Big Hits: Making the most out of a canceled Derby trip

Like most people, Karl Snyder's plans for 2020 did not happen as he imagined at the start of the year. His wife, Tonia — Tata, as her friends affectionally call her — had bought him the ultimate gift for a racing fan over a slew of last year's holidays: tickets to the 2020 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

Snyder enjoys watching horse racing but was not much of an analyst. He calls his wagering strategy the “this one has a cool name” method. He wanted to get the most fulfillment out of his wonderful gift, so he began to learn how to handicap.

"Since this was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I started to get serious about learning about the horses, trainers, jockeys and past performances," Snyder said.

[RELATED – Big Hits: Trip to Ireland paid big dividends for a Kentucky man]

Synder and Tonia live in Central California, about 90 miles east of Golden Gate Fields. They took a trip to the Bay Area track early in the year as a practice run for their upcoming journey to Kentucky on the first Saturday in May.

Following a fun day at the track, they felt prepared and excited for the Triple Crown.

The coronavirus had other plans.

Even in the midst of COVID, Snyder and Tonia did not fret when the Kentucky Derby was rescheduled until September. 

"Since the Kentucky Derby was moved to Labor Day, which happened to be my birthday weekend, we rescheduled for September," Snyder said.

As each month passed, they came to the unfortunate realization that their dream of attending each leg of the Triple Crown would not be possible this year.

Not only was the Kentucky Derby not allowing fans, but the Belmont and Preakness were not as well.  

Instead of letting it bring them down, Snyder and Tonia quickly rerouted to a fun plan B.

"When it was announced that they would run without spectators, we decided to change our airfare from Louisville to New Orleans," Snyder recalls.

Snyder thought the next best thing to being in Louisville would be to watch the Kentucky Derby from a sportsbook in New Orleans.

"I called the casino and inquired about a sportsbook, Snyder said. "I was told they did have one. "

Finally, a plan was set in motion that looked promising. Once arriving, Snyder and Tonia decided to start the weekend by getting all dressed up as though they were at Churchill Downs to watch the Kentucky Oaks.

"Friday night, my wife and I and another couple showed up in our big hats and bow ties to catch the Kentucky Oaks, only to find out that there was in fact no sportsbook," Snyder recalls.

Dressed to the nines, they had to resort to watching the Oaks at a local brewery.

After striking out on their plans all year, Snyder decided to simplify things for Derby Day.

"We decided to order in from a fabulous restaurant in the French Quarter and just hang out in the penthouse we had rented and watch the Derby there."

Settled into this environment, Snyder could focus on handicapping the main event.

Even the most experienced bettors can be challenged by the large puzzle that is the Derby, so it was intimidating for a man still learning the ropes.

"Now, I had been watching these horses since the fall of 2019," Snyder said. "I had studied everything I could get my hands on, and still I felt like I knew nothing."

He thought the favorites looked tough and tried to find value around them. He settled on a few bets, including a 10-cent Superfecta. 

Just when everything seemed to be falling into place, Snyder reached another roadblock.

"As we were waiting on our food, I turned on the TV to find out that I could not change the channel, Snyder recalls. "I was freaking out. All I wanted to do for the last year was to watch the Kentucky Derby, now I could not even get the television to cooperate."

He reprogrammed the remote, and finally it worked in time to catch the Derby.

"It wasn’t the first turn at Churchill Downs, but it was still great," Snyder said.

What made things greater was when Snyder realized he had hit the Superfecta. 

"I had Authentic, Tiz the Law and Honor A. P. as my three, but I played a strategy I had read and used them with the rest of the field for my Superfecta."

Snyder and Tonia knew they were winners, but did not think a wager in a 10-cent increment would pay much.

"I kept checking my phone, but it wasn’t showing the bets as completed," Snyder said. "Finally, I just checked my balance on my account and I was shocked. My account was almost $800 higher than when I started."

The 10-cent Superfecta had returned $793.18.

"It’s not life-changing, but it was great. All of my studying paid off," Snyder said. "Mr. Big News really paid off for me."

Nothing seemed to go right for Snyder and Tonia leading up to the Derby, but they made the most out of the cards they were dealt like so many people have had to do in 2020.

"Despite what an insane year 2020 has been, all was not lost," Snyder said. "I had a fantastic time with my wonderful wife in The Big Easy, and I have a great Kentucky Derby memory."

Snyder hopes to add to his Derby stories next year. The status of fans attending remains up in the air, but Snyder and his wife will be there if allowed. They rolled their tickets over for the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby.