Sitting, waiting for something to do (santa Anita Start) . So I\'ve always wanted to make up a list of the racetracks I\'ve been to. I think this will be quite extensive compared to most. Anyway feel free to post yours. In no particular order. All tracks include. No dog tracks included.
1. Garden State Park
2. Garden State Park Redux
3. Freehold Race Track
4. Meadowlands Race Track
5. Monmouth Park
6. Philadelphia Park
7. Parx
8. Liberty Bell Park
9. Harrah\'s Raceway, Chester Pa.
10.Penn National
11.Pocono Downs
12.Singhapore Turf Club
13. Harrington Raceway
13. Dover Downs
14. Ocean Downs
15. Rosecroft Raceway
16. Laurel Park
17. Pimlico
18. Delaware Park
19. Roosevelt Raceway
20. Yonkers Raceway
21. Belmont Park
22. Saratoga Race Track
23. Saratoga Harness
24. Fingers Lakes Race Track
25. Tioga Downs
26. Thistledown
27. Arlington Park
28. Hawthorne Park
29. Sportsman\'s Park
30. Balmoral Park
31. Maywood Park
32. Duplicate deleted
33. Churchill Downs
34. Keenland
35. Red Mile
36. Albuquerque Downs
37. Del Mar
38. Hollywood Park
39. Santa Anita
40. Bay Meadows
41. Golden Gate Fields
42. Los Alamitos- Harness and Quarters
43. Pomona
44. Another Fair in California I can\'t remember the name of.
Now I know where my retirement money went to.
Trotter tracks should be a separate list.
Wow.. Mine is really small and pathetic. (My list that is).
1. Penn National
2. Tampa Bay Downs (this past March)
Harness
1. Pocono Downs
Joe, very impressive. Three questions:
Given #\'s 1 through 11, how did you ever miss Atlantic City?
You list Finger Lakes but somehow dog tracks are beneath you?
You have outstanding warrants in Florida?
Joe,
You wanted in Florida? No Gulfstream, Calder,Hialeah, Pompano Park?
Mike
1. Santa Anita
2. Del Mar
3. Hollywood Park
4. Golden Gate Fields
5. Bay Meadows
6. California Fairs
- Pleasanton
- Stockton
- Santa Rosa
- Cal Expo (Sacramento)
- Vallejo
7. Lone Star Park
8. Monmouth Park
What\'s that they say about great minds, Mike?
Pdub-- Saratoga is not on that list because...
Magic
Referencing each other,Jimbo and I used to say \"Jackoffs think alike\" ...sanitized
Mike
Singapore? but nothing in WV like MNR or CT or Cajun Country yet you once claimed to be a red necK. Well Albuquerque qualifies you a I guess. Quite a list. What a slow day!
Your right but not sure if I attended live racing there. Certaintly been there for simulcast bets. It\'s ashamed what happened to that place. My favorite next to the original Garden State park.
Only been to the dogs down there near Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale. Tampa Bay maybe next year.
He was at Harness in Saratoga?
The tragic list would be tracks I\'ve been to that aren\'t there any more.
Hollywood, Bay Meadows, Suffolk (maybe), Atlantic City (maybe), Green Mountain, Santa Fe Downs, Lincoln Fair (Nebraska, and great), Longacres, Sportsman\'s Park, Liberty Bell, Garden State...
OOOHHHH. I forgot Charlestown. Singhapore was a real bute. Forgot Tijuana, and been to the one in Barbados but no racing that day.
I forgot more. Santa Fe, Geen Mountain but that was dogs. Getting close to 50 now.
Got to go get a beer.(beer thirty) Be back later. thanks for reminding me about some of the ones I missed.
JB,
A favorite of mine from way back Monmouth Park in dire straits.Since Gov Christie threw racing under the bus in NJ(pulled slot subsidies/State loans)Monmouth on life support, and the future looks bleak. Breeding program dried up, lots of smaller farms going broke.
In NY they shake in their boots that Cuomo could turn on racing as Christe did except the implications in NY are far greater upstate NY where many farms are. Cuomo being a 100% political animal would never try it unless we had a major financial crisis.
Gov\'s in PA, Delaware and others looking at reducing/pulling racing subsidies which would cause more tracks to close.
Mike
On my wall at work...
Track List (http://i61.tinypic.com/ei5e6d.jpg)
I agree with your approach TGJB, and will add: Lincoln Downs, Narragansett Park, and Rockingham Park.
pat
Harness:
Meadowlands
Yonkers
Saratoga
Roosevelt
Vincennes (Paris, Christmas Day, snow)
Thoroughbred:
Monmouth
Atlantic City (concur, Joe)
Pimlico
Belmont
Saratoga
Aqueduct
Arlington
Churchill
Del Mar
Santa Anita
Woodbine
The Curragh
Cheltenham
Ascot
Longchamp
Deauville
Chantilly
Tokyo Race Course (\'88 Japan Cup, first big race I ever saw)
Dogs:
Couer d\' Alene, ID
Some place in London I can\'t recall
El Commandante in Puerto Rico was.......a little scary.No
Bowie?...young guys know nuthin!
My closings include Longacres, Yakima Downs, Playfair, Woodlands, Beulah, Sportsman\'s, Rillito, Yavapai, Prescott Downs, Santa Fe (still there though!) and my all time list breaker: Eureka Downs!
1. Meadowlands Race Track
2. Monmouth Park
3. Laurel Park
4. Pimlico
5. Arlington Park
6. Hawthorne Park
7. Sportsman\'s Park
8. Balmoral Park
9. Maywood Park
10. Churchill Downs
11. Keeneland
12. Red Mile
13. Hollywood Park
14. Santa Anita
15. Los Alamitos
16. Delta Downs
17. Evangeline Downs
18. Fairgrounds
19. Jefferson Downs
20. Louisiana Downs
21. Lone Star Park
22. Sam Houston
23. Ross Downs (non parimutuel)
24. River Downs
25. Oaklawn Park
26. Gulfstream
27. Hialeah
I did El Commandante, which is now Camarero. Forgot Centennial. Hialeah get an asterisk.
