Winning Colors - Snap Classic

Summary

Snap Judgment Podcast Episode Summary: "Winning Colors - Snap Classic"

Introduction

In the gripping episode titled "Winning Colors - Snap Classic," hosted by Glenn Washington of Snap Judgment and PRX, listeners are drawn into a high-stakes tale of friendship, luck, and danger within the world of horse racing and gambling. This long-form narrative meticulously follows the journey of Mark Paul, known as "Miami," and his best friend Dino Mateo as they place bold bets on a remarkable filly named Winning Colors.

The Gambler’s Bet on Winning Colors [03:53 - 07:46]

Mark Paul, affectionately dubbed Miami, has been an avid horse racing enthusiast since his teenage years. In his early 20s, Miami balances his passion for horse racing with a career as a real estate broker, allowing him the flexibility to frequent racetracks like Santa Anita. His lifelong friend, Dino Mateo, introduced him to the intricacies of horse betting, making Dino an indispensable partner in Miami's gambling ventures.

One pivotal moment occurs on August 13, 1987, at the Saratoga Racetrack in New York. While watching a live race, Miami notices a striking gray filly named Winning Colors, whose impressive performance and distinctive appearance immediately capture his attention.

Mark Paul [05:17]: "Winning Colors to myself, man, if that horse ever comes to LA, I want to be there for her next race so we could bet on her."

Winning Colors swiftly dominates the race, winning by three and a half lengths, igniting Miami and Dino's belief in her potential.

The Initial Setback [07:46 - 09:46]

Despite Winning Colors' initial victory, qualifying for the prestigious Kentucky Derby requires consistent performance in subsequent stakes races. A few days after her win, Dino urges Miami to seize a burgeoning opportunity:

Dino Mateo [06:58]: "If we don't take this opportunity and do it soon, the odds are going to be gone because everybody's going to be betting on her."

He convinces Miami to place a substantial bet of $2,500 each on Winning Colors at extraordinarily favorable odds of 50 to 1 at the Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico. This bold move promises a potential payday of $250,000 but introduces significant risk, especially given the racetrack's association with Jorge Ron's drug cartel.

The Race and Narrow Miss [10:51 - 19:51]

Over the next few months, Winning Colors competes in various races, steadily earning a spot in the Kentucky Derby. However, during a critical race against Goodbye Halo, the top filly from the East Coast, Winning Colors falters, losing by a narrow half-length. This defeat not only jeopardizes their bet but also their hopes of securing a place in the Derby.

Dino Mateo [18:43]: "Goodbye Halo just pulls ahead and beats her by a half length."

Dino's disappointment underscores the fragility of their fortune, as their substantial investment teeters on the brink of collapse.

The Opportunity and the Risk [22:48 - 33:03]

Despite the setback, Winning Colors reclaims her form, qualifying for the Kentucky Derby by winning the Santa Anita Derby with an impressive eight-length victory. Miami and Dino's unwavering belief in Winning Colors is further fueled by a passionate fanbase that rallies behind the filly, symbolizing a fierce fight against the odds.

As the Derby day approaches, the duo anticipates a monumental payout. They travel to Tijuana's Agua Caliente Racetrack to place their $250,000 bet, envisioning a life-changing win.

The Victory and the Danger [33:03 - 35:14]

On Derby day, Winning Colors dominates the race, emerging as only the third filly in 114 years to win the Kentucky Derby. The exhilaration of their triumph is swiftly replaced by peril as they attempt to collect their winnings. However, the Agua Caliente Racetrack, under the control of the Felix Arellano drug cartel, refuses to honor the hefty payout.

Dino Mateo [43:56]: "We know who you are, too. We know all about Jorge Ron. We know all about your cartel connections."

Their confrontation with El Jefe, the cartel leader, escalates quickly, resulting in armed guards threatening Miami and Dino. The situation becomes life-threatening, forcing them to flee with nothing but a small portion of their winnings.

The Confrontation and Escape [35:14 - 50:00]

Determined to secure their $250,000, Miami and Dino embark on a frantic escape from Agua Caliente. With the help of newly hired muscle—three professional fighters—they navigate the dangerous landscape of Tijuana. Their journey is fraught with tension as they evade armed guards intent on reclaiming the winnings.

Dino Mateo [48:14]: "We gotta get out of here now."

In a high-octane chase, they manage to cross back into the United States with a significant portion of the money, albeit under the constant threat of pursuit and violence from the cartel.

Aftermath and Legacy [50:11 - 54:00]

Four months after their daring escape, Miami and Dino reflect on their ordeal with a mix of relief and awe. Their bond is strengthened by the shared experience, and they pay tribute to Winning Colors by visiting her at her stable in Southern California.

Winning Colors' legacy endures beyond the narrative, with her retirement following her vibrant Kentucky Derby win and her subsequent induction into the U.S. National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2000. Her story serves as a testament to resilience and the unpredictable nature of gambling.

Glenn Washington [50:52]: "Winning Colors was greatness."

Conclusion

"Winning Colors - Snap Classic" is a compelling exploration of friendship, risk, and the elusive pursuit of fortune. Through Miami and Dino's tumultuous journey, the episode delves into the seductive allure of gambling, the bonds it forges, and the perils it can unleash. Winning Colors stands as a symbol of both triumph and caution, embodying the unpredictable essence of chance and fate.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Mark Paul [05:17]: "Winning Colors to myself, man, if that horse ever comes to LA, I want to be there for her next race so we could bet on her."

