Gambling at the Derby

Here we go…

Back in the paddock, I stood beside Jacky, preparing to mount him.

“Jacky likes apples.” He neighed, trying to nudge the pocket of my hoodie, which I had hidden the apples in.

“Not yet, you can have some during the race.” I reprimanded him, pushing his mouth away from me.

“T-triple Cherry, are you over here?” Mole Pat timidly called out to his horse, which was directly beside him. He was wearing an all white jacket and pair of breeches, along with an oversized matching helmet.

I was a bit surprised that he was Dieanne and Betssi's jockey. Considering he was pretty much blind, I wasn't sure how he managed to even find his horse, let alone race around a track. Admittedly though, I knew nearly nothing about this sport. Back in Vegas, I blindly put down two thousand bucks on one of these races at one of those digital kiosks in a casino… Long story short, the horse I bet on ended up taking last place.

The sound of a bugle abruptly cut through the air. “Riders up!” An announcer with a distinctive radio voice instructed over the intercom.

Since Jacky was a pony, his torso was close to the ground, making him fairly easy to climb on. I did however feel a bit ridiculous on top of him, since he was quite stubby compared to all the other normal sized horses we were competing against. In total, there were nineteen other jockeys participating in the race, all of which looked experienced.

After everyone was mounted on their horses, they began to trot out of the paddock.

Mole Pat, who was still searching for his horse, sniffed the air then turned ninety degrees to his right. “There you are.” He let out a sigh of relief, as he scaled up the side of his horse. Once he made it to the saddle, the horse knew on its own to head toward the start gate.

I looked down at Jacky. “Come on, we have to get out there.”

“Jacky likes apples.” He remained still, staring off into space.

I shook my head. “Fine.” Pulling an apple from my pocket, I waved it in front of his face.

“Jacky likes apples!” Immediately at the sight of it, he began bucking around on his hind legs.

“Are you trying to kill me!?” Hanging on for dear life with my right arm and the apple in my left, I held it out in front of him in the direction I needed him to go.

“Jacky likes apples!” He excitedly flailed around, making his way through the paddock's exit.

“And last out is a set of rookies fresh to the sport; Jackpot and his jockey, Lucky!” The announcer introduced us as we entered into a roaring stadium full of derby fans.

With the apple still in hand, I managed to guide Jacky into his gate.

“Jacky likes apples!” He exclaimed, as I finally let him have the apple to get him to stay in place.

Up in the front row of the stands, just in front of the finish line, I was able to make out Rollnaldo and Eight. Rollnaldo had a tense look on his face. I was fairly certain I could read the words, “You better not pip this up.” coming from his lips.

Just above them, sitting in a private spectators box were Dieanne and Betssi. Dieanne glared down toward Rollnaldo with a look of disgust.

As all the horses and jockeys waited behind their gates, a roulette ball man wearing an orange reflective vest started down the line inspecting each horse one by one. As he approached our gate, Jacky suddenly turned toward him.

“Jacky likes apples.” Smacking his lips together, he grabbed onto the roulette ball guy with his mouth and began to suck on the top of his head.

With an irritated look on his face, the rouletted ball guy pulled out a small yellow flag and used the plastic rod it was attached to to pry his head out of Jacky’s mouth. “Get your mount under control or you’re disqualified!”

I let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry about that… he gets round things confused with apples sometimes.”

Next the roulette ball approached Mole Pat and his mount. “You know you're facing the wrong way, right?”

Sitting on his horse backwards, Mole Pat got an embarrassed look on his face. “Shoot, not again.” Spinning himself around on the saddle, he faced the correct direction.

After the starter finished his inspection of all the participants, he made his way over to a platform beside the starting gate. Beside him was a large red button, which he hovered his hand over. The crowd went silent.

“Jacky likes apples.” Jacky rang out, slightly ruining the anticipation that was in the air.

I noticed Rollnaldo give me a subtle nod from the stands, while Dieanne shot Jacky and I a glare, as she poured a bottle of expensive champagne in a glass.

My left hand was in my pocket, grasping an apple, while my right hand clenched onto Jacky’s reigns. “I guess it's all or nothing.” I murmured under my breath.

Finally ending everyone in the stadium’s built up suspense, the starter pressed his button… With a loud buzz, the gates flung open and all the participating horses charged forward with everything they had… with the exception of Jacky who was just staring at the apple I held in front of his face.

“Stupid horse, what the heck is wrong with you!?” I shouted at him and whipped the apple in my hand down the track in frustration. “Of all times, you choose now to not want-!” I spoke too soon.

“JACKY LIKES APPLES!” Jacky screeched out as loud as he could, galloping with all his might toward the apple.

“We got Triple Cherry in a comfortable lead with Royal Flush several meters behind.” The announcer commentated over the intercom. “What’s this? We got Jackpot, who had a late start, suddenly making up ground! Can this rookie pull off a miracle?”

As Jacky snatched up the first apple I had tossed, I immediately threw another down the next leg of the track.

“Jacky likes apples!” With zero hesitation, he instinctively went after it.

“Looks like our rookie, Jackpot, is making up some major ground. There he goes past Pachinko and Full House, putting himself in twelfth place!” The announcer exclaimed.

Fuelled by his bizarre apple addiction, Jacky pushed up several more places. We continued rinsing and repeating the process of me throwing apples down the track and him eating them, until we finally made it to the last leg of the race and were just trailing Triple Cherry.

Down to my final apple, I held it up in front of me. Of all the apples I had, this one was the largest and ripest. “I hope this works.” I wasn’t sure how much good it would do since this gamble showdown was more of a test of my horse's endurance rather than probability, but I still decided to activate my gambling sorcery. Glowing blue, I chucked my final apple as hard as I could… Tumbling as it hit the ground, it managed to rest just inches over the finish line.

“JACKY LIKES AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPLES!” Jacky neighed with everything he had. Dashing onward on his uneven legs, he made it neck and neck with Triple Cherry.

Mole Pat sniffed the air. “Is somebody there?”

He may have been oblivious, but his horse was well aware of what was happening. Kicking it into even higher gear, Triple Cherry pumped its legs even harder. In turn, Jacky pushed himself in fear that this other horse would steal his apple. From there, everything seemed to go in slow motion.

“Pass… that… moth…er… pip..per!” I could hear Rollnaldo callout, his voice sounding much deeper due to my adrenaline pumping.

“Don’t… let… him… pass… you!” Dieanne shouted down to Mole Pat in response, her voice sounding much deeper and slower to me as well.

Just feet before we crossed the finish line, something unexpected occurred… A spark suddenly came from Triple Cherry’s shoulder, followed by the horse collapsing. Mole Pat was flung off, while the horse did the equivalent to a burn out as it tipped onto its side, sliding into the wall just below the stands. Seizing the opportunity, Jacky and I crossed the finish line.

“I can’t believe it! The rookie Jackpot has defied all odds and has defeated the reigning champ!” The announcer shouted with excitement.

The crowd broke out into a thunderous applause.

“You did it Jacky!” I patted him on the neck.

Not caring in the least at what he had just accomplished, he focused his attention on the apple in front of him. “Jacky likes apples.” Tilting his head down, he took a bite out of it.

Abruptly, a loud series of pops cut over the cheering crowd. The next thing everyone knew, Triple Cherry had suddenly burst into flames.

“What is going on? The former champ has spontaneously combusted.” The announcer felt the need to narrate.

Rollnaldo jumped up from his seat and pointed down to the flaming pile that was once Triple Cherry. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but that's no horse!” He looked directly up at Dieanne, who had a very worried look on her face…