JB,
Mistakenly took my young beautiful wife to El Commandante, early 70\'s, seriously scared spit, and I grew up in Williamsburg.
Mike
Outside U.S. --
Woodbine
Tijuana
Ngong (Kenya)
Caymanas (Jamaica)
Happy Valley
Sha Tin
Ascot
Windsor (really fun -- arrive/depart by boat)
Solvalla (Stockholm)
Palermo
San Isidro
I haven\'t been to that many but Hialeah was the nicest one I\'ve ever seen.
Talk about scared, I started out going to Aqueduct, and from Flatbush you have to take the \"D\" to the \"S\" shuttle train, they give you a \"transfer\" and you get off and walk a block on Franklin Ave. in Bed-Stuy to get to the \"A\" train. You have to be in love to do that.
Surprising no one has been to Colonial Downs. Although it is somewhat off the beaten path. Being so far south.
TGJB Wrote:
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> Pdub-- Saratoga is not on that list because...
Went to the 2007 BC with a couple buddies. He had a small piece of a couple horses with West Point. Dream Rush and Lear\'s Princess. They both ran up the track in that monsoon.
Didn\'t get to enjoy the track like I wanted to, just poured all weekend. Good day at the windows tho, TG was really good that weekend.
Stayed in Atlantic City, what a treat. On our cab ride to the Borgata that Saturday night, I swear I thought we were gonna get rolled. Had no idea where the guy was taking us, but we made it.
I\'ll get there some day. My life won\'t be complete until I meet some of you guys.
I\'ll make another list;
1. RichieBee
2. Miff
3. Frank D
4. MJellish
I concur. Hialeah absolutely breathtaking back in the day. Saw Well Decorated (Eugene Jacobs) beat Tap Shoes (Horatio Luro) in the Bahamas Stakes in a thrilling finish. Cure the Blues was supposed to run in the race and scratched.
What a place. But needed a tank once several blocks away.
Good Luck,
Joe B
1)Hollywood
2)Bay Meadows
3) Turf Paradise
4)Canterbury
5)Fairgrounds
6)Sportsmans
7) Hawthorne
8) Balmoral
9) Arlington
10) Maywood
11) Aurora/FoxFields
12)Fairmount
13) Churchill
14 ) Latonia
15) River Downs
16) Lebanon
17) Belmont
18) Hialeah
19) Calder
20) Gulfstream
21) Pompano
22) Springfield
23) Detroit Race Course
Richiebee,
Was Cahokia Downs still open while you were at Wash U?
Might have closed before I was born but not sure.
Fun, some hidden gems and bucket list items still to come
Tokyo
Chiba
Chantilly
Maisons Lafite
Longchamp
Meydan
Santa Anita
Hollywood
Bay Meadows
Golden Gate
Pleasanton
Del Mar
Canterbury
Saratoga
Belmont
Aqueduct
Monmouth
Laurel
Pimlico
Churchill
Remington
Lone Star
Sam Houston
Manor Downs
Retama
Oaklawn
Calder
Louisiana Downs
I can\'t be sure if I was ever at Cahokia but I lean to the no
Thoroughbred:
Aqueduct, Belmont, Saratoga, Churchill, Parx (when it was Keystone), Ft. Erie, Finger Lakes.
RIP: Hollywood, Suffolk (racing cancelled that day, simulcast only), Commodore Downs (Erie Pa)
Harness: Roosevelt, Yonkers, Batavia, Buffalo, Monticello, Saratoga (never for live racing, just thoroughbred simulcasting) Garden City (Canada), Sportsmans, Meadowlands
Back in the old days when NY wouldn\'t take Florida & other tracks I used to go to Connecticut OTB to bet the other tracks.
I\'ve been to 5 tracks
Hialeah not in the hay day but you could see the beauty that the place use to be.
Gulfstream,God did they screw that place up..
Calder
Belmont
and Aqueduct.
Two on my bucket list Saratoga and Del Mar
Tropical Park (still a city park, but no racing since \'72)
Hialeah (long before shuttering, hurricanes, and quarter horses)
Gulfstream (before and after rebuild)
Calder
Tampa Bay (also back when it was called Florida Downs)
Fair Grounds
Turf Paradise
Yavapi (also when it was Prescott Downs)
Flagstaff
Rillito
Agua Caliente
Del Mar
Santa Anita
Hollywood Park
Bay Meadows
Golden Gate
Pleasanton
Albuquerque
Ruidoso
Santa Rosa
Sacramento
Stockton
Longchamp
Aqueduct
Belmont
Kentucky Downs
Churchill
Arapahoe
Thistledown
Fairmount
(nice list, but missing Saratoga, Keeneland, Arlington, and Oaklawn)
In reviewing these lists and the far flung locations,it\'s apparent that some of you guys must have been in The Federal Witness Protection Program.
Paolo, very nice list indeed. Oaklawn and Keeneland top my \"domestic must go someday\" list. I envy our Shanahan who just flies right into those meets on what seems to be a regular basis.
Seems you are the first to cop to Kentucky Downs. How did you like it?
Might as well hit Del Mar up for the BC in 2017! I\'m a little disappointed that nobody on this board has been to Prairie Meadows. Yes I\'m a homer, its only 5 minutes from my house:)
miff Wrote:
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> El Commandante in Puerto Rico was.......a little
> scary.No
> Bowie?...young guys know nuthin!
