A bunch of friends, and my wife and I, went down to Hot Springs this past weekend to bet on the ponies. I had never been to Oaklawn before, nor had I ever been to the horse races. We left Fayetteville Saturday morning around 8, and made it to Hot Springs in plenty of time before the first race started at 1. Immediately upon getting to the track, I bought a burger, a beer and a race program. It was time to get rich.
Not really. I think in going to the track you have to expect to lose money. I did. I expected to lose all that I took, but that is not what happened. I actually hit a .50 box trifecta on the second race, earning me $90 on a $3 bet. Not bad. During the next 6 races I won an additional two bets, for considerably less money, but still at a profit. All in all it was a pretty exciting day.
That night we all went walking around downtown Hot Springs, which is a pretty cool area. There are a lot of old spa houses that have since closed down and been turned into museums. We ate, went to a couple bars and called it a night. The next morning we got up early, ate some breakfast and headed back to Fayetteville.
It was the first time I had been out of Fayetteville for something other than the holidays in a while. It was nice.
