My mother was related to Shoemaker some how. She never bet on anything but took me to Arlington Park in Chicago twice just for fun when I was a kid. The first time she picked the daily double winners but never placed a bet. The second time she placed on $2 bet and won again. Amateurs luck I guess The few times that I have been to the track it always amazed me that there was always one race where the long shot came in first place. I figured that some of the races had to be fixed.