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Old 12-07-2018, 10:55 PM   #16
mountainman
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Compared to those I've read here, my bad-beat story involves small money. And I've suffered far costlier -and unlikely-defeats, but this one hurt worst, and still twinges on occasion.

It was 1985 (or so), my mom had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and I had moved back home to offer support and hopefully assuage her fears.

Tragically, I was broke with scant prospects, and we were struggling to exist. To exacerbate matters, my gambling partner and inseparable friend, Phil, had recently been imprisoned, a merciless slump had driven my other backer (another bad dude with "indeterminate" sources of income) away, and my confidence was shot.

But a horse I was high on was in-camouflaged form, certain to be long odds..the whole bit. And, somehow, I managed to scrape up 80 bux by the finale, which saw the horse in easy, and at 12-1.


After betting it all on the nose, I walked to the 1/2 pole to watch. At the time, mom lived in a mobile home right across from the track, and I often walked it instead of taking my car. When the hoofbeats reached me, my play had the lead, but one foe had emerged from an increasingly distant pack of pursuers to gather him in. I knew that foe was a hanger, though, and by mid-stretch the announcer began shouting, a sure sign my horse had met fire with fire and that a tight one was in store.

The photo sign remained up when I reached the apron. A buddy of mine who NEVER missed a photo walked past and opined that the 7 (my horse) had won it and it wasn't even all THAT close. My odds, by the way, had climbed to 18-1. I steeled myself and focused unflinchingly on the board. Ten eternity's passed. The numbers went up. 8-7.

The air went out of my world. Nothing since comes even close to that despair.
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Old 12-08-2018, 02:05 AM   #17
deathandgravity
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Not sure this is my worst beat. Things got a little out of hand while cutting-my-teeth @ TUP in the early 80’s. Made some bets I shouldn't, but learned from that & happy I came back with some discipline.

One that sticks out…
I was playing the Aqueduct inner track/winter (RIP) meet about 5 years ago & doing fairly well (had a nice ROI for the meet). Mostly P4, but just about every day I would put in a small P6 ticket… only $32-64. Had my P6 set & getting ready to bet when all hell broke loose @ work. (the cloud was down…which was an issue since I managed it.)
Never got a chance to place the bet & you know what happened. Not life changing ticket, but $6K would have been nice.

Figure karma comes around… earlier this year I made a mistake on a P4 @ SA. Keyed in the wrong horse at a low level mdn. Won @ 65-1. I can’t remember the last time I messed up a ticket. All long shots the next 3 legs. Not life changing, but it paid for business class tickets to Australia for a vacation & a new roof.

Cheers
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Old 12-08-2018, 02:29 PM   #18
comet52
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I don't know if it's "worst ever" but I've had a horse in the stretch with a 4 length lead less than a 16th from the wire break down. Also had a jockey misread a marker pole for the finish line with a clear lead and momentum and pull the horse up, he still almost won! Tough game.
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Old 12-08-2018, 10:49 PM   #19
ZippyChippy423
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This is a true story that happened to my uncle in the late 80’s at Northampton Three County Fairgrounds Massachusetts. My uncle somehow talked his priest friend to join him for a few races at the fair. The priest was no gambler nor was he suppose to be betting. He was just going with my uncle out of curiousity and check out the fair itself. My uncle decided he was betting one more race and then would leave to go home after the race. He coaxed the priest to just make a 2.00 bet for the heck of it....GOD wouldn’t mind he said.....it’s not going to kill you ...one bet then they leave. The priest he said reluctantly gave in and put 2.00 on a horse to win that was a 15-1 shot. Gates open horse shot out like a cannon ....horse kept opening up ....5 lengths....10 lengths ....the priest is excited and getting into it. At the top of stretch horse maintaining a huge advantage and coming down the lane an absolute lock...until....horse breaks down and was put down right on the track. My uncle said the priest never talked to him again . True Story.
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Old 12-10-2018, 07:08 PM   #20
clocker7
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Fast iz a turtle bad beat Dec 3 2005 race 9

Last edited by clocker7; 12-10-2018 at 07:10 PM.
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Old 12-14-2018, 08:13 AM   #21
Zman179
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My worst beat came at Yonkers Raceway around 1990. I went to the track with about $30 (I had no job and money was hard to come by) and studied the hell out of that Sports Eye on that night’s card. I figured that I could have a legitimate shot at the $3 Pick 4 with a $24 ticket (2x2x2x1), but I only had $30 so I tried to make something out of the earlier races.

To make a long story short I caught a really bad beat in the early double and when the $3 Pick 4 came up I had only $12 left. So I had to eliminate one horse out of my ticket, which I did, and I had no money left to play any of my horses to win. So it was either Pick 4 or go home. So instead of playing a 2x2x2x1, I wound up having a 2x2x1x1.

The winning prices in the Pick 4 were $50, $80, $100 and $60. My original $24 ticket had three out of the four winners having only missed the $80 horse....but my reduced ticket also threw out the $60 horse.

3 out of 4 in the Pick 4 paid $1800 and I went home with spare change in my pocket.

Last edited by Zman179; 12-14-2018 at 08:16 AM.
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