“The little guy with the hawk nose arid no eyes, that?s Johnny Gavilan. Very promising jock until he
took a bad spill at Delray a couple years ago. Turned trainer..
Or:
“The little box in the coat and cap is Willie the Clock, the track handicapper. He works for the track
and sets the beginning odds for each race. Knows more about horses than God and he?s just as honest.
Or:
“The guy in the red sweater, no hair, that?s Charlie Entwhistle. A great horse breeder. Started out as a
trainer, then won this horse called Justabout in a poker game. At first it was a joke because old
Justabout was just about the ugliest animal God ever created. He had no teeth. He?d stand around the
paddock munching away on his gums and from the front he looked bowlegged. People would come
down to the paddock, stick their tongues out at him, throw things at him, laugh at him. The Toothless
Terror they called him, and he didn?t look like he could beat a fat man around the track.
“Everybody was laughing at Charlie Entwhistle.
“But it turns out there?s only one thing Justabout was any good for, and that was running. He not only
loved to run, he couldn?t stand for anything to be in front of him. Brother, could that kid run. He was
home in bed before the rest of the field got to the wire. He rewrote the record books, made Sunday
school teachers out of a lot of horseplayers, and he made old Charlie Entwhistle rich.”
Callahan looked at me and smiled.
“And that?s what horse racing?s all about.”
We had finished breakfast, and he picked up his coffee. “Now let?s go to work,” he said, and we
moved toward the other side of the room.
30
MAGIC HANDS
“Just listen,” Callahan said as we drew fresh cups of coffee, though I hadn?t so much as cleared my
throat for the last thirty minutes.
“Every day of the season, Willie the Clock judges the top three horses in each race and sets the
opening odds. His choice is printed in the program as a service to the bettors. No guarantees, of
course, but that doesn?t matter. The players are always pissed at him. He?s maybe the best
handicapper in the business, but it?s a thankless damn job.”
“Why?”
“Because favorites lose more than they win. They get a bad break out of the gate or get caught in a
traffic jam in the backstretch
