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RIP Derby Lane

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Jake from State Farm, Dec 25, 2020.

  1. Jake from State Farm

    Jake from State Farm Well-Known Member

    maumann likes this.
  2. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    As the son of a degenerate gambler who blew much of our college money on the "dugs", as he called them, whenever we were in Florida, I had to visit Derby Lane, with Huggy Jr., when we were in St. Pete's a couple years ago. It was a sparsely attended matinee but watching the crew that was there was always entertaining. And when I went to get a beer the bartender told me to "come back in 10 minutes, that's when happy hour starts". That's damn good customer service.

    RIP to the dug track
     
    maumann and Jake from State Farm like this.
  3. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    "He always breaks late."
     
    Driftwood and Gutter like this.
  4. Gutter

    Gutter Well-Known Member

    “You here to give me a physical?”

    One of many great scenes in that movie.
     
    HanSenSE likes this.
  5. maumann

    maumann Well-Known Member

    The last of the Florida greyhound tracks. We drove by the one in Sarasota last winter and was surprised to see how forlorn and delapidated it already looked. I've been to Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Palm Beach Kennel Club, Hollywood, Flagler and Biscayne at some point in time.

    Like jai alai, one of the things that made Florida a unique place for gamblers back in the halcyon days before Texas Hold 'Em and Satellite betting.
     
    Last edited: Dec 25, 2020
  6. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    Some great names there, I went to Hollywood one night and the old man used to go to Flagler and Biscayne.
     
    maumann likes this.
  7. Jake from State Farm

    Jake from State Farm Well-Known Member

    The problem with the dogs is you couldn’t make any $$$ since 8-1 is considered a long shot and you get screwed if your dog gets bumped at the start
    Payouts were better in jai alai, especially if you knew which players were taking dives that night
     
    playthrough likes this.
  8. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    I found the only way to make money on the dugs was betting quinellas. The old man used to go to jai alai even though he was convinced that just like harness racing it was totally rigged. I asked him why he bet shit like that if it was rigged he said, "Who cares if it's fucking fixed???? There has to be a winner!!!!!!"
     
    maumann likes this.
  9. ChrisLong

    ChrisLong Well-Known Member

    That's where I met Pete Rose during our one overnight trip in spring training from Vero Beach. It supposedly had the best food in the area and I couldn't argue that. Excellent.
    I bet on a dog that fell down. I had never before seen a dog fall down. At least it didn't stop to take a shit.
     
  10. LanceyHoward

    LanceyHoward Well-Known Member

    How much longer do the Florida horse racing tracks have before they close?
     
    maumann likes this.
  11. HappyCurmudgeon

    HappyCurmudgeon Well-Known Member

    I live slightly farther than walking distance to Derby Lane. There were decent crowds this year before CoVID and it was nice to see people coming out to place bets on the Triple Crown races, but I don't see simulcast, poker and a decemt Sunday brunch keeping that big building open. Either it'll eventually be the Rays new home or an outlet mall.

    This is why Florida can be the shits. There's opposition to dog racing, which I get, but also they don't want sports betting, because God forbid this state can't use such revenue that's going to the states that allow sports gaming. Derby Lane would be perfect for a sports book and they could expand their poker room, etc.
     
    maumann likes this.
  12. LanceyHoward

    LanceyHoward Well-Known Member

    Florida is a weird state. They refuse to fully legalize casinos because Disney argues doing so would detract from the states family tourist destination image.

    One proponent of casino gambling asked why the numerous strip clubs in Florida had not detracted from the state's family friendly image.
     
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