I too noticed Bowie missing from a lot of lists. First track I ever went to was Timonium and I was hooked on the first day. Bowie was the second track I ever went to and I was overwhelmed at finally making it to the big leagues after a long summer at Timonium (when I first went, Timonium raced all summer).
my list
Timonium
Bowie
Laurel
Pimlico
Marlboro
Charles Town*
Shenandoah Downs*
Delaware Park
Penn National
Keystone, Philadephia Park, Parx
Garden State Park(only the Robert Brennan version unfortunately)
Atlantic City
Monmouth
Meadowlands (spent most of college and law school there)
Belmont
Aqueduct
Suffolk
Rockingham
Great Barrington Fair
Northampton
Saratoga
Fort Erie
Thistledown
Keeneland
Churchill Downs
Birmingham Turf Club (horses, not dogs)
Hialeah
Gulfstream (old and new)
Tampa Bay Downs
Sam Houston Park
Fairgrounds (before the fire only)
Jefferson Downs
Oaklawn
Sportsmans Park*
Hawthorne*
Aksarben
Turf Paradise
Emerald Downs
Pleasanton
Solano
Santa Rosa
Golden Gate
Bay Meadows
Hollywood
Santa Anita
Del Mar
Los Alamitos
When I first used to get the racing form, they had a whole page devoted to a map of the USA with all tracks listed. Would love to find a copy of that map again. Might be nice on the wall.
International tracks to come
edited to add Calder
Without compare there was Hialeah. Both beautiful and sexy, unequaled before and ever since.
She had a stepsister named Gulfstream Park, sans Fairy Godmother. She couldn\'t compare with her sister\'s ethereal beauty, since she never had the glass slippers, but she was open and friendly and had a genuine woman\'s natural charm, so unlike her much younger and much colder sister by the same name.
Then there is Calder. Poorer still, but in the heat of the summer one can watch two year old card after two year old card and hopefully learn something in the process.
Lastly, the grand old girl Churchill Downs. You always come back to the one that remains faithful to herself.
It says something that most horseplayers have more racetrack loves than actual girlfriends. Even temporary ones. What it says is a little complicated...
TGJB Wrote:
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> It says something that most horseplayers have more
> racetrack loves than actual girlfriends. Even
> temporary ones. What it says is a little
> complicated...
Racetracks typically have a blended takeout of only 20% and so have a competitive edge.
Sek, I live up in Williamsport so I now have my limitations. But good thing about where I live is am 3-4 hours to lots of good stuff.
OMG, you were at Roosevelt. Not many can say that. That European tour must have been special. I\'d love to do that. And Tokoyo. Very well Traveled I see.
Impressive. Very well traveled. Hopefully you won to pay for the trip.
Hit the 2nd race tri at Santa anita . Hope those number keep coming in.
that\'s a impressive list. I\'d love to get to Oaklawn.
This is ashamed what\'s happening to the sport. More reason to try to take advantage of the big days. Saratoga rules.
TO my knowledge the Borgata is the last place to book race in AC.
Yeah, and how many time have you done that.
Surely there\'s a few on your bucket list.
joemama Wrote:
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> OMG, you were at Roosevelt. Not many can say
> that. That European tour must have been special.
> I\'d love to do that. And Tokoyo. Very well
> Traveled I see.
Roosevelt and the other NYC-area trotter tracks were all with my dad in the late 1970s. The international stuff came mostly one at a time and over a lot of years; side trips in the midst of business trips (mine or freeloading on the wife\'s). Just lucky and opportunistic. Would love to do a domestic road trip some day.
Nope , no man no Bowie. Certainly have heard of it. Have no idea of where it even was located. Cept Maryland I know.
Fairmount1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Richiebee,
>
> Was Cahokia Downs still open while you were at
> Wash U?
>
> Might have closed before I was born but not sure.
Hey Fairmount:
Washington University was indeed conducting classes while I was in residence at
Fairmount (FP) and Cahokia (Cka). Each of these fine facilities offered both
thoroughbred and harness racing.
While I\'m here:
Saratoga
Belmont
Aqueduct
Meadowlands
Monmouth Park
Atlantic City
Garden State Park v2
Keystone/ Philadelphia Park
Penn National
Delaware Park
Pimlico
Timonium
Hialeah
Gulfstream Park
Calder
Fair Grounds
Oaklawn Park
Keeneland
Churchill
Latonia (Now Turfway)
Fairmount Park
Cahokia Downs
River Downs
Moscow Hippodrome (denied entry, maybe because I was wearing TG hat)
Jugheads:
Monticello
Yonkers
Meadowlands
Saratoga Harness
Pompano Park
Bucket List:
Santa Anita
Fort Erie
Arapahoe Park
Kentucky Downs
Roosevelt International was always great, foreign trotters,esp from France were great horses.
Wow now that\'s a list. What are the asterisks for? Too bad you missed the original Garden State Park. I grew up 5 miles from there. Closest thing to Churchill Downs before it came to be what it is today. There\'s a video on youtube recording the day it burned down. And I forgot Keystone. Had a picture in the winners circle at that place being a hot walker.
Roosevelt was a 1 time affair for me doing it with some New York natives that were service buddies of mine. Made a killing betting the 8 post and Ted wing.
SHit, impressive list but reading it reminded me that I forgot the Fairgrounds.Nice list
Where the hell is Jefferson Downs?
Been close but it was just too far out of the way.
Aurora, that\'s a good one. Must be in the midwest. Springfield, Ill.?
Was, not is. Kenner, LA. New Orleans suburb.
Can\'t talk about it
Heard of Kenner when I was down there. Had to be before the mid to late 70\'s.
joemama Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow now that\'s a list. What are the asterisks for?
