JUSTICE IN THE FIRST

"The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that is the way to bet." Damon Runyon

Clair Evans looked at herself in the mirror critically as she finished putting on what little makeup she used for her meet-the-world regime. Her world had sucked big time the last year with the loss of her job managing a local coffee shop, THE BEAN & CREAM in Freehold, NJ due to Covid compounded by her fiance walking out creating a crisis with paying the rent. Her doctor brother at least helped and kept her from being evicted from her fifth-floor apartment and her dwindling savings took care of utilities and groceries. She had an interview at 10:00am for an office management job at Stanford and Myers Legal Service and fervently hoped it would work out as she brushed on a little blush. Finished, she stared at her reflection one last time and gave her short pixie hair cut a quick spray so nothing went wild in the humid spring weather.

On her way out, she grabbed her keys, shoulder bag and jacket and glanced at the front bay window to make sure Goose, her ginger cat, was still napping among the African violets. Then she was out her front door and headed for the elevator. On the hall carpet a yard from the elevator, she spotted a small black notebook not much bigger than her i-Phone. Curiosity made her pick it up and open it to the first page in hopes the owner might be identified.

All she found was a strange list in clear writing:

5/16/21 Monmouth

Justice in the first

Jelly Roll in the second

Yellow Snow in the third

Hoax in the forth

Missed Shot in the fifth

Cold Case in the sixth

Gunny in the seventh

Krisskross in the eighth

Power Surge in the ninth

Holy Ramen in the tenth

Plain Truth in the eleventh

She looked in the back of the notebook, and no address was found. All the other pages were blank. It was confusing except 5/16/21 was Saturday. She shrugged and dropped the little black notebook in her shoulder bag, hit the down button on the elevator and once in hit the button for the garage. There was little traffic on the way to her destination and she thought the interview went well. The only thing she did not like was the fact they would not be getting back to her for two weeks. She'd be on tenterhooks until then. On her drive back, she started to think about the little black notebook and the cryptic message inside.

The list of strange names followed by numbers did not jog her memory until she stopped to pick up her mail in her lobby mailbox along with the local newspaper. She accidentally dropped the paper and the sports section fell out with a story about a local horse in the Preakness. The list in the little black notebook was a list of horses to bet on and the races were at Monmouth Park Racetrack. On the elevator she took the notebook out again just to check. As soon as she stepped into her apartment after dropping the paper with her mail and her shoulder bag on the couch, she sat down with the notebook and sports section racing page to check the Saturday races. The names of the horses jumped out at her.

Then the thought struck. Monmouth Park Racetrack was not far away in Oceanport. Though no expert or follower of the sport, she'd take a little money out of the bank and spend a day at the races betting on the listed horses starting small with the first race and see where it went. There had to be some reason the little black notebook fell into her hands.

Saturday dawned warm and sunny. It would be a perfect day to spend at the track. Claire stopped at her bank ATM and withdrew two hundred dollars. It was all she could afford to lose. After having stayed up last night on her laptop researching the horses that were running the best she could, she planned on finishing the job with the listings in the race program. To make sure the picks in the little black notebook were right, her first bet would be conservative on Justice in the first race. If he won, she would adjust what she put down on the next race. From what she deduced from the notebook and reading on line about betting, all bets were to be for the win.

She arrived at Monmouth Park Racetrack at 11:00am and had an early lunch at the William Hill Sports Bar on the first level of the grandstand taking her time with her meal of a Caesar salad, Finish Line cheesesteak, double chocolate brownie and root beer. While she ate, she checked the track's app Brad's Picks on her i-Phone recommended by her waitress. The big surprise was only four matched the list in the little black notebook. One was Justice. It put some doubt in her mind, but she was still game to go with her plan.

Right after lunch, she went to the wagering area to bet $50.00 on Justice to win in the first race. The tote board listed him as a 20-1.

When the young man behind the counter gave her a strange look, she smiled coyly and said, "I'm new at this and not into all the fancy side bets like win, place, show or trifectas."

"Well, Brad's Picks seems to like him and if he comes in at 20-1, you'll make yourself a nice chunk of change," he returned with a smile.

From there, she walked to the outside seating area to enjoy the spring day people watching. She quickly found all types of people wandering about the grandstand and adjacent picnic area from young families to a few local businesses treating their employees to a day at the races to dedicated handicappers with their noses in racing forms or eyes glued to their i-Pads checking and rechecking statistics. It was a whole new world for her with its own special charm.

Finally, it was time for the first race. She picked a good spot and watched the post parade. Justice had number 3 on his saddle blanket. He was a big dark bay with a white blaze and up against ten other horses. All of them were beautiful to her as she watched them loaded into the starting gate. Seconds after the last gate was closed, the bell rang and they were off. Justice trailed at the end of the pack and she was beginning to doubt her wisdom of coming to the track. Then at the top of the stretch, he took off as if fired from a cannon and crossed the finish line a full length ahead of the leaders. Clair was ecstatic as she went down to claim her winnings.

She went back to wager again at the same counter and put a hundred down on Jelly Roll to win in the second race. He came through and she took it as a sign to stop betting conservatively and go as wild as she dared. The rest of her day only got better to the point it was like a dream. By the time the last race of the day ended, Claire had winnings of $20,000 and had the track make it out as a check. Her winning streak was so great, she was interviewed on the spot by a local TV station and two newspapers the track called in. It was great advertising for them.

"How did you do it when there are racing experts who study every statistic and are lucky to break even most days?" one reporter asked as a few curious onlookers gathered around.

Clair had a bad feeling she should not mention a word about the little black notebook in her shoulder bag so she fudged. "Well, like I said, I'm new to this. I like horses and all, but I don't study racing forms religiously. I just go by names. I know it is stupid, but I get this feeling about certain names."

"Beginner's luck," said someone in the crowd.

When Claire left the grand stand area for the track parking lot, she felt as if she was walking on sunshine though it was closer to dark. As she drove home, she made plans to put the check in the bank first thing Monday, pay back her brother for the money she borrowed for rent and the rest she could live on until she got a new job. She parked in the apartment parking garage and went directly to her apartment making sure her door was locked behind her. She sat her shoulder bag on the dining table and it fell over dumping the little black notebook onto the floor. She picked it up accidentally placing her thumb on the second page in. A glance at the writing on that page when there had been none before made her pause and open it.

She stared in open-mouthed disbelief at a page with the listing for next Saturday's winners at Monmouth Park Racetrack.