• Dino Mateo [18:43]: "Goodbye Halo just pulls ahead and beats her by a half length."

• Dino Mateo [43:56]: "We know who you are, too. We know all about Jorge Ron. We know all about your cartel connections."

• Dino Mateo [48:14]: "We gotta get out of here now."

• Glenn Washington [50:52]: "Winning Colors was greatness."

Final Thoughts

This episode masterfully weaves a narrative that is both thrilling and cautionary, highlighting the highs and lows of gambling while showcasing the depth of human relationships under pressure. For listeners who have yet to experience "Winning Colors," this summary encapsulates a story of ambition, loyalty, and the unforeseen consequences of betting on fate.

Transcript

[Glenn Washington]

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[Mark Paul]

One day, Mark Paul, aka Miami, was at home in Los Angeles.

[Dino Mateo]

August 13, 1987. I remember hard driving action on the.

[Unnamed Announcer]

Most exciting track in the world, Saratoga Raceway on live tv. Get a better run for your money.

[Mark Paul]

When he tuned in on TV to watch a horse race, he was at.

[Dino Mateo]

Saratoga racetrack in New York. Saratoga Racetrack is the biggest racetrack, the finest racetrack, the best horses and they debut a lot of the best young horses. The two year old horses that are racing for the first time, I wasn't really paying a lot of attention to it. But this gray filly who was just huge, I see her go into the gate, she's just bigger than a two year old filly should be. And the fact that she's gray, she's shining like a metallic sports car, just caught my attention and they're up there. Bam. She breaks like a bullet out of the gate and she's immediately in front of all the other eight horses, just digging in, just cruising. I'm going, wow, that's, that's a really interesting horse. As they turn into the turn, she starts opening up on them and as she's coming for home, I'm watching this horse and I'm going, who the hell was that? And I look down at the racing form, I see her name is Winning Colors.

[Unnamed Announcer]

Winning Colors is there, there's still Winning Colors.

[Dino Mateo]

Winning col to myself, man, if that horse ever comes to la, I want to be there for her next race so we could bet on her.

[Mark Paul]

Miami had been betting on horses since he was 15. Now, as a bachelor in his 20s, he kept a day job as a real estate broker to pay the bills and set his own schedule.

[Dino Mateo]

By the time, you know, 12:31 o' clock ran along, I could get in my car and still make the first or second race at Santa Anita. With Dino.

[Mark Paul]

Dino, there was no Miami.

[Dino Mateo]

Without Dino, I really only had one skill and that's that I was friends with Dino Mateo.

[Mark Paul]

Dino was Miami's partner in crime. They've been best friends since 15 years old. Dino was the one who introduced Miami to horse racing.

[Dino Mateo]

Dino was brilliant and Dino had always had an angle and he'd always figured out the odds when he would study the racing form and the past performance of the horses. He literally might stay up five, six, seven hours that night. And he would watch replays, making careful notes. He might not bet for five, six races in a row, but when he saw a bet that he thought had an edge, he would load up and he would bet with both hands. Dino was the best I'd ever met, I'd ever seen. And I learned, just bet with Dino Pets, and I'm probably going to be okay.

[Mark Paul]

So the two of them kept an eye out for when and where Win and Color's next race would be. And then on Christmas Day, they got an unexpected gift when they learned Winning Colors was slated to run at Santa Anita racetrack near LA the very following day.

[Dino Mateo]

Winning Colors, going against Phillies her own age. Just girls. We said, man, we've got to be there. We were at the track, we went down to see her, and my God, when this horse was led to be saddled, she had grown up. She was magnificent. Just ginormous, prancing and towering over the other horses. She looked like she outweighed all the other horses, all the other fillies by maybe 200, 300 pounds. I also noticed that she would come up and try to put her head over the other fillies, trying to show her dominance, and she would try to bite the other horses.

[Mark Paul]

When it came time to place bets on the race, Dino in Miami went all in on Winning Colors.

[Dino Mateo]

We could win fifteen hundred dollars each on that race. They put her in the gate, and she's only running against four other fillies. She breaks. I just don't think I've ever seen anything like it. I mean, my God, she just. When those gates open within, like, yards, she's 2, 3 lengths in front of the other horses. It's like they haven't even gotten out of the gate yet. And she's just pulling the ground forward with her hooves, and it's like a lightning bolt. She just opens up on them. The other horses don't even look like they're competitive, like they're even in the race with her. And she just wins off by three and a half lengths. Geared down. And Dino and I just look at each other like, oh, my God. And we run down and we get on the TVs and we watch her replay again and again. And Dino gets very, very quiet on me. He says, that filly, she's something very special. She might even be a Derby horse.

[Mark Paul]

This was a big statement for Dino to make, especially considering this was a.

[Dino Mateo]

Filly he was talking about in the Kentucky der. Typically, it's only males running against males. At this time, only 34 Phillies had ever even entered, and only two of them had ever won. And the race had been run since 1875.

[Mark Paul]

So the odds against Winning Colors were high. But Miami and Dino had seen enough.