> Too bad you missed the original Garden State
> Park. I grew up 5 miles from there. Closest thing
> to Churchill Downs before it came to be what it is
> today. There\'s a video on youtube recording the
> day it burned down. And I forgot Keystone. Had a
> picture in the winners circle at that place being
> a hot walker.
Asterisks were for racetracks that were what I would call \"twin tracks\" They were located so close to each other that you could easily walk from one to the other. My recollection is that Hawthorne and Sportmans Park actually shared the same parking lot (although I do not remember if was a real street or not that went through the middle of that parking lot).
That also reminds me that for some reason, I always find racetrack parking lots to be very emotional places. When you arrive, there is the excitement. Parking so far away and the walk approaching the place with all the build up. The whole running to catch the Daily Double (knowing if you got there in time you would lose, but if you got shut out you would have won and it always seemed better to have bet and lost than to have never bet at all). Of course, there is then the return to the parking lot afterwards in all sorts of different moods. Nowadays, racetrack parking lots are ghost towns, but back in the day, there were seas of cars (I guess Belmont still has seas of cars, but that is just because they lease out all their spare lots). It would be very hard for me to choose my favorite racetrack parking lot but I get wistful thinking about them
SoCalMan2 Wrote:
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> It would be very hard for
> me to choose my favorite racetrack parking lot but
> I get wistful thinking about them.
SoCal
The Union Avenue Parking Lot which adjoins the main property at Saratoga,
under the old pine trees, is a nicer place to hang out than half of the tracks on
my list.
All I can remember about Hawthorne and Sportsmans is getting off the train , taking the cab and ending up in a section of town called Cicero. Chicago is one great place to have spent some time in. (3 years) I remember that long walk into sportsman\'s park. I also remember betting trotters at Arlington Park.
joemama Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Heard of Kenner when I was down there. Had to be
> before the mid to late 70\'s.
The track was on the shores of Lake Ponchatrain. I absolutely loved that place. In the late 1980s, I had work trips to New Orleans, and they ran night cards out at Jefferson Downs. You could go catch a full card at night after work. A legendary event happened there when one of the Carmouches had the idea of hiding his horse in the fog in a three turn race and skipping a whole lap. He ended up winning by like 20 lengths but got caught because it was so obvious he hadn\'t run the full race.
Also, I used to love tracks with weird chutes or dog legs. Keeneland still has its for 4.5 furlong races as does Santa Anita for the about 6.5 down the hill, but many other tracks had odd chutes. Jefferson Downs had a similar one to keeneland\'s but because the configuration was a bullring, it got a lot more use. Laurel had a legendary 1 mile chute (the Affirmed Alydar Laurel Futurity was on that course, with local fav Star De Naskra getting third if I remember correctly). Pimlico had no chute whatsoever and they timed the races right out of the gate, so first quarter fractions at Pimlico were always slower than everywhere else. Saratoga also used to have a weird dog leg on the clubhouse turn of the dirt course if I remember correctly, I suppose it was to run a 1.5 turn mile, but to be honest, I just can\'t remember what they used the chute for. there were also inner track chutes. Not just the ones you see entering the stretch today, but they had ones entering the backstretch so they could elongate for example a 5 furlong turf race into a 5.5 furlong turf race>
Well I see that I am the only one that can claim to have been at the Singhapore Turf Club. Must have been in the program you speak of.
joemama Wrote:
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> Sek, I live up in Williamsport so I now have my
> limitations. But good thing about where I live is
> am 3-4 hours to lots of good stuff.
Well how about that small world. I\'m 2 blocks away from Park Pizza.
magicnight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> TGJB Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It says something that most horseplayers have
> more
> > racetrack loves than actual girlfriends. Even
> > temporary ones. What it says is a little
> > complicated...
>
>
> Racetracks typically have a blended takeout of
> only 20% and so have a competitive edge.
I had to say it was hard for me to stop laughing after reading that one
That place had to be one of the first to do the night races back in that day. Elsewhere flats were run in the day and if you wanted action you had to go to the trots at night. I loved the New Orleans area when I was down there. Even though it almost killed me,
That\'s one part of the country I have not been to.
Nice list. Western USA flavored. Make Toga a priority.
Only a couple mentions of the Mass fair circuit but no Marshfield!!!!
Great Barrington, Marshfield, Northampton, Suffolk, Rockingham, Finger Lakes,
Aqueduct, Belmont, Saratoga, Meadowlands, Monmouth, Atlantic City, Garden State,
Keystone,Erie Downs, Delaware, Pimlico, Bowie, Laurel, Gulfstream, Hialeah (favorite next to the Spa, Santa Anita is close) Calder, Tampa, Fairgrounds, Evangaline, Jefferson Downs, Churchill. River Downs, Thistledown, Sportsman, Hawthorne, Arlington, Balmoral (Rick B.) Detroit Race Course, Arksarben, Prescott Downs, Turf Paradise, Hollywood, Santa Anita, Longacres, Portland Meadows.
Yes Miff the dump El Commandante in the late 70\'s as well with my girl.
Jug Heads:
Saratoga, Monticello, Vernon Downs, Tioga, Batavia, Buffalo, Roosevelt, Yonkers, Meadowlands, Foxboro, Hinsdale, Green Mountain (trotters and dogs) Rutland Fair,
Freehold, Pompano, Race Way Park,Northfield, Maywood, Sportsman, Hawthorne, Balmoral, The Meadows.
Missing Keeneland, DelMar and Oaklawn from my bucket list.
That\'s a impressive list . Almost second to none.
magicnight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> You list Finger Lakes but somehow dog tracks are
> beneath you?
>
And yet another NYTimes staff member slanders a NY track.
Well, okay, I suppose it isn\'t exactly slander.
No Liberty Bell Park votes yet. Philly guys are absent.
