BUCYRUS (Crawford County Now) — On Wednesday evening, I made my annual foray to the harness races at the 169th Crawford County fair.

Let me be clear. I am a novice’s novice when it comes to betting on a horse race. I am familiar with the terms indigenous to the sport, but beyond putting a $2 bet on the winner, I wouldn’t have a clue. Trifectas, exactas, quinellas are as clear as legal jargon to this outsider.

That said, I love watching the horses run (actually trot) and secretly hope for some underdogs to win. My mother was the same. She made it a point to attend at least one night of harness racing, especially in her later years, and never made one wager in all her 88 years.

Without risking any of my hard-earned money, I try to think of different strategies I might use if I did gamble. So far, none of them would have made me independently wealthy, mostly due to my limited understanding.

This year, I decided to try virtual betting all favorites, straight $2 bet to win.

I arrived at the track late when the post time was moved from the published 6 p.m. to 5 p.m. I think I understand why: there were 15 races on the card. But not having insider information, I was unaware.

The first race I was able to try my method was the fourth race. The favorite, Lolly, finished out of the money, so I was down $2.

In Race 5, Dobby Do L did win, but 1-9 odds only paid $2.40, so I was still down $1.60.

Favorite in the sixth race, DS Allison, again finished out of the money, putting me $3.60 in the hole. Judeah did the same in Race 7, now down $5.60.

Race 8 saw Gypsy’s Brother finish second, but unless I had bet him to place, no dice. The downward spiral continues.

In the ninth race, the favorite, Uncle Fashion, finally wins, paying $5, which got me back to being down $4.60. My hot streak continued in Race 10 when Sweet Valorie crossed the finish line first in the seven-horse race. Payout, $4.80 and putting me a whole 20 cents to the good.

I missed the 11th race taking care of some personal business but returned for the 12th.

Wishing Hall of China went off at 4-5 and came home a winner, paying a mediocre $3.80 but pushing my virtual winnings to $2!

In Race 13, favorite Dun Cashed In finished out of the money, but this race produced the largest $2 ticket payout of the night when longshot Rollin Range — 22-1 odds — won and ticket holders cashed in for $47 each.

Golden Enterprise took the 14th race, leaving the gate at 3-5 odds. The payout was a mere $3.20, but it did take my so-called winnings to $3.20 as well.

The final race of the night saw 2-5 favorite Uncle Chip come home first. With only three horses in the race, the cash in value was $2.80, ending my night with $4 to the good.

Had I put down $2 on every favorite to win in 11 of the 15 races, I wouldn’t have lost money, but neither would I have won enough to pay for a nice dinner.

I am not recommending gambling, simply examining different ways it might be approached as an amateur.

An interesting side note: On Thursday night, Lin Range set a new track record for 3-year-old trot with a time of 1:58.