The year that they moved the Preakness to Laurel

No one knows the world of horse racing better than our longtime pal and Baltimorean Dick Jerardi, who returns once against for the strangest Preakness of them all. Nestor will be at Laurel on Saturday when the second leg of the Triple Crown feels like it’s limping toward a very uncertain future for anyone who loves the game and remembers the glory of Maryland racing.

Nestor Aparicio and Dick Jerardi discuss the upcoming Preakness at Laurel, noting the event’s unusual circumstances due to its temporary relocation. Jerardi, a longtime horse racing enthusiast and journalist, shares his nostalgia for Pimlico and his decision to skip the race this year. They reminisce about past Preaknesses, Jerardi’s early experiences in horse racing, and his transition from gambling to journalism. Jerardi emphasizes the importance of understanding the race and the significance of prop bets. He also promotes online betting through betonline.ag, highlighting the convenience and accessibility of modern betting platforms.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Run the Maryland crab cake tour visiting two crab cake places (promote on show during Preakness week)
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Host the ‘fake news’ event at Lexington Market on Wednesday and bring Maryland treasures for giveaway
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Include guests Donna Brothers and Randy Moss on this week’s show (book/host them)
• [ ] Promote BetOnline.ag (including posting Preakness prop bets and appearing on partner shows to promote the site)
• [ ] Write and publish one weekly horse-racing story for the Philadelphia website (ongoing weekly contribution)

Preakness Week and Maryland Crab Cake Tour

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the show, mentioning the Maryland crab cake tour and the GBMC walk a mile in their shoes event.
• Nestor talks about his orthopedist, Ronald de Lenoir, and his visits to GBMC for hip care.
• Nestor recounts a recent gathering at Planet Fitness with his wife and friends, including Mike Marlowe and Dick Jerardi.
• Dick Jerardi joins the conversation, expressing his enjoyment of the recent gathering and his plans to skip the Preakness this year.

Dick Jerardi’s Perspective on the Preakness

• Dick Jerardi explains his decision to skip the Preakness, preferring to watch it from home due to the limited capacity at Laurel.
• Dick reminisces about the historical significance of Pimlico and the nostalgia of past Preaknesses.
• Nestor and Dick discuss the changes in the Preakness location and the impact on the event’s atmosphere.
• Dick shares his thoughts on the future of the Preakness and his anticipation for its return to Pimlico.

Nestor’s Personal Connection to Horse Racing

• Nestor reflects on his father’s lack of interest in horse racing and his own early experiences with the sport.
• Nestor recalls significant races like Seattle Slew and Secretariat, emphasizing his lifelong interest in the Triple Crown.
• Nestor shares his father’s preferences for baseball, basketball, and boxing, contrasting them with his own passion for horse racing.
• Nestor asks Dick to share his early experiences with horse racing and how he fell in love with the sport.

Dick Jerardi’s Early Days in Horse Racing

• Dick Jerardi recounts his first experience at Pimlico with his brother and his subsequent visits to Ocean City and college.
• Dick describes his transition from poker to horse racing and his early experiences at the track.
• Dick shares his first Preakness in 1973, where he bet on Secretariat and won $65.
• Dick explains how he became more involved in horse racing through mentors and friends, leading to his career as a handicapper and writer.

Dick’s Journey into Horse Racing Journalism

• Dick discusses his early days at the University of Maryland and his involvement in poker.
• Dick talks about his first Preakness experience and how it sparked his interest in horse racing.
• Dick mentions the influence of books like “Picking Winners” by Andrew Beyer and “Betting Thoroughbreds” by Steve Haskin.
• Dick shares his research at the Bowie library and his interactions with other racing enthusiasts, including Ray Tannehill and Jerry McIntosh.

Dick’s Career in Horse Racing Journalism

• Dick explains how he transitioned from gambling to journalism, with the help of mentors like Andrew Beyer and Rich Petro.
• Dick describes his early days at the News American and his work with Rich Petro, who helped him navigate the world of horse racing journalism.
• Dick reflects on the challenges and rewards of his career, including his work at Sports First and the Philadelphia Daily News.
• Dick shares his ongoing passion for horse racing and his current work writing for a website in Philadelphia.

Dick’s Betting Philosophy and Strategies

• Dick explains his approach to betting, emphasizing the importance of seeing the race and understanding the odds.
• Dick shares his experience with the Japanese horse Non Bourbon and the challenges of betting on the Preakness.
• Dick discusses the importance of doing thorough research and understanding the trainer’s strategies.
• Dick highlights the significance of prop bets and how they can provide an edge for bettors.

