Lightning Struck at Nine

9 Years old...no TV just the radio and one Night on KMPC I hear Joe Hernandez calling the races. I really did not know exactly what was going on but it grabbed my attention..So I went back every night and listened..I always read the Los Angeles Examiner Sports section and I finally put it together when reading the racing section.  I then had fun picking names and listening each evening..From memory after quite a while I was picking winners and then went on keeping a chart with my pick versus the handicappers in the paper..(  Ernie Mason was my guy to beat as I saw it )   and i did !!  I then got 54 marbles  and gave them names of racehorses...and in those days  we had carpet throw rugs in the living rooms  with borders all around...those borders where my racetrack  and my marbles where the horses..I push them around the rug  and call the races....After a while  I got my dad interested in the races  and we started attending  Hollywood  and Santa Anita  almost every saturday   8 0,000+  people  I remember those crowds...where I flourished after learning to read the racing form...I would sell tips on the races to people there for a nickel..Then one day an old mean lady said to me hey kid theres a policeman there go sell him your tip, he will buy one,  So I did,  but he did not buy.. The next Saturday  I was dowmstairs selling my picks when an officer came to me and took me to there headquarters there   got my dad's name and broadcasted over the loudspeakers there, for him to come to there office..when he arrived  they were cool just saying it was illegal for me to be doing that..  was not a big deal.  We understood..BUT, The sargent asked me.....  hey kid,  who do you like in the next race??  I gave him a paper  and he opened it  and there was the name  Cover Up and he won paid $9.60   I remember to this day..The next 10--12 years  I was a gambler  and did ok  graduating from a $2.00 bets into larger sums as I got older...Then as a young man  I entered into horse racing ownership  going by way of Caliente in Tijuana Mexico  where horses were cheap to claim and to have some fun.. I did well ... not great....   but did end up with a headline horse there  and a lot of knowledge....To this day  I feel I can go up against any handicapper on the main Southern Cal. Circuit..... I am now 75..And still going strong with something I love dearly...I seen a lot of races and a lot of horses thru the years.  Jockey's also I grew up with.. couple of things I remember was Swaps  carrying so much weight one afternoon and demolishing his field...Native Dancer wire to wire  but no more than 122#  he did not carry weight well,, And the Arched neck in the post parade of Citation...Onward  HO !!!!