Joey Bianca's 2006 Saratoga Diary

[Kasept]

Fresh out of the inner city and the concrete jungle that is Brooklyn, New York, our man Joey Bets (AKA 'The Ateam') has been relocated to upstate NY for a six-week excursion at Saratoga Race Course, and will chronicle the experience with words, photographs, and hopefully lots of winning tickets, in what we like to call SARATOGA: DIARY OF A SUMMER.

With a few minor exceptions, Joey's column will be updated daily and posted in the Derby Trail forums. Hope you enjoy..

Steve

[GPK]

Will Ebonics be needed for translation????? JOKING!!!!!!

[ateamstupid]

SARATOGA: DIARY OF A SUMMER [Jul. 25th, 2006|09:14 pm]
Ladies and Gentlemen ... broadcasting to you LIVE from Greenwich, New York, Saratoga: Diary of a Summer commences. We're under sixteen hours from the first race at Saratoga Race Course, and the world of horse racing buzzes like a broken doorbell in anticipation.

I'll be your host, Joseph "Danger" Bianca, AKA the ATEAM from derbytrail.com, and my job this year will be to bring those of you without the privilege of being here at SAR the opportunity to live vicariously through me, "The Celebrity" Steve Byk, Matt (AKA "Hoovsie"), Barry Frey, Sammy "The Enforcer", and many more.

We'll be giving you every detail of the next six weeks, from the racing, to the backstretch schmoozing, to the gambling, to the sandwich making, every excruciating detail that makes Saratoga: Diary of a Summer.

Enjoy..

Here it is

http://summerwithtoga.livejournal.com/


Picked the first race. So far so good.

http://summerwithtoga.livejournal.com/

[ateamstupid]

Tired as **** right now. Wish I had the disk reader for my camera so I could share some of the backstretch shots I got the other day.

Today was reckless man. Nothing like the type of broads you see on opening day at Saratoga. Made some decent money, but a terrible day at the windows. I gave a few winners out on this site (Massoud, Awesome Twist), but had no win money on either. Then needed Mach Three to bail me out at the end of the day and he didn't lift a foot. Nothing like handicapping well and losing money..

Tipsy again.. Matty was making the joke "Every entry on this journal is gonna be 'Got drunk with Hooves today', 'Got drunk with Hooves today' ".. LOL.

Bykster is in the other room handicapping for tomorrow. Sam AKA King of the Nightlife is actually in his bed at 11:04.. ****ing sight to behold man.. He and Pat are scooping up all the prospects and I can't figure it out for the life of me.

Not looking forward to tomorrow. Had some help today and tomorrow will be on my own. Hopefully the crowd isn't as large though.. Gotta prepare for that 12:30-3:30 run.

Ah, the card:

Say Revain looks logical in the 6th.. 7th is wide the **** open.. Scat Daddy is the horse to beat in the 8th, but if he loses, it'll be to anybody except Bagger Vance. Not much info there I guess.. Carlos Martin's assistant says Secret Agent wins the finale. Guess you got singles on the bookends of the late Pick Four. Who knows. Don't have any huge convictions about tomorrow's card.

Big respect to Patrick Biancone for putting Lady of Venice, possibly the best turf filly in the country, in The Diana. Gamesmanship. Something that's been lost in racing the last 10 years. Biancone is my new favorite trainer.

Enjoy Thursday, folks, I gotta get some sleep and make sure Sammy ain't sneaking out on the town without bringing me along.

[ateamstupid]

Letdown day at the Spa [Jul. 27th, 2006|09:37 pm]
I'm on my ****ing laptop racing against the clock because this damn battery lasts like 45 minutes if I've been a good boy.

Barry's laundry is taking forever. I gotta dry some **** man, let's go. You wear the same thing every day anyway.

Better day at the windows today, simply because I bailed out on Luzzi's horse in the finale. Was glad Scat Daddy ran down Teuflesberg, because I was considering play 'berg in the double.

SLOW, SLOW, SLOW day. I'm talking Real World: Paris slow. No one made a dime business-wise.

Great scene today after the races. Matt and I see Pletcher coming out of the track alongside us, and I bust out with "T-Pletch! Nice win today BOY!" Hilarious, considering I think everyone else calls him "sir."

Byk is sick. It's because he doesn't eat.

I want some beers, but this lazy dude Hooves won't drive to the store..

