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My trip to Saratoga....
Arrived from my flight in on Tuesday afternoon..... In order to properly get "in the mood" we went immediately to the Racing Hall of Fame Museum. Browsed through all the paintings,..sculptures,...pictures.... and video history of the greats of the game. Met our local hosts at Sperry's Restaurant downtown where they have solid fare, an all-mahogany wood bar and plenty of racing illustrations on the walls. At dawn-- we went to the Oklahoma training track to watch some works and the busy actions of all the hands at the stables. The following morning we went to the backside of the main track to get a cheap breakfast sandwich and watch the works at the sun rose. So many horses with the Chad brown, Todd Pletcher, Chris Clement and Linda Rice saddlecloths. We experienced the afternoon racing from many different angles...the rail, the grandstand, reserved seats and even in a private owners box sipping champagne on Thursday. My lady wore a different summer dress and a fancy hat each day. Fortunately, we had credentials that allowed us to enter the paddock pre-race before the juvenile and feature races about three times each day. It was neat to be so close to observe the game's star personalities. The crowd on the weekend was massive.. but very well behaved. There was music playing and people having fun near the picnic tables between races. The racing itself was spectacular and rather unpredictable. After the last race...we had to stop at Siro's for a cold one or two before walking back home. Got some Hattie's chicken, a Marino's pizza and rubbed shoulders with horse people at a couple of classic bars in town. We admired the expensive racing artwork and seeing all the majestic animals. Wish I could tell you I won a lot of coin.... but the memories will last far longer than the painful sting of a missed photo finish. Hope I get to return someday.
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