As a kid, my grandfather always said something about a horse named the Grey Ghost. He died when I was 9 but I still have a large (for the time) framed photo of him at age 4 in 1914 on a standardbred that his father (my great-grandfather) owned. My great-grandfather is holding the horse for the father-son pose. People think it is just a vintage photo I have on the wall never realizing it is an actual family photo.
Anyway, when I grew older I always thought that was a reference to Native Dancer and it may have been. But recently I discovered a website selling photos from Fairmount and Cahokia that I found pretty neat.
http://www.fp-photos.com/personalities-page-2.html (Scroll down to see Steve Cauthen in 1977 at FP on \"A Gray Ghost\" which makes wonder about which Gray Ghost he meant....ironically enough the trainer John Wainwright still a fixture at FP was the trainer of first horse I owned with 5 friends just a few years ago).
http://www.fp-photos.com/1950-to-1969-page-4.html (Some Cahokia Downs photos)
In order of attendance:
Tampa Bay Downs (age 3)
Fairmount Park
Hawthorne Race Course
Canterbury Park
Churchill Downs
Keeneland
Gulfstream Park
Oaklawn Park
Arlington Park
Santa Anita
joemama Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Roosevelt was a 1 time affair for me doing it with
> some New York natives that were service buddies of
> mine. Made a killing betting the 8 post and Ted
> wing.
My father raced horses at Roosevelt. It\'s where I learned the invaluable lesson that you should never really pay attention to what a trainer has to say about his horse.
Wow , They screwed us when they shut down the OTW out at the mall. Were you here back then 2002 or so.
When I worked in Long Island in 1982-1987 our office was across from Roosevelt Raceway & you could look out the window & see the grandstand.
Tracks I\'ve attended:
Saratoga, Belmont, Finger Lakes, Rockingham, Penn, Delaware, Philadelphia Park, Laurel, Pimlico, Garden State, Woodbine, Gulfstream, Monmouth, Meadowlands, Del Mar, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise, Emerald Downs, Some place outside of Paris.
Harness: Roosevelt, Yonkers, Saratoga, Vernon, Batavia, Buffalo, Mohawk
Tracks where I\'ve made money:
joemama Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow , They screwed us when they shut down the OTW
> out at the mall. Were you here back then 2002 or
> so.
Oh yeah, I was just a pup then but I spent a lot of time there. In fact, it was Preakness Day 2002 when I hit one of my first big scores that got me hooked for life. I\'m sure we\'ve seen each other. I would bet dollars to donuts that we know some of the same people.
Sekrah,
All of us who were on track regulars \"all know the same people\" but every track had its cast of characters to say the least. We all knew or had a nickname for the stoops, the bums that begged dollars, the tellers or bar tenders that touted every horse in the race to a different bettor etc...
My all time favorite was at Arlington Park in the mid 80\'s he was known as the Painter, he came to the track after some semblance of a work day nearly every day in his white paint speckled cover halls and used to yell and scream for Earlie Fires. If Earlie won a race and he did win many he would run around clapping his hands trying to get the crowd to chant Earlie, Earlie.
It\'s non fiction but no one would believe ya!
Frank D.
The race track in Kenya was really something. Jockeys were all 6 foot, ~110 pounds and of course black. The entire visual scene was very different. What I remember the most was a wine event with pretty high end German wines. I found out later that not only did locals visit the once a week race event but so did a huge local German community. They pretty much made up the Turf Club. Didn\'t bet much (how could I) -- not a fan of German wines high end or not (but had too much riesling) -- had a blast.
and the only place where there showed the odds followed by the win-place and show price ranges, that place was great
And then add to the tragic list the Vegas race books that existed before casinos got involved -
Churchill Downs Race Book (where Paris is now)
one across the street from LV Hilton that sold TG for many tracks
a cigar shop near Churchill that sold sheets - Rags for sure, maybe TG too
I\'m sure there\'s many others
Ken
Barbary Coast had a great horse room for a lil while you could choose pari mutuel or not and the old house quinella!
kencbs Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And then add to the tragic list the Vegas race
> books that existed before casinos got involved -
> Churchill Downs Race Book (where Paris is now)
> one across the street from LV Hilton that sold TG
> for many tracks
> a cigar shop near Churchill that sold sheets -
> Rags for sure, maybe TG too
>
> I\'m sure there\'s many others
>
> Ken
The one near the LV Hilton might have been the Sport of Kings. It closed before I ever got there.
I\'ll start off by dating myself:
Suffolk Downs
Narraganset
Lincoln Downs (Mass)
Rockingham
Mansfield Fair and Great Barrington
El Comandante
Atlantic City
Arlington and Sportsman\'s Park
Thistledown Yavapai Downs
Beulah
Charlestown
Deleware and a round of golf with P-Dob
Fair Hills Maryland
Hawthorne
Hollywood
Keeneland
Laurel
Meadowlands
Garden State
Mountaineer
Oaklawn
Penn National
Philadelphia Park
Pimlico
Prairie Meadows
Saratoga
Santa Anita
Tampa Bay Downs
Timonium
Monmouth
Forgot to add Bowie, and the golf with P-Dub was in Hawaii not Delaware.
In order with year: (w = worked in stables)
Oaklawn Park 1977(w)
Louisiana Downs 1980 (w)
Fairgrounds 1985 (w)
Jefferson Downs 1985
Monmouth Park 1986 (w)
Atlantic City 1986
Philadelphia Park
Meadowlands 1986 (w)
Gulfstream Park 1986 (w)
Hialeah 1987 (w)
Saratoga 1987(w)
Belmont Park 1987 (w)
Aqueduct 1987
Calder 1991
Fort Erie 2004
Churchill Downs 2011
Santa Anita 2013
paniolo Wrote:
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> Forgot to add Bowie, and the golf with P-Dub was
> in Hawaii not Delaware.