[Dino Mateo]

At the end of the racing day, we usually just took our programs and we'd throw them in the trash. I remember both Dino and I kept our programs and we just circled her. We knew that this might be something special. We were really, really looking forward to her coming back because we thought we were onto something here.

[Mark Paul]

A couple of days after Winning Color's victory, Miami got a call from Dino at 6:30am that Sunday morning.

[Dino Mateo]

I pick up the phone and he's all agitated. He's hyper. He says, miami, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up. I said, dino, what's going on, man? He says, miami, I was up all night long with charts studying her. I looked at how fast she ran. I looked at the times that every other colt in the United States has been running in prep races. I'm telling you, Winning Colors is just faster than these colts. And the word's getting out on her. Everybody's talking about her. There's an article in the newspaper about her. If we don't take this opportunity and do it soon, the odds are going to be gone because everybody's going to be betting on her. We're going down to Tijuana. We have to bet on Winning colors. We have to do it today. I want to do it this morning. Dino, why in the hell are we going to Tijuana? Let's just go to Vegas. I love Vegas, man.

[Mark Paul]

You can bet on a horse to win the Kentucky Derby at casinos in Vegas, a sportsbook in Manila or in Tijuana. Each place has different odds on the same race.

[Dino Mateo]

He says, She's 12 to 1 in the future, book betting in Vegas. But down in Tijuana at this racetrack, they're offering her 50 to 1 at Agua Caliente in Mexico. 50 to 1. This is a chance of a lifetime, man. Pick me up. And Dino says, oh, one last thing. Bring all the money you have.

[Mark Paul]

Dino tells Miami that he wants each of them to bet $2,500 on winning colors at 50 to 1 odds. That would earn them a winning payday of 250 gr.

[Dino Mateo]

First time I heard Dino tell me I could win $250,000 with him on this Philly, I couldn't even understand how that was possible. We were semi professional gamblers. We had big losses and big wins in the past. A big Win. For me, probably my biggest win ever at that time was maybe to win $5,000 in a day. To win $250,000 in a day is a completely different animal. It's something that I almost. I couldn't even wrap my head around. I was still very, very skeptical. I loved winning colors, and I believed in winning colors. But it seemed like quite a stretch of the imagination when two Phillies have won the Kentucky Derby in 114 years. I said, you know, man, I'm not making any money. I haven't cashed a deal in nine months. That's a lot of money for me right now. He says, don't hesitate, man. You're gonna regret it if you do.

[Mark Paul]

Miami already made this mistake once.

[Dino Mateo]

My biggest fear was that Dino would cash some huge bet and I wouldn't be with him. Cause it had happened before. I had been in Vegas one time with him. We gotten our ass kicked for two days, and I left him. I went and I played blackjack for about three minutes. And I come back, and he hit some horse at 28 to 1, and he's standing in line with $13,000 in cash on him. I go, well, why didn't you tell me? Well, why did you leave? If Dino was betting, I was going with him. And I know that Dino absolutely believed that she was going to win this race. And if Dino believes it, then I believed it, too.

[Mark Paul]

That same day, Dino and Miami drove the four hours down to Tijuana to the Agua Caliente racetrack to place bet.

[Dino Mateo]

Dina walks up to the window, and he goes up and he tells the teller, he says, I'd like to bet The Future Book 1988 Kentucky Derby. Winning colors to win the Kentucky Derby 50 to 1. Please confirm the odds. I remember the teller, his eyes go up and he looks at Dino and he says, you want to bet on a Philly to win the Kentucky Derby? Dino says, yeah, I know I'm probably crazy, but I'd still like to do it. I remember watching dino count out 50 $100 bills, and I thought that money was gone.

[Mark Paul]

Now. They had to wait five months and hoped that Winning Colors would win the next couple of races to earn her a spot at the Kentucky Derby.

[Dino Mateo]

I was going to work every day, and I was doing my usual stuff. Cold calling and talking to investors. On the way home. I'd go, all right, well, you got your ass kicked again today. You didn't make any money today, but you got winning colors, baby. Just keep the faith. Keep the faith. And I would think about her all the time.

[Mark Paul]

One day, Miami ran into a friend and told him about his and Dino's recent bet.

[Dino Mateo]

And he starts laughing. He says, do you know who owns Agua Caliente racetrack? It's owned by a member of the Felix Arellano drug cartel, Jorge Ron. Apparently they use that place to launder money. And that racetrack probably won't even be around after a few more months. It's going out of business fast. You think you're gonna go down there and pick up $250,000 and they're gonna let you leave the racetrack alive? You're not getting out of Tijuana with a quarter of a million dollars. You guys are out of your minds. I didn't sleep well that night because this was not something I ever expected to have to worry about dealing with. But after I slept on, I said, ah, don't worry about what's the chances that Winning Colors even makes it into the Kentucky Derby. And I let it go. I think I blocked it out mostly because I was like, I'll deal with that when she gets into the damn Derby. Until she's in the Derby. Why should I stress about something that may not even happen?

[Mark Paul]

In order to qualify for the Kentucky Derby field, Winning Colors would need to run in a series of stakes races. And in February, it was announced that her next race would also feature Goodbye Halo, the top filly from the East Coast.

