So Mike calls me Saturday morning and says hey bud, we have an extra ticket and a table at the Stretch Run area at Del Mar and the ticket is going to waste if you don’t go. Paddy had an appointment in San Diego that morning and when things were wrapped up she would meet us down south. So after all this time in California I’m experiencing two firsts. An Amtrak ride on the train down to Solana Beach and a day at the races. Big fun was to be had. The train ride was surprisingly smooth. Great suspension set up on those cars. Only downside was that apparently a lot of folks ride the train down to Del Mar for the races and there was standing room only all the way down. You pretty much had to board up north say in Valencia if you wanted a shot at a seat. Interesting and fun none the less.
I’ll have to do it again and spend a day at Seaworld or something. Total party train all the way down to Solana Beach. Beers flowing and people moving about. We didn’t drink anything as we were standing the whole trip. Arrived without incident and Paddy picked us up at the SB station and from there a short jaunt over to the track. Great table right by the finish line and super nice crowd in our area. Mike started giving me the primer on how to place bets and I immediately started perusing the program for information on the horses and such. Had a couple of beers and it was off to the betting window.
The first two races I bet a Trifecta boxed and both times only 2 of my 3 horses showed. Dang!!! No big deal, I was only betting a buck or two on each race. The Mikkelsens’ friend Judy George was also in attendance and she saw one fella put 200 bucks on a single horse to win in one race. I’d have put 10 bucks on that horse if I was in that line just to see what might have happened. I did hit one in the 4th race betting on a single horse to win. He was supposed to show according to the scouting reports but I bet “He’s a Trieher” to win. Started out in the middle of the pack but closed in the final turn. Looked like the front runner was going to hang on but my horse nosed him out in the last 20 yards or so. Very, very exciting. Would have been more exciting had I bet 10 bucks. The win paid 20.80 so by my math I would have walked away with $104.00 on that race. The crowd is pretty quiet and controlled when the gates open but when they make the turn for the stretch run the buzz in the stands builds to a fever pitch. It was great. We snacked lightly as Mike pretty much made it clear that we were heading down to Ocean Beach afterwards for dinner at Ortega’s. As usual I ate until I thought I would burst.
Excellent food there but you would die for sure if you had it every day. Rich, filling and tasty for sure. So anyway, what was supposed to be a laundry and belated spring clean Saturday turned into quite the adventure. And aside from the train ticket and dinner I broke even. I can see why people look forward to the season. Very enjoyable pastime if you don’t get too carried away. 
Took 3 out of 4 in the Sunday morning league at the Bowl and then got roped into the Doubles tourney in the afternoon. Bowled with a nice gal named Carol who loves the game. We didn’t take the tourney but we did win the first side pot. Anytime you can recover part of your entry fee it’s all good.
So all in all it was a great weekend. The only thing that bothers me is that my laundry is still piling up. I’ll have to remedy that this evening.. Many thanks to the Mikkelsens for a nice day out!
For the full photo album of the days events click HERE...
-Scott