The Role of Technology in Modern Betting

• Dick reflects on the changes in horse racing betting, from traditional ticket systems to online platforms.
• Dick discusses the convenience of betting on phones and laptops and the impact on the in-person experience at the track.
• Dick shares his nostalgia for the social aspect of betting at the track and the camaraderie with other racing enthusiasts.
• Dick emphasizes the importance of staying informed and using technology to enhance the betting experience.

The Impact of NBC’s Coverage on Horse Racing

• Nestor and Dick discuss the role of NBC’s coverage in promoting the Preakness and the Triple Crown.
• Dick praises the quality of NBC’s coverage and its ability to engage viewers with compelling stories.
• Dick shares his admiration for Donna Brothers and her contributions to horse racing journalism.
• Dick reflects on the emotional impact of NBC’s coverage and its ability to resonate with a broad audience.

Dick’s Final Thoughts and Promotion of Online Betting

• Dick encourages listeners to bet on the Preakness through online platforms like betonline.ag.
• Dick highlights the convenience and accessibility of online betting, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Dick shares his excitement for the Preakness and the potential for significant betting action.
• Dick concludes by promoting betonline.ag and its comprehensive betting options for the Preakness.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Preakness, Laurel, horse racing, Dick Jerardi, Maryland crab cake tour, GBMC, orthopedist, Planet Fitness, Mike Marlowe, Pimlico, Secretariat, betting, NBC coverage, prop bets, online betting.

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SPEAKERS

Dick Jerardi, Speaker 1, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. This is freak this week, and we do the Maryland crab cake tour. We’re going to be two really great crab cake places. We’re going to be a fake news at Lexington market on Wednesday this week. I will have the Maryland treasures to give away. Luke will be stopping by and that they moved the Oriole game. Maybe Luke won’t be stopping by, and then I’m thinking about it. GBMC walk a mile in their shoes. Happened last month. This is for their safe domestic violence and child protection program, which we support. I had orthopedist Ronald de Lenoir on this week to talk about making sure that I’m a hip guy, but I don’t want hip replacements, but if you have to have one, GBMC is the place take good care of you. Also our friends at Farnham and Durham are the comfort guys taking good care of me. Zach joined me last week at Planet Fitness. Or my wife has been getting up before the butt crack of dawn every day lifting weights at Planet Fitness and Timonium. So if you see her there, say hello to her. If you were in Costas in in in Timonium on Friday afternoon, and you saw a Philadelphia horse racing legend amongst us, Mike Marlowe, my one time boss mentor, and I get together once a year and tell old newspaper stories, and he shames me about AI, and we usually get a crab cake or whatnot. Dick Girardi showed up. Luke Jones showed up. It was a whole there’s a whole bath over at the spa on York Road. Timonium, wasn’t it? Dick.

Dick Jerardi  01:27

It was a fun afternoon. Nestor, no question, definitely enjoyed it. Haven’t seen you in a couple of years since our trip to Joe’s steak and soda shop in Fishtown, north of Center City. Philly and I usually see Mike about once a year around the Preakness. So, yeah, it was great because I’m not going to be there for the race this year, so it was cool to come down and hang out with you guys on Friday.

Nestor Aparicio  01:47

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Alright? So the headline is, Dick Girardi skips Preakness, and Derby winner skips Preakness, right? Like, why are you skipping the Preakness?

Dick Jerardi  01:57

Yeah, it more. I’m kind of waiting for it to come back to Pimlico. To me, look, I’m glad they’re running it, and it’s fine. Look, I’ve spent many days at Laurel, but it’s going to be a difficult day for everybody. They can only have, like 4800 in there, I just assume, watch it from home rather than deal with the chaos. And I’ll be back next year when it goes back to Pimlico, because to me, the previous at Pimlico are synonymous. It hasn’t always been there. I mean, if you go back in history, there were years where they actually rented it in New York at a track called graves in like, way, way, way back in the day. But yeah, it was very nostalgic for me. Last year Nestor wandering around the old plant, knowing that when I left, was not going to see it anymore, because it’s now been knocked to the ground, and it was time. I’m glad that it knocked it down, and hopefully the new criminal be cool. I’m looking forward