****ing unbelievable. I gotta go downstate for my cousin's wedding on Saturday, meaning I have to leave after the races tomorrow and hop a bus or train home. I'm thinking I'll get on the Greyhound because it'll be like $20 whereas the train is $50. ****ing bus is $41.50. Sickening. I gotta drop close to $100 just to hit up this wedding. I don't mean to sound cheap. Later in the meet, money will probably be a little looser, but right now it's in the Vulcan Death Grip.

Hope I hit a Four tomorrow. Card looks unspectacular..

Can't really give out anything. Lake George looks to be between Quite A Bride and Magnificent Song. Gotta find some locks, and it looks like I'll have to break one of the Ten Commandments of Handicapping and single a NY-bred. That's what sucks about playing the NYRA circuit. Gonna have to single some NY-breds, which one should never do while sober and lucid..

Good luck Friday.

[Scav]

This one was weak besides the T-Pletch reference, I like that

These are very funny. Getting better each day.

[my miss storm cat]

This was a great read...... can't wait for the next installment.

[ateamstupid]

Sixteenth in [Jul. 28th, 2006|08:16 pm]
Not too enamored with Mr. Derby Trail America right now. Dude barked on me something serious last night over me opening his door and waking him up on my way to the bathroom.

Mind you, this is the same ****ing guy, who, when we stayed together in Louisville, woke me up at 4:30 EVERY ****ING MORNING for two weeks by AK-47'ing his laptop keys non-stop and printing the Thoro-Graph sheets for every horse that's run in the United States since 1971.

Don't get me wrong, I love Steve and consider him one of my close friends, but the hypocrisy of that tirade last night was off the ****ing scale.

Did quite well at my post today thanks to the rain. Made five cheap bets throughout the day, four exacta boxes (three with 2 horses and one with 3) I split with Tommy and two cheap win tickets on Magnificent Song and Quite A Bride. Hit Magnificent Song, who I couldn't belive paid $8.20, and in our exacta boxes, Tommy and I hit the three-horse box, then ran 2-3, 1-3 and 1-3 in our two-horse boxes, respectively. Not too bad.

A prime example of why it sucks to handicap an entire card in one sitting. Last night, by the time Matt and I got to the 7th race, I couldn't figure it out for ****. Today, I take one ****ing 30-second look at the race, say "Owns the Place is gonna be out there by himself," and close the damn Form. Didn't play him though, because I saw how outside horses were running and thought someone still might run him down. On top of that, the horse that beat me and Tommy out of the exacta was a Suffolk shipper I'd talked about with Tom just a bit earlier.

I'll be at the works tomorrow with Matt, so should have some good pictures by Sunday night. Gotta hop a Greyhound at 8:15 AM, get into the city at 12:15 and get into CT by 4:30. The wedding is at 6. Think I'll have a chance to bet tomorrow's card while I'm waiting for the train in the city.

See yous Sunday.

[31lengths]

Duuuuuude.....
did you make it ?

[ateamstupid]

My last 36 hours [Jul. 30th, 2006|07:16 pm]
Saturday:

6:00 AM - Woke up and had Hooves drive me to the Greyhound stop in 'toga.

7:00 AM - Got dropped off at the stop and proceeded to wait for the bus.

8:25 AM - Bus finally comes and I hop on.

9:15 AM - Bus arrives in Albany. I buy a ticket to the city ($36.50!) and get on another bus.

12:10 PM - Arrive in the city, head to get some food.

12:40 PM - Hit up the most depressing OTB in the entire state in order to make my bets for the day.. This place makes other OTBs look like lavish Vegas casinos.. You could start a new planet with all the different species and creatures found in there. It's like a sick ****ing biology experiment. And the worst part is that it's in an upscale neighborhood, so it makes absolutely no sense for it to be so disgusting.

1:10 PM - Meet up with the folks at Penn Station.

2:00 PM - Board train for New London, CT.

2:15 PM - Brush fire on the tracks is delaying our train.

4:45 PM - We arrive in New London a half-hour late. A friend of the family drives us to her room at the Red Roof Inn, where I change into a suit.

5:30 PM - Arrive at the wedding, get seated, then proceed to wait forever for it to start.

6:30 PM - Ceremony finally begins. Anyone who bet the under on "when Joey's mom starts crying" is cashing heavy right now. She barely got through the doors without starting the faucet. Ceremony lasts about a half-hour, and is very nice. Matt and Jess are officially hitched and I'm really happy for Matt, who has become my favorite cousin.

