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#1
06-09-2009, 04:14 PM
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why we love the game....
id like to hear from all of you dt ers what drew you to the game and why you continue to support it...this is a smart ass free zone..i dont care what level you play at and your opinion is just as valid as any.. please tell me your story why you have supported horse racing...thanks in advance for those that do tell why they a' love the game and b' tell what made you play the horses as your gambling of choice.thanks in advance on your posts..
hooves  
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#2
06-09-2009, 04:54 PM
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In somewhat chronological order just to name a few:
SARATOGA BIG RED Ruffian Affirmmed Saratoga - chasing jocks for autographs and goggles PERSONNAL ENSIGN BARBARO Evening Attire 2007 Kent Derby DEE TEE STABLES 2007 BC 2008 BC SARATOGA and May 17, 2008 ARLINGTON PARK WINNER'S CIRCLE!!!
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#3
06-09-2009, 04:59 PM
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A trip to Fair Grounds with my Dad when I was five is what got it all started for me. Soon after we made regular trips to the now defunct Trinity Meadows and by the time I saw my first Belmont Stakes (1993) I was hooked. I still get odd looks when reading the DRF on an airplane and I have friends that thing I'm completely obsessed. It's long past time to explain that horse racing draws you in like no other game. It is the greatest game in the world, bar none.
NT
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#4
06-09-2009, 05:22 PM
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As a kid I used to visit my grandparents in the summer and they would take me to Monmouth Park. It was just a fun time at a great old race track. We would watch the triple crown races and it just grew my interest in the sport. When I went to college we used to Waterford Park and have enjoyed and followed the sport ever since.
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#5
06-09-2009, 05:35 PM
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Pops started taking me to the track at 3. We would go to Pimlico, Laurel, and even cruddy Timonium. When I was a senior in high school, I was able to convince the junior class chemistry teacher to make me his teachers aide. I would "supposedly" grade papers, keep the lab clean, etc. The guy never cared where I was or what I did. So I had 50 minutes to kill every afternoon. School was 4 miles from Pimlico....get the picture.
Eventually moved out west and have not lost one ounce of passion for the game. Have been very fortunate to be a part of some ownership groups. Making a score at the window is always a blast, but it doesn't come close, in my opinion, to taking a picture every so often.
__________________
"I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'."
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#6
06-09-2009, 07:30 PM
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Where has tis game been, piece of cake!!!!
September 1974,
I just got out of the army(drafted) and was attending Eastern Ky U. on g.i.bill. a few friends i shared a house with ask if i wanted to go one night during the week to Latonia (Turfway park now.) i said sure we pile into the car went to the trk,drank some beers, i could not read a form but had the program, and could not lose!!! i think the story goes,where has this been all my life? well after i won about every race, a couple of weeks later keeneland opened up on first sat in Oct, i was hooked, and came back to earth when my majic touch worn off there, so new i had to read some books. I bought every issue of turf guide, ATM, and the next year Beyers Picking winners(he had some long hair them) lol...
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#7
06-09-2009, 08:01 PM
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Back in the Late 80's Pat Day was King at Oaklawn Park. My granddad would listen to the races out back in the garage because my grandmother was against him going. Well let's just say we caught a few fish at Oaklawn during those years.
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#8
06-09-2009, 08:06 PM
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great stuff.. byk. ateam , dell , infield, all keep it going..cannon!!
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#9
06-09-2009, 08:30 PM
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Family members (parents, brothers, and an aunt) are who got me interested in racing. They would take me to Fair Grounds about once a year during the Christmas holidays starting when I was about 7; I remember winning with my first bet-a daily double, with a horse named Call Me Henry winning the first leg. I liked the track, but football and baseball were the sports that caught my attention. I started following racing with greater enthusiasm during the 1983-1984 Fair Grounds meet, which was an excellent time as Taylor's Special for Mott and Silent King for Delp battled for 3yo supremacy at FG. After that meet, I began my formal racing education (reading Beyer and Davidowitz's books) that summer, and made my first of many trips to Jefferson Downs. I was in my early teens at the time, and I remember not seeing many people my age out at the track, which actually proved beneficial as people were more likely to talk to me and I picked up pointers from some very sharp handicappers. I'd read everything about racing that I could get my hands on.
My early human racing heroes were Frankie Brothers and Randy Romero. The early equine heroes were Taylor's Special, Tiffany Lass, and Turkoman, among others. My outlook on the sport has changed over time as I have become more interested in the gambling aspect than rooting for individual horses. It is now rare that I get excited about seeing a particular horse run just for the sake of it. I seldom go to Louisiana Downs, which has been my local track for 13 years. I'd prefer to bet at home at my computer than go to what that track has sadly become. That said, whether it is going to Oaklawn or on my frequent trips to Fair Grounds, there are few things that beat live racing. I have two young daughters who like to go to Fair Grounds when we are in New Orleans. They enjoy looking at the horses, eating ice cream, and maybe getting a pair of goggles from a jockey. It remains to be seen whether they will develop any true enthusiasm for racing when they become teenagers, but I'm hopeful.
__________________
Still trying to outsmart me, aren't you, mule-skinner? You want me to think that you don't want me to go down there, but the subtle truth is you really don't want me to go down there!
