Sunday, March 26, 2000
Race fans check their luck
A longshot and its bettors come out better
BY ANDREA TORTORA and JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FLORENCE — Sunshine and the hope of big winnings drew a record crowd of more than 22,000 to Turfway Park Saturday for Northern Kentucky's biggest horse race.
A chestnut colt named Globalize blew past nine other thoroughbreds in the $600,000 Spiral Stakes, turning a $2 bet into $25.
“It's great out here — the weather, the horses,” said Dave England, a Union, Ky., horse owner who pocketed $252 for picking the 20-1 Globalize. “You can't beat it.”
The race drew every kind of fan, from the beer-drinkers and shorts-wearers to women in Kentucky Derby-esque spring hats and men in pastel blazers.
Palm-reader Patti Lightflower walked through the crowds of Very Important People, stopping at tables to offer her services. For most, it was their first reading.
“I'm seeing people from all walks of life,” Ms. Lightflower said. “People are asking if they will be lucky or not.”
She checked their ring fingers, known as the gambling finger. The reading for Nancy Shafer, 32, of Independence, said that she was a quick learner, but one who lets money fall through her fin gers.
Tracy Martin, 27, of Erlanger, used the Spiral Stakes Day to celebrate the end of being single. She and her friends Kim Gessner and Jenny Ives marked the bachelorette party with a few Spiral Sunrises, the new drinks created and named for the race.
“They say it's going to hit me all at once,” Ms. Martin said. “They told me not to drink them very fast.”
Jockey Francisco Torres called the win on Globalize the biggest of his career. He recently returned to racing after suffering seizures that kept him away for three months.
The horse was headed back to California, where he will train while his owners decide if he should run in the Kentucky Derby. Fans joked that the favored horse, Archer City Slew, should perhaps be renamed Archer City Slow. The favorite finished 7th in a field of 10.
The win from Globalize surprised Gerald Niekamp, 56, of Columbus.
“I'm so glad I put that horse on top,” he said after picking the first, second and third winners in the race. “This will definitely put me up for the day.”
Mr. Niekamp's winning trifecta bet earned him $946.
It was the first visit to Turfway for the track's big racing event for Mr. Niekamp and his son Phil, 33. Both are avid racing fans and bettors.
“Yes,” Mr. Niekamp said, “my wife knows.”
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