Nestor Aparicio  02:48

to it well, sitting in a sports betting emporium and OTB over Costas with you on Friday. I was taken aback by how many people knew who you were, but the fact that you weren’t even looking up at like, who was running a Churchill on a Friday afternoon. You know, you were not focused on the races. You didn’t have a form, you didn’t have any of that. I wanted to ask you, because I’ve never asked you this, because we’re always, like, focused on the race, or I’m pissing on the magma people, or the chronic people, or how this thing could fall into such disrepair, and Donna brothers join me this week. Randy Moss is going to be on. So I’m doing some of my friends I can’t call Clem Florio right now and get his perspective on this, or Charlie lamb or rich Petro, or any of our our other friends, when’s the first time you went to the track, and where did you go? And what was the situation? I’m assuming it was in the 50s or 60s, right? I mean, your background and all of this. But I came into this in the 70s, where Seattle slew, affirmed Alad or spectacular bid, we can go through that and Secretary, I was five for Secretariat. I remember Seattle slew vividly. 76 776. On, I’m all in on every Triple Crown there’s ever been. I’ve been to 35 preaknesses, whatever, handful of derbies, couple of Belmonts as well. My dad didn’t bet my dad stood in soup lines in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1929 in the Depression, my dad was not horse racing centric at all. My dad didn’t know how to read a form, so my dad was baseball, basketball, boxing, like every other white guy from Scranton, Pennsylvania in the 19/20 century, late 1900s your Ali stories are like, my dad would love all of that. My dad hated Ali but like, like, the fights and all of that. But the horse racing thing was something that skipped my family as well as golf. My dad, no golf. And Dundalk, you know, no lacrosse. We don’t do lacrosse. I know that was in your neighborhood where you boys, lad, and then all of that horse racing for you. How did it come to you? Because I always want to ask that question. And I think also what I’m really looking. For you to do is wax poetic for be Uncle Dick Girardi to little nasty Nestor, and tell our audience what it used to be like and why you fell in love with and why you spent a lifetime in this.

Dick Jerardi  05:13

So my first experience Nestor was at Pimlico when my oldest brother took me. I don’t remember how old I was, and I only remember one thing about the day I sat in somebody’s seat in the grandstand that had a newspaper on it. I did not realize what that meant. That meant that that seat was saved. So I remember some older man coming up and like, yelling at me, and I’m like, I don’t know well for whatever I would have been at the time. And, you know, being like, oh, man, this is outrageous. I don’t remember anything more about the day. I don’t remember having gone back for years. I remember being in Ocean City in the summers and having some high school friends say, hey, look, we know who the winners of every race at Ocean downs are going to be. I said, wow, that’s interesting. You just meet this guy on the boardwalk and he tells you who’s gonna win. I said, All right, so you know, we did that a couple times. Of course, it was nonsense. And then when I went to college, at University of Maryland, College Park, I always tell people I majored in journalism and minored in poker. In reality, it was probably the opposite. I spent more time playing poker than I did going to class. But at some point, my poker friend said, You know what, you really got to go to the racetrack. And I remember going to like rosecraft, the old harness track on the Capital Beltway. And eventually I started to work my way toward the flat tracks. And I think my first Preakness, providentially enough, was 1973 I went with also my brother and his then new wife, and we sat in the infield. And again, some of my high school friends were there, and I bet 50 to win on Secretariat. And I was so I was so excited. I said, Look at this. I bet 50 to win. I really 50

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Nestor Aparicio  07:01

is a lot of money in 1973

Dick Jerardi  07:03

Yeah, and you know how much I won, $15 he was three to 10. He got back. I got back. $65 you know, I knew, I didn’t really know much of anything, but I was kind of intrigued. And little by little, I just got more interested. And I knew people, guys, I bet sports with that knew about the track and they would say this horse is going to win. I realized pretty quick all the information I was getting was nonsense. And then really what, what triggered it for me were two books, one picking winners by my mentor and great friend, Andrew buyer, and then betting thoroughbreds by Steve bettewitz, who used to work at the old turf and sport digest on. Well, I think they were around York Road and Cold Spring, way back, way, way back in the day, just two brilliant books by brilliant writers. And I said, You know what? I think I want to do this. I had a journalism degree, but I was, I was driving a Jimmy’s cab at the time, and and I went and did some research at the old Salima room in the Bowie library that buyer suggested to learn how to do speed figures. And little by little, I learned, and there I met, actually, at the library, doing the same research I was doing. Nestor was Ray Tannehill, who was starting forward for what was then Towson State College Division two basketball team. And Jerry McIntosh became a TRP agent at the track, and then an FBI agent, and they became great friends. And Ray and I gambled together for years, until he passed away in 2015 and anybody in Maryland that ever went to the track knew Ray. He was as good as it gets. And then over time, as I started going to the track every day, I would just, I would learn more and more and more about it again. Buyer was a mentor to me. I’ve met him in the press box.

