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levinmpa
06-23-2015, 11:19 PM
The Good ole days

I know time moves forward and everything evolves and changes, but I really miss the game I fell in love with as a teenager and into my early 20's. This was early 80's into 90's. Some of the things I miss the most about the game at that time:

Large Fields. I remember when Belmont would have 150 or more horses entered on a 10 race card almost every day, even though some were obviously "also eligibles"

6 Day Race weeks year round in New York, 5 Day Race Weeks year round in California

New Jersey in the Summer had Monmouth Park running 5 afternoon days and Atlantic City ran in the evenings.

Northern California Fair meets had the same rotation every summer. Stockton, Pleasanton, Vallejo(Solano), Santa Rosa, Bay Meadows Fair, Sacramento. Each fair ran for 13 consecutive days and 13 races per card.

Hialeah Park ran the prime winter dates of January - March

Southern California had Shoemaker, Pincay Jr, McCarron, Delahoussaye, Hawley, Stevens, Valenzuela, Toro

New York had Cordero, Vasquez, Velasquez, Maple, Migliore, Smith, Bailey, Krone, Antley, Davis, Romero, Peret

Tom Durkin, Marshal Cassidy, Phil Georgeff, Ross Morton, Todd Creed, Dave Johnson

The full size Eastern Edition of the DRF was the size of a regular newspaper, not a tabloid

Affirmed and Alydar, Precisionist and Greinton, Sunday Silence and Easy Goer.

Longacres, Bay Meadows, Hollywood Park, Garden State Park, Atlantic City

Yes, things have changed, some for the better, some not. We have speed figures, ADW's, and a wealth of information available to us on our computers and smartphones whenever we want to access it. We also have 4 day or less race weeks with 8 race cards, short fields, few rivalries, "super" trainers, high takeouts, and we're now a "fringe" sport. I do miss the good ole days.

EMD4ME
06-23-2015, 11:21 PM
I am WITH YOU 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000%

I long for the days where my dad drove me to Monmouth for 10 races and we jetted out to make the 2nd or sometimes first LIVE at Atlantic City Race Course OR Penn National.

And everything else you said.....All of it.

Stillriledup
06-23-2015, 11:25 PM
The stuff in your last paragraph didnt help me or you for the better. It just helped people who didn't have the time to do real work on the races get a bit closer to the winning players. The speed figs for 'free' in the drf, computer bettors, simulcasting, robotic wagering and all that 'advanced technology' pretty much ended the fun for the player who was at the track live and was only betting against other people who were physically at the track.

Stillriledup
06-23-2015, 11:30 PM
To add: it amazing how far the jockey colonies in ny and calif have fallen.

Where have all the great jocks gone?

Milkshaker
06-23-2015, 11:39 PM
I long for the days where my dad drove me to Monmouth for 10 races and we jetted out to make the 2nd or sometimes first LIVE at Atlantic City Race Course OR Penn National.


Wow. Mth/AC doubleheaders I can see. But you REALLY get points for trying if you did Mth/Pen doubleheaders.

What is that, like 180 miles? Like 3+ hours, maybe more considering traffic from the shore roads to get to the open highway?

Sweet!

JustRalph
06-23-2015, 11:56 PM
In the 70's a Saturday night at Scioto Downs with the family, sitting upstairs (dad always sat upstairs when mom came with us) was a huge night out and fun.

Saturday afternoons at Beulah park.....my dad and his work buddies...... :ThmbUp:

PhantomOnTour
06-24-2015, 12:00 AM
Look on the bright side fellas...for the younger generation of racing fans, these are the good ole days :eek:

biggestal99
06-24-2015, 05:12 AM
Belmont Fall Meeting/Meadowlands evening meeting doubleheaders.

ah sweet youth.

Allan

bildi66
06-24-2015, 06:11 AM
My bro-in-law first took me to Arlington park in 63 or 64. It was old and grubby with tickets and cigarette butts all over the floor. But it was a palace compared to Sportsmans park. One time I did nine at AP and because I won, I went later that night to Sportsmans for the ten harness races. Of course I lost it all, plus some more. :bang:

I also went to Washington for the harness races a few times. What a beautiful place! My brother and I went there one night and we hit 7 of 10 races.

