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Fan Since The 50's
07-29-2016, 06:15 AM
Hello Everyone: I have been a lurker on this database for a very long time. I won't be starting or getting into arguments with any of you. I am a fairly laid back guy.

I have been attending the races since I was literally an unborn child! I care and read about the races every single day. I haven't been to the races since last October at CT. My son and I are heading out to California next month and plan to attend the Pacific Classic. Watching five or six bottom claimers going 6 furlongs at an empty racetrack is not my idea of a good time. I probably loved ShD and CT more than any other track. That is for the radical reason that you can actually see the races really well. It is heartbreaking to see what is going on at CT. You guys know the drill, racing is an unwanted step child of the casino. Bowie, Delaware Park, and Pimlico are also past favorites of mine.

I am a former racing official at Pen from 1982-1984. I did everything in the racing office and some not very well. I love racing, but am not a knowledgeable horsemen. I was told the Pen jockeys exploited my limited knowledge of racing equipment.

During my peak years I would attend the races well over 100 times a year. I even visited tracks during my days off at Pen.

I have collected tote tickets since 1958 and programs since 1963.

My first triple crown race was a good one - Secretariat in 1973. I also saw Seattle Slew and Affirmed win their second jewels. I got to see Spectacular Bid race five or six times, as his owners were from the mid Atlantic area.

So there you are a little about me. Maybe I could meet some of you someday. I am semi retired as a better, but will always love the game. I plan to retire from my federal government job as a finance officer on December 31. I will have completed 30 years of service.

I have really enjoyed reading this data base for all these years!

Cheers!

garyscpa
07-29-2016, 06:21 AM
Welcome! :ThmbUp:

v j stauffer
07-29-2016, 06:46 AM
Great to have you aboard.

Don't stand too close to me. Shrapnel is deadly.

I'm Ostrich Sized.

Remind me when the Pacific Classic is nearing. I know the announcer. Great guy. I'll ask him to leave you some passes.

Welcome!

EMD4ME
07-29-2016, 07:53 AM
Welcome! I too grew up on the game at chuck town! Ah the good ol days.

I'd love to hear about your Penn jockey experience. Do tell please!

If you're ever at Belmont, hit me up and say hello!

Track Collector
07-29-2016, 10:22 AM
Hi neighbor! I live in Williamport which is just outside of Hagerstown MD, and I have lived in Washington County my entire life. (I of course pronounce it "warshington". :)).

Given your mention of the area local tracks, surely you must have heard about Timonium. We would love to have you join us sometime during their upcoming meet. There is a dedicated thread in this forum area will details and info.

Dave Schwartz
07-29-2016, 10:41 AM
Welcome, Fan Since!

Hope you enjoy yourself.

JimG
07-29-2016, 10:46 AM
I attended CT and Shd regularly with my parents when I was a kid on the weekends in the late 60's and 70's. Glad you posted.

Jim

thaskalos
07-29-2016, 11:43 AM
Hello Everyone: I have been a lurker on this database for a very long time. I won't be starting or getting into arguments with any of you. I am a fairly laid back guy.

I have been attending the races since I was literally an unborn child! I care and read about the races every single day. I haven't been to the races since last October at CT. My son and I are heading out to California next month and plan to attend the Pacific Classic. Watching five or six bottom claimers going 6 furlongs at an empty racetrack is not my idea of a good time. I probably loved ShD and CT more than any other track. That is for the radical reason that you can actually see the races really well. It is heartbreaking to see what is going on at CT. You guys know the drill, racing is an unwanted step child of the casino. Bowie, Delaware Park, and Pimlico are also past favorites of mine.

I am a former racing official at Pen from 1982-1984. I did everything in the racing office and some not very well. I love racing, but am not a knowledgeable horsemen. I was told the Pen jockeys exploited my limited knowledge of racing equipment.

During my peak years I would attend the races well over 100 times a year. I even visited tracks during my days off at Pen.

I have collected tote tickets since 1958 and programs since 1963.

My first triple crown race was a good one - Secretariat in 1973. I also saw Seattle Slew and Affirmed win their second jewels. I got to see Spectacular Bid race five or six times, as his owners were from the mid Atlantic area.

So there you are a little about me. Maybe I could meet some of you someday. I am semi retired as a better, but will always love the game. I plan to retire from my federal government job as a finance officer on December 31. I will have completed 30 years of service.

I have really enjoyed reading this data base for all these years!

Cheers!

Welcome aboard, Fan. Already you've made a favorable impression on us. Modesty is a rare commodity around here.

Capper Al
07-29-2016, 12:00 PM
Welcome.

proximity
07-29-2016, 01:19 PM
welcome fan since the 50s!!!

it's probably good you got out of penn national before you got railroaded, turned up dead, or heaven only knows what else? :rolleyes:

i wish i could have been around to bet at shenandoah!!

did you play much at the old cracked claw down by frederick??

thespaah
07-29-2016, 02:37 PM
Welcome..
I am a bit of a collector older racing stuff.
I guess my most significant piece is my program from the 1977 Hopeful( Alydar vs Affirmed)
I'd like to see what a 1950's era mutuel ticket looks like.
PA has a feature where one can scan images and post them on a thread.
Down below this dialog box you'll see 'manage attachments'.
You can scan images and then attach them using that feature.

thespaah
07-29-2016, 02:44 PM
Hi neighbor! I live in Williamport which is just outside of Hagerstown MD, and I have lived in Washington County my entire life. (I of course pronounce it "warshington". :)).

Given your mention of the area local tracks, surely you must have heard about Timonium. We would love to have you join us sometime during their upcoming meet. There is a dedicated thread in this forum area will details and info.
Ha!.I Roll through your area two or three times a year on my way up to NY or NJ....In fact a couple weeks, i am headed up to The Spa.....I'll wave as i pas through. LOL

clocker7
07-30-2016, 03:24 AM
Welcome, OP. I too collect old betting tickets, and have a lot of historic ones dating from the 1910s onward. Stop back and chat.

