The Switch

By Takoda

"Ah he lost again," David Williams, a tall man with a solid build exclaimed. "What's wrong with this horse!!!!" an angry man blurted out. "I bet a lot of money on this horse and it never wins, it used to be the fastest since that big Cup last year!!! And I have taken another chance, no more for this horse I can tell you that." The angry man had left the small white room with the best view of the whole racecourse. It is 4 days till the next big Cup and David and his jockey, Lance, were not going great with the big beautiful, shiny, black horse with the white stripe on the middle of it's forehead known as The Midnight Strike. The Midnight Strike was owned by David and his trainer, Elizabeth Mackintosh. They were in a rush to get the horse up to scratch for the big race but unfortunately it's chances of winning was 33/1 and that is so low that he has no chance of winning or even getting a place in the Cup.

The black horse had one more small race to run before the night and that could put him up one more place for entry into the Cup. David walked to the tabs to bet $100 on his horse and his betting is such a habit that he has never not betted on a horse in his life. This race was just as important because if the horse becomes last or 2nd last, it will be over and there will be no cup for David and The Midnight Strike. The race began and there was silence in the room as everyone was hoping that the famous Midnight was going to take it all the way. David kept saying over and over again " Come on, come on!!!!" But Midnight Strike had no luck today, he found himself in 8th place out of 10. All you could hear was disappointment and anger. "Are you serious!! This horse sucks!!!" A man from the crowd said. David, Lance and Elizabeth were so mad they knew they had to do something about it in the next 4 days.

" Here is Midnight take him and train him to the max. I want him prepared to race on the day no exceptions." Money, money, money that's all he ever thought about not the horses. David knew that there was no chance at all to get the horse up to scratch and win heaps of money so he had thought up a sneaky plan!!!

He told Lance and Elizabeth his plan and they said "Yes, that is a great idea. Hahaha"

Two days later, they all got up all excited and happy ready for the big race. They got the horse from the stable and had groomed its black shiny coat. It looked so much like Midnight Strike, it was just perfect. At the races David told Elizabeth and Lance what to do about his plan, then sat in a comfy chair where he looked so relaxed with a nice cold beer in his hand, looking out the window with the great view of the whole racecourse. Down by the stables where all the horses and the trainers and jockeys were, Elizabeth and Lance followed David's instructions and got ready for the big race.10 minutes before the race, David got up and went to the Tabs, he viewed all the horses that were racing against his and looked at the odds and once again Midnight Strike was least expected to win, being on the bottom of the chart. All the people in the room recognised him, no one in the room betted on the horse except for him, Lance and Elizabeth. At the last minute, David put all his money on Midnight and the Tabs guy looked at him in a strange way. At that time, the stewards watched what he had done and were very suspicious.

The race was about to begin. David took his place in the comfy red chair with a smirk on his face. The bell jingled and the race was on. There was tension in the room and a late start from The Midnight Strike.David jumped out of his chair "Come on, Come on!!!" he shouted. They were already half the lap and Midnight and Lance were at the back in a bunch. All the popular, fast horses were at the front. 100 meters to go and out of no where Midnight shot out of the group, so fast you would miss it with a blink of an eye. The horse had caught up to the 3 other horses and ran past the 3rd horse, than the 2nd, it happened so quick, 10 meters to go, bam the race was over. It was so close they replayed the footage to see who had one.

There was silence. Butterflies where in David's stomach. The announcement was so slow it sounded like they couldn't believe it either, "In first place, in half a heads reach was....." There was a pause, " The Midnight Strike!!!!" David yelled with excitement and ran down to congratulate his horse and jockey. Everyone was in shock, that this horse had no chance of winning but came first. It was unbelievable. David went to the Tabs and collected his 8 million dollars with joy and happiness. He walked back to the horse where Lance, the jockey and Elizabeth, the trainer were standing. The spectators were crowding around them congratulating them for their great win.

Out of the corner of David's eye he saw the stewards rushing over, but they weren't happy. One Steward came up to David and pointed at Midnight's forehead and saw that white something was pouring down the horses face. It was white paint!!!! The steward wiped the horses stripe and all the white came off because of the sweat. "

What do you think your doing!!!!" David yelled at the steward . " What do you think your doing swapping the real Midnight Strike for a horse named Cheata that is a much more powerful horse than yours!!!! You're a scam!!!" Everyone in the crowd kept yelling " Disqualify him, disqualify him!!!" In the end David was disqualified and his 8 million dollars was taken away from him, and the 2nd horse came 1st and so on. David was charged for falsely substituting horses and for false representation of horses by painting a white strip on another horse called Cheata, much more quicker, in place of the real Midnight. It was the biggest racing scam people have ever seen!!!!!