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Watch the big race

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Illinois
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* As I told you yesterday, I placed. John Patterson won. And heeeeeere they come…

I love this race. Those horses are huge and they race extremely close together. It’s scary fun when they’re all bunched up and the drivers are maneuvering for position. Marcus Miller, my driver, was an excellent guy and he really tried to win. I suppose that hot dog before the race kept me from the lead. Or, maybe it was the burgers for the last 20 years. Whatever. I had a blast.

It’s too bad we’re not legally allowed to bet on this race. Maybe we can figure something out for next year, though. Any ideas?

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 9:51 am

Comments

Damn right that’s fun!
I had a horse that refused to ever follow another and she was a great runner. She could be nasty, and temperamental, but when she wanted to show off, no one could beat her. It sure feels great locked into a saddle of a fast horse. The power of these animals is awe inspriring.

You needed to knock your driver off at the first corner and let your horse rip through that race!

What a fabulous day for that kind of fun!

YEE-HAW!

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 10:02 am
Is there some way the betting could all go to a charity? Maybe allow the competitors to name the charity, and the proceeds go to the winner’s choice? It might require legislation, but I’m sure you know someone to ask about introducing a bill.

Comment by Pat Robertson Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 10:15 am
You could enlist a string of surrogates to “wash” your wagers. If you get busted, you can proclaim your innocence into every microphone on the planet, venture to join foreign and domestic reality shows, and vow to take the stand in your defense, although you’ll have no intention of doing so. Then when you lose the bet, you’ll be innocent because you didn’t get paid.

Comment by unspun Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 10:19 am
I was thinking yesterday that maybe we could ask people to pick a trifecta at, say $10-20 for each bet. The betting winner (I doubt there’d be more than one) would get half the cash, with the rest going to charity. No winner means all the cash goes to charity.

This would be illegal, of course, but it’s one way to do it.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 10:19 am
You forgot to shave your beard. The possible wind resistance created an unnecessary drag and cost you the win.

Ask any swimmer.

Comment by Honest Abe Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 10:41 am
Yeah. It was the beard. No doubt. lol

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 10:43 am
Who were the other celebrities? Are they local reporters?

Comment by Honest Abe Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 10:46 am
HA, they were the flaks for the four legislative caucuses, minus Steve Brown. He couldn’t make it so he was replaced with approps director John Lowder, who came in dead last. He claimed he had flat tires.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 10:54 am
Erv and Marcus and the staff at Miller Stables are great. I had the opportunity to actually “jog” a horse. I thought I was just going along for the ride and they handed me the reigns and had me drive it. It was a real rush. It is a shame that the Harness Racing is dieing in Illinois. Erv Miller is moving to Jersey. They really need the Slots at the tracks to save it.

Comment by He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 11:28 am
race for a charity, with a buy in ammount to paticipate. Charity gives prize(s) to winner(s), keeps the extra money from the buy in

not gambling, and legal

=== They really need the Slots at the tracks to save it.====

Slots at the track would not save racing, they would just provide track owners with micro-casinos with huge tax breaks where you might, on a rare occasion, catch a glimpse of a horse out a window.

Either get people interestd in racing or let the money sucking industry which props upo a few wealthy families with huge tax breaks go away. We need to stop pouring millions of dollars in tax breaks into this industry, not turn it into micro casinos which get to deduct their entire property tax payment!!! and off set most of the gambling version of a sales tax!! talk about loopholes costing the State millions…. just to benefit 3-4 wealthy owners.

Comment by Ghost Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 1:02 pm
Get rid of about 100#, and you would have won that thing!

Comment by Doug Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 1:32 pm
Bit of trivia.. those horses were actually pacers rather than trotters as the Youtube title suggests. The difference is in the cadence of the feet.

Comment by The Southern Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 1:55 pm
Rich, get the horse going faster than 1 horsepower!

Comment by Wumpus Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 4:10 pm
hgahah…looks like a great time -I miss the State Fair!! Always great fun

Comment by thom Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 6:10 pm
Ghost–”just to benefit 3-4 wealthy owners” actually there are a lot of lower ended employees in the barns. It is indeed an industry. While these people make smaller wages, they still pay taxes, buy groceries etc. So the trickle down effect would be bad for more than just the few rich guys.

Comment by He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 10:42 pm