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SPORTS Playing the Ponies

It was my date with destiny. As usual, I got stood up.
By MIKE SHROPSHIRE |

ON A GLORIOUS AND SPARKLING APRIL SUN-day at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, the field stampeded releotlessly straight ahead, neek-and-neck. in a heart-slopping exhibition of power and determination. Nostrils flaring, lips coaled with while foam, these ?ere not the rare horses, either. This ?as the after-church crowd, surging and pounding toward the windows in a frenzied effort to yet a wager down in time lor the first race. On a half-dozen occasions, I was almost how led over In persons of both genders with laces buried in their racing forms, not watching where they were going. What a show!

Occasionally, somebody still wonders out loud about how people survived around hero prior to air conditioning. A generation hence, perhaps the eternal question will involve how North Texans occupied their leisure hours before thoroughbred horse racing and legal pari-mutual betting came to town. As an old-timer. I will he able to testify that our alternatives largely entailed jogging around Bachman Lake or Hatching people squeeze the melons at the Farmers Market.

Those days are over. Tree at last. Adios forever, Arboretum. Let’s drive to Grand Prairie and box a few $24 trifectas. When Lone Star Park finally officially launched operations, the occasion marked the greatest upward stride for human rights in this area since Prohibition was repealed. Amazing, isn’t it, that the facility for a sport with such history and grandeur lands in Grand Prairie? Here’s a town largely, characterized as a community of oil-duty rivet shooters- m here “the tattoos outnumber the teeth,” according to one resident-and now it’s home hase for this oh-so-impressive sports-entertainment complex. Now. if the Palace of Wax will follow through ou my suggestion to install a Paul Fielding exhibit, Grand Prairie will soon emerge as the tourist destination of the whole state. The racing continues three nights and two days a week at Lone Star Park through July 27 and commences again Oct. 3 through Nov.30, with mixed breed (thoroughbred and quarter-horse) competition.

The S96 million grandstand structure was designed by the same architects who built The Ballpark in Arlington and will soon likely elicit radiant reviews from the design critics. The landscaping aesthetics of the infield remain incomplete. But I’m not out here to admire palm trees and tropical bird life,

Given the obvious external characteristics of many of the “race fans” prowling the premises, they might consider changing the name of the track to Silicon Meadows. If the Texas Motor Speedway has dramatically altered the face of sports attractions in North Texas, then Lone Star Park has certainly increased the breast size. But unlike the gang at the drink tent at the Byron Nelson, I’m not here to ogle that scenery, either.

Like everyone else, I’ve made the quick hop to Grand Prairie to experience that adrenaline uproar that occurs when I see my horse leading by a half-length with a furlong to go. When the horse hangs on, I get a momentary feeling that I’m smarter than anybody else, and that, probably, provides the attraction that brings most amateur horse players out to the track. Frankly, that’s a sensation that doesn’t always happen when I’m scratching off a $2 Domino Dollars lottery ticket on the sidewalk in front of the 7-Eleven.

Some complain that thoroughbred horse racing, in my estimation the world’s greatest sport, is not really a sport at all-just another gambling activity. If horse racing is a spoil, they argue, then why don’t we have Little League horse racing, where the parents can scream at the kids because they missed the miniature Daily Double? To these cynics, I merely say that if you think [here’s a certain seediness involved with horse betting, then check out the action at the dog track.

Not that I am hooked on this business. Ignore the unfortunate little display at the opening Sunday at Lone Star Park when I accidentally tossed away a winning ticket worth $66 along with a fistful of losers and went digging through a wastebasket like Jack Lemmon in his greenhouse scene in Days of Wine and Roses.

Also, please overlook that emotional display in the fourth race when I jumped atop a picnic table and began shouting (probably scaring the bejesus out of the little kids at the nearby petting zoo) when my valiant Number 9 horse stormed into the lead. Composure and control are vital elements to success at the horse track.

I do not claim to be what is known in track lingo as an ” A Player.” Those people, mostly, can be located in the Post Time simulcast pavilion adjacent to the grandstand, working laptop handicapping programs so elaborate they could blow the fuse boxes at NASA. Nor am I one of these ubiquitous, old track characters in a powder blue polyester suit, suffering from the shakes so badly that he can barely light his Kool cigarette but who always walks away from the pay window with a wad of Franklins the size of a canned ham. But what I have learned on infrequent visits to racetracks from Hialiah to Hollywood Park are three simple rules that can enhance one’s day at the track-little do’s and don’ts unrelated to the study of the arcane statistical scripture found in (he racing form.

Number 1; Make certain that you’re current on your child support payments before you venture to the track. If you owe money to the 1RS, get square in that area, too. Those are good people at the 1RS. Damn good people, and they deserve your financial support. Remember, not every day will be a winning day for the person who handicaps the horses. In fact, Henny Youngman thought [hat a good day at the track happened “when I found a half of a sandwich and got a free ride home.” One other thing: If you have recently jumped bail, avoid the track entirely. These bounty hunters have nothing better to do but lurk around at (he bus station and racetrack and once you’re spotted, you’ll find your butt back in Lew Sterrett faster than God makes poor folks.

Number 2: After you select a horse or two that you like in the form, make the effort to visit the paddock area where the animals are saddled. Inspect the entries and draw some personal impressions. Even if you don’t necessarily know much about horses, you quickly develop some intuitions, I remember an occasion when my wife bet on the Number 7 horse at that dinky little track in Santa Fe because “he looks frisky.” Well, horse experts will con-firm that frisky can be a good sign as long as the frisky Number 7 also is not the proportion of a cocker spaniel. Look a! the size and muscle tone, If the upcoming race happens to be a six-furlong sprint, seek out a horse that appears compact and muscular, like Emmitt Smith. If the race covers a mile or more, a promising candidate might feature long legs and big hoofs, like Alvin Harper, If your selection has worked up a sweat or is behaving like a fool 10 minutes prior to post time, you might consider another investment.

