Here's my updated strategy for winning at the horse track (which had never happened before in any significant way before Saturday at Canterbury Park):
• Make a random trifecta box bet on a race in which I have no knowledge or insight. Ignore every bit of advice in the race program.
• Include a longshot in the trifecta bet because my dad picked the long shot to win in a separate bet — and he picked that horse solely because he liked the horse's name.
• Change the bet with moments to spare after one of the horses that was part of the trifecta scratches at the last minute after getting agitated in its stall.
• Watch the race on a monitor instead of the actual track because my daughter is having a meltdown over getting sunscreen in her eyes.
• Stare in confused amazement when the horses come in 1-2-3, with the final horse barely hanging on for the critical show finish.
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. mrand@startribune.com