Remember when you wanted to bet $4, you had to go to the $2 window and ask for #6, twice?

thaskalos
06-24-2015, 06:23 AM
Give me the full fields again, and I can do without all the other nostalgic components of the "Good Ole Days"...pleasing though they may be.

RacingFan1992
06-24-2015, 08:03 AM
Look on the bright side fellas...for the younger generation of racing fans, these are the good ole days :eek:

I am part of the younger generation and these are not the good ole days.

Ocala Mike
06-24-2015, 08:24 AM
You know you're old when guys refer to the '80's and '90's as "the good ole days."

Jeez, I thought the thread was gonna take us back a little further than that! For me, the good ole days (referring to NY racing) were when there were 3 flat tracks downstate, no year-round racing, no legal wagering except on-track, no phones, and 8 races, WPS only, with one daily double.

castaway01
06-24-2015, 08:25 AM
If it makes you feel any better, when you were enjoying your "good old days" in the 1990s, there were a bunch of old guys sitting around you who were complaining about how the 1990s sucked compared to the 1970s racing, or 1950s, or whenever. ;)

Track Phantom
06-24-2015, 08:39 AM
I grew up in Minnesota and Canterbury Downs was my home track. I started in 1986. Here are some things I miss:



Racing to a Shinders Book Store or a SuperAmerica gas station for a racing form and being elated when I got there and forms were actually in and they had some remaining. (I once drove to the track --45 miles -- at about 8PM for a racing form for the next day). It was kind of exciting opening the form to see who was racing the next day.
Seeing horses like Who Doctor Who, Pentelicus, Princess Elaine, etc running on a Thursday, no less. I remember they would card overnight stakes and we'd see "weekend-type" runners in the middle of the week.
Driving with my dad to the track (about a 45 minute drive) and going through the races during the drive.
Betting horses, not trainers.

andtheyreoff
06-24-2015, 08:42 AM
With the exception of the bigger fields, I don't think any of that qualifies as "better" than now.

I mean, yeah, it was better there were more racing days back then, but with the horse population now, it's just not realistic (of course, a smaller horse population is not necessarily a bad thing, but that's another story). I'd rather bet on three good days of racing than five days of crap. Belmont's still trying to do five-day race weeks, and it's the saddest thing ever. They're averaging fewer than seven entries per dirt race.

Beyond that, though, what makes today "better" in a lot of ways in not just more information, but more access to information. Back in the day, if you wanted more information, you either had to be at the track every day and compile the data yourself, which is a pain, or buy it from someone else. I know that, in the bizzaro world of Stillriledup, this is a good thing, but it makes things much easier now that data is more accessible.

And, as previously hinted at, if you wanted to follow a track in-depth, you had to be there every single day. I write about Monmouth for every card, but I'm not there all the time.

Furthermore, if you wanted to see a race at all, you had to be either at the track, or watch it from another track on simulcast (but only some of the races). There was no at-home betting, much less phone betting, or watching the races from home. If you wanted to catch a race replay, you couldn't do it from home, unless you had countless video copies of race replay shows.

So was the product better? In many cases, yes. But let's not get too nostalgic here. Racing has never been more accessible than it is now.

Track Phantom
06-24-2015, 08:49 AM
With the exception of the bigger fields, I don't think any of that qualifies as "better" than now.

I mean, yeah, it was better there were more racing days back then, but with the horse population now, it's just not realistic (of course, a smaller horse population is not necessarily a bad thing, but that's another story). I'd rather bet on three good days of racing than five days of crap. Belmont's still trying to do five-day race weeks, and it's the saddest thing ever. They're averaging fewer than seven entries per dirt race.

Beyond that, though, what makes today "better" in a lot of ways in not just more information, but more access to information. Back in the day, if you wanted more information, you either had to be at the track every day and compile the data yourself, which is a pain, or buy it from someone else. I know that, in the bizzaro world of Stillriledup, this is a good thing, but it makes things much easier now that data is more accessible.

And, as previously hinted at, if you wanted to follow a track in-depth, you had to be there every single day. I write about Monmouth for every card, but I'm not there all the time.

