On May 3, the Kentucky Derby rivets the nation’s attention, setting the stage for Derby parties and horse race fever. Feverish Dallasites, however, will have to turn their attentions east if they want to go where the horses are-the Texas State Legislature turned down parimutuel betting once again last year. And that’s just fine with the folks who run Louisiana Downs, Bossier City’s horse racing haven just three hours to the east. From April 25 until October 19, thousands of Dallas racing fans will brave the short trip and hot weather to plop down lots of cold cash for a chance at bringing in a long shot.
Sixty-two-year-old Johnnie Boyer is one local gambler who says he knows how the odds are stacked. For the past thirty-five years, the printer-tumed-horse-man has worked out the kinks in his method (he emphasizes that there is no sure-fire “system” for winning) and now offers advice to players through seminars and a booklet, Putting All The Elements Together, which details his strategy and outlines his plan for how novice bettors can hang on to their cash and have a good time. He sells the pamphlet for $17.50 out of his printing shop in the Twin Sixties office building.
$125 a day, he says, is plenty for a successful day at the track if his advice is followed. (Among other tips, don’t bet more than $20 a race; bet on the daily double; always bet to win-never to place or show; and know the difference between the races-claiming, handicapped, maiden, stakes, etc.) Boyer never bets more than $20 a race. “Treat the track ” he says, “as if it were a show and dinner. Have fun.”
And they’re off. Racing is every Wednesday through Sunday at Louisiana Downs except for holidays. Gates open at 10:30 a.m. and post time is 1 p.m. except for Fridays from May through August when gates open at 12:30 and post time is 3.
Or if you’d rather leave the driving to someone else, Johnnie and Marie Boyer sponsor bus trips to Louisiana Downs throughout the season. Bus trips, so far, have been slated for May 10, June 28, and July 19. Call 696-1826 for more information.
Louisiana Downs is located just across the Red River from Shreveport. Interstate 20 exits directly to the racetrack.
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