[Dino Mateo]

Dino and I were really afraid of Goodbye Halo. This is the first time that Winning Colors had to face a horse who was actually more experienced, had accomplished more, had won more money than she had.

[Mark Paul]

On race day, Dino and Miami were there to catch the action. There was a lot riding on this race. A victory would establish Winning Colors as the top filly and bring her one step closer to the Kentucky Derby. But as Miami and Dino watched her being saddled in warm ups, they could see she looked a bit off.

[Dino Mateo]

She's rearing and wheeling, and she's just acting really, really nervous. And she even has sweat between her legs, which she'd never seen before. And Goodbye Halo just looks calm as a cucumber. And I noticed something, too, that the other jockeys are snapping their whips on their boots, just bam, bam, making noise, doing that intentionally to scare Winning Colors. And they're trying to do everything in their power to get her out of her comfort zone. So they load her into the gate, and the crowd is wild. The crowd is really pumped up for this race. And we're watching Winning Colors, and she's agitated, she's jumping around, she's banging her head on both sides of the gate, and we've never seen her like this. And I'm thinking to myself, this doesn't look good. I just bet $3,000 I don't have and I can't afford to lose. Oh, man, I don't know about this.

[Unnamed Announcer]

Away they go, the five fillies coming away in a perfect line. Lot of speed on as they go for the lead.

[Dino Mateo]

Winning Colors on the outside within strides out of the gate. She's just out there winging and she's going too fast, too early. And Dino yells to me, she's going too damn fast. She can't do that. She cannot go that fast and hang on. Goodbye Halo is gonna come for her.

[Unnamed Announcer]

They head now to the 3/8 bowl winning Colors. Gary Steeland's trying to slow them down, but here comes Goodbye Halo. Not gonna allow that.

[Dino Mateo]

Winning Callers is just screaming on the front end. She is flying out there. And she turns into the back stretch, and for the first time, another horse comes up on her and doesn't catch her, but is within just ahead of her.

[Unnamed Announcer]

Goodbye Halo on the outside puts the pressure on Winning Colors. And the two favorites now start to.

[Dino Mateo]

Put off up front as they hit the wire. She just cannot shake Goodbye Halo. Goodbye Halo draws even with her. They're running for another hundred yards.

[Unnamed Announcer]

Goodbye Halo going the better of the two at the 16 pole. Winning colours not beat yet. Goodbye Halo by ahead to Winning Colors. Goodbye.

[Dino Mateo]

And right at the end, Goodbye Halo just pulls ahead and beats her by a half length. I knew we were in trouble. I knew we were in trouble not just because she'd lost, but because the way Dino was responding, his head drops into his hands. Dino was devastated, and I don't think he was as devastated about losing $3,000 as he was that his belief in her had somehow been let down. If Dino was this depressed and this sad about what he'd just seen, that the chances of us cashing this bet had probably just gone down the drain. I mean, she probably wouldn't even make the Kentucky Derby field yet alone, be able to beat the Kentucky Derby colts. I thought it was probably over. I thought, there's very, very little chance we could win this bet. I was crushed.

[Glenn Washington]

When we return, it's the agony of defeat. Snappers is Winning Colors really the horse Miami and Dino thought she was. Stay tuned. Everywhere I go these days, everything I do, it seems like there's always an extra fee, extra hot sauce fee. We've got the administrative fee, the processing fee. I want to pay for something the man says there is a fee for paying with the car. What you mean there's a fee to pay the fee? And these fees, they hurt the most when you're down. That's why Chime offers fee free banking, which means no monthly fees, no overdraft fees and no minimum balance fees. Sign up [e-mail] snap open your account in two [e-mail] snap that's chime.com snap Chime feels like progress.

[Dino Mateo]

Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by the Bancorp Bank NA or Stride Bank NA members. FDIC Optional services and products may have fees or CH charges such as outbound instant transfers, out of network transactions and credit products. Learn [e-mail] feesinfo do you remember normal?

[Glenn Washington]

Because normal keeps changing. Normal skincare 20 years ago was bar soap. Now you've got a five step process. Taxis became rideshares, TV became streaming. But healthcare for healthcare, normal has stayed in the past. Your normal annual Labs are just 20 basic markers. No hormone tests, no inflammation tests, no metabolic insight. If those limited tests come back in range, you're told that you are fine even when you know you aren't. I need it better and you do too. So I chose function because function is what happens when healthcare catches up. It just took me a couple of short visits to give them what they needed and function helped me stop guessing with advanced tests like T3 free, T4 free and TPO antibodies to find out how well my thyroid is actually working. As for ferritin levels, vitamin D, leptin, insulin, welcome to the new normal in health. Not the outdated version you grew up with. Your baseline, your body on your terms. Learn more and join using my link, visit functionhealth.com snap welcome back to Snap Judgment, the Winning Colors episode. When last we left Miami and his pal Dino, they placed a big bet on a long shot horse named Winning Colors to win the Kentucky Derby. But after losing her last race, her window of opportunity is closing fast.

[Mark Paul]

Snap Judgment Winning Colors had one final shot at making it to Kentucky when it was announced that she would run in the Santa Anita Derby that April.

