Tuesday
To catch up, the train from Chicago to Albany was two hours late arriving in Albany. Then I had to take a cab to the airport to get my Alamo rental as that was by far the best deal – $435 for two weeks for an SUV. Well, cabs from the railway station are shared, and I rode with a woman going to Troy for a conference. Infuriatingly, the driver decided it was best to take her to Troy first. I know the area well enough to know that makes no sense whatsoever. And there was rush hour traffic. And she didn’t have the right address for her destination at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy. After the driver finally got her where she needed to go, he took me to the airport. He got a very small tip. Now way late and with a dinner date in Saratoga to make, naturally there is a line of about six people at the Alamo counter. They have a kiosk check-in machine, so I decided to try it despite someone else just giving up on it as not working. Lo and behold, it worked for me! So I got my printout and headed for the garage. My car is a black Jeep Compass SUV (I have named him Gene) – oddly that’s the same car I got from Budget for my ride from Scottsdale to Flagstaff. I drove to my hotel (only 25 minutes), took a quick shower, and went to pick up my friend Patty for dinner.
Dinner was at the Wishing Well, my favorite Saratoga restaurant. I had gimlets, a nice shrimp cocktail, and double cut lamb chops, all delicious. I dropped Patty off and headed home to the Marriott for bed.
Wednesday
After setting up my office at the track, I went to Hannaford’s for shopping to stock the room with supplies: beer, water, diet Coke, makings for salads, snacks, and other various and sundry things. Back to the room to make my salad – I bring my own salad to the track everyday for lunch. Simple salad: romaine, cucumbers, red onion, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, croutons, and blue cheese crumbles with Newman’s lite Caesar dressing in a separate container. Love it.
The weather was hot but not oppressive. No rain. I stopped in at King’s Tavern to say hello and had a nice chat with Adam, one of the owners. Ed, my pharmacist friend from CT came in – he had the day off and came up for the day, so we sat together at our usual spot in the track back yard. The day at the track went very well. I didn’t bet the first race, a steeplechase. My first bet on the second race got me off to a flying start – $26.60 winner! (Winner, winner, chicken dinner – later I would get fried chicken from Hattie’s to take home my dinner). Then in race five I hit the $34.60 winner. Two winners for the day, but at prices like that it made for a very successful day. I had several other horses run extremely well but not well enough to win.
I already told you about dinner. I woke early after a good night’s sleep, and here I am posting early Thursday morning.
Let the winners multiply this weekend too! Loved the train trip, though don’t understand at their consistent late running schedule, why?
We are home safely from our quickie vacation in the cool of Marina, CA…will concentrate on yours now!!
My childhood pal from Middle Village, Queens who relocated to Saratoga with her husband, a retired FDNY may be at the track on Saturday. I told her to look for you. They live up there now. Give them a few tips. 🐎🐎🐎