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My Larry Rice story occurred in the early 80s, when the Champ Dirt Cars were rained out at Williams Grove. A dozen or so of us climbed into Billy Cassella's motor home and drove to the Penn National horse track, where former driving great Mitch Smith was the manager. During the ride, one of the car owners told us how much he knew about horses and how he'd help us bet.
Mitch sat us at prime tables in the club house, and we ordered dinner. I took a look at the racing program and pointed out to Larry, who was sitting beside me, that a jockey named Wayne Rice was riding in more than half the races. Larry said he knew nothing about horses, but since Wayne must be a distant relative, he'd bet on him. I agreed.
As you can guess, Larry and I did quite well. Meanwhile, the "expert" car owner, who sat directly opposite us, spent the evening muttering about "junk horses", and losing money. We chuckled all weekend at his expense. :-)
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