Finger Lakes

[AJanks]

Hello. I’m 18 years old & live in Buffalo, NY. Thoroughbred racing around here is pretty limited, with fort Erie and finger lakes being the only tracks within an hour drive. My father and grandfather both grew up betting and loving Finger Lakes as a whole. I think that the track is very symbolic of the racing industry as a whole, very decrepit, run-down and a shadow of its former self. However, I certainly see what the track once was & how nice it would’ve been at one time.

My father and grandfather often talk of times where there were 10 horse fields, 11 races on a card, races at different distances (3 miles even!) and the like. While I think Finger Lakes will never close because it is a necessary evil for NYRA rejects, I also think it will never be what it once was; at the very least shitty racing but a lot of it.

With that being said, I was wondering if people have any stories about Finger Lakes. Being so young I realize the sport was popular on a wide-spread scale mostly before I was born and I am curious to hear people’s experiences, stories and accounts of Finger Lakes, whether in person or playing it through simulcast.

For me, it was wandering around the grandstands collecting losing tickets while hearing the old announcer Ross yell “FROM DOWNTOWN CANANDAIGUA” as a horse closed on the field and my dad either jumped for joy or dropped an f bomb. I’m committed to Finger Lakes now through growing up there on the weekends...might as well be positive and make the most of it until April when I lose all my money on five horse fields!

So drop a comment on your Finger Lakes experiences..please don’t post.any comment mentioning the Englehart family though, I’ve heard about and been screwed over by them enough at this point lol.

[sour grapes]

with Les Hulet riding.Always shipped to saratoga to win the whitney along with other statebred races.Their should be a statue of them on the grounds of finger lakes.

[bello]

I started going to Finger Lakes in 1974 from College and continued to be a regular until I left the are in 1978.

There were lots of characters at the Lakes and Ross Morton remains my favorite announcer. He would work the winters at Gulfstream and the summers at the Lakes and announced both tracks with equal zeal.

I will admit going often a bit how do you say, under the influence of something now legal in Colorado with a few of my other degenerate friends.

To this day we laugh about the old fellow at the DRF stand selling the Racing Forms. He was one hell of a salesman. When someone walked by without buying the Form he would literally yell " Hey, you can't go in without the Form!" One of my buddies, Joe, would always walk by him just to get that reaction and he would turn around and by the Form. We would all be practically peeing our pants laughing.

The crowds were so big on the weekend there were parking attendents with flags directing people where to park.

I made sure I was hungry enough when I walked in to buy a " German Frank with Sauerkraut"The sauerkraut was loaded with Rye seeds and delicious.

Top jocks were Warren Vedilago and, as Ross Morton always said "The Veteran "Rudy Rincon"

Not so top Jocks were Clay Ivey and JJ Healy.

After graduating college I worked a couple of years selling wine to liquor stores. On Friday my last call was Palmyra Liquor in Palmyra NY. I always took that order quickly so I could make the double at the Lakes.

Thanks for kick starting these memories A Janks.

[Tom]

JJ Healy was once listed in the Telegraph as having worked 3 furlongs!

Warren Vedilago was a character.
He rode my all time favorite horse, Mountain Man.

He knew how to party, too!
We used to go the Red Bull bar in Chapin, and he and his wife and friends would stop by from time to time. Whenever he was there, he was friendly, loved chatting with us race fans, and loved drinking with us. The guy was COOL!

I remember the old guy selling the Form.
He was another character.
He used to come to the Dairy Bar I worked at for breakfast and give the waitresses hard time. The last day of one year, he was ready to go back home, and on his last breakfast, he brought a stuffed unicorn with a big red A on it as a gift for the girls. "With Admiration for your kind service" he told them.

On his way out, he came over to me and said,"Don't tell them, but the A is for Assholes!" That unicorn was still displayed on a shelf in th back when I left there for full time work!

When I started going, on weekends, you were luck to find a seat. Place was packed. IF you went to bet, you had better have someone hold your seat for your it would be gone. Lots of people, full files - 12 horses were not all unusual - many of them every week.