Paniolo my friend, I was waiting for your list.
My wife and I visited the Big island maybe 5 years ago? Ed sent me a PM and arranged for a day of golf. Picked me up for an early round, then we had lunch and knocked a few back after our round. Ed told me many great stories, including his many race track excursions.
Mr Finnegan, hope all is well with you. Thanks for the mention, that was a day I thoroughly enjoyed.
I was beginning to think that Latonia existed in my mind only.
Keeneland
Churchill
Latonia
Turfway
Liberty Bell
River Downs
Belmont
Saratoga
Hialeah
Gulfstream
Calder
Arlington
Hollywood
Santa Anita
Harness:
Red Mile
Louisville Downs
Pompano
Dogs:
Daytona
Hollywood
Biscayne
Flagler
Bonita Springs
I always hung out at the bar area. 2002 was a very good year. War emblem going down in the Belmont was epic, as was the exacta I caught. Don\'t remember the Preakness, Magic Wisenar?
That\'s Funny. My father in law had a track acquaintance at Philly Park. His nickname was 123. Bet the 1,2,3 trifecta every race. Won fairly often.
Worked at Saratoga, must have been nice to spend a whole season up there.
That would make it tough to get any work done.
Liberty Bell before the bell was harness , that\'s way back. Latonia, is that in Ohio?
THat\'s a good one. If it weren\'t for you...
THat\'s a big list. Great Barrington in Illinois?
Haven\'t seen any mention of Longacres or a Emerald Downs. Surely those are on somebody\'s list.
JimP Wrote:
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> Haven\'t seen any mention of Longacres or a Emerald
> Downs. Surely those are on somebody\'s list.
Had it on mine, Jim. Only at Emerald once. Very pleasant facility. Love that part of the country.
joemama Wrote:
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> Liberty Bell before the bell was harness , that\'s
> way back. Latonia, is that in Ohio?
Latonia = Turfway, I believe. Changed names in the 80\'s?
Joe, you should get some kind of award for initiating the longest TG message board thread without some kind of contentious back-and-forth bickering.
Fills in the time. I have another one I\'ve been contemplating that\'s sure to draw some posts. Will try to save it for a time when there\'s a lull in the action. Hopefully it will draw honest responses. I don\'t know if that one won\'t cause some bickering tho.
As far as the award goes, a year of free TG\'s would be a great idea. Maybe JB should start a competition/contest of some sort. Then he\'d have to buy a bigger server to hold all the posts. :-)
Longacres mentioned I think, however didn\'t see Hastings, Woodbine or Kamloops!
moosepalm Wrote:
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> Joe, you should get some kind of award for
> initiating the longest TG message board thread
> without some kind of contentious back-and-forth
> bickering.
Would that be the \"Ken Sherman Prolific Poster Award\"?
joemama Wrote:
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> As far as the award goes, a year of free TG\'s
> would be a great idea. Maybe JB should start a
> competition/contest of some sort. Then he\'d have
> to buy a bigger server to hold all the posts. :-)
You will probably be offered free lifetime admission to the TG Saratoga seminars.
Can\'t wait. Sounds like the deal of a lifetime. BTW who is/was Ken Sherman?
Very funny response Joe, whether intentional or not.
An alias of Ollie and a name certain to evoke a Penny Dreadful like response from Richie.
Great Barrington is in Massachusetts, near the NY State line. I live around Albany & it\'s about an hour east of here. In an Andy Beyer book, I think it\'s My $50,000 year at the races (written when $50,000 was real good money), he has a chapter about his trip there titled something like: Great Barrington Fair-parsley, sage, rosemary and crime.
miff Wrote:
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> JB,
>
> A favorite of mine from way back Monmouth Park in
> dire straits.Since Gov Christie threw racing under
> the bus in NJ(pulled slot subsidies/State
> loans)Monmouth on life support, and the future
> looks bleak. Breeding program dried up, lots of
> smaller farms going broke.
>
> In NY they shake in their boots that Cuomo could
> turn on racing as Christe did except the
> implications in NY are far greater upstate NY
> where many farms are. Cuomo being a 100% political
> animal would never try it unless we had a major
> financial crisis.
>
> Gov\'s in PA, Delaware and others looking at
> reducing/pulling racing subsidies which would
> cause more tracks to close.
>
>
> Mike
Losing Monmouth would be an American Tragedy. For those who missed the original Gulfstream, it\'s the prevailing stateside survivor most-similar to old GP . . . though GP\'s seating capacity was greater.
Not really, since we worked in the day & they raced at night. Back in those days I had a season pass to Belmont. On Fridays, because I was in a field position, we used to be able to end our days at 2:30. I\'d go into the office and as soon as 2:30 hit, I\'d practically run out of the office & head to Belmont. I had this shortcut through some main & back streets that was the most efficient way to get there from Garden City & I\'d always make it by the 5th race. Then I could buy the advanced edition of the Form for Saturday and not have to go back to Elmont at night (since my apt was about 40 miles east) to get Saturday\'s Form Friday night at Talk Of The Town deli where on any night fans, trainers & jockeys would be waiting around 9-9:30 PM for the Forms to come in from New Jersey. In good weather many of us would be outside waiting to spot the car with NJ plates arriving.
miff Wrote:
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> El Commandante in Puerto Rico was.......a little
> scary.No
> Bowie?...young guys know nuthin!
Black bean soup at El Commandante ruled, the night I went (35% rake WPS). Called the chart of Mario Pino\'s maiden-breaking win as a jock, at Bowie (had \'im . . . paid 9-1).