[Dino Mateo]

If she doesn't win the Santa Anita Derby, she's not going to the Kentucky Derby. No way. I'm a particularly religious guy, but I'm pretty damn sure I prayed to please God, let her get in the gate. Let us have a shot at immortality. Let her have a shot to prove to the world that she's maybe the greatest filly that ever lived. So that's What I prayed for and hoped for the most was just get her in the gate. It was now or never.

[Mark Paul]

This would be the first time that Winning Colors would be asked to run against some of the best colts on the west Coast.

[Dino Mateo]

And nobody knew whether or not she could do that against these bigger, tougher, faster colts. We could not wait for this race.

[Unnamed Announcer]

A lot has been made, of course, Dave, about the fact that it's the Philly against the boys. Winning Colors.

[Mark Paul]

By race day, Winning Colors had built a fan following of women and young girls who came out in droves to Santa Anita to watch her take on the boys.

[Dino Mateo]

That Saturday, when we got to the racetrack, we couldn't believe it. There was 70,000 people there, and probably 70% of them were women and girls. They were coming out early and they were carrying signs. Go girl. Girl power. Beat the boys. They had an energy that I don't think I'd ever seen at the racetrack. It was electric. It was exciting.

[Mark Paul]

Dino in Miami could only hope that their gray filly would remain calm after her nerves had gotten the best of her last day.

[Dino Mateo]

We didn't doubt her physical ability. We always worried about whether she could keep her head in the race. And as they lead her in the tunnel and they lead her out onto the grandstand to walk in front of the fans before she warms up, she just looked fantastic. She just looked calm. She just looked within herself. She warmed up just beautifully.

[Unnamed Announcer]

Santa Anita Derby, an outstanding field of nine three year olds. They include the filly Winning Colors. Winning Colors, this is actually the fan's choice in here at five to two. She's taking on eight colts in here.

[Dino Mateo]

They load him in the gate. The people are yelling, the girls are yelling. They're screaming for this filly to beat the colts. And she breaks. And she breaks. Perfect. Just comes charging out of the gate like a waterfall out of a dam.

[Unnamed Announcer]

Winning Colors came away beautifully and goes straight to the lead, joined by me.

[Dino Mateo]

And on the turn, she opens up by more. She's running away from the colts.

[Unnamed Announcer]

They passed the 38 pole and winning Colors still doing it effortlessly out on the lead. Winning Colors opens up to lead by four.

[Dino Mateo]

Now she digs in and she just keeps pulling away. They can't touch her.

[Unnamed Announcer]

And it's the Philly willing Colors turning in. An absolutely outstanding performance.

[Dino Mateo]

She wins by eight lengths. Eased up at the wire, and Dino and I are screaming. We're standing up, we're yelling, we're going to Kentucky. We're going to Kentucky. The whole world is now aware of who this filly is. And that she's coming for him, she's coming for the boys, and they better be ready.

[Unnamed Announcer]

We looking at one exceptional filly who'll be carrying the home of California all the way to the Kentucky Derby. What a winner that one was. Winning Colors. Magnificent.

[Mark Paul]

Dino in Miami continued to ride the wave of happiness following Winning Colors qualifying victory. But the celebration didn't last long when days later, Miami got a call from a frantic Dino.

[Dino Mateo]

And Dino says to me, miami, I got terrible news. It's about the owner of the racetrack. There's this famous journalist down there. He goes by the pen name Elgato. So this journalist has been writing negative stories about Jorge Rohn. And today the journalist was assassinated in his car. They blew him apart with a shotgun. The head of security for Agua Caliente racetrack has been arrested for the murder of the journalist along with Jorge Rohn's personal bodyguard. Oh, my God. They're killing journalists just for writing bad stories. This is not something that I expected. I want to cash a bet on a horse race. I don't want to have crap like this. That was pretty much it for me. I was like, dino, I'm out. I just didn't sleep that night. I was a lot more scared for my life and Dino's life than I was about cashing any bet.

[Mark Paul]

But with the chances of winning Colors, taking the Kentucky Derby becoming more and more of a reality, Dino was not about to walk away. Not only was he convinced she would win, he was intent on going to Tijuana to watch the Kentucky Derby from the Agua Caliente racetrack and cashing in his wins then and there.

[Dino Mateo]

He convinced me that being there that day was important because that was the day that there were going to be thousands and thousands and thousands of people at that racetrack. And it would be a lot safer for us to be surrounded by thousands of people if she wins the Derby, than us having to go back a week later all alone and collect a quarter million dollars from a racetrack owned by the cartel. And I kind of had to say, dino, you're right.

[Mark Paul]

So when the first Saturday in May arrived, the day of the Kentucky Derby, Miami showed up at Dino's house for their trip to Tijuana. But before they could get on the road, Miami noticed his friend's carry on luggage.

[Dino Mateo]

He brought a large suitcase with him, a large pink suitcase. I said, dino, what the hell is that? He says, it's my mother's. She gave it to me. I think we can put a lot of the money in there. It's full of the Trash bags? I said, trash bags? Yeah, he said, you know, the garden trash bags? I got a bunch of them. I said, you're telling me we're going to drive down to Mexico with plastic trash bags and fill them up with cash and cross the border? That's the plan. Driving down that morning, Dino was very, very quiet. I didn't usually see him like that. And, you know, my nature was always more gregarious and talkative, but even I was kind of aware of the heaviness of the moment. And so it was a fairly quiet, quiet drive on the way down. For us.

