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Old 09-07-2022, 09:48 AM   #46
Brass Hat
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We have sat in the same area of the track for 20 years now, have met great people "racetrack friends", some local, some who come from NJ, etc. a few weekends. Except for the bros, the people who follow racing are some of the best people we have met. I enjoy the racing, but talking to friends, security people, people you run into often there, is the best part of the Saratoga experience.
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Old 09-11-2022, 06:34 PM   #47
burnsy
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The older I get , the harder this hits me. Monday was probably the worst closing day to date. The weather was miserable, I mean , for a meet with practically perfect weather closing day was an absolute downer. This just about doubled the affect of melancholy. Summer is over! It really isn’t, I’ll golf for at least 6 or more weeks . Go camping and fishing next weekend and attend a few more SPAC concerts . But the ending of the meet signifies, “the end is near.” I’ll be rotating the shed , something I fucking dread. Lawn mower in back , snow blower In front in a couple months.

People talked about the people and friendships . Some of these people I won’t see again until opening day next year. At my age we are starting to lose some so it’s a blessing when we “meet again”. My group of “regulars” at the Paddock have a horse shoe nailed to a tree there. It’s for one of our departed friends. Opening day tradition is to go touch the tree when we first walk in ……… grateful for yet another year. All of this is much bigger and means much more than going to a race track . It’s a way of life . The give and take to live up here. Life moves on, it always does. But you’re damn sure , it’s a sad day indeed. Walk in there on Labor Day ….. one can almost feel It in the air.
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Old 09-11-2022, 07:05 PM   #48
The Arbiter
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Love Saratoga so much. I definitely get that sadness when it's over. Nothing like it.
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Old 09-11-2022, 07:17 PM   #49
westernmassbob
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Quote:
Originally Posted by burnsy View Post
The older I get , the harder this hits me. Monday was probably the worst closing day to date. The weather was miserable, I mean , for a meet with practically perfect weather closing day was an absolute downer. This just about doubled the affect of melancholy. Summer is over! It really isn’t, I’ll golf for at least 6 or more weeks . Go camping and fishing next weekend and attend a few more SPAC concerts . But the ending of the meet signifies, “the end is near.” I’ll be rotating the shed , something I fucking dread. Lawn mower in back , snow blower In front in a couple months.

People talked about the people and friendships . Some of these people I won’t see again until opening day next year. At my age we are starting to lose some so it’s a blessing when we “meet again”. My group of “regulars” at the Paddock have a horse shoe nailed to a tree there. It’s for one of our departed friends. Opening day tradition is to go touch the tree when we first walk in ……… grateful for yet another year. All of this is much bigger and means much more than going to a race track . It’s a way of life . The give and take to live up here. Life moves on, it always does. But you’re damn sure , it’s a sad day indeed. Walk in there on Labor Day ….. one can almost feel It in the air.
Thanks for this post Burnsy and sorry for the friend your group lost. I know a lot of horse players across the country and for those that have visited Saratoga they put it in its own category….all by itself.

BTW do you do much horse betting after Toga ? Visit any other tracks or mostly bet online etc ? I guess if you live close to that area you have Saratoga Harness otb but that place is like a morgue and depressing . Someone told me there use to be a place in Albany ? I will research that.
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Old 09-11-2022, 08:00 PM   #50
burnsy
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I continue to bet . But not every day like I do at Saratoga. I go to other tracks too. Mostly Gulfstream in the winter. The weather makes me want to get out of Dodge every February. I like Belmont too….. I wonder what they’re going to do to it? When I was a kid Saratoga was not going well . Now, it’s surpassed every other meet . The jockey colony , the Trainers and the quality of horses is crazy even though everyone is short on entrants.
Sometimes I walk around and eavesdrop on what people are saying. I overheard one guy during a perfect Summer Saratoga day , tip his beer and say, “ I think I died and went to heaven coming here today.”
The place in Albany is on 711 Central Avenue. Next to the Shop Rite. It’s a large OTB with a Sports Bar.
Clubhouse Race Book

Last edited by burnsy; 09-11-2022 at 08:05 PM.
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