Furthermore, if you wanted to see a race at all, you had to be either at the track, or watch it from another track on simulcast (but only some of the races). There was no at-home betting, much less phone betting, or watching the races from home. If you wanted to catch a race replay, you couldn't do it from home, unless you had countless video copies of race replay shows.

So was the product better? In many cases, yes. But let's not get too nostalgic here. Racing has never been more accessible than it is now.

I agree with some of this...most actually. But one thing to remember. 30 years ago, without everyone having so much critical information, a runner who goes off at 7-2 today, may have been 8-1 then. Your strike rate didn't need to be as precise as it is today.

So, while having access to more information, more readily is a great thing, it does slice into an edge diligent players had 30 years ago.

EMD4ME
06-24-2015, 09:12 AM
[QUOTE=Milkshaker]Wow. Mth/AC doubleheaders I can see. But you REALLY get points for trying if you did Mth/Pen doubleheaders.

What is that, like 180 miles? Like 3+ hours, maybe more considering traffic from the shore roads to get to the open highway?

Sweet![/QUOTE

My dad loved road trips. MTH PENN was hard. Going north and west was a long trip but Penn started at 725 back in the day so the late post helped.

Those were the days......

andtheyreoff
06-24-2015, 09:20 AM
I agree with some of this...most actually. But one thing to remember. 30 years ago, without everyone having so much critical information, a runner who goes off at 7-2 today, may have been 8-1 then. Your strike rate didn't need to be as precise as it is today.

So, while having access to more information, more readily is a great thing, it does slice into an edge diligent players had 30 years ago.

Well, back in the day, in most cases, your only option was to bet him to win. Now, if you think he's too short of a price to make a win bet, no problem. You can use him on top in a trifecta or superfecta, or single him in a pick 4 or rolling pick 3. Back then, there were only a few trifectas or pick 3s per day, and they had expensive $2 minimums. Superfectas and pick 4s were unheard of.

Track Phantom
06-24-2015, 12:40 PM
Well, back in the day, in most cases, your only option was to bet him to win. Now, if you think he's too short of a price to make a win bet, no problem. You can use him on top in a trifecta or superfecta, or single him in a pick 4 or rolling pick 3. Back then, there were only a few trifectas or pick 3s per day, and they had expensive $2 minimums. Superfectas and pick 4s were unheard of.

When I started, exactas where available. Also, there were two "daily triples" (pick 3's) and a pick 6 and daily doubles. Not sure when Trifectas and Superfectas came into existence.

BlueChip@DRF
06-24-2015, 12:55 PM
WWOR Channel 9:
6:00 PM Racing from Belmont/Aqueduct
The featured 8th race and then the try-to-break-even 9th race.
Charlsie Cantey and that Whittaker guy.

11:00 PM Racing from Roosevelt/Yonkers
Carmine Abbatiello!!!

Then Benny Hill and then WWF. Saturday nights from 1100pm to 0100am was a treat!

Kash$
06-24-2015, 01:05 PM
WWOR Channel 9:
6:00 PM Racing from Belmont/Aqueduct
The featured 8th race and then the try-to-break-even 9th race.
Charlsie Cantey and that Whittaker guy.

11:00 PM Racing from Roosevelt/Yonkers
Carmine Abbatiello!!!

Then Benny Hill and then WWF. Saturday nights from 1100pm to 0100am was a treat!


Stan Bergstein...Docs Fella $3.60 2.20 2.20 prices are ok..

BlueChip@DRF
06-24-2015, 01:45 PM
Stan Bergstein...Docs Fella $3.60 2.20 2.20 prices are ok..

And every other trotter/pacer with Lobell, Almahurst, or Hanover in their name.

Kash$
06-24-2015, 01:50 PM
And every other trotter/pacer with Lobell, Almahurst, or Hanover in their name.

Just a few

Trotter-Bobo
Pacer-Division Street
Trotter-Ideal e Gazuea
Pacer-Millers Scout

Good ole days

Jimmy Marohn,John Patterson,Lucien Fontaine..good ole days

Ocala Mike
06-24-2015, 01:50 PM
Charlsie Cantey and that Whittaker guy.



