As Luck Would Have It, I'm Always Dreaming!

@moffittjc (118221)
Gainesville, Florida
May 7, 2017 7:31pm CST
I was with a few buddies of mine this weekend in Tampa, Florida, for the Tom Petty concert. On Saturday, before the concert, we did a tour of local craft breweries in the Tampa/St. Pete area. As we were sitting in one of the tasting rooms enjoying some cold beers, a buddy of mine mentioned that it was the day of the Kentucky Derby (which I was not aware of since I don't follow horse racing that much). He then went on to tell us that he has picked the race winner for three consecutive years, and that he wished he would have bet. As boys will do as they are all sitting around drinking beer, we started egging each other on about placing bets for the Derby. We asked our buddy to tell us who he thought was going to win the race, and he said "number 5." So we all quickly looked up horse #5, and it was Always Dreaming. Feeling lucky (beer will do that to you), we all agreed to place bets on Always Dreaming. After a few phone calls, we found a friend who knew someone who could place the bets for us. I put down a nice sum of money on Always Dreaming to win, place and show (I was too lazy to pick other horses to finish 2nd or 3rd). Others in our group made similar bets. Sure enough, our horse came through and won the Kentucky Derby, netting me a 4 to 1 payout on my initial bet. Let's just say it was the most I ever won, and it pretty much covered the cost of my mini-vacation in Tampa, so I was feeling really lucky (I should have played the lottery Saturday night, but I didn't want to push my luck!). And unbelievably, my friend has now accurately picked the Kentucky Derby winner four consecutive years! You can bet I will be turning to him next year for his pick to win the 2018 Kentucky Derby! Did any of you watch the Kentucky Derby, and do any of you wager on the horses? I'm not a gambler by nature, but like I said early, the beer was flowing and we were all feeling lucky!
14 people like this
13 responses
@Courtlynn (67002)
• United States
8 May 17
I dont bet or watch but wow congratulations
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 May 17
Yeah, I'm not a gambler either, but I figured what the heck. The guy picked the Derby winner correctly three years in a row, so I figured he had to know what he was talking about. And now he's picked correctly four years in a row. Can't wait to see what horse he picks next year.
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (133795)
• Roseburg, Oregon
8 May 17
That was neat tht you won.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 May 17
I'll say! The timing was perfect, because I spent more in Tampa this weekend than I had planned to. I've been saving for my trip to New York City at the end of this month, so I was hoping to not spend that much money in Tampa this weekend. But everything was so freaking expensive! I'm glad I won the money, because it will keep me from eating into my NYC vacation money.
• United States
24 May 17
I am not a gambler at all. My first husband would bet on the weather or anything else. I had bet on horses a time or two, but never one anything. For me, even losing a dollar is losing too much.
1 person likes this
• United States
2 Jun 17
@moffittjc Ha ha ha. I doubt he will ever win big. He tosses out the evidence before I see how foolish he is with his money...most of the time that is.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
31 May 17
I'm with you. I work hard for my money. I'd hate to see it go down the drain with the snap of a finger because I made a foolish bet.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Jun 17
@ElusiveButterfly Gambling losses (i.e. non-winning lottery tickets) are deductible on your federal taxes, to offset any gains you may have made from gambling wins. You should save all those non-winning lottery tickets in case he does win a big prize, because then you can offset the taxes you owe on the win by deducting the losses.
1 person likes this
• United States
8 May 17
That is amazing! And that helped cover the cost of your mini trip even better. =) Congratulations! My luck was a few days ago, I sold my dads phone that I recently purchased for him for full asking price without negotiation. I ended up purchasing my dad a new phone like yours!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 May 17
You got him a Nokia flip phone? Wow, I didn't know they still made those!!! haha Just kidding, I have an iPhone! But my old Nokia flip phone is probably still buried in my junk drawer in my bedroom somewhere since I tossed it there many, many years ago. I'm pretty sure I haven't cleaned out my junk drawer in 10 years! lol
1 person likes this
• United States
11 May 17
@moffittjc I still have my old phones too! I never tossed any out unless I sold them! No! I got my parents' both the Apple iPhone 6 Plus!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 May 17
@infatuatedbby I also still have my old Blackberry, which was my first smartphone! Well, if you could call that particular phone a smartphone! haha
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (39965)
• Laguna Woods, California
8 May 17
Our retirement community has a Kentucky Derby party with prizes for those who pick the right horse, and we have gone in the past, but we didn't go this year. One year, my husband won an authentic Kentucky Derby baseball style cap. He loves it!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 May 17
I have a friend who collects the special edition Kentucky Derby souvenir glass each year. He has managed to obtain every single souvenir glass they have ever come out with. I'm willing to bet that's a very valuable collection he has!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 May 17
@DeborahDiane This same friend also collects old Coca-Cola signs and memorabilia. He once told me his Coca-Cola collection is worth more than his house, and I happen to know his house is worth well over a million dollars. I can only imagine what his Coca-Cola collection must be worth!
