Xpressbet hosts six military families for day at races

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Xpressbet and Gulfstream Park hosted six very special guests on Wednesday – members of the U.S. Special Operations Forces who, along with their spouses, were participating in a weeklong retreat sponsored by Operation Healing Forces, a nonprofit helping Special Ops veterans and their families transition back into civilian life.

The veterans, who experienced a day at the races from the Xpressbet Suite on the third floor of the grandstand, had never met prior to the retreat. The five Army Special Forces Green Berets and one Marine Raider, all volunteers, have combined for more than 50 deployments around the world, tasked with the military’s most secretive and specialized missions.

The six couples on Wednesday visited the jockeys’ room while hosted by Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez, watched Pete Aiello call a race from the announcer’s booth, and rode with track veterinarian Patty Marquis in the car that followed the horses during races. They also had their pictures taken in the winner’s circle twice following victories by horses owned by Xpressbet customer John Guarnere’s Imaginary Stables.

“It was an amazing experience; everything was top notch,” said Master Sgt. Delio Cervera, a native of Chicago who has spent 24 years with the Special Operations Forces. “Basically, we are all new to the racetrack and betting on horses. A day like this gives all the couples an opportunity to recuperate, rejuvenate – to just get away and bond. What really makes all of us most successful in the jobs we do is our wives, because if things aren’t good at home, it’s difficult for us to focus and perform our duties properly when out there and away from our families for six months to a year at a time.”