I think you mean Frank Wright, correct? He was a pretty good trainer in his time.

thespaah
06-24-2015, 08:55 PM
Belmont Fall Meeting/Meadowlands evening meeting doubleheaders.

ah sweet youth.

Allan
I did some of those......More than I care to admit....

thespaah
06-24-2015, 09:18 PM
WWOR Channel 9:
6:00 PM Racing from Belmont/Aqueduct
The featured 8th race and then the try-to-break-even 9th race.
Charlsie Cantey and that Whittaker guy.

11:00 PM Racing from Roosevelt/Yonkers
Carmine Abbatiello!!!

Then Benny Hill and then WWF. Saturday nights from 1100pm to 0100am was a treat!
Wow...You and I had the same viewing habits...
By the way, it was Charlsie Cantey and Frank Wright. doing Aqu. Bel and Sar....
For Yonkers and Roosevelt, the hosts were Stan Bergstein and Spencer Ross.
That show aired at 11:30PM on Saturday's. They showed the OTB Pick 4 races, the last of which was the "feature"( no one uses that term anymore).
Odd how only NYC, Catskill and Nassau OTB offered the Pick 4 wager....The tracks did not offer the wager. The base was $3....
I rarely played it. Never hit it. Thought I had it one night. I got pulled down in the last..
It was a fun evening. Benny Hill at 11:00 PM.....Then racing......Of course the NYRA show was a regular fixture at my house. Even got my parents to watch it even though they could not care less about horse racing.
Add this.....On WCBS 880 AM.....all afternoon, they would play the stretch calls of every NYRA race and then the same for Yonkers or Roosevelt in the evenings.

thespaah
06-24-2015, 09:20 PM
And every other trotter/pacer with Lobell, Almahurst, or Hanover in their name.
Don't forget ""keystone" "fella" and "skipper"..
Those guys had no imaginations.

Tall One
06-24-2015, 10:17 PM
The Good ole days

The full size Eastern Edition of the DRF was the size of a regular newspaper, not a tabloid.


Good call. Local edition here was the Midwest, which was longer tabloid style, but every so often, the Eastern addition would show up at the store. I'd always pick one up. It was something different, different coverage, comment lines which the Midwest didn't provide at that time.


Also, are you guys talking about Jack Whitaker?

proximity
06-24-2015, 10:30 PM
[QUOTE=Milkshaker]Wow. Mth/AC doubleheaders I can see. But you REALLY get points for trying if you did Mth/Pen doubleheaders.

What is that, like 180 miles? Like 3+ hours, maybe more considering traffic from the shore roads to get to the open highway?

Sweet![/QUOTE

My dad loved road trips. MTH PENN was hard. Going north and west was a long trip but Penn started at 725 back in the day so the late post helped.

Those were the days......

was that back when you still had to pay for parking there?

I give your dad about a 105 beyer for the trip!! :cool:

reckless
06-24-2015, 10:50 PM
Don't forget ""keystone" "fella" and "skipper"..
Those guys had no imaginations.

Wow, talk about old memories.

Does anyone that followed the harness game in the 70s recall a horse by the name of Mirror Image? That poor sucker must have been sore as a boil, he wore bandages almost up his entire front legs. He was always 'right there' for me when I'd bet him.

And these gladiators raced every week. Also, did any horse ever break 2:00 minute miles at Yonkers or Monticello before the modified sulky came around?

Prytanis
06-24-2015, 11:02 PM
Just a few

Trotter-Bobo
Pacer-Division Street
Trotter-Ideal e Gazuea
Pacer-Millers Scout

Good ole days

Jimmy Marohn,John Patterson,Lucien Fontaine..good ole days
Ideal de Gouzow( or something like that) won two Roosevelt Internationals

I know I butchered the name

Prytanis
06-24-2015, 11:05 PM
One name
Cinzano

Ocala Mike
06-24-2015, 11:10 PM
No, one name - Lebon.

thespaah
06-24-2015, 11:18 PM
Wow, talk about old memories.