(I tried using the attachment mechanism, but evidently it cannot grab a file directly from a computer ... an image hosting site must be used)

whodoyoulike
07-30-2016, 02:42 PM
Hello Everyone: I have been a lurker on this database for a very long time. I won't be starting or getting into arguments with any of you. I am a fairly laid back guy. ...

Welcome and looking forward to your participation on this forum.

Btw, this is nothing personal but, does anyone want to take a shot at an over / under on his statement noted in the above.

Shemp Howard
07-30-2016, 02:51 PM
welcome fan since the 50s!!!

it's probably good you got out of penn national before you got railroaded, turned up dead, or heaven only knows what else? :rolleyes:

i wish i could have been around to bet at shenandoah!!

did you play much at the old cracked claw down by frederick??

It's not called the "Pig Penn" for nothing!!!

Tom
07-30-2016, 03:14 PM
I collect old parimutuel tickets, too, though not intentionally.

Welcome to the Jungle! ;)

clocker7
07-30-2016, 03:56 PM
I'd like to see what a 1950's era mutuel ticket looks like.

Citation's winning streak broken -- 50 bucks down the drain at 1-4.

http://i.imgur.com/M8cVUat.jpg

proximity
07-30-2016, 06:55 PM
It's not called the "Pig Penn" for nothing!!!

it's still hanging on as my highest handle track but that handle always seems to be on the decline.

for a long stretch i'd be there in the afternoon playing maryland and a little nyra and then pen and new jersey at night. my biggest wish would be that they'd start showing the ct simulcast; which eventually would happen but as new jersey started to die and colonial broke up my normal wed-sun maryland schedule i started to lose interest.

when the casino came i had high hopes for the racing (large, competitive fields)
but instead we got super-trainer dominated cards and a lot of the more serious handicappers seemed to either stay home or drop out altogether. eventually i stopped going almost totally and started going to casinos that treat the player a lot better than the pen/hollywood brand.

i've been told that some things i type on here about pen are wrong but yet the "right" answers never seem to be revealed?

i do know that connections that (not that long ago) DOMINATED are today nowhere to be found. so it seems i was right about that although i can certainly be wrong as nobody has a monopoly on right answers. anyhow still enjoy talking mid-atlantic racing......

Fan Since The 50's
07-31-2016, 06:41 AM
Great, I could be at Timonium either Labor Day or the day before. I am actually quite a baseball fan too. We are seeing the O's the Saturday before Labor Day.

Timonium was part of my every Saturday at the Maryland races ritual. I had a wedding invitation in 1981 which was 5 PM or so in the afternoon. I couldn't let a wedding interfere with my Saturday at the big T! So, I skipped the wedding, but got to Thurmont just in time for the reception. I remember telling the new bride how beautiful the wedding was. Hey, I was there in spirit, right?

It will be great meeting some of you folks at Timonium!

Fan Since The 50's
07-31-2016, 06:47 AM
I used to visit the Cracked Claw on the big racing days on occasion. I have never been a big OTB fan though. Shenandoah Downs was a very pretty little track. Its shiny new appearance shamed the Charles Town management into sprucing up their plant. They were under different ownership initially. I feel like I practically lived at ShD and CT during my youth!

proximity
07-31-2016, 11:38 AM
It's not called the "Pig Penn" for nothing!!!

down to the felt until payday a friend dug eight dollars of quarters out of his sofa.

now i never heard of this, but he insists there's a coin counter change machine there. well we walk towards the casino cage and sure enough there it is between the cage and some atms.

of course pen can't let a man play all of his last eight dollars..... there's a TEN PERCENT FEE on the machine!!!! :lol:

proximity
07-31-2016, 11:40 AM
Great, I could be at Timonium either Labor Day or the day before. I am actually quite a baseball fan too. We are seeing the O's the Saturday before Labor Day.

Timonium was part of my every Saturday at the Maryland races ritual. I had a wedding invitation in 1981 which was 5 PM or so in the afternoon. I couldn't let a wedding interfere with my Saturday at the big T! So, I skipped the wedding, but got to Thurmont just in time for the reception. I remember telling the new bride how beautiful the wedding was. Hey, I was there in spirit, right?

It will be great meeting some of you folks at Timonium!

indeed you were!!! :)

Greyfox
07-31-2016, 12:04 PM
I had a wedding invitation in 1981 which was 5 PM or so in the afternoon. I couldn't let a wedding interfere with my Saturday at the big T! So, I skipped the wedding, but got to Thurmont just in time for the reception. I remember telling the new bride how beautiful the wedding was.


And the Bride said: "Thanks Dad. Mom had to walk me down the aisle." :lol:

Capper Al
07-31-2016, 02:05 PM
Citation's winning streak broken -- 50 bucks down the drain at 1-4.

http://i.imgur.com/M8cVUat.jpg

I cash my tickets. All kidding aside, It's a neat collection.

clocker7
07-31-2016, 02:42 PM
I cash my tickets. All kidding aside, It's a neat collection.
The fun part of the hobby is knowing what to purchase. Research allows one to identify what others cannot, and then buy for a song.

For example, here is an auction which I was considering, but only lukewarm about. It has 4 tickets from the Kentucky Derby, plus some interesting rainbow tickets that were employed to discourage counterfeiting. Here's a way to start a serious collection. Go for it!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHURCHILL-DOWNS-KENTUCKY-HORSE-RACING-LOT-OF-13-RACE-TOTE-TICKETS-MAY-3-1958-/371696970253?hash=item568addaa0d:g:X-8AAOSwaB5XkWvR