Back from the Spa.

[John]

Any of you guys that said earlier that you were coming to Saratoga this year and
chickened-out. Well,you are missing a great time.

Wednesday Speedking and rrBauer did very well and invited all to the house for a BBQ. No Hot dogs and hamburgers there... New York sirloin steaks cooked just the way you like them with salad and baked potato's. Get This!!! Corn on the cob soaked in water and then BBQ in the husk.It was like eating candy. RedKnave broke out a great wine from down under.Aussies sure have a good taste for wine. Cheery flavored. wow! Thanks Bob you got me hooked.

Thank you guys, You make it easy to be back next year.

:) :) :)

[DanG]

Any of you guys that said earlier that you were coming to Saratoga this year and
chickened-out. Well,you are missing a great time.

Wednesday Speedking and rrBauer did very well and invited all to the house for a BBQ. No Hot dogs and hamburgers there... New York sirloin steaks cooked just the way you like them with salad and baked potato's. Get This!!! Corn on the cob soaked in water and then BBQ in the husk.It was like eating candy. RedKnave broke out a great wine from down under.Aussies sure have a good taste for wine. Cheery flavored. wow! Thanks Bob you got me hooked.

Thank you guys, You make it easy to be back next year.

:) :) :)
John, you bring back great memories…

Now THAT is racing!!!

Salute John.

Saratoga / Del Mar…Its racing heaven in everyway IMO. I can’t tell you how thrilling it was to see my daughter (a horse FANATIC in every way) in the “home” of racing for the first time. One of those moments where time stood still. :ThmbUp: :ThmbUp:

Thank you.

[DJofSD]

Salute John.


Is that like a "Hee Haw" salute? ;)

[DanG]

Is that like a "Hee Haw" salute? ;)
Jeez…I don't think so DJ…

My daughter would not appreciate that! (With no offense to Hee Haw, of course…) :D

Maybe this isn’t my day to post on this board? :confused:

[DJofSD]

No, no -- it was a faint attempt at humor - only good things to you and yours!

[DanG]

No, no -- it was a faint attempt at humor - only good things to you and yours!
My bad DJ…

I think I’m carrying bad feelings from the other thread…my mistake my friend. :ThmbUp:

[Red Knave]

RedKnave broke out a great wine from down under.Aussies sure have a good taste for wine. Cheery flavored. wow! Thanks Bob you got me hooked.As much as I like taking credit for things, it was (again) speedking that brought the Australian wine. He and I shared a New Zealand wine and I'm not sure whether or not you got a glass of that. In any event, we were pleased that you and Charlie took time out of your busy schedules to join us. :) We did all have a great time.

[Tom]

Saturday was probably the best day I ever spent at the SPA. Perfect weather! And great people - Sam I Am, Red Knave, Speedking, BillW, andicap, CJ's Dad, Justin, John, the Rons, Zaf, PA, Stormcadet.......a couple others I didn't get the handles......really fun day. Those guys had a show parlay run up over $400 last I heard! The only think we needed was.......MORE COWBELL!

:lol:

[John]

Here is the thing in a nut shell....Good food , Good Wine, Good people

Does it get any better than this....???

I pray you all get home safely

Tom, Sorry I missed you this year.

:) :) :)

[PaceAdvantage]

So, it's the 2nd race Saturday, and I conclude it's a pass race for me, since there are a bunch of FTS that I just don't have a handle on. But, it's Saratoga, it's the PA Getaway, and I'm itching for action....

So, I announce to anyone who could hear me (or cared to listen) "Who's pounding this race hard, and who do you like?"

A lone voice answered in the distance....it was the mighty TOM and the only words out of his mouth were "The Three"

So, with 1mtp, I dash to the window to bet the #3 to win, and put him on top of some of the more well bet horses on the tote.

The three rolls home by over four lengths paying $17.60 to win and capped a $93.50 exacta with the 3-1 second choice.

TOM is indeed a handicapping God! :lol:

[Tom]

I was having a very good day! ;)

[John]

So, it's the 2nd race Saturday, and I conclude it's a pass race for me, since there are a bunch of FTS that I just don't have a handle on. But, it's Saratoga, it's the PA Getaway, and I'm itching for action....

So, I announce to anyone who could hear me (or cared to listen) "Who's pounding this race hard, and who do you like?"

A lone voice answered in the distance....it was the mighty TOM and the only words out of his mouth were "The Three"

So, with 1mtp, I dash to the window to bet the #3 to win, and put him on top of some of the more well bet horses on the tote.

The three rolls home by over four lengths paying $17.60 to win and capped a $93.50 exacta with the 3-1 second choice.

TOM is indeed a handicapping God! :lol:

Bubbles, did the same on Wednesday. All first time starters...Pass the race I said, Bubbles, played, gave out the winner. Big price,but, who is going to listen to a kid, right. Dumb,Dumb,Dumb.

[Red Knave]

Big price,but, who is going to listen to a kid, right. Dumb,Dumb,Dumb.I listened to him once ... I got $3.20
Ask cj ;).

[Bubbles]

RK, just because I gave you the horse didn't put a gun to your head and force you to play it!

Geez, between you and Zaf, you guys sure make most Canucks seem like degenerates! ;)

[John]

RK, just because I gave you the horse didn't put a gun to your head and force you to play it!