Does anyone that followed the harness game in the 70s recall a horse by the name of Mirror Image? That poor sucker must have been sore as a boil, he wore bandages almost up his entire front legs. He was always 'right there' for me when I'd bet him.

And these gladiators raced every week. Also, did any horse ever break 2:00 minute miles at Yonkers or Monticello before the modified sulky came around?
Jack Lee, announcer at Roosevelt referred to a sub 2:00 time as a "magic mile".
One half mile tracks, under 2:00 was pretty rare in the 70's....At the turn into the 80's the modified bike became the norm which produced sub 1:58 miles all the time...

thespaah
06-24-2015, 11:23 PM
Ideal de Gouzow( or something like that) won two Roosevelt Internationals

I know I butchered the name
Ideal du Gazeau....
No worries.
The international was cool because it was different.
1 1/2 miles. Three laps...

thespaah
06-24-2015, 11:24 PM
One name
Cinzano
I think the back page sports headline in the NY Daily News read
"Is this horse....That horse"...
Oh...."that horse" was Lebon
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/sports/mark-gerard-76-veterinarian-at-center-of-a-horse-race-fraud.html?_r=0

thespaah
06-24-2015, 11:30 PM
No, one name - Lebon.
If you'd like to reminisce, I posted a link below.
I remember this story like it was yesterday.....

thespaah
06-24-2015, 11:34 PM
Just a few

Trotter-Bobo
Pacer-Division Street
Trotter-Ideal e Gazuea
Pacer-Millers Scout

Good ole days

Jimmy Marohn,John Patterson,Lucien Fontaine..good ole days
Benny "the whip" Webster..."Stormin" Norman Duplaisse. Johnny Chapman. Bill O'Donnell. The Popfinger brothers.....

clocker7
06-25-2015, 12:01 AM
The DRF that had to be carefully opened on its semi-perforated edges ....

EMD4ME
06-25-2015, 07:49 AM
[QUOTE=EMD4ME]

was that back when you still had to pay for parking there?

I give your dad about a 105 beyer for the trip!! :cool:

This was back in the early 90's or late 80's. I do recall always paying for parking at MTH but never at PENN. I remember coming up the hill at PENN (after that right turn). Seeing that beautiful white entrance (where the valet parking was) and just picking a spot anywhere as close as possible.

I hate what that parking lot looks like now. Stupid Racino :bang: :bang: :bang:

I'll tell my dad about his Beyer Figure !!!

I remember him speeding the whole way!!! Awesome times I tell you.

Robert Goren
06-25-2015, 10:04 AM
I'd rather bet on 5 days of good races than 3 days of crap races.

horses4courses
06-25-2015, 10:06 AM
These are the good ole days for some.
All it takes is being young at heart.

Johnny V
06-25-2015, 01:40 PM
Some of the posts on here bring back some good memories of the "good old days". I remember when just about every newsstand and candy store sold The Morning Telegraph . Tip/tout sheets were a pretty common site. The old Turf and Sports Digest . Getting a bet down on the horses was no problem in the neighborhood or wherever you worked. Good crowds at the track. But with all that good nostalgia, I of course do much better now. We have better info and figs at our fingertips and the ability to wager at home and cancel bets etc and so much more we could not do back then that now helps the bottom line.

Kash$
06-25-2015, 01:45 PM
The Sports Eye

BlueChip@DRF
06-25-2015, 02:15 PM
Russ Harris

Kash$
06-25-2015, 03:51 PM
Andy Beyer :lol:

thespaah
06-25-2015, 11:06 PM
The Sports Eye
:ThmbUp: :ThmbUp:

thespaah
06-25-2015, 11:11 PM
"Through the binocs"..NY Post..
John Pricci...NY Newsday
Thoroughbred Action with Harvey Pack
"Pandycapping"...
20k was an average crowd at the Meadowlands for a Saturday.

Fingal
06-26-2015, 02:07 AM
Andy Beyer :lol:

The pre Andy Beyer days when anyone who made even the most very basic speed/pace figures was way ahead of the rest of the masses & enjoyed the resulting mutuels.