[Mark Paul]

Agua Caliente had once been like Las Vegas before Las Vegas, with hotels, spas and restaurants in grand ballrooms with soaring staircases.

[Dino Mateo]

And it was kind of sad, but kind of eerie. So at the racetrack, there's TVs hanging everywhere, but they're not big, great TVs, they're little TVs. They're not supposed to be black and white, but I think half of them look like they're black and white. But it didn't matter. The place was alive, man. There's three mariachi bands playing, there are cocktails flowing, there are street vendors and there's cocktail waitresses in short skirts running around. And there's a lot of American gamblers. It was just a wild, energetic scene, but I'd never seen Dino so focused.

[Mark Paul]

Dino's eyes were fixed on the nearest screen where the grainy footage showed the horses beginning to warm up, the crowd.

[Dino Mateo]

Begins to swell, and also the anticipation.

[Unnamed Announcer]

Around the paddock as we await the Kentucky Derby.

[Mark Paul]

The only place as alive is Tijuana. That day was Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky itself, where the actual race was being held.

[Unnamed Announcer]

This crowd now officially estimated at 135,000. One of the largest one day sports crowd in all the world.

[Dino Mateo]

The place is so overrun with people that that amount of noise can actually spook and frighten the horses, especially a horse as headstrong as Winning Colors. And that was one of our biggest fears.

[Mark Paul]

16 of the top colts in the country were running in the 1988 Kentucky Derby.

[Dino Mateo]

This is the toughest Derby field in the last 30 years. There's an undefeated champion. There's other Derby winners from around the country. This is a field full of champions.

[Mark Paul]

Winning Colors was the sole female entrant.

[Unnamed Announcer]

It's a very deep field and as usual, a big field, so you can make a decent case for just about every horse.

[Mark Paul]

Back in Tijuana, watching on small, fuzzy televisions, Miami and Dino spotted their gray filly on the screen.

[Dino Mateo]

She seemed calm, she seemed very within herself. We watched her be led in front of the grandstand. We watched as they sung My Old Kentucky Home, the famous song. And she just looked absolutely resolute and calm. And we were really hopeful that she would stay that way.

[Unnamed Announcer]

The sun has never shone brighter on the Kentucky Derby and the old Kentucky home than it does today.

[Dino Mateo]

And as they entered into the gate, I looked at Dino, he looked at me and we smiled. We said, man, this is it. This is the moment. This is what we've been waiting for. And we just felt happy because we'd gotten to this moment, we got our chance and that's all we could ask for.

[Unnamed Announcer]

And as these 3 year olds load into the starting gate as they move into line for this 114th running of the Kentucky Derby. And they're off.

[Dino Mateo]

The bell rings, the gate crashes open and she breaks perfectly, flawlessly. Never better in her life. There goes the roan.

[Unnamed Announcer]

Philly Winning Colors grabbing the lead right from the start, taking command by a link on the far outside.

[Dino Mateo]

We can see her because she's gray and she's in front of within a quarter mile. She's running away from all of these colts and she has to go into the first turn.

[Unnamed Announcer]

They go to the far turn and it's still Winning Colors showing the way. And no one has challenged her yet.

[Dino Mateo]

She entered the far turn leading into home by three lengths and she accelerated. She continued to just put away the colts and she went up by three, three and a half, four legs. She came out of the turn just flying, just digging in. And even on that little television, I could see this gray filly just running away and embarrassing the colts.

[Unnamed Announcer]

She's led from the start. Every pole a winning one. And it's Winning Colors showing the way as they sprinkle in the lane. Taking command and drawing off.

[Dino Mateo]

Now turning for home. I could see her shorten her stride. She had gotten tired and you could just see there's no way she was going to make it to the wire. She was all out and we could see if she was going to get caught. But she just kept going. She just gave everything she had. In an all out run for the wire.

[Unnamed Announcer]

And down the stretch they come Winning Colors in front. Here comes 49er on the outside, Winning Colors but.

[Dino Mateo]

And she hung on by a photo by a short neck. I could tell she'd won. And they cleared a photo finish.

[Unnamed Announcer]

Well, there she is, only the third filly in 114 years to win the Kentucky Derby. Winning Colors. You know, it just could be Charles. She is a good one.

[Dino Mateo]

We were screaming and high fiving and dancing. But shortly thereafter, a calm came over me that I didn't expect. It was like my brain couldn't really process that our dream and our belief had been done and that she had actually been able to get in the derby and beat the best colts and win a photo finish. And it had happened. And I needed to just sit and I needed to just think for five or 10 minutes. Dino had this stupid pink suitcase, and he was dancing around the suitcase. And Dino sat down, and he was calm and quiet himself. And it went from super joy to, all right, we have worked out to do here. Dino said to me, we gotta let this place calm down. Let it clear out just a little bit. It's too crazy right now.

[Mark Paul]

A cocktail waitress who Miami knew from his previous visit suddenly appeared.