Psycho friends and I as teens used to drive to Bowie to play those short races. At Bowie, you could bet the bell. We always bet whatever horse broke to the lead.
magicnight Wrote:
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> TGJB Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It says something that most horseplayers have
> more
> > racetrack loves than actual girlfriends. Even
> > temporary ones. What it says is a little
> > complicated...
>
>
> Racetracks typically have a blended takeout of
> only 20% and so have a competitive edge.
Ashamed to say I laughed -- but I did.
JimP Wrote:
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> Haven\'t seen any mention of Longacres or a Emerald
> Downs. Surely those are on somebody\'s list.
I\'ve made the Emerald scene a couple of times. Like the way the grandstands are laid out. It\'s clever.
joemama Wrote:
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> Sitting, waiting for something to do (santa Anita
> Start) . So I\'ve always wanted to make up a list
> of the racetracks I\'ve been to. I think this will
> be quite extensive compared to most. Anyway feel
> free to post yours. In no particular order. All
> tracks include. No dog tracks included.
>
> 1. Garden State Park
> 2. Garden State Park Redux
> 3. Freehold Race Track
> 4. Meadowlands Race Track
> 5. Monmouth Park
> 6. Philadelphia Park
> 7. Parx
> 8. Liberty Bell Park
> 9. Harrah\'s Raceway, Chester Pa.
> 10.Penn National
> 11.Pocono Downs
> 12.Singhapore Turf Club
> 13. Harrington Raceway
> 13. Dover Downs
> 14. Ocean Downs
> 15. Rosecroft Raceway
> 16. Laurel Park
> 17. Pimlico
> 18. Delaware Park
> 19. Roosevelt Raceway
> 20. Yonkers Raceway
> 21. Belmont Park
> 22. Saratoga Race Track
> 23. Saratoga Harness
> 24. Fingers Lakes Race Track
> 25. Tioga Downs
> 26. Thistledown
> 27. Arlington Park
> 28. Hawthorne Park
> 29. Sportsman\'s Park
> 30. Balmoral Park
> 31. Maywood Park
> 32. Duplicate deleted
> 33. Churchill Downs
> 34. Keenland
> 35. Red Mile
> 36. Albuquerque Downs
> 37. Del Mar
> 38. Hollywood Park
> 39. Santa Anita
> 40. Bay Meadows
> 41. Golden Gate Fields
> 42. Los Alamitos- Harness and Quarters
> 43. Pomona
> 44. Another Fair in California I can\'t remember
> the name of.
>
> Now I know where my retirement money went to.
My list presses 50+, but must ask for short recess to facilitate recapitulation.
From what I\'ve seen, my trump card is the old Washington Park on Chicago\'s far South Side (site of Swaps/Nashua), where I called the last thoroughbred charts before the old girl burned down after one winter Saturday-afternoon program . . .
jp702006 Wrote:
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> Might as well hit Del Mar up for the BC in 2017!
> I\'m a little disappointed that nobody on this
> board has been to Prairie Meadows. Yes I\'m a
> homer, its only 5 minutes from my house:)
Made it one tourney weekend, earlier this century.
Neat stuff. Having the internet alleviates much of that now. If the internet was available back then you wouldn\'t have that story to tell.
joemama Wrote:
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> Aurora, that\'s a good one. Must be in the
> midwest. Springfield, Ill.?
Chicago\'s far-Western suburbs. Had t-breds once upon a time, but its most recent sustained usage was as a bustola, Grade Z harness operation.
joemama Wrote:
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> No Liberty Bell Park votes yet. Philly guys are
> absent.
For the harness, a few times. Was too late to the area for the flats.
Tavasco Wrote:
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> Surprising no one has been to Colonial Downs.
> Although it is somewhat off the beaten path. Being
> so far south.
Again, for a tournament. Great plant, with super turf. Too bad the market depth in the area simply isn\'t there.
Kentucky Downs was a pleasant surprise. When I pulled up, I wasn\'t even sure it was a racetrack. Looked nothing like the traditional grandstand at most other tracks. Nice brick building could be mistaken for a cross between a colonial manor and a hotel. Small parking lot with spots available almost at the front door. The course itself is huge, but when they say that the races are on the \'weeds\', you can take that word literally.
Ruidoso was another pleasant surprise off the beaten path. Not the track, but the city. Refreshing getaway from the heat way up in the mountains. Beautiful pines as far as the eye can see. Memorable rustic watering holes in the evening, which I hope still have the charm that I remember from more than 30 years ago. I must admit that my fond recollections may be somewhat biased, as I had the company of a lovely lady who, unbeknownst to both us at the time, would later become my bride, and who is still with me to this day.
Must admit that the old Hialeah tops my list of all-time favorite tracks. Was so gorgeous back in the day. Not just the architecture of the building, but the gardens were so well designed and maintained that they were the site of many weddings during the off season.
International --
The Curragh
Epsom
Ascot
Lingfield
Longchamps
Cagnes Sur Mer
Moscow Hippodrome
Kincsem Park
San Siro
Champ De Mars
Greyville
Nad Al Sheba
Bukit Timah
Singapore Racecourse
Perak Turf Club
Royal Turf Club (Bangkok)
Happy Valley
Sha Tin
Macau Racecourse
Tokyo Racecourse
Ellerslie
Beach racing at Castleton
Canterbury Park (Sydney Australia)
Rinconada
SoCalMan2 Wrote:
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> International --
>
> The Curragh
> Epsom
> Ascot
> Lingfield
> Longchamps
> Cagnes Sur Mer
> Moscow Hippodrome
> Kincsem Park
> San Siro
> Champ De Mars
> Greyville
> Nad Al Sheba
> Bukit Timah
> Singapore Racecourse
> Perak Turf Club
> Royal Turf Club (Bangkok)
> Happy Valley
> Sha Tin
> Macau Racecourse
> Tokyo Racecourse
> Ellerslie
> Beach racing at Castleton
> Canterbury Park (Sydney Australia)
> Rinconada
This coupled with your U.S. visits -- wow -- if this was a competition, you win.