6:45 PM - The bar opens..

7:15 PM - Three Rum and Cokes later, I'm trying to get my dad to help me figure out which girls aren't my third cousins so that I don't feel guilty ogling them..

8:30 PM - If you ever wanted to see an example of the "white people can't dance" stereotype, this was the place to get that look. It was unbelievable. I don't know what I was expecting out of a bunch of white people from Connecticut, but I was still blown away. I can't hate on them though, since they looked like they were having fun.

10:00 PM - On my seventh Rum and Coke, I'm ready to bounce..

11:00 PM - Up to nine RnCs.. Old man is a little tipsy himself, and we're ready to bounce.

11:25 PM - Board train back for the Apple..

2:00 AM - A few hours of really terrible sleep later, we return to NYC.

3:00 AM - Reach the house, which is such a ****ing tease, because you feel for a second as if you're done with work, then realize, wait, "I have to get up in three hours and go work another five weeks!"

3:30 AM - Pissed off that Corinthian and Lady of Venice let me down, I show my pops what kind of monster Bernardini is on Race Replays.. He's not a racing fan at all, but even he can see how special this colt is. Easily the second best horse I've ever seen, and who knows, maybe he becomes #1.. Pretty pissed that I didn't get to see him in person, then realize I'll probably get to see him when he's 1/20 in the Travers.

4:00 AM - Fall asleep.

6:00 AM - Wake up. ****ing sucks.

7:35 AM - Get on board train for Saratoga Springs..

10:45 AM - Long ass ****ing delay in Albany. As if I'm not late enough..

11:45 AM - Train finally pulls into 'toga Springs a half-hour late. I call Barry to let him know I'm gonna be late today. He's surprisingly understanding.

12:00 PM - Get into a cab to take me to the track. The driver spins around forever looking for this other passenger, whom she finally picks up. This woman starts babbling on about her sponsored daughter in Bolivia. She's got pictures and information and everything. I can't make this **** up.

12:30 PM - Finally at the track, and Barry sends me to Sam's place to work for the day.

It's 10 PM right now, and I'm exhausted.

Hooves' bitch ass was saying how this stuff should have more to do with the horses, but you know what? People go on DT for ONLY horse racing stuff.. There's only so much you can ****ing say. I like to mix in the racing talk with the other **** that occupies my time up here.. It's ****ing SARATOGA: DIARY OF A SUMMER.. Not Talkin' Horses..

But okay..

Tomorrow's card:

The opener is a three-horse affair between the 6, 7 and 8. I like Schosberg's horse in the second, and I love Spring House to pull the upset in the third. Andromeda's Hero and Bank President are the horses to beat in there. Working on the late pick four, which is started by a ****ing impossible NY-bred 2-year-old race.. If you're the NYRA racing secretary, and you have any semblance of a heart, why would you start the Pick Four with some garbage like that? It's disgusting. Songster is a single, the finale is between the 9 and the 10..

The Pletcher baby who won the second today reminded me a lot of English Channel.. Smart Strike chestnut, broke dead last, then rallied to score with a strong run.

If you let your skepticism get in the way of appreciating a horse like Bernardini, just stop watching the races.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback on DT.. See you tomorrow.

[GenuineRisk]

Ateam, please keep the commentary on other subjects mixed in with the racing talk! I love it. A) it's some funny sh*t and B) it adds so much to the racing observations. Sometimes I think outsiders' view of racing fans doesn't go much beyond what they hear in "I Got the Horse Right Here" in [i]Guys and Dolls[i] and when I tell non-racing friends how smart and funny and opinionated and just all around good conversationalists the people here are, I see them struggle to believe... yes, horse racing people do think of things besides the morning line...

(Though after all these years with me my husband was very pleased to deduce from the lyrics of the aforementioned song that the horse being sung about was not a "mudder." I don't think he ever used that word before. They're so sweet, the non-racing people...)

[ateamstupid]

This is gonna be a lame entry [Aug. 1st, 2006|12:00 am]
Happy August.

Long day today, but I got to meet up with Serling and Sciacca and there wasn't much to do. Got two days off now, and I'm THRILLED.

Horrible day at the windows. Everything I played ran up the track and the one horse I didn't play (the 3 in the 4th) wins and pays $26..

Thought I was gonna bail out for the day after I brought home Court Folly in the first leg of the late double, was five deep into the 9th, and still got beaten. Mikey was right.. The track was absolute death on speed.

Spent.. Absolutely spent.. Tomorrow will be a good entry, I promise.

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

This is gonna be a lame entry [Aug. 1st, 2006|12:00 am]
Happy August.

Long day today, but I got to meet up with Serling and Sciacca and there wasn't much to do. Got two days off now, and I'm THRILLED.

Horrible day at the windows. Everything I played ran up the track and the one horse I didn't play (the 3 in the 4th) wins and pays $26..

Thought I was gonna bail out for the day after I brought home Court Folly in the first leg of the late double, was five deep into the 9th, and still got beaten. Mikey was right.. The track was absolute death on speed.

Spent.. Absolutely spent.. Tomorrow will be a good entry, I promise.

Joey and hooves are VERY funny guys. Hanging with them is a guranteed laugh. You won't get bored with these guys!!!

[ateamstupid]

Told ya' it would be a better entry [Aug. 1st, 2006|07:44 pm]
If this doesn't wet your Saratoga appetite, I have no idea what the **** will.

Today was easily the best day of the meet, by far..

A. No worky work.
B. I could wake up whenever the **** I wanted.
C. We got to hang out with the coolest roundtable at the track, with no one else around. We had Shrek 'n' Donkey, Sonny the Placement Judge, Donny Capone and Richie, me, Steve and Matt with Malcolm in the background. Sciacca told some great stories as we were eating pizza and subs from Marino's in an empty track. Let me tell you, if there's one thing better than a buzzing Saratoga, it's a completely ****ing deserted Saratoga.

Oh, and this..


Songster


More Songster.. He's so cute


Balletto.. She's so ****ing photogenic..


More Balletto


Stevie with THE GIIIAAANNNT (Bernardini)..


Matty with The Giant


More of the HOY


Me feeding Songster


Beautiful Balletto


Me scratching Balletto


Cheesin' with Balletto


Bykster with Songster


Henny chewin' on the wall


Henny with the smirk


Great picture of Matt and Henny


Henny and the kid


Invasor not too happy


More Matt and Henny


Spider Power chillin' out by the fan


Love this shot of Trip to the Bank


Last year's Travers canoe


Close-up of Johnny, Todd and Angel's photos..

Awesome day all around.

You definitely could tell that Bern Baby Bern was the boss of that barn. Songster was adorable. Laughing, yawning, just acting a fool. Balletto is ****ing GORGEOUS. Utterly gorgeous. I wasn't much of a Balletto fan before today, but she was so beautiful and so pleasant, I have to root for her now. Henny Hughes is a total ham.. He was all about getting his picture taken as much as possible.

Great day. Byk is finishing up dinner and Sammy just made an appearance. Matt and I have to finish up tomorrow's card, but as of now the PIck 4 and 6 look inscrutable. These 2-year-old races totally throw wrenches into any Pick 4 or 6 plans.

I like Running Dog (hilariously appropriate name for a NY-bred) in the feature and Del Carroll's horse looks pretty intimidating in the finale. Steve, Matt and I all love the More Than Ready horse in the second.. Tough, tough card. 80% of the cards have been very tough thus far..

About time to eat. Hope you guys enjoy the pics. See you tomorrow.

[Scav]

Yo Ateam, I am in envy, those are absolutely awesome.

Tell Hooves that Scav said he is fat

I need to get hooked up and come work their for a summer, screw the future, can only do that once

[timmgirvan]

Great job,Joey.....nice pics and commentary. Thanks very much for the effort! Timm

[ateamstupid]

AND THEY'RE OFF AT 'TOGA.. [Aug. 2nd, 2006|09:33 pm]
No, really, they're off. No horses today.

Argh.. I had a day off already today, and it ends up getting wasted..

Matt, Sam and I headed to the OTB at the harness track and bet ****ing Ellis Park, Arlington and Del Mar. I hit an early Pick 3 at Ellis, then was live to a horse in the late Pick 3 for a nice payoff and the horse didn't lift a foot. Painful.

Back to work tomorrow.. Hope you guys enjoyed the pictures.

Here's an early Pick Four for tomorrow, although it's probably gonna get rained out:

2nd - 2,4,6
3rd - 1
4th - 1,2,4,5,9
5th - 2