A Winning Day (of sorts)

[PapaChach]

Got crushed today at the Spa.

Flashed the trademark discipline; arrived in time for the 2nd but didn\'t make a bet until the 7th.

Had seats in Section C, top row. Went up with my fourteen year old, who, somehow, is now almost as tall as me. I\'m six-four.

An old friend was there, he sat in our seats during our numerous forays to the food stands. My son eats about as much as you\'d expect a fourteen year old growing like a weed does. There were nachos from Moe\'s, popcorn, and way too many chili dogs involved.

Couldn\'t wait to bet against the Brown heavy fave in the 7th; several in there had run significantly faster than him on TG and I suppose you could make the argument that with only two starts prior, even if they were only 9-ish and 11-ish, versus a lot of 6-ish\'s, he had lots of room for development, but he felt like a good play-against, and so I played against him.  

Naturally, he aired as much the best at about 7/5.

I actually bet more against him than I realized; after betting at home on the \'puter for the last year, the machines, the crowd, the heat, and the noise left me dazed and confused. I punched in several bets that seemed moderately-sized, but they added up. At home I write down potential bets on scrap paper and I know where I am within a dime at all times. In the heat of the moment, at the window, I lost track of things.

The Diana was really the make-or-break race for me.

When I first looked at the race today, knowing Dayatthespa had scratched, I
thought, well this looks too easy, the Goldberg piece is gonna wire this thing.
The second thought I had was that Dream Peace, after losing four straight as the
fave, would run big at an overlaid price.
 
If only I had not thought any further on the race.

I bet $60 to win on Dream Peace. Fair enough, not a bad play, I was right on,
she did in fact run huge, coming home in a hurry behind a snail-like pace.
 
The stupidity was in the exacta play, where I punched a $20 straight of DP over
Stephanie\'s Kitten, who, I said, after she won the Derby Day race, would
haunt me the rest of the year. I didn\'t like her in the Derby Day race, though I
didn\'t bet against her that day, and I didn\'t like her next out, where I did bet
against her.
 
So up at the window, making my bets, I fixated on this SK is gonna haunt me vibe
and I went with the, oh, why try to fight City Hall, just assume she\'s gonna run
1st or 2nd like she always does. I reverse the exacta for $16. Completely forgot
about the eventual winner when I was betting. Inexcusable.

The wise thing to do at this point would have been to quit, but me being me, I
pissed away another $62 trying to get Palice Malice up over a couple of
longshots in exactas (a little of that was spend using Mylute on top). Didn\'t
give the Lukas piece a sniff.

On the bright side, boy oh boy did it feel good to be up there today.

I did feel a twinge of sentimentality/sadness when I did the Section Y-to-Section C walk I took after the 8th.

Thought about Sam, gone less than two months now; thought about being up there with Bailey when he was way less than the six feet and change he is today; thought about Lauren, my first wife, and how I can\'t believe it\'s six years gone now.

I suppose because it\'s only once a year, for a few weeks, but the place has a
way of marking time for me. And the place just feels like salad days, like the prime of life, to me; one of the things that really got me today was thinking back to 2001, without knowing it, hitting on the same 17-1 in a turf maiden
shipping in from KY as the old friend form today.

When I am at the track, sometimes, the past seems close enough to touch; it feels as though I could step through an invisible curtain and be back in, say, August, 2001. Oh, if such things were possible. To go back, even for half-an-hour. I suppose the sense of it being right there is, in a way, the equivalent of going back.
 
Not long ago, Bailey came over to say good night. We got talking about the day. I asked if he had a good time, even though he didn\'t win. He broke into a big grin and said, yeah.
 
I said to him, you know that I bet horses all year, on Saturdays, mostly.

I win, I lose, whatever. But you know there\'s something magical about Saratoga, right?

He smiled again. Yeah. There is.
 
I can tell when he\'s putting me on for the most part. I don\'t think he was. I
think he gets it. I think I passed it on. There\'s something magical about
Saratoga, and he knows it.
 
Despite the beating I took today, that\'s a big win for me.

[Tavasco]

Thanks for your thoughts!
Its like \"Racing In The Kingdom\" for those familiar with the classic golf novel.