So, . . .

I’m home.  Safe and Sound.

On the last Friday in Saratoga it was supposed to rain.  Rain it did!  Three torrential downpours pretty much ruined the racing.  No grass, lots of mud. I had no winners.  And Friday during the night it really rained.

On Saturday morning NYRA cancelled the last two races of the day, both stakes, both scheduled on the grass.  They will be run next weekend instead.  The other grass races were moved to the dirt.  Yuch.  The feature race of the day was the $1.2 million Whitney Stakes on the main track.  Just before the horses were to enter the track for the Whitney, there was another torrential downpour complete with very close thunder and lightening strikes.  The start of the race was delayed 45 minutes.  The favorite won easily, thus ending another dreadful racing day.  No winners for me.

Sunday was a beautiful day.  Of the six races scheduled on the turf, three remained on, the others moved to the main track.  I had four winners, making for a great gambling day and making up for all I had lost Friday and Saturday and then some.

At the end of the day it was time to say good bye to friends in Saratoga for another year.  I also had the chance to meet up with Trisha Sweeney (now Dunn), a former long-time co-worker at New England Life.  She was at the track with friends,  We only talked for a few minutes, but it was fun reminiscing.

The flight home was uneventful except I was on a non-stop from Boston while my luggage was “expedited” through Philadelphia.  Needless to say, it was not on the carousal when I deplaned.  American delivered the suitcase to the house the next day.  (Be quiet, Ann!)

Next trip: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Washington beginning early in September.  Come back and read about it.

It’s Friday.  The forecast for today is rain, rain, rain.  A couple of days ago we had the same forecast and only got light rain.  Hopefully, but not likely, today will be the same.  Tomorrow, Whitney Day, looks bad too.  Sunday looks good.

Bob had a good time and has now gone home.  Not too many friends around at the track.  Michael from New York and his wife are back.  Ed the Pharmacist from Connecticut is here.  Last night I had dinner at the Wishing Well with Patty and Misty.  We had a great time reminiscing.  It was my second trip to the Wishing Well, my favorite restaurant.

Three more days of racing and I will be on my way home.  I am ahead, just barely.

Here are some random pictures:

Nice quiet day at the track without weekend crowds.  I only hit one race, but it was my big bet of the day and it was a longshot, so I came out ahead for the day again.  Perfect weather!  Monday night Bob and I ate at Pennell’s, a family run Italian eatery.  Good food and drink.  Mike from Delaware, another old friend, joined us for dinner.

Tuesday is a dark day at the track. We took a ride to Schenectady to check out the new Rivers Casino.  It’s beautiful.  Bob won $65 playing Let It Ride.  I won $80 playing blackjack.  Stopped at Ben and Jerry’s for ice cream.  Tonight it will be steak at the Wishing Well, my favorite Saratoga restaurant.  Back to the track tomorrow.  Weather for the next three days doesn’t look good.

 

Sunday was a beautiful day.  Sunny, low humidity, and winners.  The first eight races were tough.  But I came alive in the ninth, the featured Shuvee Handicap.  I went out on a limb and bet Farrell, a shipper from the midwest with the less than legendary Channing Hill riding.  He led very step of the way and just barely held off the 3-5 favorite at the wire.  Paid $20.20.  Great vision!  And then I had the $11.00 winner of the tenth as well.  For dinner, we got pizzas at Gennaro’s and ate them back in the room.

Finally got to Saratoga at midnight Thursday night after arriving in Boston and then driving to Saratoga.  Hit a frustrating thirty minute delay on the Mass Pike as they were doing night bridge work near Worcester – three mile backup as the road was down to one lane.

Friday in Saratoga was wet.  Nice morning, then rain for thirty minutes around post time at 1:00, then some sun, then torrential thunderstorms for thirty minutes at 3:00.  Then sunshine until the last race.  As we watched the last race on television in the race track back yard, it was pouring rain at the starting gate but dry behind the grandstand.  Weird.  When the race finished, we went across the street to King’s Tavern and as we went in, another torrential downpour began.  I had a couple of winners and made money for the day.  Michael from New York sat with me as did Michael from Delaware.

Saturday was a good day weather wise.  Gambling wise, not so much.  I made two critical mistakes.  In two different races I decided at the last minute between two horses and picked the wrong one.  The wrong horse won both times, one paying $12.00, the other $15.00.  My bad.  My friends John and Lino arrived from Boston for their three day stay.  I had dinner with them at the Brook Tavern, right down the street from the track.  Good food!  Good fun.

Thursday Morning:

Silly me.  Didn’t check text messages before leaving for the airport.  Flight delayed almost two hours.  Won’t get to Saratoga now until about 10:30 PM.  At least it’s comfortable in the American Airlines Admiral’s Club.

I leave on my solo trip to Saratoga Springs, NY tomorrow morning:  American Airlines non-stop to Boston and then immediately into my rental for the drive to Saratoga.  I should be in the hotel by 8 PM.  Then it’s nine days of racing (one dark day) before I head home again on August 6th.  My friend Bob will stay with me for four nights and I’ll see lots of other old friends while I am there.

I’m traveling light this time.  I’m not even taking my camera, so photos on the blog will be taken with my Moto X cell phone.

Stay tuned!