Number 3: Remain wary of “insider trading tips.” As popular interest concerning the competition at Lone Star Park expands around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, you’ll be hearing more and more intelligence reports from the friend of a friend of a jockey or trainer. The fact is that if a jockey or trainer happens to be convinced of a sure thing, the last thing he’ll do is blab it all over town. “Betting on insider tips at the track would bankrupt the queen of England.” says one veteran horse owner. If you’re looking for a shortcut, buy one of the tout sheets for sale ($2 to $5 ) outside Lone Star Park. These include publications known as “Pure Gold Edge” {co-compiled by Norm Hitzges), “Joe’s Longshots” and the “Two Minute Handicapper.” Also, Joe Badone, the track’s Fan Education Manager, conducts a seminar every race day, at 5:15 week nights and 12:15 Saturdays and Sundays.



FLASHBACK: ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON in early May 1982,1 sat talking to Ed Asner in a motel room somewhere in the Mid-Cities. Asner, president of the Screen Actors Guild at the time. was in town to make a speech, and my job was to interview him for some article 1 was writing for The Dallas Morning News. “An actor in Waxahachie, Texas, was recently quoted as saying that you ought to spend more time working on behalf of your union members and less time raising money for rebels in El Salvador, What do you think of that?” I asked Asner.

He looked at me with an expression of total incredulity. “Where in the hell is Wax-ahachie, Texas?” Asner demanded.

You’re perhaps wondering: “And what in the hell does thai vignette have to do with horse racing in Grand Prairie?”

Well, at that point in the Asner interview, I excused myself and trotted over to the motel lobby to watch the Kentucky Derby telecast. The belting favorite in the Derby that afternoon had been a horse named Mar-fa, same as that Texas town in the middle of nowhere with the weird lights. By the end of the race. Marfa finished far back in the pack, probably coated with more dust than the town for which he was named.

Now. almost 15 years after the fact, I am poring over the Racing Form trying to select a contender at the fifth race at Lone Star Park. And what do you know? The Number 12 horse is an entry named Manfa’s Twist, and the Racing Form confirms that this is the grandson of that same horse that failed at Churchill Downs in 1982. Of course, the Racing Form contains more in-depth information on these horses than J. Edgar Hoover had in his personal file on the Kennedys.

In a not particularly distinguished field- a six-furlong, $14,000 claiming race- about seven horses seem capable of winning. But since this Marfa’s Twist comes listed as a Kentucky-bred horse with a bloodline traced to a Derby favorite, I place a hunch bet on this Number 12. Ten bucks to win and $ 10 on five exacta combinations. In fact, I’ve been pitching out hunch bets in every direction because on this day I’m playing with somebody else’s money. D Magazine gave me S250 to wager this Sunday at Lone Star Park, which is like handing the keys to the liquor cabinet to Roy Tarpley, and I am hemorrhaging cash. Yes, Abster the Ghost had come through for me in the previous race, returning $66 on a $ 18 across-the-board ticket. (Thai’s the one I’d thrown away, and yes, I did find it.)

But Ebony Bell had run third in the first race instead of the desired first. Bye-bye, $10 win ticket. So long, $12 exacta ticket. See you later, $2 daily double ticket. The second and third races produced similar results. The Racing Form includes little capsule comments that describe the individual horses’ efforts in each race, As a younger man, I thought it amazingly coincidental how closely the comments from the Racing Form on the horses that J was betting also seemed to duplicate my own performances in the singles bars at night. “No speed, never close. Failed to sustain bid. Flattened out. Bumped, lost jockey. Quit. Broke down.”

I finally gave up on the singles bars, but this horse wagering judgment seems eternal. As for Marfa’s Twist’s sixth-place showing at Lone Star Park, his “No factor” showing revived some numbing memories.

On the opening weekend of racing at Grand Prairie, a couple of distinguished visitors were listed in the seventh race, the Lone Star Mile. Skip Away, the 3-year-old Horse of the Year in 1996 and Eclipse Award winner, graced the field. This horse is the product of a family tree that includes names such as Nasrullah, Nashua and Damascus. Just last October, Skip Away outran the great Cigar in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont. Imagine a thoroughbred like that performing in Grand Prairie. Over at the little Trinity Meadows track in Parker County, I’d become used to watching horses that couldn’t outrun Dale Hansen.

Skip Away, unfortunately, failed to win the Lone Star Mile. What went skipping away was another $20 worth of magazine money. The $250,000 race was won by Isitingood, now currently listed as sixth-best thoroughbred of any age currently running in North America. One can only assume that when the owners chose to bestow an unsightly name like Isitingood on this animal, they didn’t realize he was going to become this famous.

Like Skip Away, Holzmeister turned out to be the wrong pick in the other feature race on the card, the Lone Star Derby. How , could a horse that won a major juvenile stakes race in California by 17 lengths last November get outclassed so decisively by Anet at Lone Star Park? Because I bet on him, that’s how. But Requesting More, a nice filly, came through to the tune of about $75 in the eighth race, so my losses for the afternoon amounted to $82.

To paraphrase the late Gen. MacArthur, I shall return. The ownership at Lone Star I Park should be overjoyed with the news. But don’t get too cocky, fellows. From now i on, it’s strictly the $2 window for me.

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