Racetrack patrons get advice tor season
The racetrack.
Churchill Downs, Pimlico and
Belmont. The three legs of the Triple
Crown.
When you hear those names, they
don’tmakeyou think of dumpy tracks
like State Fair Park or Fonner Park.
Unlike the tracks found in Lincoln
and Grand Island, Kentucky’s
Churchill Downs and its counterparts
are the best horse racing tracks around.
But thanks to simulcasting — a
process which allows racing patrons
to bet via a closed-circuit television
monitor - the quality of tracks like
State Fair Park and Fonner Park has
improved. And now that the State
Fair Park is open five days a week and
simulcasting races from Fonner, it
won’t be long before the Kentucky
Derby will be upon us.
There are many betting fans, but
the true ones will go to such extremes
as taking a day off work, getting up
early in the morning and reading the
Daily Racing Form. All this trouble
just to see and bet on a bunch of
horses that run the risk of being turned
into glue or dog food if they don’t
start winning.
The process of preparation proves
to be a tedious task, as the Daily
Racing Form requires intense scru
tiny. Patrons must scan the daily
newspaper to Find out what day a
►horse ran, its history, the kind of
competition it ran against and just
about everything else you need to
know.
Needless to say, the form has a
language all its own. You can read it
many different ways and still find
some other way to calculate the horses
and their track times.
The Daily Double, exacta and
quiniela wagering are just a few ways
to bet on the horses, and just a few
ways to lose your money.
When you go to the track there are
some strange things you must be aware
of. There is not a pay phone anywhere
in sight, because the track doesn’t
want a true gambler to call his or her
bookie and make an off-track bet.
In other words, the track wants all
the “action.”
When you place a bet you must do
it in a curtain order or you’ll look like
a novice. You tell the cashier the
amount of money, then how the horse
will finish (win, place or show) and
then -- and only then - the horse or
horses you want to bet on.
There is a certain bond that occurs
with the other gamblers at the track,
as losing money spurs friendship.
There is a sad side to the track, as
many people do have a problem with
gambling. One track employee even
said there is a 10 percent to 15 percent
increase in revenue on days welfare
check come out.
Larry King, the late night talk show
host, had a love affair with the track
back in the late 1970s, and he was
quoted as saying that he lived for the
racetrack. He would spend every last
dollar he had at Belmont in New
York.
But soon after that, he declared
bankruptcy.,
In the early eighties he landed on
his feet, caught a break and, accord
ing to King himself, now has more
money than he could ever spend.
But he has no desire to go to the
track anymore. He said the thrill of
winn in e money has gone and he could
care less about the horses.
If you are not crazy and don’t get
completely hooked on the racetrack,
the horses could be a good time to
share with friends and family.
But don’t let yourself get caught
up in the thrill of racing. Don’t ler
yourself spend hours reading the Daily
Racing Form or skip work to endure
the emotional rollercoaster of the races.
That’s all the advice I can give
right now. After all, it’s post time.
Milhaven is a senior history major and a
Daily Nebraskan sports writer and colum
nist.
Quinn confident about returning
to courts after one-year absence
By Paul Domeier
Senior Reporter
Reluming to Big Eight women’s
tennis competition after a one-year
absence doesn’t make Meghan Quinn
weak in the knees.
That’s good, since the Comhusker
junior has had knee surgery seven
limes (four on one knee, three on the
other) in addition to a broken foot and
foot surgery.
Quinn’s last knee operation kept
her from playing during the 1989 Big
Eight season and during the summer.
But she will be back in action when
she joins her teammates and opens
the 1990 conference slate with duals
at Kansas State on Saturday, at Kan
sas on Sunday and at Missouri on
Monday.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve
played a Big Eight match,” she said.
But Quinn said she is confident for
herself and for her teammates.
“I’m playing probably the best
tennis I’ve ever played,” she said.
“I’m optimistic about myself, but
I’m really optimistic about the team.
We have so much potential.”
Quinn said she is injury-free now,
and she is playing better partly be
cause her past trouble comes to mind
only when she looks at the scars or the
knee brace.
“That’s the thing -- that I don’t
think about it,” she said.
Two years ago, fighting two inju
ries, Quinn finished fifth in the Big
Eight at No. 5 singles. Back then she
went for winners, she said. After the
latest round of surgery and rehabilita
tion, she has turned to quantity to get
quality, out-waiting opponents in
marathon matches.
“Thai’s my weapon -- my pa
tience,” she said. “I can out-rally
anybody staying on the baseline.”
When the Huskers have five- or
six-hour duals, it usually is because
of Quinn’s three-hour singles matches.
Coming back from all those inju
ries look that same patience.
“Well, if you look at it, I haven’t
played a lot of matches since my
freshman year in high school,” she
said. “I had to put in extra time (this
year), just because everyone had an
advantage over me.”
