THE ENABLER
- Share via
The Enabler has always romanticized “betting on the ponies.” It implies a hard-drinking, fast and desperate lifestyle that likely terminates on the wrong end of a snub-nose revolver. Less Tobey Maguire in “Seabiscuit,” more Sterling Hayden in “The Killing.” Upon receiving an invitation for free admission to the Santa Anita Park, the Enabler got there as quick as a spooked filly on Sunday.
We arrived in our most rumpled argyle finery, taking in the old blue-green walls of the clubhouse, the concrete floor strewn with betting tickets and the hardened assortment of working-class stiffs. The oval-shaped ground-floor bar stunk of stale smoke and the regulars looked sallow in the midday light. When we ordered a mint julep the bartender just laughed. Two weak gin-and-tonics later, we looked for a chain-smoking bookie in a green visor to place our bet with. When we found him (sans cigarettes and visor) we placed $3 on horse No. 4 to win.
And despite a history of fiendishly awful luck, as we cheered beneath the mighty shadow of the 1934 clubhouse, our pony won. We sprinted to collect our millions and received . . . $6. Didn’t even cover the gin.
Like Bogart inside Rick’s Cafe, we boozily mooned over a lost ideal. Even though we won.
285 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia. (626) 574-7223
--
Sign up for The Wild
We’ll help you find the best places to hike, bike and run, as well as the perfect silent spots for meditation and yoga.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