And the starter allowance distance series, leading up to 4 mile and 70 yard finale! The had a stage on front of the tote board,s with 4 Playboy bunnies on it. One would step down as each lap was completed! In one of the race, my horse got lapped! Mil Reef. Never forget it. I got lapped! In another on,e I had Snoppy Knoop, and he was farther ahead than Secretariat coming down the stretch after 3 plus miles. Easy winner....until the jock stood up to raise his whip...and FELL OFF!!!! Just as I had said "EASY MONEY!"

A friend of mine bought a horse - Give 'em Steel. Pop McKeever claimed him for him. His record was in the money 21 out of 23 starts. That week, he hurt his knee rolling over in the stall and was on the shelf for 4 months. When he came back, he was o for 6, off the board. In his last there, he finally got it together and was 5 lengths in front turning for home at 22-1. By the wire, he was dead last. When The rider, Bobby McKever told my friend "Give 'em Steel? Give 'em AWAY!" So he leased him to a guy who took him to the Fair circuit where he won a race on Friday, one on Monday, placed on Wednesday, and won again on Saturday.

One of the big says was when Groovey came and won a race there. Crowd was huge. And of course, Funny Cide wrapped up his career with a win in the Wadsworth in front of almost 12,000 people. When he swung wide off the turn and came charging "from downtown Canandaigua" the crown went nuts!

Lots of good times there.
The may be NYRA rejects, but when they all are, you get some decent races.
Just need to work on field sizes nowadays. We once had a shipper from Belmont who was eased in both of last two starts. He went of the favorite!

[1GCFAN]

Never been to Finger Lakes but as a regular at a similar venue in Ohio, Beulah Park (now closed) I got see many of the FL horses come to our track for the fall meet. Dale Osborne was a favorite of mine who campaigned at both tracks.

Beulah would run those progressive distances series as well. Same horses every week. The FL horses did very well in these races.

AJanks - Don't think that FL will always stay open. Racing is mostly at the mercy of the casinos. If they can find a way not to race or substitute something like barrel racing one day a year they will.



Here in Ohio they shuttered the Beulah operation and opened a new track upstate called Mahoning Valley with a shiny new casino.

[AJanks]

Originally Posted by bello

I started going to Finger Lakes in 1974 from College and continued to be a regular until I left the are in 1978.

There were lots of characters at the Lakes and Ross Morton remains my favorite announcer. He would work the winters at Gulfstream and the summers at the Lakes and announced both tracks with equal zeal.

I will admit going often a bit how do you say, under the influence of something now legal in Colorado with a few of my other degenerate friends.

To this day we laugh about the old fellow at the DRF stand selling the Racing Forms. He was one hell of a salesman. When someone walked by without buying the Form he would literally yell " Hey, you can't go in without the Form!" One of my buddies, Joe, would always walk by him just to get that reaction and he would turn around and by the Form. We would all be practically peeing our pants laughing.

The crowds were so big on the weekend there were parking attendents with flags directing people where to park.

I made sure I was hungry enough when I walked in to buy a " German Frank with Sauerkraut"The sauerkraut was loaded with Rye seeds and delicious.

Top jocks were Warren Vedilago and, as Ross Morton always said "The Veteran "Rudy Rincon"

Not so top Jocks were Clay Ivey and JJ Healy.

After graduating college I worked a couple of years selling wine to liquor stores. On Friday my last call was Palmyra Liquor in Palmyra NY. I always took that order quickly so I could make the double at the Lakes.

Thanks for kick starting these memories A Janks.

Gotta ask where ya went to college - a couple of kids I’m close with are attending Finger Lakes Community College currently so I was wondering if it’s the same university? It’s crazy to me to think about how lively it once was and the fact that people would direct people where to park...it’s hard to imagine looking at it today but certainly something I wish was still the norm.

Rudy Rincon still frequents the track I believe...I am too young but my father remembers him vividly. Pointed him out to me a few years ago when we made a trip there - he walks with a very apparent hunchback from riding the horses for decades. My father and I have had some brief conversations with him and he seems like a very good, down-to-earth guy.

[AJanks]

Originally Posted by Tom

JJ Healy was once listed in the Telegraph as having worked 3 furlongs!

Warren Vedilago was a character.
He rode my all time favorite horse, Mountain Man.