But it's kinda ironic the further time passes the "good old days" become exponentially better.

nijinski
06-26-2015, 03:12 AM
"Through the binocs"..NY Post..
John Pricci...NY Newsday
Thoroughbred Action with Harvey Pack
"Pandycapping"...
20k was an average crowd at the Meadowlands for a Saturday.

The early days , 78 and 79 The Big M hosted true champions , Seattle Slew
Spectacular Bid and the great harness racing champion Niatross .
Great racing history for this track back then , many exciting races .

Saw The Bid there twice and Niatross .
Good I didn't make it to Slew's race . Gets beat by the classy sprinter
and son of Dr Fager , Dr Patches !

dilanesp
06-26-2015, 03:45 AM
Toro on the turf.

Charlie Wittingham running uncoupled entries and always winning with the larger price. Hmmm.

D. Wayne off the plane.

"And down the stretch they come!"

$5 Exactas. "At Santa Anita, you have to get permission to bet."

Precisionist and Greinton.

The Bid.

The Budweiser Clydesdales pulling the starting gate.

The old Del Mar train station right on the beach.

The media sensation when Hollywood Park first introduced the Pick Six.

The old mechanical tote tickets, separate lines to bet or cash and for different denominations, and no cancellations if the ticket was wrong.

The $50 win window, behind a screen for privacy.

10 minute betting lines.

Having to buy a reserved seat every day, and months in advance for the Santa Anita Handicap.

Free tote bags!

Handicappers in every paper and front page coverage of big stakes.

The media explosion when Seattle Slew came here.

The arrival of Trevor in 1983- he sounded like nothing we had ever heard.

50,000 people at the first Friday night card at Hollywood Park.

Doc Severinson blowing the call to post in Los Al commercials.

Fixed harness races.

Eastern horses like Groovy, Gulch, and Seattle Slew routinely being unable to handle fast California tracks. But when one did, like Broad Brush or Cigar, he generated tremendous publicity and respect.

Symboli Rudolf shipping in from Japan, going off at 1 to 9, and losing.

Ferdinand and Alysheba.

Kash$
06-26-2015, 07:04 AM
Toro on the turf.

Charlie Wittingham running uncoupled entries and always winning with the larger price. Hmmm.

D. Wayne off the plane.

"And down the stretch they come!"

$5 Exactas. "At Santa Anita, you have to get permission to bet."

Precisionist and Greinton.

The Bid.

The Budweiser Clydesdales pulling the starting gate.

The old Del Mar train station right on the beach.

The media sensation when Hollywood Park first introduced the Pick Six.

The old mechanical tote tickets, separate lines to bet or cash and for different denominations, and no cancellations if the ticket was wrong.

The $50 win window, behind a screen for privacy.

10 minute betting lines.

Having to buy a reserved seat every day, and months in advance for the Santa Anita Handicap.

Free tote bags!

Handicappers in every paper and front page coverage of big stakes.

The media explosion when Seattle Slew came here.

The arrival of Trevor in 1983- he sounded like nothing we had ever heard.

50,000 people at the first Friday night card at Hollywood Park.

Doc Severinson blowing the call to post in Los Al commercials.

Fixed harness races.

Eastern horses like Groovy, Gulch, and Seattle Slew routinely being unable to handle fast California tracks. But when one did, like Broad Brush or Cigar, he generated tremendous publicity and respect.

Symboli Rudolf shipping in from Japan, going off at 1 to 9, and losing.

Ferdinand and Alysheba.

Fixed harness races still today :lol:

Prytanis
06-26-2015, 08:51 AM
If you'd like to reminisce, I posted a link below.
I remember this story like it was yesterday.....
I was at the track that day!
It was the last race,and if my memory serves me right he had an outside pp and took the lead and race over!!

BlueChip@DRF
06-26-2015, 01:59 PM
Terpsichorist and her weird gate. Pearl Necklace and her front socks that matched her blaze. Calumet Farm's Davona Dale. Avatar. Wajima. Buckaroo. Sanhedrin. J.O. Tobin. Bold 'n Nasty.

thespaah
06-26-2015, 02:01 PM
The early days , 78 and 79 The Big M hosted true champions , Seattle Slew
Spectacular Bid and the great harness racing champion Niatross .
Great racing history for this track back then , many exciting races .

