Rainy day Racetrax wagering gave this this “Lucky Sgt.” a $15,252 prize. |
Superfecta bet gives Hagerstown man a $15,252 prize
A Hagerstown man who loves to attend the Kentucky Derby couldn’t do so this year, so he planned a trip to Charles Town Races in West Virginia to watch the race and place his bet.
Mother Nature had other ideas – and so did Lady Luck! Saturday’s rainy weather worsened and a heavy downpour hit just as the disabled U.S. Army veteran started driving. He steered through the storm to Shop N Save in Hagerstown, where he played the post number of Derby favorite Always Dreaming and added family birthdays to a Racetrax Superfecta bet that paid off to the tune of 15,252!
The married father typically plays Racetrax at the Washington County grocery store, but doesn’t wait to see if he won. He followed that routine on Derby Day, heading home after choosing the 4, 8, 5 and 6 horses on his 20-draw ticket.
“I checked it later and there it was,” he said of his biggest Racetrax win ever. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time!”
The Army sergeant took the winning ticket to his wife and said that he just stood there, silently and in shock. “She said, ‘What are you looking at me like that for?’ I said, ‘I’ve got some news’ and then I told her,” the happy man said. He plans to pay bills with the prize and use some of the money toward a trip that he and his wife are planning this summer.
Had the “Lucky Sgt.” (as he dubbed himself) bet on the Kentucky Derby using the same numbers he wagered on his Racetrax ticket, his bank account would be a lot emptier. Other than Always Dreaming (#5), the horses in the 4, 6 and 8 post positions finished 11th, 12th and 19th.
The retailer that sold the lucky ticket is a winner as well. The Shop N Save store at 18360 Collede Road in Hagerstown will receive a bonus of $152.52 – equal to 1 percent of the prize value.