Black Boots

 I think I'll sell my cowboy boots.  They are lightly used and a damn good pair.  Originally priced at $300, I'd take $20 for them.  Someone who wears a size 10 and likes a solid black leather boot will be very pleased.  These boots have a story.  They come from one of the best boot makers in the country (Texas) and represent a victory in the Kentucky Derby that a friend of mine enjoyed and passed along to me.

Here's what happened.  Frankie befriended me when he saw me reading a copy of Bloodhorse magazine in our local Bay Area coffeehouse.   "Pardon me," he said,  "Do you think I could take a look at that, for a minute when you are done?"  Of course, he could.  I said something like, "be sure to read the article I wrote too."  Thus began our unlikely friendship.

Frankie worked with his hands; I worked with my head.  He was a recovering alcoholic, I never drank more than two beers or two glasses of wine at a time...ever.  Frankie was pure East coast, I was then a native Californian.  But... we both loved horses, especially thoroughbreds.

In the months that followed that initial meeting, Frankie would accompany me to the racetrack on days when I had a major race to cover.  He always dressed impeccably and usually spent his time in the Turf Club.  We'd prearranged a time to meet at the end of the day after my post-race interviews were complete.  

When the Kentucky Derby rolled around that first year I knew Frankie he was unable to watch the race on the TV screens provided by our local track.  He never revealed too much about his personal life, but I think he'd either had a setback, or a woman he knew from his AA group had.  He called and asked to meet me at the coffee shop an hour before I left for the press box.  

Frankie liked a horse.  Sea Hero to be exact.  He never said exactly why but gave me $200 to bet for him. I was to put $100 to win and make five $10 Exacta boxes with Sea Hero and five other horses.  He wrote it all down.  I made his bets early in the day, lest for some unknown reason I got stuck in line or there was a technical delay.  

You know where this is going.  Yes,  Sea Hero flew down the stretch and won the Derby.  Frankie also hit the exacta.  His winnings totaled just over $3,000. 

The next morning I loaded a wad of cash into my inside coat pocket and met Frankie at the coffee shop.  Feeling a bit like a drug dealer, I pulled out a fistful of $100 bills and said the obligatory, "It's all there." Frankie, smiled and calmly peeled off 3 $100 bills and said thank you.  I'd forgotten that 10% was the customary tip for one who carries a bet for another.  This world was new to me, but I didn't complain.

The following Friday, I made a detour home from work and went to the best Western wear store in the East Bay.  They had just what I wanted.  In the years that followed, I wore those boots to a couple of horse auctions, a few Kentucky Derby parties, and occasionally to the racetrack at dawn.  The backside or backstretch of a track in an alternate universe and for horse lovers, it's mystical. magical place full of promise, rumors, and beauty.

Now, it's time that those boots bring someone else some pleasure.  There are many miles left in them and, they are made for walkin'.