‘Vegas Joe’ Hedges His Bets and Hopes He’ll Show Profit

In the first race at Hollywood Park on May 19, Racy Gracy was the outside horse in a 10-horse field. Running a seven-furlong sprint for 4-year-olds and up, Racy Gracy waited until the stretch to take the lead and coasted home an easy winner. The nag paid $11 to win and $3.80 to show.

“Vegas Joe” was delighted with the result, since he bets $2 to win and $6 to show on the top choice of a newspaper handicapper, which on May 19 was Pat Ray of the Los Angeles Times. Vegas Joe collected $11 for the win and $11.40 for the show bet, totaling $22.40. After deducting the $8 wagered, he started out with a $14.40 profit.

Vegas Joe deals blackjack and craps in Las Vegas at one of the Strip hotels during the week. However, on Saturday and Sunday he likes to get on a plane and fly to Los Angeles, where he lives in a condo owned by his girlfriend.

When his girlfriend, a stewardess, is flying, Vegas Joe goes to the race track, preferring Hollywood Park, which is near the condo, and gets together with his cronies in the Club House to discuss the day’s races.

Vegas Joe believes that since newspaper handicappers get paid for their skills, using their top selections is the way to bet.

He doesn’t get attached to just one, but attempts to latch on to the handicapper with the hot hand. And Ray, for almost all of Hollywood Park’s current season, has led the local newspaper handicappers in money won.

The second, third, fourth and fifth races turned out to be disasters for Vegas Joe, putting him in the hole $17.60. In the sixth race, Ray’s choice, Live The Dream, ran second, paying $2.80 to show. He collected $8.40, deducted the $8 bet, and ended up with a 40-cent profit. He was still losing $17.20 for the day.

Ray’s choice in the seventh race was Showmanship, which broke from the No. 2 post position. At the half-mile post in the six-furlong sprint, Showmanship ran fifth, closed to fourth around the far turn and, in the middle of the stretch, took the lead to win by 1 1/4 lengths.

Vegas Joe collected $18.40 to win and $6.20 to show for a total $37 on his $8 bet. His profit on the race was $29, and he was ahead $11.80 for the day. When the odds-on favorite, Bayakoa, won the eighth race, paying $3 to win and $2.20 to show, Vegas Joe added only $1.60 to his winnings.

By the ninth race, Vegas Joe had a respectable profit of $13.40. Rosen, Ray’s top pick in the ninth, was a 10-1 long shot. The horse immediately took the lead and led by five lengths at the half-mile mark and easily won by two lengths.

Rosen paid $23.20 to win and $6.20 to show. Vegas Joe collected $41.80. After deducting the $8 bet, his profit was $33.80. Adding the $33.80 to the $13.40 he was winning, Vegas Joe ended up ahead $47.20 for the day.

Another winning day for Vegas Joe occurred on May 12 when Ray had four winners and four other horses in the money. Dr. Brent won the first race, paying $4.80, $3.60 and $2.80 across the board, giving Vegas Joe a $5.20 profit. Emigrant Gap ran second in the next race, adding $4.60 to Vegas Joe’s winnings.

Vegas Joe lost 80 cents on the third race but won $3.40 on the fourth and $3.60 on the fifth. He was ahead $16. Although his horses ran second in the sixth and seventh races, show payoffs of only $2.40 resulted in Vegas Joe’s losing 80 cents on each race, cutting his profit for the day to $14.40.

When Nijinsky’s Lover lost the eighth, Vegas Joe dropped $8, and his winnings fell to $6.40. In the last race, Taffta Shawl, an odds-on favorite, running 1 1/8-mile on the turf against fillies and mares, tucked in behind the leaders at the start and waited until the stretch to make its move. Taffta Shawl pulled away to win by 2 1/2 lengths.

Vegas Joe collected $12.80, winning $4.80 for his $8 bet. He finished the day with an $11.20 profit.

Vegas Joe will always wager one unit to win and three to show, but sometimes he may increase his bets to $4 win and $12 show. If the handicapper he has selected is really hot, he will raise his stakes to $10 win and $30 show.

In theory, Vegas Joe believes that by betting to win and show, he is buying insurance. What he hopes is that if the horse he wagers on doesn’t win, at least it will come in third and pay enough to make up what was lost on the front end. Of course, if the horse doesn’t run in the money, all of his wagers go down the drain.

Vegas Joe has done well with his money-management system. Although he has had some losing days, his winnings have made up for his losses and have given him enough of a profit to pay for his weekly flights to Los Angeles.