OLD SMOKEY

When I was in High School during WW II our oldest brother Malcolm was in the Army.  He had come home on furlough at the time.  He had always loved horse racing at nearby Hot Springs, Arkansas.  My mother suggested that he take me and her to see the races that weekend.  I was barely old enough to get into the racetrack.

We drove to Hot Springs, checked into the Jack Tar Motel and went to the races the next day.  It was a beautiful day and the place was filled with spectators.  For us it was like a vacation.  Betting on a horse was out of the question for mama and me since money was so scarce for us.  We were happy just to see the horses run.

About the sixth race of the day, my mother looked at the program and read about each horse running in that race.  She came upon a name that interested her for some strange reason.  The horse was named "Old Smokey".  Indeed he did look very old to me and most of the others in the stands.  His odds of winning were 50 to 1.

She slowly found $2.00 in her purse (the minimum bet).  She tapped Malcolm on the shoulder and told him to take this and bet it on Old Smokey (to win).  With great doubts on his face he went to the window and came back with her ticket on this horse.

Just like in the story books, Old Smokey stumbled out of the gate dead last.  As the race continued he started to gain on all the other horses on the track.  Unbelievably he went into the lead and finished in first place ahead of all the other horses.  He had won the race and we were ecstatic with joy while most of the other people in the stands were very disappointed.  This was when Malcolm told mother and me that he had secretly bet $5.00 on the same horse, to win!