at the various tracks.
There was an old-style cashier up front, and eventually long lines formed in front of that. It was reminiscent of the old pre-machine betting days. By the third race, even the rest of the front-row seats were taken.
There were also fairly long lineups for the betting machines. I waited behind one guy using a machine. He took so long that I thought he was using the machine to write a book.
Oddly enough, programs for Century Mile races were free on the machines, so I picked one up and decided to focus on the local track, at least for a while. Without time and computer to handicap properly, I fell back on looking for strong odds-drops and calculating average speed ratings.
That worked out alright for the second race that I bet, Race #3, where I picked a decent payoff on a horse with a significant odds drop. But that was about all she wrote, as the rest of my Century Mile bets went for naught (though there were only three losses and my win took care of some of that). So, a small negative day on the thoroughbreds.
It was kind of a Dale Day at Century Mile.
A horse in the 4th Race was called “Dale’s Legacy”, so naturally I had to bet that one. The legacy was not positive.
Then, the lady a couple of chairs away started to shout out my name – “Dale, Dale, come back here!”. I looked at her quizzically before deciding that her husband (who had been sitting next to me) was also a Dale. I considered chatting with him about the coincidence, but decided against it, as he seemed like the shy and retiring type. Not so much, for his wife.
There was also the “Dale, the Colonel, Saunders Speed to Spare”. I cranked out some numbers for that race, but it was so late in the card that I never got around to it. Which was just as well, as the horses with the best numbers didn’t do any better than fourth place.
By about 5:00 o’clock the crowd had really gotten big. The lines had grown long, so long that making a bet before the race was no easy thing. Thus, we decided to bail, and head back to Budd’s to play the bucket-pullers at Woodbine/Mohawk, since those had just started running.
On the way out we noted that nearly every slot machine and/or VLT was busy. The parking lot was nearly crammed to bursting. People were still arriving and the little golfs cart were still roaming around, asking newcomers if they needed a lift to the casino.
I mentioned to Craig that the casino must be raking it in tonight. Craig thinks that the slots subsidize the horses, but on days like today I think it is the other way around. The races, or at least the big races, are an event and lots of people want to be part of an event, part of the crowd – ladies like an excuse to dress up, some guys do too. The slots, on the other hand, are a solitary venture. You could play them in your pyjamas – actually I think some people do. At least, that’s how it seems to me.
It was night and day, between Century Mile and Budd’s. Whereas the casino at Century Mile had been packed, Budd’s was strangely empty, with only a couple of other stalwarts present. Very few of the regulars were there; perhaps they had gone to Century Mile.
At any rate, we got there in time to play the 5th race and stayed until the 10th:
In the 5th Race, I bet the #6 to show. It won. The show ticket paid pitifully little, but it allowed me to order a beer and pizza (the ‘beer bet’), so that was good enough.
I skipped the 6th Race, apparently too busy eating my pizza (or so my notes say).
In the 7th, I bet the #6 to place. It finished well up the track, in 5th place.
The 8th was much the same, with my #4 horse missing a piece of the action, coming in fourth.
I did hit the 9th Race, betting the #1 horse to place, which it did. Unfortunately, there was a big odds drop in the final seconds before the race, so the price was lower than I expected.
In the 10th I went back to the #6 post, but it came in next to last.
We left early, as it was getting dark and it had been a long day. In fact, I was sufficiently spent that I forgot to take the pizza that I had ordered for my wife, home with me. Lucky for me, she can be quite understanding when it comes to such matters.
So, all in all, not a great day but not entirely terrible. I picked 2 of 5 races at the harnesses and 1 of 4 at the thoroughbreds. I wasn’t surprised; I had had a nice winning streak going (4 days of break-even or profitable outings), so the law of large numbers was bound to catch up with me. It did.
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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.
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 Selection 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.
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.
