5 Bettors Buy 33,810 Trifecta Tickets; All Lose

What are the odds on picking 1-2-3 finishes for two horse races on the same day?

One computation puts it at 843,600 to 1. But 16 bettors did just that Wednesday, winning Suffolk Downs’ twin trifecta. Each successful bettor won $40,075.80. To win, bettors had to go 1-2-3 for the 8th and 10th races at the Boston track.

Among the unsuccessful bettors were five young men, all members of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, who wagered more than $100,000. They placed 33,810 bets, covering what they believed to be every possible combination. They required two-and-a-half hours to figure out the combinations and 30 minutes to make the bets.

After the eighth race, only 17 of their tickets were still alive. Not one was a winner. They’d wagered $101,430.

Said Leo Rybicki, pari-mutuels director: “They went from big time to small time in no time.”

Winners used various methods. Bob Morelli, from Revere, Mass., said he let his girlfriend pick the finishes.

“Actually,” he said, “in the eighth, she picked the numbers 12-3-5, but there was no 12 in the race so I dropped the 2.”

For the record, the winning numbers: 1-3-5, 10-1-8.

Ousted University of Florida football Coach Charley Pell has met with Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Hugh Culverhouse, fueling speculation Pell may succeed retiring John McKay.

Pell, who has never coached at the pro level, was 32-25-2 at Florida when he was fired three weeks into last season. An NCAA investigation uncovered numerous violations at Florida, costing Pell his job and causing Florida to be placed on probation.

Both Notre Dame and Ohio State are out of the running to play in the Aug. 27 Kickoff game at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. Both were rumored to be possible opponents for national champion Brigham Young, expected to be invited.

Ohio State indicated it had been told it would not be invited. Notre Dame Athletic Director Gene Corrigan said he’d withdrawn the Irish from consideration.

A Lincoln, Neb., man has filed a $2 million alienation of affections suit against ex-Nebraska football star Mike Rozier.

In the suit, Charles L. Waldron says he divorced his wife, Ann, and obtained custody of their child because of Rozier’s alleged relations with his wife. Waldron seeks $1 million on his alienation of affections claim and $1 in damages as a result of a “criminal conversation” that allegedly took place between his wife and Rozier.

The Southwest Conference has confirmed it is investigating Southern Methodist University’s recruitment of 6-10 Dallas prep basketball star Reginald Muhammad, who signed with SMU in November.

Los Angeles NAACP President Raymond Johnson Jr. criticized ABC’s decision to replace O.J. Simpson with Joe Theismann on its Super Bowl telecast team, saying ABC was practicing “institutional racism which is rampant in professional sports generally and in the National Football League in particular.”

Chief’s Crown, whose five wins last year included the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, drew top weight of 126 pounds Thursday in the Experimental Free Handicap.

The Experimental Free Handicap is a rating of last year’s 2-year-olds. Weighted at 123 were Saratoga Six (now retired to stud), Smile and Spend A Buck.

Names in the News

Ex-jockey Eddie Arcaro has filed with the Nevada Gaming Commission on his intention to run gambling junkets from Miami, his home, to the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.

Florida State running back Cedric Jones signed a three-year contract with the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League.

Outfielder Terry Francona, one of the National League’s leading hitters (.346) last June when he suffered a knee injury and missed the rest of the season, filed for salary arbitration with the Montreal Expos.

Napoleon McCallum, first red-shirt in U.S. Naval Academy history, said of his 1985 Heisman Trophy aspirations: “Me and Byars (Ohio State’s Keith Byars). We’ll have to battle for it, head to head.”

Bill Austin, former offensive line coach of the New Jersey Generals, was named to the same post with the New York Jets.