OTB = Off-Track Betting

My only experience with horse racing is from video games. One of two things would happen when I’d place my bets in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and lose: I’d either restart the game from my last save point, retrace my steps to the betting parlor and bet the farm again, or I’d blow the place apart with a nearby bazooka.

Neither is an option in real life, and my ignorance of the sport only amplified my unease as Dwayne, Mauricio, Isabel and I met at the Colonial Downs Off-Track Betting facility on Broad Street. We passed through the turnstile in the foyer and shook hands with Tom “Trackman” Cade. “Sorry, this place is a little subdued on a Wednesday afternoon. It’s a lot more exciting around here on the weekends.”

Indeed, only a few die-hard patrons sat at private monitors or stared up at the monolithic wall of televisions. A man in a business suit casually picked at his lunch as the screen in front of him flashed with numbers, sportscasters and of course, horses.

“Can we take pictures?” asked Isabel as Tom showed us to the VIP lounge in the back.

Tom shrugged, “It’s probably better if you don’t. It’s not specifically forbidden, but it could make some of our clients uncomfortable. I once had a news crew at one of our Florida locations and told the cameraman not to get people’s faces. Of course, the one person in the background that was recognizable on screen was a local minister. Whoops!”

Tom completed our tour by pointing out the identical halves of the parlor which are divided into smoking and non-smoking sections by a thick sheet of glass. We sat down at a table on the non-smoking side and were introduced to Kyle Fitzgerald, “the best handicapper in town” and a large, friendly fellow known only as Derby Bill.

“I’m the camera presence.” Bill smiled as he shook our hands. “What we’ve put together here is a little something we call Horse Racing 101. With the Kentucky Derby coming up in May and the racing season at our New Kent facilities about to begin, we’re hoping to attract and educate a new generation of enthusiasts.”

As he handed us each a thick manila folder, Kyle interjected, “We want you to win! On our best days, we’re making money when you’re making money. Unlike a casino, where gamblers bet against house odds, we use a system called parimutuel betting, where all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool. Gamblers bet against each other, not the house.”

“The odds are calculated based on the number of bets. The science of determining those outcomes is called handicapping. The more people bet on a particular horse, the lower the odds and the less you’ll win if you pick it. If you bet on a longshot with higher odds, you stand to make a lot more money.” Tom added as we flipped through our folders, “I’ve seen people turn a ten-cent superfecta bet into half a million dollars.”

“That’s why we have this class. If you just look up at the screens and see all those numbers flashing by, it can be very intimidating. We can teach you about win/place/show bets, exacta, trifecta and superfecta bets, and we have resources to help you learn the art of handicapping.” Kyle pulled out a magazine called the Racing Forum, which was thick with charts and numbers. “Don’t worry, we can help you decipher that, too.”

“These races,” Tom said with a gesture to the monitors, “are happening all over the world. There’s almost always a race to bet on. The local race season starts in June, and the Virginia Derby on July 19th is being nationally televised.”

“Going out to see the races in person is always a treat,” added Bill. “There are four floors, private suites, the grandstand, a jockey’s club and full bars on every level. It’s a great time!”

At that moment, the familiar “Call to the Post” fanfare blared from the monitors signalling the horses and riders to approach the gates. “Who brought money to place a bet?” Bill asked as we stood up to leave.

We all shook our heads and patted our pockets. “They don’t pay us enough to place bets, but we’ll come back and see you out at New Kent in the summer.”

—Tod Parkhill