[Dino Mateo]

She whispers in my ear. She says, be careful. They know who you are. And my mouth dropped. She left. They know who we are. What does that mean? We get up, we go to the window, we present a $250,000 ticket to the teller. And his eyes light up. He says, oh, a big one. And he calls for his supervisor a couple minutes later. Seemed like a year. The supervisor comes up and says, that's a big ticket. And says, no, not today. You'll have to come back. Dino looks at him, leans forward, says, what do you mean, not today? Look at the ticket. It says, winning colors to win the Kentucky Derby. $250,000. She just won the Kentucky Derby. Pay us. He says, no, we're not prepared. Not today. You need to come back. And I look at the guy and I say, you mean, like, come back on a Tuesday when nobody's here? You're on your mind. Pay us now. We look over our shoulder and guards are now standing behind us, five feet away from us with rifles slung over their shoulders. And I'm thinking, this is really not good. This is really dangerous. And I whisper to Dino, dino, we gotta get out of here. We gotta get out of here now. And I grab him hard. He's resisting. He's yelling, but he comes with me. We started heading out, heading for the staircase, and I noticed the guards are following right behind us. I said, dina, run. We start running down the stairs, and I can hear the footsteps of the guards, five of them, clacking behind us, start running down the stairs into the parking lot and sprinting towards my car. I fire up my car. I hit the gas. We're doing 60, 70, 75 miles an hour in the damn parking lot by the time we hit the main street, I go over the curb because I don't want to wait. We're screaming up the boulevard and I yell to Dino, man, just look behind us. Look behind us. Tell me if anybody's coming. I need to know. See if you see any cars, anybody following us. And I head for the border. We were angry, furious. Dino's face was red. He just felt so cheated. He was yelling to me, they broke the code, man. They broke the code. You always pay your gambling debts first. I was exhausted. I just had to drive.

[Glenn Washington]

After the break, his 250 grand birthday. Find out as we hit the home stretch. Snap judgment. Welcome back to Snap Judgment, the winning colors episode. My name is Glenn Washington, and before the break, our gamblers were denied their huge payday after picking win winning colors five months earlier to win the biggest race of them all, the Kentucky Derby. So what will Miami and Dino do now? Will they walk away or they risk it all? Snap judgment.

[Mark Paul]

It was nighttime when Miami dropped Dino off at his home. They agreed to meet the next morning for breakfast. Miami couldn't sleep. He knew there was nothing that could keep Dino from going back to collect the biggest score of his life.

[Dino Mateo]

It was the gambler's code. The money was due him and he was going to go get it. I was positive of that. I can't say that I was willing to die for this money. It was just money to me. But I also knew there was no way that I could not accompany and back up Dino going. I felt a responsibility as kind of like Dino had done his part. He'd given me the winner of the Kentucky Derby of Philly six months before the damn race. And it was my job to collect the money. And it was my job to get Dino home safe. And it was my job to get me home alive. And that weighed on me really heavily. And it became, you're the leader of this group now. Dino was your leader. He did his job. Now it's your job to get him home.

[Mark Paul]

Dino and Miami thought long and hard at breakfast the following day about what their next move would be. When Dino mentioned he might know where to hire some muscle.

[Dino Mateo]

Dino told me that he had a buddy of his that knew these three guys that were professional fighters. They do jiu jitsu and karate, and they would go all the way down to Tijuana and back with us. They would drive their own car, but when we needed them, they would be with us. They would surround us.

[Mark Paul]

Miami and Dino didn't have time to waste. So two days later, that Tuesday, they prepared to drive right back down to Agua Caliente. But first they had to meet their newly hired protection.

[Dino Mateo]

The fighters pull up in this green little Isuzu with a antenna that was hanging off the side, and they get out of their car and I can't believe it. The biggest one of them is five foot five maybe. The other two are five three and five two. I said to Dino, this is supposed to be the fighters. This is the muscle. How the hell are these guys gonna scare anybody? This is not bodyguards. Apparently, I pissed one of them off because he came up to me, the leader of the bunch, and looked at me and said, you think I can't fight? I'll kick your ass right now. I said, okay, I believe you. And we hightailed it for the border.

[Mark Paul]

When they arrived, the Agua Caliente racetrack was as quiet as they feared.

[Dino Mateo]

We backed our cars in so that we could get out of there as fast as humanly possible. We've been able to purchase six backpacks. Dino had three of them. I had three of them over my shoulder. The fighters fanned out around us and behind us, and we headed right into the main office.

[Mark Paul]

As Miami, Dino and the fighters approached the front steps to go inside, they walked past a series of several more armed guards on their way to the bedding window.

[Dino Mateo]

When we first presented the ticket, the teller's eyes lit up because she immediately saw the amount. $250,000. And when she called for the supervisor to come over, almost immediately another guard appeared. I can remember sweat running down the back of my neck.

[Mark Paul]

Dino, Miami, and the fighters waited for the supervisor, surrounded by the armed guards, until a man in a suit appeared.