Saw The Bid there twice and Niatross .
Good I didn't make it to Slew's race . Gets beat by the classy sprinter
and son of Dr Fager , Dr Patches !
I was there for the Slew loss under the lights.
In fact the connections blamed the lights for Slew's loss. Fact is, Dr Patches was just better that night.
I got see John Henry win twice there. What a warrior.
Was there with 45,000 of my closest friends the night Larry Holmes took out Jerry Cooney.....They charged $20 to get in for the races and the fight. The place was mobbed. One funny....All of the people whop normally waited outside for the 8th race to go official so they got in free to bet the late double were pissed off...Imagine that. These people were there with fists full of cash to make bets but God forbid they had to pay the two bucks to get into the track.

thespaah
06-26-2015, 02:10 PM
Terpsichorist and her weird gate. Pearl Necklace and her front socks that matched her blaze. Calumet Farm's Davona Dale. Avatar. Wajima. Buckaroo. Sanhedrin. J.O. Tobin. Bold 'n Nasty.
Nasty and Bold.....Ring of Truth. Ring of Light racing against each other.
Marshall Cassidy showing he actually had a sense of humor..."What a Wabbit on the wail"....
Bob Weems at Monmouth.....Theeere AWWWWFFFF....
Phil Georgeff..Here they come spinning out of the turn"....."And here he is the living legend John Henry"....
Garden State Park Before the fire.
"Westburytote".....Go look up that one....LOL

thespaah
06-26-2015, 02:32 PM
Terpsichorist and her weird gate. Pearl Necklace and her front socks that matched her blaze. Calumet Farm's Davona Dale. Avatar. Wajima. Buckaroo. Sanhedrin. J.O. Tobin. Bold 'n Nasty.
Tap Shoes and his even weirder gait...

nijinski
06-26-2015, 04:14 PM
I was there for the Slew loss under the lights.
In fact the connections blamed the lights for Slew's loss. Fact is, Dr Patches was just better that night.
I got see John Henry win twice there. What a warrior.
Was there with 45,000 of my closest friends the night Larry Holmes took out Jerry Cooney.....They charged $20 to get in for the races and the fight. The place was mobbed. One funny....All of the people whop normally waited outside for the 8th race to go official so they got in free to bet the late double were pissed off...Imagine that. These people were there with fists full of cash to make bets but God forbid they had to pay the two bucks to get into the track.

The free admission and arms out for the programs too

affirmedny
06-26-2015, 04:27 PM
waiting for the racing form and the Daily News "night owl" to be delivered!

levinmpa
06-26-2015, 05:13 PM
Some of the posts on here bring back some good memories of the "good old days". I remember when just about every newsstand and candy store sold The Morning Telegraph . Tip/tout sheets were a pretty common site. The old Turf and Sports Digest . Getting a bet down on the horses was no problem in the neighborhood or wherever you worked. Good crowds at the track. But with all that good nostalgia, I of course do much better now. We have better info and figs at our fingertips and the ability to wager at home and cancel bets etc and so much more we could not do back then that now helps the bottom line.

I think I have a couple of Turf and Sport Digest's buried in a box somewhere. I had a subscription for a couple of years when I was a teenager. I remember buying a couple of the "systems" advertised in the back pages.

I guess my original post was more of a trip down memory lane than anything else, but as good as we have things now, there's still a lot that I miss. Since racing isn't covered in newspapers any more, I don't even bother subscribing. I remember the LA Herald Examiner in the 80's was the bomb for racing coverage. The front of the sports page had "Professor" Gordon Jones at Santa Anita and Jerry Antanucci at Santa Anita. They didn't have just one handicapper covering the races in those days. The Pasadena Star News had really good coverage too. In Northern Calif, the Oakland Tribune had really good coverage.

How many So Cal fans remember Turfcraft? They were a tout service that had a race recreation radio show and produced a monthy newsletter called Turfcraft Magazine which listed a bunch of "fit and ready to win" horses. "And that's another Turfcraft Winner"

I remember using the Sports Eye to bet the Meadowlands Harness action when I was in Las Vegas. That was an excellent publication.