Speaker 1  08:45

You were

Nestor Aparicio  08:46

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a baseball, football nerd as a kid. You weren’t

Dick Jerardi  08:48

100% Yeah, huge cold.

Nestor Aparicio  08:50

This was taking your love of the Colts and Orioles and putting it into a place where you could wager and analyze things. This is your intellect of trying to decipher information basically.

Dick Jerardi  09:04

And back then, Nestor, it was a lot simpler than it is now, because if you had a set of buyer speed figures, very few people believed in it or took the time or understood how to do it, and you would get prices on horses back then that you would never get today, because very few people either wanted to do the work, knew how to do the work, or understood what it was anyway. So back then, I was actually having full meets where I was getting back. Let’s say I would wager. I’ll put it out. Let’s have what I’d wager 1000 at the meet. I’d win 1000 so I was getting like 100% return on investment, which is insane, which never could happen today. I mean, it’s just the game is much too complicated. But because I was interested in the betting part of it, I started then read up on the history of the sport, learn more and more about it. And I said, Well, wait a second, I have this journalism degree. You know, at some point I probably need to get a real job. And fortunately, Mike Marlow, our good friend. Who I grew up with in Armagh village, just right next to Rogers Forge, was already working at the news American at that time, and I did a couple of I did a couple of freelance stories for them. And then, as you know, when the old sports first began in 1983

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Nestor Aparicio  10:16

83 to 84 last

Dick Jerardi  10:19

World Series, when I was hired as the racing handicapper, slash writer, I had no idea what I was doing. Summer

Nestor Aparicio  10:28

of 83 is when this would have been,

Dick Jerardi  10:29

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yeah, thankfully, rich Petro was at the news American, and he really helped me get through those early days, because I had no idea what I was doing at all. But yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  10:39

this is how you do it. You do it just like this, right? And

Dick Jerardi  10:44

he had all these he was a self taught computer wizard. He knew anyway, all that stuff worked before anybody even knew how to turn turn a laptop on. And yeah, so that’s kind of how I got into it. And just over time, it became a bigger and bigger part of my life, and the gambling part is what got me into it. And obviously the stories that were kept me into it. And now, you know, it’s some of each I write one story a week for a little website here in Philly on the one horse racing and I gamble, like you said, I didn’t even look at anything on Friday. I would say, out of the 365 days a year. I’m probably gambling on 20 or 30 of them. It’s mostly the big race days. Or if I have a race I saw and there’s a horse I’m interested in, I’ll put them in what we call our stable male at DRF. Then when the horse is running again, I’ll know about it, and then I’ll look and say, Is this a bet or not? But yeah, I There were, there were years where I went to the track every single day in Maryland and then in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and I knew everything about everything that I can’t do that anymore. Don’t have that don’t have that level of concentration, interest or time.

Nestor Aparicio  11:55

So what qualifies something for you to make a bet on it?

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Dick Jerardi  12:00

I need to be able to see the race like I saw the derby this year. Nestor perfectly. I knew what was going to happen. I knew when it was going to happen. I even kind of knew how it was going to happen. And I don’t know if people know this yet, it probably hasn’t gotten out much, but if you remember, I like the non bourbon, the Japanese horse. I understood where he would be in the race, and he was exactly where I thought he was going to be. I knew where he was going to make his move. And when I’m watching the race, I was convinced that not only was going to win, he was going to win by like five lengths, if you remember, he took the lead to stretch, opened up three legs, and then all sudden, he just gets passed by a maiden oselli. And I was expecting this to come out at some point. Well, it came out today. He fractured his knee in the race. That’s why he that’s why he got tired at the end. Obviously he was hurt, but he would have won easily, but that’s the nature of the game. You can do everything right and stuff can still go wrong. He was 12 to one. I just bought a car up here the Tuesday before the derby. Let’s put it this way. Much of the car was going to be paid off if the non turbine had won the race. But when I like something and the price is right, I now have the wherewithal to fire, and I will fire

Nestor Aparicio  13:10

12 to 112,

Dick Jerardi  13:12

to 112,

Nestor Aparicio  13:12

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to one, it makes you fire.