[Dino Mateo]

He looked at us really, really sternly and said, I need to talk to El Jefe. Stay here. And about 10 minutes later, the well dressed man in the suit came back. He said, follow me. So I motioned for the fighters to follow us, and he put up his hand. He said, no. Only you two Dinos looked at me and said, I don't like this. I looked at him and said, what can we do? So we followed him. We go down one flight of stairs. We go through two big, giant oak doors and another door that was set up with bars. My first thought was, where are we going? Are we going down to, like, a jail, a prison? What the hell's down here? He opens a door, and it's very dark. There's one light bulb hanging in the back of the ceiling, and the place is full of cigar smoke. Heavy, heavy smoke. It took a minute for our Eyes to adjust. And then we could see there was a big, heavyset man, kind of a grimy suit, stained in the back, smoking a big, big cigar. And the first thing he said to me really frightened me, because he said, we know who you are. I said, yeah, we're good customers. We're here to cash a small ticket. He looked at me. He says, you think $250,000 is a small ticket? He said, we just want to be fair. That set Dino off. Dino said, you want to be fair? You want to be fair? Pay us. We made our bet. She won the Kentucky Derby 50 to 1. Quit screwing around and pay us, damn it. The big man, El Jefe, sitting behind the desk, looked at me and told me, calm your little friend down. This was rapidly spinning out of control. I was getting more and more and more uncomfortable. I told Dino, just calm down, man. Just calm down. And then Dino looked at El Jefe and he said to him, listen, we know who you are, too. We know all about Jorge Ron. We know all about your cartel connections. And before we came down today, we went to the LA Times. We talked to a friend of mine who's a reporter. We gave him a copy of our tickets. We told him where we're going. We told them about Roan. We told him about winning colors. We told them about winning the bet. We gave him a photocopy of our tickets. And if you guys don't pay us, you and your boss, Roan is going to be on the front of every newspaper in LA tomorrow. They're going to know who he is, what you did to us, how you stole from us, and it's not going to go away. El Jefe seemed a bit taken aback, and he said, give me a minute. I'll be back. And he left the room. When El Jefe left the room, I looked at Dino in, like, total disbelief, like, man, where did you think of that? That was brilliant, man. And Dino said, I don't know. It just came to me. I thought, you know, what do I have? I can't threaten him. But publicity, that was great. We're still going to die, but it was a really good idea.

[Mark Paul]

Miami. And Dino sat there waiting for five, then 10 minutes.

[Dino Mateo]

We're like, this is not good. We're pacing. He comes back, he says, come with me. And we march back upstairs where we were, and they proceed to count out $250,000. He looked right at us, and he said, we don't ever, ever want to see you guys back here. Never. I looked at him, I nodded I said, agreed. We filled up the last remaining backpack. Dino reached down and he grabbed three $100 bills, and he handed them to the guards. We headed for the door. The fighters fanned out behind us, and we calmly walked down the hallway, down the front steps, out the front door cars.

[Mark Paul]

Dino and Miami hopped into the car with the fighters right behind them and booked it for the border.

[Dino Mateo]

As we're driving, Dino and I had a rule. You look right, I look left, I'm looking in the rearview mirror, I'm looking for anything. And they waved us through the Mexican side and we got to the US side and they waved us on through with 250,000 doll. Dino. I felt like we ran in the Kentucky Derby ourselves. When we got to la, we didn't feel like celebrating. We were just too spent. I dropped him at his car, I gave him a big hug, he gave me a big smile, and I headed home. I went into the bedroom, I took two backpacks, and I emptied $125,000 on the bed, and I called it a night.

[Mark Paul]

Four months later, Miami and Dino were still savoring their victory when they did something that they hadn't done for any other horse. They went to visit Winning Colors at her stable in Southern California.

[Dino Mateo]

She had just gotten, if possible, bigger and filled out even more muscular. She was just beautiful. She was just dynamic and she was unique. It's like, I wouldn't say paying their respects because she was very much alive, but we wanted to honor her and just be in her presence. She was greatness.

[Glenn Washington]

A huge, huge thank you to Mark Miami Paul for sharing his story to Snap. If gambling has become a problem for you or someone you know, you can call 1-800-GAMBLER 426-2537 to seek free confidence 24. 7 problem gambling assistance. I know that you must be wondering what happened to Winning colors after her 1988 Kentucky Derby crown. The big gray Philly retired the following year with eight career wins. And in 2000, she was inducted into the U.S. national Museum of Racing and hall of Fame. In 2008, at the age of 23, Winning Colors was laid to rest in Lexington, Kentucky. To find out more about Miami and Winning Colors story, check out Miami's book, the Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told. The original score for that piece was done by Renzo Goriot. It was produced by Bo Walsh. Oh, I know, I understand. But Glenn, you say I need more stories, more movies of the mind, more cinema of sound. Well, that's why there is so much more snap where this came from. Available at your fingertips wherever you get your podcast. Snap is brought to you by the team that knows to hedge their bets. Except for the OOH producer, Mr. Mark Rischicher. He always puts the rent money on whatever that shouty man says on tv. There's Nancy Lopez, Pat, Mesili Miller, Anna Sussman, Renzo Goriot, John Facil, Shayna Shealy, Taylor Dicott, Marisa Dodge, Bo Walsh, Flo Wiley, David Exme, Regina Berriaco, Aiming Nguyen, Zaire, Norbash. And this is not the news. No way is this the news. In fact, you can decide that you're not gonna fool with the Mafia anymore. Never, ever, ever again, right after one last bet. And you would still still not be as far away from the news as this is. But this is.