Free Maybe Baby by Andrea Smith Page A

irons, T.J. Preston.”
    We had no problem getting Jezebel into her post position. Once the last horse was in, there was a minute’s pause before the buzzer sounded and the gate lifted. True to Andy’s prediction, Jezebel wasn't quick to break out of the gate. I decided to do what I was trained to do and let the announcer play it back to me.
    “And runners away in the challenge!” I heard him yell into the microphone, echoing across the track. “Lucky Lulu broke well on the inside; Cosmos is quickly out in the middle of the pack. Here comes Jezebel well into stride from the outside! Now just to the inside, it’s Lucky Lulu; Jezebel is gaining on the outside! Now it’s Lucky Lulu! Cosmos drops to the back. It’s Jezebel and Lucky Lulu nose to nose! And it is…Jezebel across the finish! Jezebel has won the Kick-off Stakes Amateur Challenge in race number four!”
    The best part was a chance to earn another $15,000 in the bonus race. I checked Jezebel’s clocked time: 29 seconds, the fastest so far. Andy ran over to me and lifted me off of Jezebel, twirling me around in a circle.
    “You did it T.J.!”
    “We all did it, Andy. Thank you so much for taking a chance on me.”
    “You're a natural for this. Jezebel knows it too.” He slapped me lightly on the back a couple of times as we led Jezebel back to the paddock. Jezebel was the first winner’s purse taken by a Sinclair horse so far this evening. There were only four more races to go.
    “I’ll see you back here in about an hour okay, Andy? I have some things to take care of.”
    “Sure thing,” he answered. “Take a break and get psyched for the next one, hear?”
    I went to the locker room and pulled my gear off, placing it in my locker. Part of me secretly hoped that none of the other Sinclair-sponsored horses took a purse tonight, but that was kind of selfish, not to mention unsportsmanlike, so I chastised myself for thinking like that.
    Bringing my focus back to reality, I pulled out my phone and noticed I had a text message and several missed calls. It had been on vibrate for most of the day. I stared at the screen. It was Trey. I was afraid to read the text. I realized now that Clint had probably been in touch with him, telling him that I’d planned to race Jezebel. I gathered courage and opened the text message:
    What in the hell do u think u r doing?? I'll deal w/u as soon as I get back.
    Trey had clearly found out about tonight’s races. No mystery there.
    Thanks Clint.
    Andy was pacing when I returned to the paddock. For a moment I worried that he'd received orders from “mission control” to strike me from the race. “Where have you been?” he asked, panicked. “I was scared you had slipped out on me.”
    “I wouldn’t do that,” I replied. “What'd I miss?”
    “Two of the eight horses in the bonus race represent Sinclair Stables,” he said proudly. A pang of disappointment shot through me and I reminded myself once again to stop thinking like that and to be happy for the Sinclair team.
    “Really? That’s great!” I lied. “Who else?”
    “Ariel,” he replied.
    That was good news. Luke was Ariel’s trainer. “I’m really glad; I still want Jezebel to beat them all,” I admitted.
    “No argument from me on that,” Andy said as he helped me up into the racing saddle. He mounted Jubilee and we rode on out to the infield.
    The announcer started the introductions again, going through the line-up, horse, owner, trainer, and jockey. Andy escorted Jezebel and me back out onto the track. I wanted to giggle as we were announced this time as “Rookie Jockey, T.J. Preston.” Within minutes all of the horses were at the gate; the escorts had cleared the track. I pulled my goggles down and took position ready for the sound of the buzzer and the lifting of the gate. There seemed to be some sort of a delay in raising the gates. The announcer had stopped his banter as well. What now?
    “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention