PARX

[declansharbor]

A very close friend of mine's father recently passed away rather unexpectedly. My friend Billy was set to take off on a "rekindling vacation" in way of a golf trip to Myrtle Beach this past weekend with his father Bill, who was absent for most of my friend's life. It wasn't until he opened up his own restaurant in Brooklyn that he had a chance encounter with a woman that he did not know that put the wheels in motion for them to contact each other and opened the doors for them to reconnect. Billy struggled with this for months before he called his father, and has taken his dad's death pretty hard.

His dad Bill Reed Sr. has worked on the backside of Philly Park/Parx for 40+ years, from barn to barn. Worked most recently in the Demassi barn. This coming Sunday, Parx plans to name the 4th race in his honor. There will most likely be a horse entered named "Rage of Aquarius", a horse that Bill Sr. has played a major role in seeing this horse "come full circle" as it was described to me. The one thing that stuck out to Billy is how kind hearted 99% of the workers at a racetrack are. He had no clue. He's totally been taken aback by how sincere the trainers have been, most notably Demassi and John Servis.

The services for Bill Sr will be held in the track chapel located on the backside on Sunday morning. I just wanted to give Parx credit (for once) for toting the note for all of the services. Billy was debating whether to have the service elsewhere at a church capable of holding more than 75 people, but finally chose to use the track's services for no other reason than that's the way Bill Sr would have wanted it.

Parx isn't playing ANY games though this week because of the huge stakes races coming next weekend. All of that expensive horseflesh is expected to be coming in over the weekend, and they're making every precaution necessary to ensure the safety of the horses. If your name isn't on the list and have proper ID, you won't be attending the services this weekend. They even told Billy to make sure he has proper ID or he won't be attending his father's services. Crazy.

In summation, I'm giving Parx huge props for taking care of business, in both facets. Wiping away most of the expenses for the burial services and the safety precautions that they are taking for the horses this next week. Credit given where it is due. Now, if only we can talk some sense into them regarding the astronomical trifecta takeout rate.

R.I.P Bill Reed Sr aka The Lone White Wolf of the Backstretch

[jnunan4759]

Was sorry to hear about Bill. I didn't really know him but have seen him around for years. Lot of good people there and you mentioned 2 of them. The backstretch security is all state run. You have to be licensed or have someone licensed meet you at the gate and sign you in and stay with you. Likely they coordinated with the track, but the State probably wanted to make sure it's especially tight now.