Dick Jerardi  13:14

Yeah. I mean, in a circumstance where I could see it, like the like that, we can get into it later, but like the Preakness Saturday, I don’t see, I can’t see that race at all. I have no feel for it. I don’t know who’s going to be where. I don’t I don’t know anything about it. So it’s not a race I’m going to be able to gamble on, because it’s just too for me. It’s just too difficult. And that’s the one thing I learned this years ago. If you don’t see it, there’s another race, there’s another day, there’s something out there, and they’re going to be times we just don’t like anything. And I’m really good at that. If I don’t like anything, I just don’t bet. But I need and when I when I see something and and I think I see an edge, then I might spend an hour, an hour and a half on a race, looking at everything, looking at tapes, looking at videos, trying to look, look back to see what’s the trainer trying to do? How is he trying to get ready for this race? What’s the circumstance? All that kind of stuff, and that’s just from doing it all these years. I mean, there are circumstances where I will see something that I feel fairly confident that 99.9% of the people looking at this won’t see it, because they haven’t been doing this for 40 years like I have. And that’s the edge you have if you don’t doing anything, whatever it is, for a long time, right? What does the old do it 10,000 times? Right? You get better at it. I’ve

Nestor Aparicio  14:29

been doing this for 35 years. If I said to Luke today, you have to host a show, he’d be like, what? It’s a different job. It’s like, somebody said to me, Hey, you could do sandusky’s job, doing play by play. I’m like, You underestimate Sandusky and overestimate me, because, like, you do color on basketball, I’m qualified to do color on the Ravens game, to be the third man, to be the Howard Cosell guy in there with me and Brandon Stokely or Femi ibadejo. But like, play by play calling a race the people at Pimlico. Had me come out about 15 years ago, try to call a race. Unbelievably, it’s just a different skill set, and that’s why I think your horse racing thing, by the way, Dick Girardi is here, man, myth, legend, Baltimore, and even though you think he’s from Philly, he ain’t. Do you want to tell your steward story and your first story in sports first you’re American or

Dick Jerardi  15:20

so, because it

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Nestor Aparicio  15:22

has to do with racism, and I think it’s a fascinating story for being a guy like you, who was just a yippie guy on the rail driving a cab, betting races, and you’re writing a story, and you find out that like real Hokey Pokey is going on at the track.

Dick Jerardi  15:38

So the very first start I did Nestor was in 1980 let me see if I got this year right. They changed the paramutual wagering at race tracks around the country. It used to be this is kind of miss. Is crazy. Now there are one, one the front side of the track is where you would bet, and then if you won, you would go around to the back. There were different people that sold the tickets and cashed the tickets. It’s kind of hard to believe now, right? Well, they came up with this new system called the ABC system, all betting and cashing, where you could bet and cash at the same window, and it’s obviously been that way ever since. So I actually wrote a story about it for the news American, because I had seen it that I was in Florida in the winter of 1979 and wrote a story about it. I don’t know either later that year, whatever and and whoever edited the story never bothered to call me and just ruined the story. They just, they just made the story into something that it wasn’t at all I mentioned in there that it might take out of action stupors. Stoopers are the people that look around for uncashed mutual tickets. They stoop and look on the ground to see if somebody dropped a winning ticket. Well, now it’d be less likely to happen because you go to the same place and the person whoever added this thing then change the whole story into about stupors, which wasn’t what I was writing about at all, and ruined the story. And I’m going, and I got 25 bucks, and I’m going do, I really want to do this? Well, the next, I believe, the very next story I did in 1980 there was a huge controversy at the Preakness, genuine risk. The great Philly had won the Derby, and then she comes to the Preakness, and she’s coming around the far turn, and Codex, trained by a virtual unknown named team Wayne Lucas, comes around the far turn with Angel Cordero, and kind of pushes her out a little bit, pushes genuine risk out a little bit. And then Codex runs away and wins by like, five legs, and there was a claim of foul, and there was no, no change, and they ended up appealing it to the Maryland racing commission. There was a big deal, and they ended up No, no change. And I said, Well, wait a second, why isn’t there a story about the Maryland stewards? You know? What is the deal with these people? What is it that they do? These are the people that after

Nestor Aparicio  18:04

this commission, what? Who are the humans? Right? Like,

Dick Jerardi  18:06

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right? Who are these people? What do they do? And I actually had, and I was gambling all the time. That’s all I was doing. Was gambling and driving at Jimmy’s cab.

