Oh well

Got through the first leg of Aqueduct's Pick 6 with even-money favorite Explosive Count, but the good vibes didn't last long on a soggy Wednesday. When E. Judith finished third to 25-1 winner Credit At Tiffany's in a three-horse photo in the next race, the fantasy ended for my suggested ticket. Scratches had pared it down to $192, but I didn't bet real money because my top pick in the last leg got scratched. I could not in good conscience risk $192 in the hopes that I could guess right in the puzzling finale, a New York-bred mish-mosh of first-time starters and formless creatures.

Hit with another even-money horse, Gullible Gal, in the sixth and appeared to have the seventh locked up with front-running Untopable, but he got caught in the last jump by 7-1 shot Phil's Blue Way. I had seriously considered using Phil's Blue Way, who had won three times on off tracks, but I left him out after going back and forth for a few minutes. So it's just as well that E. Judith got beat, because I would have second-guessed myself mercilessly for not having the guts/smarts to stick with a $17.60 winner that would have kept me alive for the big money. I did play the $66 Phil's Blue Way-Untopable exacta, though, so I ended up a real winner even if I was a virtual loser, which is infinitely better than vice-versa.