Meet New Blogger Geoff Worden

A fan of good racing, food, and wine Geoff Worden will combine his love of all three in a new America's Best Racing series.
I fell in love with racing before I fell in love with food, even before my passion for wine and beer was awakened. It must be OK for me to tell this story now since there is no way the statute of limitations on underage gambling is more than 25 years.
The name of the racetrack will be omitted just in case their legal concerns might still be valid.
My father took my brother and me to a reserved table for a night of horse racing when I was 17. He handed us each $50, as I recall - though it might have been $60 in the form of three $20 bills, and told us we could bet whatever we wanted. If we lost, whatever remained at the end of the night was to be returned. If we won, we kept any profits above the original stake.
I have no recollection of my father ever going to a racetrack before, or since, but that night changed me. He offered a few tips, and we eagerly looked over the Daily Racing Form. My eyes mostly scanned for names that made me smile or that sounded fast. Unsurprisingly, the results from this handicapping approach were not good.
Until the last race of the night, my biggest highlight was being able to actually place a bet. Apparently, I looked close enough to 18 (the gambling age at the time) to get away with it. My younger brother, only a year and a half behind me, was sent away when he tried at the window, much to his chagrin. That alone was enough for most of the night. I would stride off to the window with the hopeful excitement each race brought while he had to hand the money to our father.
We had clubhouse reservations and enjoyed some food (though I cannot remember what) and sodas. My father probably had a beer or two. It was an exciting night out though, full of anticipation and a palpable sense of the possibility of hitting it big. I might have bet an exacta at some point but mostly I found it challenging enough to pick one horse in the top three, much less the top two in the right order.
Time ticked down to the last post of the night and I gathered up my remaining few dollars of free money and bet it across the board on some 20-to-1 shot that was sporting orange and black and had a name that evoked my high school crush, though I cannot remember it now. Sara Snable was a Cincinnati Bengals fan, and I adopted them in hopes it would further endear me to her. It didn’t, but my misplaced ardor won me money. The silks matched the Bengals colors and the longshot won, ruining my fatherʼs trifecta, which would have paid much more than my $125-ish take. It made me giddy, though, and a horse racing fan was born that night.
Many years later my interest grew considerably as I settled into my new home in New Orleans and began visiting the storied Fair Grounds racetrack. By then wine, good beer and food were a huge part of my life. Selling wine for a living only further deepened that connection. Eating some of the best raw oysters in town and enjoying the races became a regular event. Not so much the winning of money.
Now I have the opportunity to tie all those passions together and share my excitement with you. Join me here a few times a month for articles exploring horse racing, food and great beverages.
Youʼll read about dining and drinking options available at various tracks so youʼre prepared when you visit. Youʼll learn about restaurants near racetracks around the country, especially here in New Orleans. Tune in also for wine, spirits and beer that tie into horse racingʼs past and present.
I was in the wine business for nearly 20 years and maintain a passion for learning, tasting and exploring. Leading the first beer classes in New Orleans was exciting. Being involved in a thriving series of wine tastings in New Orleans for more than a decade gave me a broad base of knowledge and honed my ability to deliver potentially confusing, complex information in a simple, straightforward fashion. I treasured my many hours teaching restaurant employees about wine and spirits as well. My effort to educate and offer a new perspective on the world of wine continues on my website, WordenOnWine.com, as well as in monthly articles for NOLA-Propaganda (no-prop.com).
Please join me for some delicious racing fun!