Nestor Aparicio  18:15

So you want this to be on the up and up, as we always say with John Hart from the Maryland lottery, right?

Dick Jerardi  18:19

And I had a specific incident where they disqualified me out of that 3000 which was a lot of money back in that time, on just a horrible call with no explanation. It just all of a sudden your horse is out and you lose. So I said, Well, I said, I want to do something on this. Just the genuine risk thing was in the news, and I just could beat out a 3000 so I had a vested interest in it. So I went to who, I don’t even remember who the people were at the news American at the time, but Mike Marlowe was my conduit. I said, Hey, look, this is going to be an interesting story. And they said, Yeah, do it. So I did it, but I don’t think they were expecting me to do it the way I did it. And I talked to a bunch of people. I watched the stewards there’s supposedly, there’s a porch at Pamlico where the one of the stewards, or more comes out to watch the race, and then the others are watching it on TV. Well, I noticed over time, Nestor, nobody ever came out to watch the race. I’m going, well, that’s not exactly doing your job. So I had that in my notes, and then I went to talk to Fred Caldwell, who was the chief steward at the time, and he was an old school guy. I mean, he’d been around for 100 years, and I’m listening politely. And he at one point, he offers to me, he goes, You know what? Member Angel Cordero, won the won the pre newsland Codex. He’s from Puerto Rico. And he goes, at one point, he says, You know what, I don’t really like those Puerto Rican jockeys. And here I am, you know? I mean, I’ve written like one story in my life, but I’m going, you can’t, you’re not supposed to be saying that. That’s not good. So among the many things that I reported, when I basically said, hey, look, this thing is a fiasco. That’s not there’s nobody in charge of this. They just get to do whatever they want. There’s no accountability at all. And, oh, by the way, the chief steward says, I don’t really like this pub records. So that was the story. It created a huge amount of, God,

Nestor Aparicio  20:08

it did. 1980 times

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Dick Jerardi  20:11

nobody had ever written anything like that in the local papers. And it was like, whoa. Who is this kid? You know, what is he doing? And that was really the first significant story I ever wrote, and then that kind of parlayed that into the sports first thing, which, as you know, only lasted a year, but for me, it was awesome. I got to make all these mistakes. Nobody. I didn’t know what the hell was doing, but it gave me enough good clips that when a job opened the following year at the Philadelphia Daily News. I got hired. The rest is history.

Nestor Aparicio  20:42

Dick Girardi telling stories about Puerto Rico, any Venezuelans on the horses. By the way, I had Donna brothers on and you know, you’ve been to so many derbies, and I’ve been to several, but I think the NBC coverage is wonderful every year, like for a helicopter in for me, for doing what I do, knowing people like you and the Marty McGee’s and the Clem florios and the Randy mosses that come on this week, and for what the Preakness should be and the Triple Crown should be, and what NBC bets on it to be when they put the hockey games around it and all that stuff. Two weeks ago, I was going to go over to cost this and watch the race, and I didn’t, because I said to Jen, I’m like, let’s watch NBC coverage, because it’s really good. It sets up, you know, all the connections and the stories and what’s going to make me cry and like all of that, any old check the whole deal. So I sit and I watch it, and Donna brothers does her thing. And I know Donna, she comes on every year, every year, she gets me either to the point of choked up, a little wet or sobbing this year, it was sobbing with Ortiz that these jockeys and the people and the emotions of the right does any part of this resonate for you? Or is it just you gamble on it, you cover it? It’s horses. Does the majesty ever hit you? Of these creatures? 100%

