Every horse racing enthusiast dreams of hitting that magical Pick 6. In some cases it can pay $1,000,000 and be a life changing event. Unfortunately, horses don’t run consistently, so picking six winners in a row is a real challenge.
So one of my best friends is Sean Gerson (www.gersonracing.com). When we sold our software company (SRD) to IBM, I called Christian trainer Mike Mitchell and told him I wanted to buy race horses. My only request? No crooks! Mike was kind enough to introduce me to Sean, and we have been best friends and horse racing partners for the last four years. Sean is, bar none, one of the best people I ever met. Never gets angry, always honest and ethical, and we share a passion for horses. A few years back, Sean recruits Peter Miller to train our horses, and we are literally off to the races. Last year we had a horse in the Breeders Cup (World Championship of Horse Racing). This year we have a Kentucky Derby candidate. Does not get much better than that!
Here is the one and only drawback of hanging out with Sean Gerson. He has a tendency to give out lousy horse picks, then at the end of the day exclaim, "hey, I hit the Pick 6!" How is that possible? You gave me five losers buddy! How can you possibly have the Pick 6? Sean has more stiffs than the Cryptkeeper. Passes out horses that break from the starting gate, run over to the turf course and stop to graze. How many times has he told me, "Miyadi (trainer) loves this horse", then the horse finishes up the track at 2-1?
Well, kharma has a strange way of catching up to you. This week Sean starts the Pick 6 with a 6-1 and 15-1 winners. That knocks most of the people out of the pool. By the way, that 15-1 winner was a first time starter from our trainer Peter Miller that neither of the brothers shared with me. Long story short, Sean has the first five in a row in the Pick 6. He has Peter Miller’s horse singled in the last race. If Peter’s horse wins, Sean’s ticket is worth $400,000. Peter’s horse breaks beautifully and challenges for the lead. Turning for home Peter’s horse takes a 3 length lead! Oh my gosh, Sean is going to hit a $400,000 ticket! In horse racing, you never ever yell out "you got it buddy" when your horse is way out in the front. It’s considered a major jinx. So Sean is maybe 100 yards away from $400,000, and I swear to you I did not yell out "you got it buddy." I was in too much shock that he was about to win $400,000. Hmmm…maybe he’ll share it with me.
With just a few jumps to the wire, and firmly in command, Sean’s horse tires and ends up out of the money. Sean ended up with the consolation (5 out of 6) of $41,000, which is still pretty darn good. And he is still the best handcapper I ever met. I did take the opportunity to send him an email stating, "this just in from God – that is what you get for stiffing Brother Wayman with all those losers!" Just kidding buddy!