Strike Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SoCalMan2 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > International --
> >
> > The Curragh
> > Epsom
> > Ascot
> > Lingfield
> > Longchamps
> > Cagnes Sur Mer
> > Moscow Hippodrome
> > Kincsem Park
> > San Siro
> > Champ De Mars
> > Greyville
> > Nad Al Sheba
> > Bukit Timah
> > Singapore Racecourse
> > Perak Turf Club
> > Royal Turf Club (Bangkok)
> > Happy Valley
> > Sha Tin
> > Macau Racecourse
> > Tokyo Racecourse
> > Ellerslie
> > Beach racing at Castleton
> > Canterbury Park (Sydney Australia)
> > Rinconada
>
>
> This coupled with your U.S. visits -- wow -- if
> this was a competition, you win.
I have done it over a 40 year period with the benefit of work having me live all over the country and the world, so I had some unfair advantages.
The irony of all ironies is that for 9 years I lived about a quarter of a mile from the Moscow Hippodrome but the racing was so awful I would prefer to stay in my apartment and bet on the internet in other jurisdictions rather than do the 5 minute walk to the track for live racing. Also, don\'t get me started on Moscow Bookie shops (known as bookmakerskaya in Russian).
I might as well finish up with Harness --
Rosecroft,
Laurel Raceway,
the track in Bangor, Maine (don\'t recall its name)
Saratoga
Pompano
Roosevelt
Yonkers
Meadowlands
Should we include Jai Alai frontons or Dog Tracks?
Wow, have you ever seen horse racing with sleds in the snow?
joemama Wrote:
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> Wow, have you ever seen horse racing with sleds in
> the snow?
No. But, I have seen camel racing in the snow at the Moscow Hippodrome one December.
The Saratoga chute was for 1 mile dirt races.
Here is my list and those I have attended with TGJB. I met P-Dub at last year\'s Breeders Cup. I agree with Paul that I would like the opportunity to meet more of the guys on this board. The short list of those I have met: JB, TGAB, P-Dub, Rich Curtis, Rezlegal, and SoCalMan2
Belmont Park (JB)
Saratoga (JB)
Meadowlands
Monmouth
Garden State
Gulfstream old and new (JB)
Calder
Hialeah
Oaklawn Park
Fairgrounds
Jefferson Downs (send me a PM if you want to hear a story that I am not posting)
Delta Downs
Sam Houston
Lone Star
Turf Paradise
Hollywood (JB)
Del Mar (JB)
Santa Anita (JB)
Arlington (new and the tents for Manila's Million win) (JB new for BC)
Hawthorne
Indiana Downs
Hoosier Park
Churchill (JB)
Keeneland (JB)
Turfway Park
Thistle Downs
Rillito
Woodbine
Roger
I don\'t remember the Preakness either. Haha, it was a race early in the card at Delaware Park on Preakness Day.
I was going to list Vincennes in Paris but didn\'t think anyone else would get it.
Missed the Arc by a week and they rotate tracks over there each weekend. Got dropped of by a business partner who lived in Paris that knew nothing about the races. I had no idea they were trotters without the carts, totally lost and tried to bet simulcast of the only flat racing at a track called Nancy to no better success. It was not a tourist track and trying to bet in English was an adventure and to think the Parisians invented Pari-Mutuel!
First time there when stabled at the Fairgrounds in 1985, JD ran prior to the FG traditional Thanksgiving opening. Raced under the lights and I remember the jockeys being very tall. The running joke was about cleaning up the needles in the paddock and the batteries off the bullring track. Ran into Bum Philips (New Orleans Saints/Houston Oilers coach) there with his 10 gallon hat and reminded me of Hoss on Bonanza. I worked for Gerald Romero at the time (brother of Jockey Randy Romero) and their life story was loosely portrayed in the movie Casey\'s Shadow, Walter Matthau played their dad Lloyd Romero. Randy was the only jockey to ride in the All American Futurity and the Kentucky Derby. There were on the set as consultants so they told me.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Casey%27s_Shadow.jpg
My first track Shenandoah Downs in Charles Town.1960. I was eight. The jockeys I remember: Larry Reynolds,Mason Gordon,Stanley Small,Jesse Davidson,Terry Lipham, Nick Shuk,Freddie Kratz,Jesus Martin(the only rider of color) and Eddie Cape, a man with an extreme hunchback. I was pretty impressionable at the time.
1. Saratoga (first trip 49er/Seeking The Gold Travers)
2. Belmont (first trip Gulch Met Mile)
3. Meadowlands
4. Garden State (new)
5. Monmouth
6. Atlantic City
7. Keystone/Philadelphia Park/Parx
8. Penn National
9. Pimlico
10. Laurel
11. Colonial
12. Fort Erie
13. Woodbine (old & new)
14. Keeneland
15. Turfway
16. Churchill
17. Kentucky Downs
18. Calder
19. Gulfstream
20. Louisiana Downs
21. Fair Grounds
22. Oaklawn
23. Balmoral (1990, still running night t-breds)
24. Hawthorne
25. Arlington
26. Lone Star
27. Turf Paradise
28. Del Mar
29. Santa Anita
30. Hollywood
31. Bay Meadows
32. Emerald
33. Arapahoe
34. Clinton Phipps (St. Thomas, Aaron Gryder was riding that day)
35. Gowran Park (Ireland)
36. Mountaineer
37. Charles Town
38. Delta Downs
39. Los Alamitos
40. Sam Houston
41. Stampede Park (watched 2005 BC there, no live racing)