Dick Jerardi  22:00

Oh yeah. No, that. Look, the two things I love about the game are the gambling, which is now number one for me, because I’m no longer writing about it regularly, and the stories. Look, I covered, as you know, college basketball for years, 25 Final Fours. Everybody always asks me, well, what’s your favorite sport to cover? It’s not even close. It’s horse racing, because there’s so many great stories, and the access is awesome. And Donna this will be her last gig for NBC, unless she’s doing the Breeders Cup, which maybe she is, I don’t know, but she’s coming to the end of the she was announcing this is going to be her last Derby, and she’s done a wonderful job for so many years. And you’re right about the cupboards. And Randy Moss is a good friend. He’s a part of the fire figure team, and has been for however long we’ve been doing it together. So yeah, NBC does do a great job. But yeah, oh, I love that. I love that stuff. I mean, how do you not love a story like Smartie Jones, right? I mean, it’s a can’t miss we’re a fleet Alex. Or then the Barbaro story, which was such a high in the derby 20 years ago now, we ran the best Derby I ever saw live. Now, I wasn’t there in 73 and then what happens to him in the Preakness in the subsequent months? Is he gonna Is he gonna survive or not? I mean, those, those stories and it, they resonated with readers, Nestor and you didn’t have to care about horse racing. People that had, you know, we’ve all had like, dogs or cats at home. So we can all relate to what happens when something happens to them. That was the Barbaro story. Everybody got it.

Nestor Aparicio  23:30

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Dick Girardi is here. He’s still covering horse racing better than anybody. Tell everybody what you’re on to right now, because I know you’re here to promote some stuff. I got to take care of Jimmy up in Philly, and I you know, this is still a big race to bet on for betters, right?

Dick Jerardi  23:44

No question, better online.ag. I do some shows, including yours around the country, for them to promote what they do. They the prop bets will be up shortly, but the odds lines already out there on the Preakness. And one of the many great things about the Preakness Nestor, regardless of no Derby winner and doesn’t have the pop that it would have. Some years, they’re going to bet over 100 million on the Preakness Day card. It’s one of the three or four biggest days in the country. Annually, Derby winner or no Derby winner, because it’s the second jewel of the Triple Crown. NBC devotes hours to their coverage, so people are naturally attracted to it. It’s a good time of year. There’s not going to be any there’s not gonna be any playoff games going on at the same time, they had the great lead in after the derby with game seven of the Sixers in the Celtics. So yeah, there will be tons of gambling. There’s some really good horses and parks coming down there on Saturday that I would recommend to people. We can get into that a minute. And of course, the Preakness itself, it’s, it’s a very intriguing race. I have no concept of who’s going to win, but, yeah, get the bet online.ag. It’s a phenomenal site for sports betting on the races. You could lock yourself into a price, and the props will be up there soon. And. Everybody loves prop bets, including me.

Nestor Aparicio  25:03

Well, what makes a prop bet feel nice for you? Give me, give me a little, give me a little betting advice for the people who don’t.

Dick Jerardi  25:09

Yeah, you’re looking for an edge. I mean, there was an edge two weeks ago in the derby. Nestor, I think if I didn’t mention on your show, I mentioned on a lot of shows, the over, under, on the time, was two, oh, 2.5 for the mile and a quarter. I recommended all week to go under, because the surface at Churchill was so fast all week, it was, I mean, you knew, unless something really disastrous happened, they had to go under two. Oh, 2.5 fascinating. It was the lowest fire figure in the history of the Kentucky Derby was only a 95 they ran really slow. It was really kind of a slow bunch. It was kind of an optical illusion. When you saw those horses closing more, it was the horses at front slowing down, but it was still under two. Oh, 2.5 that’s the kind of prop bet, if you’re paying attention to what’s going on, that you can cash.

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Nestor Aparicio  26:00

Dick Girardi is cashing tickets and doing things. So you mentioned that, like, the amount of money on all of this out at Costas, they’re building all of this stuff, and they’re in the middle of this construction zone, and Pete told me, like, it’s going to be mobbed out at the OTB, and because, and because of the hats and the fact that only 4800 people are going, my wife and I are going to the race on Saturday. So thanks to David Joseph and the Gulfstream people for helping us out with that. But I’m assuming I’ll get parking somewhere in Laurel, if not in Bowie. But I’m going to the race. I don’t it’s not going to feel like the Preakness. It’s going to feel like I went to Laurel on a crowded day. I mean, I guess, right,

Dick Jerardi  26:39

yeah. I mean, look, there’s no for the people that don’t know, that haven’t been to Laurel. There’s no infield, because there’s a lake, and it just doesn’t have the footprint that Pimlico has. It’s just not nearly big enough. So they’re limiting it to 4800 on Saturday. Yeah, I think there’s a couple of places that are sold out. There’s others that are not. I’m not exactly sure what the people

Nestor Aparicio  26:59

around town are having parties. You know what I mean? Like, there are people there, there’s boats sailing in the water trying to get people out to watch the race on a boat.