He knew how to party, too!
We used to go the Red Bull bar in Chapin, and he and his wife and friends would stop by from time to time. Whenever he was there, he was friendly, loved chatting with us race fans, and loved drinking with us. The guy was COOL!

I remember the old guy selling the Form.
He was another character.
He used to come to the Dairy Bar I worked at for breakfast and give the waitresses hard time. The last day of one year, he was ready to go back home, and on his last breakfast, he brought a stuffed unicorn with a big red A on it as a gift for the girls. "With Admiration for your kind service" he told them.

On his way out, he came over to me and said,"Don't tell them, but the A is for Assholes!" That unicorn was still displayed on a shelf in th back when I left there for full time work!

When I started going, on weekends, you were luck to find a seat. Place was packed. IF you went to bet, you had better have someone hold your seat for your it would be gone. Lots of people, full files - 12 horses were not all unusual - many of them every week.

And the starter allowance distance series, leading up to 4 mile and 70 yard finale! The had a stage on front of the tote board,s with 4 Playboy bunnies on it. One would step down as each lap was completed! In one of the race, my horse got lapped! Mil Reef. Never forget it. I got lapped! In another on,e I had Snoppy Knoop, and he was farther ahead than Secretariat coming down the stretch after 3 plus miles. Easy winner....until the jock stood up to raise his whip...and FELL OFF!!!! Just as I had said "EASY MONEY!"

A friend of mine bought a horse - Give 'em Steel. Pop McKeever claimed him for him. His record was in the money 21 out of 23 starts. That week, he hurt his knee rolling over in the stall and was on the shelf for 4 months. When he came back, he was o for 6, off the board. In his last there, he finally got it together and was 5 lengths in front turning for home at 22-1. By the wire, he was dead last. When The rider, Bobby McKever told my friend "Give 'em Steel? Give 'em AWAY!" So he leased him to a guy who took him to the Fair circuit where he won a race on Friday, one on Monday, placed on Wednesday, and won again on Saturday.

One of the big says was when Groovey came and won a race there. Crowd was huge. And of course, Funny Cide wrapped up his career with a win in the Wadsworth in front of almost 12,000 people. When he swung wide off the turn and came charging "from downtown Canandaigua" the crown went nuts!

Lots of good times there.
The may be NYRA rejects, but when they all are, you get some decent races.
Just need to work on field sizes nowadays. We once had a shipper from Belmont who was eased in both of last two starts. He went of the favorite!

Amazing stories, I laughed and smiled thinking about them. The glory days of horse racing in general and more specifically Finger Lakes are before my time, but I think it’s really interesting.

I looked up the track records on Equibase and mentioned the long distances to my dad one night - even my dad is too young to remember the distance series, but my grandfather remembers it well! My dad’s best rememberence of the track was a horse named FOREIGN INVESTMENT pulling away in the stretch as a sure thing under Craig Faine in the 90s...then unfortunately breaking down and costing him his doubles/picks. Imagine it was the same feeling you felt having Snoppy Knoop.

The closest thing I remember to being a big deal there was Tin Cup Chalice (I want to say in about 2007-2008) before he was injured in a training accident. Can’t imagine how it was for Funny Cide - crazy for me to think that a horse of that caliber finished up at Finger Lakes.

Finger Lakes always holds a special place in my heart; there could be 4 NYRA rejects in a MSW race and I would play it...perhaps not the best thing to admit, but 100% true.

[AJanks]

Originally Posted by 1GCFAN

Never been to Finger Lakes but as a regular at a similar venue in Ohio, Beulah Park (now closed) I got see many of the FL horses come to our track for the fall meet. Dale Osborne was a favorite of mine who campaigned at both tracks.

Beulah would run those progressive distances series as well. Same horses every week. The FL horses did very well in these races.

AJanks - Don't think that FL will always stay open. Racing is mostly at the mercy of the casinos. If they can find a way not to race or substitute something like barrel racing one day a year they will.



Here in Ohio they shuttered the Beulah operation and opened a new track upstate called Mahoning Valley with a shiny new casino.

I don’t take Finger Lakes for granted, I try to support it via on-track wagering whenever I can. I agree that it is at the mercy of the casinos, however I think that tracks viewed as secondary circuits to major circuits have an advantage, however small it is...Fort Erie for example seems to be a cat that has nine lives.

