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appistappis
12-06-2009, 01:34 AM
With a lot of the negativity on here, posts about the worst this and the worst that.....I would like to say that I thank god that he gave me the ability to go to the track 4 or 5 times a week.

tzipi
12-06-2009, 02:29 AM
With a lot of the negativity on here, posts about the worst this and the worst that.....I would like to say that I thank god that he gave me the ability to go to the track 4 or 5 times a week.

I just replied in another thread,EVERYONE here has complained about their WORST sports team or stadium and no one will say a word about it. Do not tell me people here have NEVER busted on their sports teams! It's just opinions and not every venue is great. There's a reason handle and attendance has dropped for years. This is OUR sport and people will have their ups and downs and their positive and negative comments about the sport. Just like any other sport.
And yes even though I and I'm sure others have there compaints,this is a GREAT SPORT and I hope it gets better! :)

Overlay
12-06-2009, 09:27 AM
With a lot of the negativity on here, posts about the worst this and the worst that.....I would like to say that I thank god that he gave me the ability to go to the track 4 or 5 times a week.

You reminded me of this passage from Beyer's Picking Winners:

"A friend of mine from Boston was obsessed with playing the horses. He would awaken at dawn so he could study the horses all morning, spend the afternoon at the track, and devote his evening to a stack of yellowing Racing Forms....He didn't have much money but his life was a joy. Every day was a new challenge, an adventure.... 'I am thankful,' he said, 'that God gave me the capacity to enjoy....'

"The capacity to enjoy: so few people have it. Most citizens live lives of such routine and drudgery and are so concerned about security that they cannot imagine how delicious uncertainty is. A gambler may have as many periods of pain and frustration as he does exhilaration, but at least he knows he's alive."

OTM Al
12-06-2009, 09:45 AM
The day I quit enjoying the puzzle of each race, even if I don't solve it, the day I don't get a thrill out of watching the horses run and they just become a bunch of numbers, the day when everything I do is based on ROI, is the day I quit for good.

Not saying I don't care about winning, cause that's fun too, but this is the entertainment part of my life and I enjoy the fact that it remains entertaining.

Grits
12-06-2009, 09:51 AM
Interesting and telling quote, Overlay, from a man whose able to travel anywhere in the world, at any level of expense.

Oddly enough, like him and the friend he speaks of, I'm just as alive at Aqueduct as I am at Keeneland.

I don't depend on either for my fine dining or my granite countertop bathrooms.

I think a lot of this truly is--small, small stuff. But this is JMHO, of course.

DJofSD
12-06-2009, 10:25 AM
If you haven't quit the game then you are to some degree an optimist.