It’s eight minutes to post time and Kimberly is standing in front of me, behind the bar, slowly drawing a Budweiser. It will cost me $3.75 for the beer, but I’ll get something for my money–the only time that evening that I will get something for my money, though I didn’t know it at the time.
“You always gonna lose,” says Andre Curry of Chicago, who is sitting beside me at the off-track betting parlor on State Street. “You always gonna lose. But you hope not too much.
“Never bet what you can’t afford to lose.”
It’s good advice.
But let me back up. When I drop into the OTB it’s usually for lunch, a pretty mediocre lunch, but I’ve had worse. Part of the thrill is to walk with a friend two blocks west of Michigan Avenue and a block north of Marshall Field’s State Street store. It’s not too far from City Hall, amid shoppers, business people and travelers out to see the best of the Loop. People are dressed, the sun is shining, Chicago is looking sharp.
Then you near 177 N. State St. Three of the windows to the left are painted green so you can’t see in, but there’s a sign on them: “OTB.” And then the door. Sometimes there’s one person standing outside, watching horses race on a small TV screen in the window to the right. Sometimes there’s a cop.
Walk in. You won’t get far, because the first thing in front of you is a counter, where you have to pay a $1 city entrance tax, and can pick up a $4 racing program or $1.75 Green Sheet.
“You been here before?” a woman behind the counter asked me one recent lunchtime when I entered with a friend.
“No,” I lied.
“Then take that elevator to the third floor,” she said.
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But don’t take that advice. You’ll miss too much.
The owners of the OTB are planning to close the State Street location probably in fall 2006 and reopen at the southwest corner of LaSalle and Ohio streets.
“It will be Jack Stallion’s Racino Grill and Sports Bar,” said Bob Bilocerkowycz, president and chief executive officer of Inter-Track Partners LLC, which owns four racetracks and 15 OTBs in Illinois.
“We made him up, of course. He’ll be a character, a gentleman. The concept is the glorification and beauty of the horse. There will be a dress code: business casual. We expect a different clientele. We want to elevate the presentation,” he said.
So before that happens, get to State Street.
Don’t go up the elevator directly to the 3rd floor. Instead, grab a free tip sheet on the wall near the stairs and walk up to the 2nd floor.
You can smell the smoke before you even get to the landing and connecting rooms filled mostly with men. They stand alone, jackets and caps still on, staring, swearing, throwing losing tickets on the tile floor. Up to six teller windows keep the betting lively. It’s intense, and I’m not comfortable watching for long. Take another flight of stairs to the mezzanine.
The mezzanine has the same teller windows and open tables but no smoking. It’s like a barn missing the smell of hay, leather and manure. The crowds are thin. Keep walking up.
Now you’re on the 3rd floor. It’s carpeted and the walls have wood and some tiles that imitate green marble. Sit at the bar or grab one of the tables or booths. My favorites are anything along the north wall where windows put you almost at eye level with trains arriving and departing the CTA platform; squint and it’s a black and white photo op of quintessential Chicago.
Each table has its own television. And here’s where it gets confusing.
The OTB is open 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. every day except Christmas, because every day there is horses racing on some warm-weather track be it in Australia or South Africa.
“At any one time, we can have three to 15 races going,” said Mark Miskewitch, operations manager. You can change the channels on your television: Channel 35 switches to show whatever race is most current; 22 through 37 show individual tracks; 18 and 19 have other sporting events; and 15, 16 and 17 show the odds for the most recent race or an upcoming Illinois track.
You bet on the day of the race, except for the annual big ones like the Derby or Breeder’s Cup when you can do it one day ahead. (By the way, if you place bets for your pals back at the office, that’s called being a bookie; you’re supposed to bet in person.) You can ask a manager or teller for a free how-to-bet brochure. Some simple rules are posted at the teller window. They really try to make it easy.
“We make money by taking a cut,” said Ian Kallman, general manager of the State Street operation. “It benefits us if you make money, because if you win you will bet again.”
To get some betting tips, I called Liam Durbin, the baiduhai’s handicapper. “If you want the thrill of walking back to the teller window with a winning ticket, bet to win, place or show. Or play an exacta; you only need to pick two horses. If you want to pay off the college education, play the more exotic ones, like Pick 3 or a Pick 4 superfecta.
“Me, I play Pick 3. But I can [handle] throwing away a ticket that has two of the three correct picks,” he said.
I return that night and Turf Paradise is on the screen. They are showing the horses amid the palm trees in Arizona and it’s only a few minutes until the 8th race. I put a quick $2 on a name–Dysfunctional Lady–to win. And I lose.
One more try. They are featuring a 10-cent superfecta, so I walk up to the teller and place my bets for the 9th.
“Turf Paradise, in the 9th. Box a 10-cent superfecta on the 2,4,5,6,” I say to Yvette, as I risk $2.40 and go for the college education. She nods.
“And, Turf Paradise, 9th, $2, to show, on the number 6.” All that favorite #6 Blazing Shot Glass has to do is run a little.
Yvette smiles. “You’re getting smart now.”
Maybe not. I end up with $6.40 in wasted tickets, a beer and another good time.
– – –
At the OTB
What to read
Official Simulcast Program: $4. The most comprehensive information, including jockey, owner, trainer, color, finishes in previous races, earnings, starting odds and a handicapper’s picks.
Green Sheet: $1.75. All you might need for a first trip, including the horse’s name, jockey, initial odds, handicapper picks, plus racing vocabulary and betting instructions.
Tip sheets: Free. Cover only some of the tracks, and list some handicappers’ favorites.
What to say
Most races have a $2 minimum. To bet, state in this order: the name of the track and race number, dollar amount, type of bet, the horse’s number. For example, you might say: “Hawthorne Race 9, $2 Win (Place or Show), #6.”
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What the bets mean
Win: Your horse must win the race for you to win.
Place: Your horse must come in first or second.
Show: Your horse must come in first, second or third.
Exacta: You must pick the first and second winners, in exact order.
Pick 3: You win by picking the winning horses in three designated races.
Superfecta: You must pick the first four winners, in exact order, in one race.
Boxing the superfecta: The four winning horses you pick can come in in any combination.
— P.T.
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