Advice from a friend, other Racetrax players delivers big win
A Silver Spring resident who has been a regular Mega Millions player in the past may be trying his hand at Racetrax a little more often after the computer-animated horse racing simulation game delivered a $51,422 prize on Sept. 4.
The married father of three, who works as a retail sales manager, was telling a friend that he hadn’t had many wins playing Mega Millions, and his friend encouraged him to give Racetrax a try. The two of them and a few other Racetrax fans were watching the races on the monitor at Hillandale Beer & Wine in Silver Spring, and the Racetrax novice began to get the hang of the game.
“I talked to my friend and some of the other people, and they told me about playing the high numbers,” the lucky winner said. The horses in the game are numbered 1 through 12, and when the higher-numbered horses finish among the top four, the payouts are larger.
He played a number of tickets and said he had won about $200 before deciding to replay one of his tickets — a 50-cent Superfecta Box ticket for one race. He picked the 1, 10, 11 and 12 horses to finish in the top four in any order. When the order of finish in that race was 11, 12, 1 and 10, he knew he was a big winner.
“I said ‘Oh!’ and then I stopped myself,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t want to say too much right there. I checked the ticket in the store and then I left and I checked it again. And again. I probably checked it about 20 more times.”
Asked when he finally began to believe that his big win was real, he replied, “When I got here to claim it.” The Montgomery County resident added that he kept the winning ticket tucked in his wallet and kept his wallet with him at all times until he was able to visit Lottery headquarters on Sept. 13 to claim his prize.
The winner said he will use the prize for various sports and other activities that his children are involved with, and added that his wife has hinted at the idea of doing some home renovations.
Hillandale Beer & Wine is celebrating, also. For selling a winning Racetrax ticket worth $10,000 or more, the retailer, located at 10117 New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring, will receive a bonus equal to 1% of the prize — a total of $514.22.