As late as last semester, she had to
take a three-week break from tennis
to rest the knee. Quinn said her per
sonality has contributed to her come
back.
‘‘If you’re spontaneous, aggres
sive, outside the court, then that’s the
way you are on the court,” she said.
‘‘I like to take things slowly outside
in everyday life, and that carries onto
the court.”
So she sat on the side for the 1989
Big Eight matches, traveling only to
the conference tournament, where,
she said, she thought about this year.
‘‘I had lime to think what I had to
do to be a better player,” she said. ‘‘I
watched the fourth position, fifth
position, sixth position; I watched the
people that were winning matches.
“The one that could hit 10 shots
over was the one that would win.”
So patience, along with her heavy
top-spin shots became the new style.
“I’m excited to let people know I
didn’t quit the team,” she said.
Smith
Continued from Page 7
ball player, kids look up to you,”
Smith said. “Every kid wants to play
in the big leagues.”
Smith, a New Orleans native, said
BAD has taken on a personal signifi
cance for him.
“When I went back to New Or
leans last year, a lot of friends of mine
had died or really messed up my life
because of drugs,” Smith said. “It
really hurt to see that.”
BAD is in a growing stage, Smith
said, and more professional athletes
Thoughts
Continued from Page 6
when Kansas swept Nebraska in a
doubleheader in Lincoln, which ru
ined the Huskcrs’ chances of winning
the conference and going into the Big
Eight tournament as the top seed.
Nebraska went into those final con
ference games against Kansas lead
ing the Big Eight with a 7-1 record.
Wolforth said he expects the Jay
hawks’ altitude against Nebraska to
be much like last year.
“Kansas will play us real tough,”
he said. “They’ll be intense and they’ll
•-1 -•—n
are being recruited to join the organi
zation. He said the organization would
like to include athletes from other
professional sports.
“We’re just in a starting stage
now, and it could be a long process,”
Smith said.
Along with the basketball game on
Saturday, a halftime slam dunk con
test will be held.
Smith said he’s looking forward to
playing against his former teammates.
The Husker seniors will be led by Ken
Clark, Richard Bell, Morgan Gregory
and Gerry Gdowski.
“I think it’s going tp be a great
experience,” Smith said. “I played
be aggressive. We’ll have to play
really, really well to beat them.”
Jill Rishcl, a senior right fielder
and team co-eapiain, echoed her
coaches remarks.
“It’s going to be very intense,”
she said. “Nebraska and Kansas is
always a real battle.
“Kansas always has been able to
gel up for Nebraska as much as any
body else. Hopefully the players, like
those who arc sophomores now, picked
that up from last year.”
Those players need to learn that
Oklahoma State is not the only team
in the Big Eight, she said. The confer
ence has become much more com
with a lotof these guys, so it’ll be fun
to play against them for once.”
Smith, at6-foot-6and 265 pounds,
said he doesn’t plan to shy away from
the notion of playing a run-and-gun
game. In fact, he said he is looking
forward to it because it will bring
back memories of his prep career at
New Orleans Shaw High School.
Smith said he earned second-team
prep All-America honors in basket
ball following his senior season, but
no official records of such an accom
plishment can be found.
“I don’t want to brag, but I used to
be fairly good,” Smith said. “But I’ll
be the first one to admit I’m a little
rusty.”
pctitive, she said.
“Everyone talks about Oklahoma
Stale as far as the Big Eight," she
said. “Now you can’t pick out one
team that you want to beat.
"I’m not sure if that’s what hap
pened to us last year . . . that we
overlooked Kansas, but what has to
happen this year is we have to go
down there and be very, very serious
about the game.”
Wolforth said this doublchcadcr,
like last year’s, could determine how
the six conference teams will finish.
“It’s hard to tell how big it is right
now,” he said, “but if we get swept
or we sweep them it could be a huge
factor on down the line.”
imJttlfib—-——__
Four players named weightlifter-of-the-year finalists
Nebraska strength and condi
tioning coach Boyd Eplcy an
nounced that four football players
have been chosen as finalists for
this year’s weightlifter-of-the-year
award.
The finalists include defensive
tackle Joe Sims, strong safety Cur
tis Cotton, defensive tackle Kenny
Walker and linebacker Andrew
Zacharias. The winner will be
chosen after Saturday’s scrimmage.
Colton is favored to win the
award, as he set records for every
category of the performance and
strength index. The sophomore from
Omaha also has a 41-inch vertical
jump.
Walker is expected to give Cotton
some close competition, as he holds
position runs for the pro agility run
and the vertical jump. He is also a
pass-rushing specialist who is being
penciled in as a starter next season.
•
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Zacharias is a walk-on who holds
position records in the pro agility
run, performance index and verti
cal jump. He started at linebacker
on the Nebraska junior varsity two
years ago.
Sims is a junior from Sudbury
Mass., who gained 10 pounds of
,asl ^on. He spent
the 1989 90 campaign as a part
time starter.
I
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