Fonner Park begins its live racing season Friday with a 2 p.m. post time. That the perfect post time for a seventh hour study hall.

I’ll explain in a minute. I neither follow the ponies nor the fortunes of racing any more. I used to be a fan (mostly of cashing winners) but often lost at the track (I won occasionally). One of my good friends from college, Tom Lewis, now an accounting professor at Creighton University, tried to show me how to handicap horses, an art I never came close to accomplishing. Yeah, I know a mud mark when I see one, and think I once knew what a speed rating was but the rest was lost on me. If they looked good in the paddock and might pay a little, my money was down.

Lewis on the other hand not only mastered the art, he’s become a world champion. He is currently the top-ranked handicapper and money leader according to Horseplayer Magazine. Lewis also recently won the Orleans Classic.

I could have used my buddy in study hall, 157 years ago. That’s when I would sign out to the library, sneak out to my car, drive to the track, jump the fence, bet the Daily Double, and get back to school in time for eighth hour, out of breath and usually a few dollars lighter. I’ll never forget one day when I noticed another kid scaling the fence not 30 feet from me. I recognized him as a study hall comrade, taking out a few bets.

Each season when Fonner opens, my clearest memory is betting the Double during study hall. For Tom Lewis, it has to be cashing plenty of tickets.