I think the big crowds really made the game exciting and made you want to come back. Santa Anita would have 15 - 20,000 on a weekday and weekends were 40,000+ sometimes. There were touts along Huntington Drive on the way to the track, selling their selections. You would see cars pull over to buy the selections. I remember leaving the track and there would be selection sheets showing the winning double that the touts would print after the fact and throw on the ground. I guess some people fell for it.

Yeah, the good ole days were pretty good. But I guess sitting in a comfortable chair in my own living room with a laptop and PPs at my fingertips for any race I want to bet on is pretty good too. Still, I wouldn't mind going back, just for a little while.

Prytanis
06-26-2015, 07:45 PM
waiting for the racing form and the Daily News "night owl" to be delivered!
Every night at eight ,at the 42nd St entrance to the A train!
Uptown side.

dilanesp
06-26-2015, 08:01 PM
I remember the LA Herald Examiner in the 80's was the bomb for racing coverage. The front of the sports page had "Professor" Gordon Jones at Santa Anita and Jerry Antanucci at Santa Anita. They didn't have just one handicapper covering the races in those days. The Pasadena Star News had really good coverage too. In Northern Calif, the Oakland Tribune had really good coverage.

My father was on the sports staff of the Pasadena Star-News for a number of years. He covered mostly basketball and track and field, not horse racing.

The paper had connections at the track and used to get early information on scratches from the track before the official scratches were taken in the morning. So if a trainer notified the racing secretary in advance of the day of the race that a horse was scratched, the Star News would sometimes have that whereas other local papers wouldn't.

Well, normally, if they couldn't contact the handicapper when his or her pick was scratched, they would just scratch the horses out of the handicappers' selections and move up the rest, but one time, when my father was working the night shift in the newsroom, the scratches came through, one of the main handicapper's top selections was scratched, and they couldn't reach the handicapper. It happened my father really liked a horse in that race, so he inserted in that selection as the top selection in the race in the morning paper.

The horse won and paid 8 to 1. :) Absolutely true story.

thespaah
06-26-2015, 08:15 PM
The free admission and arms out for the programs too
Oh..Those cheapskates too stingy to buy a program. And if you didn't give yours away, they gave you a dirty look.

BlueChip@DRF
06-27-2015, 06:00 AM
Lawton Sheets.

Kash$
06-27-2015, 08:09 AM
Racing Times
Oscar Barrera run them back in 2 days
Bill Shoemaker

Tor Ekman
06-27-2015, 08:16 AM
WWOR Channel 9:
6:00 PM Racing from Belmont/Aqueduct
The featured 8th race and then the try-to-break-even 9th race.
Charlsie Cantey and that Whittaker guy.

11:00 PM Racing from Roosevelt/Yonkers
Carmine Abbatiello!!!

Then Benny Hill and then WWF. Saturday nights from 1100pm to 0100am was a treat!and Jerry Girard giving the race results at the end of his sports report on the 10pm WPIX ch. 11 news

Prytanis
06-27-2015, 10:17 AM
The OTB at Grand Central Station
Results 20min after the race was ran!

SandyW
06-27-2015, 11:40 AM
Belmont or Aqueduct daytime, limo for $3.00 to Yonkers or Roosevelt.
Chinatown after the trotters.
Those were the days my friend, we thought they never would end.

thespaah
06-27-2015, 12:05 PM
Racing Times
Oscar Barrera run them back in 2 days
Bill Shoemaker
Cordero and Velasquez....
"Samyn on the green"

thespaah
06-27-2015, 12:08 PM
The OTB at Grand Central Station
Results 20min after the race was ran!
All OTB's were like that. No audio no tv's. Bet by assigned letter.

EMD4ME
06-27-2015, 12:17 PM
All OTB's were like that. No audio no tv's. Bet by assigned letter.

B
A
D


J
O
K
E

Ocala Mike
06-27-2015, 01:05 PM
Yeah, betting with OTB in those days was a "thing." On Tuesday's they would take betting on Finger Lakes, but it was separate pool quinellas only because the law didn't yet allow for commingling of FLRA's pools.