1 person likes this
• Laguna Woods, California
11 May 17
@moffittjc - Wow! I am sure that is a very valuable collection. What a fun idea for collectors!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323745)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 May 17
There are a great many people in Australia who never usually bet on race-horses but come the Melbourne Cup and thousands will be having their once-a-year bet.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 May 17
I think we have three or four big horse races here in the US that people will bet on, but if I only had to pick one as the "major" horse event, I would say that it is the Kentucky Derby.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 May 17
@JudyEv The Preakness and Belmont Stakes are the only other two big horse racing events I know of in the United Staes. If there are others, I can't think of them right now. For some reason, I thought we had four big ones, but I can only think of three, so maybe that's all there is.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323745)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 May 17
@moffittjc The Kentucky Derby is well-known over here too. I'd be hard pushed to name any other big US races.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
8 May 17
Did you really win this game? The only gambling as far as I can go was the Lottery everyday with only one number.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 May 17
Yes, I really did win! $1220 to be exact.
@FourWalls (61328)
• United States
8 May 17
I didn't watch the Kentucky Derby live, but, as I live in Louisville, I've seen it about 80 times on the news. (The two murders that happened yesterday didn't get nearly as much coverage.)
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 May 17
God forbid the news media actually covers the important stuff! haha
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (454987)
• Switzerland
8 May 17
Congratulations to your friend. I never bet, I am unlucky, my Mom is a winner.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 May 17
Like you, I don't ever gamble because I am the unluckiest person around. My friend on the other hand, he's the luckiest guy I've ever met. Apparently, some of his luck rubbed off on me!
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (454987)
• Switzerland
11 May 17
@moffittjc So true, at least once in a while is nice to have a little luck.
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
20 May 17
No I don't bet on horses and have never seen the Kentucky derby. Congratulations on your win
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 May 17
I didn't realize it until I happened to be flipping channels today, but the Preakness was on today. I checked the odds for the horse Always Dreaming, (the horse I bet on in the Kentucky Derby) and they were horrible (not that I planned to bet anyway)! So for fun, my daughter and I picked different horses to win, although neither one of us did well.
31 May 17
No, I did not watch that. Cool on your win!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Jun 17
My winnings almost covered the cost of my round trip flight to New York City this past weekend for me and the kids, plus my hotel in Manhattan.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246452)
• United States
9 May 17
Lol! Congratulations, you! That is some friend to have. I watched the KD with my husband and Always Dreaming was a beautiful horse as well as a winner. I was rooting for poor one-eyed Patch to win. Good thing I don't bet.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 May 17
@DianneN I want to go to the derby as well so I can also wear a big fancy hat and drink mint juleps! haha
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 May 17
I would have never known which horse to bet on, or even root for, if my friend hadn't said something. I was also wondering how the messy track would affect the horses, and whether or not that changed the odds on who was favored to win? I don't follow horse racing enough to know all that info.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246452)
• United States
12 May 17
@moffittjc I was so worried a horse would slip on that sloppy track. I hope your friend keeps up his winning streak. I know nothing about gambling or horse racing. I just want to go to the Kentucky Derby so I can wear a big, fancy hat and drink mint juleps.
1 person likes this
@CRK109 (14558)
• United States
9 May 17
Wow congratulations on your win! Something sure did bring you a lot of luck!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118221)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 May 17
Well, I did party at an Irish pub on Friday night (of all places to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! haha) so maybe the luck of the Irish rubbed off on me!
1 person likes this
@CRK109 (14558)
• United States
11 May 17
@moffittjc Not a bad place to party no matter what the holiday! Heck, it worked! You might have to do it again sometime!
1 person likes this
@CRK109 (14558)
• United States
13 May 17
@moffittjc When I lived in CT, we had an Irish pub at the end of our street and every St. Patrick's Day, it was impossible to find any parking on the street at all. So we would walk down to join the party and it was always so much fun! That's one thing I definitely miss here!
1 person likes this