5 steps for 1st-time wagering
Hawthorne education manager Mitch Demick makes it simple for race track rookies

Do you have to bet at the horse race track?

Of course not.

Does it add an additional level of excitement to the experience?

It certainly can if you know what you’re doing. But how do you know what you’re doing if you’ve never been there before?

Truth is, the folks at Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero feel they put on a show entertaining enough that you don’t have to bet at all to have a good time at the track. Race day at Hawthorne offers dining experiences from dollar hot dogs and beers (on special evenings) to upscale cuisine in the Gold Cup or Turf Club restaurants. There’s even live music sometimes on the weekends.

Best of all, perhaps, is that the headlining entertainment is practically right at your fingertips. You can stand just feet away from the track as the horses speed toward the finish line.

Dakota Shultz, in charge of marketing for Hawthorne, contrasted the race track with a casino where he said a patron’s enjoyment is solely reliant on winning.

“It’s not that fun to watch the roulette wheel spin,” said Shultz, a Brookfield resident and Lyons Township graduate. “At the casino, it’s what’s at stake that makes it fun. You could come to the track, not bet and just watch and still have a good time.”

Let’s say you want to add another element of excitement to the race-day atmosphere, but you’re uncertain as you approach the touch-screen self-betting machine or the person at the mutuel window. How much do I wager? What horse do I choose? What type of bet do I place? Or the big concern: Am I going to look stupid when it’s my turn to place a bet at the window?

Mitch Demick, the customer communications and education manager for Hawthorne, has provided five steps to a positive wagering experience on your first trip to the track.

“It’s a good time, it’s a night out. Plus you’ve got a chance to win a couple dollars ” said Demick of Naperville. “There’s dinner and drinks, and you can play the horses and be entertained.”

1. Budget your bets
If there are 10 races slated for the day, plan your budget to bet all 10 races. Establish the amount of money you are willing to bet before arriving at the track, and don’t blow it all on the first horse you see.

If it’s your first time at the track, you’re probably not trying to make a living on betting horses — not yet at least. It’s important to have the proper mindset before placing that first wager.

“If you come with $100, plan on walking out without that $100,” Demick said. “If you win that’s just an added bonus. The process is almost as much fun as winning itself.”

2. Get with the program
The official program might be a valuable tool designed to help you make educated bets, but it’s packed with so many numbers and symbols that, at first glance, it can make a horse track rookie’s head spin as fast as the wheels carrying the harness.

Fortunately, navigating the litany of races and horses is not the daunting challenge it might initially appear to be, Demick said.

The first inside page is dedicated to explaining how the rest of the program works. Demick encourages first-timers to grab a program when they get to the track and take a little time to familiarize themselves with it.

“After a couple of times reading the program, it’s like reading a comic book. It’s really not that complicated.”

3. Focus on one horse
There can be as many as 10 horses competing in the same race during harness season, sometimes more for thoroughbreds. The temptation definitely is there to wager on multiple horses at once. Demick suggests that first-timers harness that urge.

Instead of trying to figure out how or when or why to place “exotic bets” like exacta boxes or trifectas, simply pick one horse and study that horse the entire race. Picking a steed can be as easy as liking its name, number or color.

“Focus on one horse in a race,” Demick said. “Watch how it moves around the race track. Learn to watch the horse.”

4. Make the safe bet
Increasing your odds of winning can drastically enhance your first-time experience at the course. Demick suggests that first-timers bet an even $2 across the board — a $6 wager. That means, if the horse you choose finishes first (wins), second (places) or third (shows), you get a return on your wager.

The return might be small because the odds were more in your favor, but Demick said it doesn’t take much to ignite the thrill of winning at the tracks.

“It’s the best experience the first time going to the window when you bet $2 and getting back $2.20.”

5. Don’t be intimidated
Hawthorne is just as interested in you winning as you are, Demick said. In pari-mutuel wagering, patrons are betting against each other, not the track. It’s not like a casino where if you win, the casino loses money. Hawthorne makes money based on the number of wagers placed.

So you shouldn’t be afraid of the folks at the mutuel windows, Demick said. It’s OK to ask questions if you don’t understand something in the program or on the track. Hawthorne officials believe the more you win, the more bets you’ll place.

“Don’t be intimidated by the process,” he said. “We’re here to help.”

Hawthorne quick hits

LOCATION 3501 S. Laramie Ave., Cicero

ADMISSION FEE $3 for live racing; $2 for simulcasting

PARKING Free

CONCESSIONS Hot dog $2.25; hamburger $3.75; pop (20 oz.) $2.25; nachos 3.75; beer $3.75-$4.50

TYPES OF RACING Harness, thoroughbred (spring and fall), OTB simulcast

HAWTHORNE RACING SCHOOL $250 per person

INFO (708) 780-3700; hawthorneracecourse.com

GAMBLING PROBLEM? Call 1-800-GAMBLING (426-2546) or 1-800-Gambler (426-2537)

Celebrities for charity

WHAT Hawthorne’s Harness Racing School will host 10 Chicago celebrities in a race for charity.

WHEN 6:50 p.m. Friday

WHO Scheduled to compete for the top spot are sports media personalities Brian Hanley, Carmen DeFalco and Mitch Robinson; Chicago Sky player Brook Queenan; The Biggest Loser’s Bernie Salazar; Kelly, The Loop Rock Girl; and a mystery guest, among others.

AWARDS A lucky fan that picks the winner could win a lease on a Chrysler Sebring.

INFO www.grabthereins.com