Long-odds horses pay off big in District man’s Racetrax gambit
A Maryland Lottery player who lives in Washington, D.C. tried to complain June 4 at Lottery headquarters while collecting a $30,879 Racetrax prize, but his daughter was having none of it.
“Just call him Oscar the Grouch,” she said, dismissing a series of comments by the winner on subjects including, but not limited to, the procedural differences among the Maryland, D.C. and Virginia lotteries, the quality of certain brands of vehicle (he prefers GM products), and the location of Lottery headquarters in Baltimore rather than Annapolis.
His commentary, however, belies a soft spot, as evidenced by his comment that the reason he’ll only be getting a tank of gas out of his prize is because he plans to split the lion’s share among his five grandchildren. “I was happy when I won it,” he said.
He prefers to play Racetrax, the winner said, because he can pick the numbers he likes. His daughter, a writer by trade, provided an official statement for her dad: “Normally, I play other numbers, but this time I had a feeling that this number would win. Oh boy, was I right!”
His big win came on March 16 on a Trifecta Box bet on the long-odds horses 10, 11 and 12, with the total cost of the replayed ticket being $60 for 10 races. To win with this type of bet, the three horses can come in first, second or third place, in any order.
Sharing in the winner’s good fortune is Lucky Mart at 4201 Bladensburg Road in Colmar Manor, where the winning ticket was purchased. The store receives a bonus of $308.79, equal to 1% of the prize amount, for selling a winning Racetrax ticket of $10,000 or more.
