My family has been betting on the ponies for at least four generations. My mom and grandpa used to bet quarters on who would win. My mom would always pick who looked best going onto the field, usually number 8. I don’t know how my grandpa picked, but he usually won. I watched the races because my mom did, and I picked whatever number or name was sounding lucky that day. That’s how my daughter picks now, too. 

My uncle liked to bet, too, so he and I would chat about our picks prior to the race. He taught me more about how to pick besides colors, names, and numbers. In the last Triple Crown race before he passed, I finally picked a winner, Sir Winston in the 2019 Belmont Stakes.

In 2020, Covid pushed the races back to the fall, so my friends and I watched the race during our beach trip and got the kids all hyped up about it by having them draw a horse out of a hat. In 2021, I found a friend who also enjoys the races and she makes an amazing beer cheese dip, and her husband makes a perfect mint julep, so we enjoyed the Derby together. This year I picked Epicenter to win the Derby but the long-shot horse my daughter picked beat mine by three-quarters of a length. I think that win was enough for her to continue our family tradition.

Tonight is the Preakness stakes, which I attended about 15 years ago. If I ever make it to the Belmont stakes or the Kentucky Derby, I will definitely buy seats in the grandstand, because the infield at Pimlico was nothing I want to re-experience. But for now I’ll continue to watch the Triple Crown on TV and bet on the ponies with my daughter, and hopefully my uncle and grandpa will send a little luck down from above.