Geez, between you and Zaf, you guys sure make most Canucks seem like degenerates! ;)

NO NO There was only one degenerate there, ME I played for 3 days and never cashed a ticket. But, loved every minute.

:) :) :)

[Zaf]

Bubbles thanks for being the official P.A. Paparazzi , you got some nice shots. :)

Z

[justin]

Thanks again to all for a great trip. The company was great, the food delicious, and the weather was just about perfect (aside from the windy day when my spilled beer almost killed several laptops :>).

A few selected highlights from the week:

-Mountaineer, Del Mar - two tracks I hardly ever bothered with in the past but tried them out this year and did well. Say what you want about the polytrack in terms of the racing but I love it for betting.

-Ed a.k.a. the grill master. Every night the food got better and better which was hard to believe given how good it was the first night. An all-around class act and a helluva sharp 'capper too, really enjoyed breaking down some races with him.

-Zaf's buddy Andy being put on the spot at the harness track. Given money from several of us to bet and challenged with picking us a harness winner at Mohawk. He delivered under pressure at 9/1 with plenty of style to spare. He didn't even reveal our bet until the winner got up late to beat a 3/5 shot. The reaction from everyone was priceless.

-When my luggage didn't make it on the same flight as I was on, Andicap was kind enough to go out of his way and take me to the airport to get it the next day. Big thanks as well to Ron 1 for the ride from the airport and Ron 1a for the ride to the airport.

-Hitting the first two races I bet from Saratoga on the last Saturday we were there. At least for a few hours, I felt like I had a handle on the Saratoga races. My chart comment for the day at Saratoga would eventually read: Brief speed, pulled up, vanned off.

Some lowlights, screwups, good-natured ribbing:

-Having to spend about 4 hours working on the house computer just to restore it to a basic state of functionality. Laptop for me next year!

-Andicap's single-handed decimation of the amazon rain forest just to satisfy his printing needs. :lol:

-Betting screwups the last day there (multiple instances of stupidity on my part):

Leaving a $300 voucher in the machine and walking way. Thanks to realizing my mistake quickly and a quick response from NYRA customer service, it ended up working out in the end.
Playing a pick 3 from Del Mar and hitting it on a $1 ticket that cost me $6, then realizing I could've had the pick 4 which paid more than 10x more for an additional investment of $12. WTG!
Watching win money and double money go down the tubes in the Alabama as my pick ran 2nd (a recurring theme throughout the week)
Getting shut out at Del Mar on a race, cost me $200
Getting shut out at Mountaineer for a race, cost me $90

By the grace of God, I still ended up having a good day that last day (thanks to Del Mar) though I seemingly tried everything I could to sabotage it.


-Having to go home :( Next August can't come soon enough!

[cj's dad]

I had a really good time. I rarely do very well at saratoga, but this year was ok.

Didn't win a lot but hit a few nice ones. Thank God for MTR & Delmar on Sat. night @ the "house" and Friday at the harness track (t-breds only for me). Andy hits a 9/1 shot under pressure:jump: and we all get $$ back

Sat night at the house I give Justin the wrong # on a pick at delmar and the horse I did pick wins and pays $27 and he misses the pick3- Damn I hate when that happens:D !!

Zaf-Andy-Charlie-John ( 2 fun guys)-Joe-Mike- Bill W-Tom-Ron-Andy-Rich-Bob-Ed-Dave & Bubbles (hope I didn't miss anyone) and I saved the best for last - Justin. Always fun to spend time with one of the boys;)

Funniest moment for me at least was watching Andy as he studied his notes, with the $400+ show pool riding on his pick.

Thanks all for the good time and thanks Bob and Ron for the airport rides and Ed and rich for cooking great food and everyone else for the cameraderie.:cool:

CJ's Dad - Dennis

Best kept secret until now is that I actually had planned to pick the #9 on my show bet ( he didn't hit the board) and forgot that at the last moment I went with the 5, who actually won the race. Thank God for dumb luck.

[BillW]

Well said guys. Each year just keeps getting better and tougher to top. The nightly barbeques were another new dimension that made this year great. I'm already looking forward to next year (328 days left! :jump: ) Thanks to all who showed up and hope to see you again next year!

Bill

[joe.p.]

Dennis, you forgot who you handed the ticket to before the race went off. everyone cheering for the 9 and I`m holding the ticket with the number 5. wtf . When the 5 won you looked more supprised than anyone after I told them you had the 5. It was fun anyway...joe

[andicap]

IDidn't win a lot but hit a few nice ones. Thank God for MTR & Delmar on Sat. night @ the "house" and Friday at the harness track (t-breds only for me). Andy hits a 9/1 shot under pressure:jump: and we all get $$ back

Funniest moment for me at least was watching Andy as he studied his notes, with the $400+ show pool riding on his pick.


just to make it clear. he's referring to zaf's friend andy, not me. And the show parley fell one race short of getting to me -- and I was glad to escape the pressure!
:D

[rrbauer]

just to make it clear. he's referring to zaf's friend andy, not me. And the show parley fell one race short of getting to me -- and I was glad to escape the pressure!
:D
If it had been you, based on my observations of your handicapping "literature" searches, you would've been shut out and the parlay would've lived another race!! :)

How's it going on your side of the pond?