Home Again!
Just got back from a week at the races in Saratoga, NY – my 23rd. consecutive year celebrating Travers week there. There were 47,000+ people at the track on the Saturday, which is when the Travers Stakes is run. Whole families enjoying the day in the sun, bringing in their coolers of food and drink, BBQs, lawn chairs, chaise lounges, tents……little bands playing here and there….folks in fancy dress…..others in casual…..lots of ladies wearing elegant hats….new betting machines……so much that Canada could learn about how to successfully run a race track! And doing it without slot machines to boot! There’s a parallel to bridge here as well, as Canadian laws and hotel charges don’t allow us to offer at our tournaments the incredible hospitality found at so many American tournaments. All that being said, there is still…..no place….like home!
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Hi Paul,
I enjoyed your ‘take’ on the Travers Stakes. It sounds like a far cry from the aura at a bridge outing.
I can relate well to that because for over two decades my late husband Norman and I owned trotters and pacers and travelled within a four state area (from our home track in Pennsylvania .. to New York, New Jersey and Delaware) where our horses seemed never to rest. It was very exciting and we (and our stable) were always on the run (some much slower than others). Our horses either won or lost but it was over and done within two minutes. No post mortems, directors, committees, appeals .. whatever! Lots of fun, some disappointment — but never any tension or exchange of nasty words or harsh feelings. And, the booty was money .. not trophies or master points. It was a fun-filled diversion for us between the bridge tournaments (and travelling and setting up at baseball card shows which happened to be my own fascinating business during that period of time as well). Reflecting on my past life, I question where I mustered up all the energy .. but youth has its advantages. And, by the way, this was all transpiring in between attending endless bridge events (from 1963 until Norman’s death in 2002) — but seems like an eternity ago.
Thanks for sharing your relaxing experience and departure from our incredible (though sometimes aggravating) pastime. However, that’s what choices are all about. And .. regardless of the incidents and mistakes (of ourselves and others) with the pasteboards .. we always seem to keep coming back for more!!
Hi Judy,
Your racing memories brought back a lot of my own, as I used to own and run thoroughbreds at Fort Erie, Woodbine, Tampa Bay Downs, Cleveland, Penn National, etc. A wonderful world of really interesting people and places, and a far cry from my “usual” life as a high school teacher, although I did manage to squeeze in owning and operating a tavern in there as well. And…if you ever feel like starting up your sports card business again…I’ve got the stock stored away in the cupboard gathering dust. Hey, maybe we could publish some cards with horses on them!
Hi Paul:
Interesting to learn we are not only bridge buddies but equine allies as well. As far as the sports memorabilia experience, I retired in ’97, closed my warehouse (though I continued to sell on ebay) and eventually turned everything over to my son (who actually had gotten me started in the business in the first place).
Only goes to show you .. great minds think alike!