Were the distance series races at Bealuh competitive, or did they usually just feature run-away winners? From what I’ve heard, Finger Lakes used to have run-away winners, but curious as to how it was there...either way, I don’t think it would be a bad idea to bring the series back. Horse racing could use anything to spur interest, especially on lower circuits.

[Tom]

One of my favorite calls by Ross Morton was a horse named Mr. Frog.
He was a deep closer, and on a day he came in third, Ross called,"And Mr. Frog hops into the trifecta!"

[Saratoga_Mike]

Originally Posted by Tom

One of my favorite calls by Ross Morton was a horse named Mr. Frog.
He was a deep closer, and on a day he came in third, Ross called,"And Mr. Frog hops into the trifecta!"

"...Rudy Rincon whipping and slashing." He used that line a lot.

[Cutter14]

I'm 72yrs old and live on Long Island and I always looked forward to betting the simulcast at OTB from Finger Lakes especially on Mondays and Tuesdays when the local tracks were dark...back in the late 60's and 70's,,,I made some pretty good scores and always felt that you were getting much better value... I CAN REMEMBER QUITE A FEW JOCKEYS....HULET/WHITLEY/FAINE/RINCON/CORDERO(NOT ANGEL)/DAVID RIVERA/JOHN GRABOWSKI AND1 OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES PAUL NICOL..JOEY BADAMO ETC...../ TRAINERS PURDUE/FERRARO'S/ AND MANY MANY MORE.....AH THE GOOD OLD DAYS AT THE LAKES

[bello]

Originally Posted by Cutter14

I'm 72yrs old and live on Long Island and I always looked forward to betting the simulcast at OTB from Finger Lakes especially on Mondays and Tuesdays when the local tracks were dark...back in the late 60's and 70's,,,I made some pretty good scores and always felt that you were getting much better value... I CAN REMEMBER QUITE A FEW JOCKEYS....HULET/WHITLEY/FAINE/RINCON/CORDERO(NOT ANGEL)/DAVID RIVERA/JOHN GRABOWSKI AND1 OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES PAUL NICOL..JOEY BADAMO ETC...../ TRAINERS PURDUE/FERRARO'S/ AND MANY MANY MORE.....AH THE GOOD OLD DAYS AT THE LAKES

And you left out my own personal favorite Mud Jock...Mike Mccarthy. Rail was always golden on the slop and Mike never failed to find it.

I am sure you loved the 12 race cards with PT at 11:30 in the fall

[Cutter14]

I BELIEVE BOBBY MESSINA WAS ALSO A VERY GOOD MUD JOCKEY

[Tom]

FL used to run 12 races every Mon/Tues to capitalize on the lack of other tracks. Made for a long day.

I swear one day a 12th race conditions were "non winners of a race since the third today."

We had real sloppy tracks back in those days, nothing at all like what we have today.Standing water on the track was commonplace. You could really make some good bets on horses who were mudders with poor recent form on a really wet track.

Remember the old mud marks in the DRF?

Some jocks were especially good in the slop and some you could throw out without a second thought.

What a good memories thread!

[saevena]

I recently moved to Canandaigua after too many years attending the Maryland tracks and Charles Town. Finger Lakes, in my opinion, is a great track to attend: No smoking allowed, outside seating (no glass-enclosed grandstand), a spacious track, and friendly track personnel. I've also had the opportunity meet a prominent owner and Jeremiah Engelhart, who was quite cordial. One of the great things on the grounds is the horse adoption center, where you can get "close up" with retired runners from Finger Lakes. While employed in the Rochester area back in the 60's, my favorite horse at Finger Lakes was a beautiful Chestnut mare named Saevena. I can remember her pedigree: Sargsaem-Samily, by Grand Admiral. She was a crack allowance horse at Finger Lakes and was always ridden by James Moriarty, who later died in a riding accident. One Saturday, the owner entered her in the last race at Saratoga, a $3500 claiming race. Sure enough, she won at good odds. From Finger Lakes, she went and raced at Lincoln Downs and Suffolk, and then I lost track of her. Great horse.