Long-shot horses favored by seasoned enthusiast
A Maryland Lottery Racetrax player from Hagerstown who plays the long-odds horses picked up a $30,946 win while playing pool in Dundalk.
“I played 10, 11, and 12. Those are the ones with the best payouts!” proclaimed the billiards enthusiast after claiming his prize Feb. 7 at Maryland Lottery headquarters.
Only days earlier, the anonymous winner was playing pool with a group of friends at The New Green Room Billiards hall at 2401 North Point Boulevard in Dundalk. He put down $1 for two Racetrax games, placing a Trifecta Box bet. He then promptly forgot about his $12 ticket until the ride home.
Racetrax simulates the experience of betting on thoroughbred horses, only with animated ponies. Horses are numbered 1 through 12 with 1 having the best odds of winning, but the lowest payoff, progressing through 12, which has the longest odds but the best payout.
Sitting in the back seat for the trip back to Hagerstown, the Washington County resident remembered the ticket and pulled it out to check for a win. He used the MD Lottery app on his phone to look up the recent race results, checked his numbers and saw that his three horses finished in the first three spots.
“I thought, ‘Hello darling, I’ve got those three boxed,’” he recounted. The player then scanned the ticket with the app and, sure enough, the phone flashed back the winning amount of $30,946.
“I had a great time winning,” he said after completing the claims process at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. He added that the money “will definitely come in handy.” He plans to make a down payment on a car, settle some bills and take a trip with his wife, probably to somewhere warm.
The 62-year-old enjoys playing scratch-offs as well as Racetrax and will continue to buy tickets in hopes of winning again. “You never know when Mr. Luck is going to strike,” he said.
Also in good with Mr. Luck is The New Green Room Billiards, which picks up a bonus of $309.46 from the Lottery for selling a winning Racetrax ticket worth $10,000 or more.