Dick Jerardi  27:07

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Yeah, and again, the whole sport has changed. Nestor. I mean, when I talked about I the first story ever wrote was about these new power, mutual betting system and tickets. Well, I haven’t had a ticket in my head in years. I bet on my phone or on my laptop. And 95% of all money in horse racing is bet somewhere other than the racetrack. So yeah, the parties, everybody will be there. They’ll have a phone, they have a they have an ADW, advanced deposit wagering place like Could be. Could be anywhere. Could be first racing has their Express bet and Churchill Downs has twins fires and

Nestor Aparicio  27:41

people go out to the OTB at Costas. And I see there, when you left, there were a bunch of guy like, 10 minutes after you left, there were 15 guys around the television to our left screaming at a Churchill race. Yeah. I mean, so people do like that vibe of going out and think, I mean, Costas is there to serve you and Timonium around here, but there’s a vibe all day, every day, of, oh, Costas is in here, but in the race tracks right there, and you’re at the track, there is a vibe about that for sure,

Dick Jerardi  28:12

for sure. Look, I love the convenience of being able to bet easily, obviously, on your phone. But what I miss, and what I’ve missed for a long time was when you first went to the track. I mean, I mentioned Ray Tannehill, Steve marzo, Jerry McIntosh, all guys that went to Townsend. And then Mari Wolfe was absolutely legendary, legendary gambler, Andy buyer. But I used to hang with these guys. Not Andy so much, but the others at the track every day, and a lot of my education was talking to them, you know, what did you see? Because everybody sees something a little differently, and then you incorporate that. I absolutely miss that. But, you know, we had, I’m telling you, Nestor, there were probably maybe a decade where none of us missed a race in Maryland, I mean, that we saw everything. And back then, to get to see it, you needed to be there, right? There was no replay shows. There was no calling up the replay on your laptop. Laptop, there was no Internet, none of that existed. It’s just so much more convenient. Now, if you’re willing to do the work, you can find stuff that you never could find before. But yeah, I really do miss that. I mean, even now, like Mari and I was still a very good friend, lives in Florida, part of the year in Northern Virginia, we’ll talk about those days and how much fun it was as we were all kind of learning how to play the game, understand the game, understand the sport, and you make mistakes, and we all made a ton of them. You think you’re young and you’re in your 20s, and you think you got all the answers, and then you find out you really don’t.

Nestor Aparicio  29:50

Dick Giardia is here. I’d have you break the race down, but it doesn’t even like I have. So enjoyed this, not as much as my lunch with you last week and watching you devour. That bowl of Maryland crab soup and those two crab cakes broiled, I knew you, you play like you could be from Dundalk. You got a little bit, you know, you got a little rough around your edges, a little bit, but then I see you order these broiled crab cakes, and I know you’re uptown. That’s when I’m Dundalk and you’re Towson. There’s no doubt. Yeah, you know,

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Dick Jerardi  30:17

kind of a sad commentary, but yeah, you’re right. I probably should have been from Dundalk you and I would have gotten along just

Nestor Aparicio  30:23

I went up there to Philly with you, and I ordered tomatoes and lettuce on my cheese stick, and you guys just almost threw me out. You almost put threw me across the river to Jersey for doing

Dick Jerardi  30:31

certain there are certain rules that just cannot be broken. No, no lettuce and tomato and cheese sticks that just that won’t do. That’s for hoagies, not cheese sticks, as they call them.

Nestor Aparicio  30:44

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You know, I’m a tourist in your town, but I’ll never be a tourist in this town here. Girardi is a legend. He’s here on behalf of it’s give them the web address against like, get everybody to the right place to bet.

Dick Jerardi  30:55

So bet online.ag, phenomenal website. Our buddy Jimmy Shapiro does a great job. We promote them around the country before the all these Triple Crown races. Again, they’ll be prop bets up there on the Preakness, sitting up there on the Preakness at the moment, and it’s just it’s a phenomenal site, bet online.ag. Go there. All your betting needs. You’ll get them all sign up at online dot aging.

Nestor Aparicio  31:21

I’m back in Philly on the 28th of May for triumph at Camden. So you’ll see me up there. Cheese steaks and Italian beef will be had, but never a tasty cake. He is Dick Gerardi. I am Nestor. It is Preakness week around here, and we are Baltimore positive. Stay with us.