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#10
06-09-2009, 09:04 PM
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My grandfather was an MP in WWII, which made him a crazy history buff as well. In studying early civilization wars, so many of them involved horses, from the turn of time through the Civil War and beyond. As he told me, over time he fell in love with the horse, whether it be a wild west stallion, pony, or a thoroughbred. I remember growing up looking at picture books of all kinds of horses. One memory I remember quite clear was Preakness weekend in 1988. My folks had left me and my sister with my grandparents, as they traveled to Maine for a weekend wedding. On that Saturday was the Preakness where Risen Star slipped by Winning Colors. I watched my first race with my grandfather, the penultimate horse lover, who never once placed a wager in his life. Gramps was "pulling" for the filly. The next day, as any Celtics or NBA classics fan will attest to, was the epic battle between Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird in the Hawks-Celtics series.
It was a great weekend. My grandfather was then, and always will be my hero. A decorated veteran who risked his life in the war the defines the world we live in, and a life long fire fighter who made a living risking his life to aide total strangers. Oh, and he's the reason I love horses and horse racing. As for why I choose racing as my gambling choice, I look at it this way. Anyone can pull the lever of a slot machine, or get lucky on a scratch ticket. It doesn't take any skill or understanding of value. I'm lost in any casino until I find a race book. I don't know any cards games, save for go fish! and all those drinking games I perfected in college. What I like about racing is it takes skill. It takes having a value system and sticking to it. It's about me trying to outsmart you and take your money, but not as enemies. It's me trying to find the angle that you missed and turning it into a winning one. But, at the end of the day, we are just doing what we enjoy, win or lose. Nice thread idea, hooves. I'm glad some people who might not be too heavy into the gambling aspect can have a chance to share their stories. Fact of the matter is, there is absolutely nothing wrong with starting off small, enjoying horses from books, or enjoying a race horse based on that animal's backstory (ie Evening Attire, Funny Cide or Nicanor, for example). For every person who enjoys racing for the animals and wagers sporadically, if it all, there is a person like me who enjoyed the game from a far growing up, and grew into enjoying the wagering aspect on a regular basis. All too often those people who are not necessarily on the wagering aspect are some what drowned out on here, and that's not right. Looking forward to reading what everyone else has to say.
__________________
"Boston fans hate the Yankees, we hate the Canadiens and we hate the Lakers. It's in our DNA. It just is." - Bill Simmons
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#11
06-09-2009, 09:07 PM
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Watching the Race of the Week on Saturdays in the 60s. Hearing my sister talk about Native Dancer, Nashua/Swaps, Tim Tam, Bold Ruler. She used to say that horse racing was all about breeding the best with the best and then hope for the best; in the 70s seeing that realized in Secretariat. I lost contact with the sport during the 90s, but have reconnected by reading alot of the posts on this site about your observations of racing in the last 20 years.
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#12
06-09-2009, 09:09 PM
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Quote:
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#13
06-09-2009, 09:32 PM
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the horses got me involved. been horse crazy as long as i can remember. read every black stallion book who knows how many times...i laid my hands on just about anything horse related, so it was no surprise that i got into racing-i have a very competitive nature, so it just makes sense i guess. betting came much later, i never made it to a track til i was older, no one else in my old family had any interest at all. but now my husband likes to go on occasion, and all three of my kids have gone to the track several times. my youngest had his older sister making bets for him last summer since she was 'of age'. next thing i knew, he was taking care of it himself (he's 17 btw), feeding vouchers and pushing buttons. i told him if the folks at arlington threw him out he would have to sit on the curb and wait because we weren't leaving til the last race!
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#14
06-09-2009, 10:53 PM
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I've decided I don't like it anymore.
I quit.
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#15
06-09-2009, 11:03 PM
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#16
06-09-2009, 11:06 PM
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#17
06-09-2009, 11:22 PM
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That ATM card I found was burning a hole in my pocket.
That and everyone at my school and at my temple played the ponies. I got hooked when I bet an exacta of Quip Star to Cachuma (boxed) and it paid like $400, despite them having run 1-2 together in their previous start. It seemed like such easy money at that point! Then I got hooked into the sporting aspect of it.
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#18
06-09-2009, 11:22 PM
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Ok, seriously. Like many others have posted, I grew up as a child and early teen attending Jefferson Downs, Fairgrounds and the Old Evangeline Downs. I knew nothing of betting, but I have always loved horses. When I became of age, I delved deeply into casino gambling. I would still attend live racing a couple of times a year, but never envisioned it would satiate my gambling needs compared to casino betting. But after many years of destructive and addictive casino trips and just getting married and trying to start a family I knew I had to change my lifestyle around but realized I still needed to be in some kind of action. I then turned to horseracing...learning the game, learning how to analyze the information and form opinions about how to bet and what to bet. The first putoff for me was the work involved to be successful. But once I saw the fruits of the effort being rewarded, I have never looked back. This game is perfect for me, my mind is a trap for trivial information. So in the 5 years that I have concentrated on this game, I have memorized trainers, jockeys, pedigree info, and have learned which other avenues are worth pursuing in order to find the knowledge necessary to survive in this game. My main weakness in this game is also my main strength: I have a real soft spot in my heart for the horses. So I really care about the horses and the people involved that put their lives on the line for this game we all love.
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#19
06-10-2009, 12:31 AM
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This is a cool thread, thanks for posting it. My mother trained QH's before I was born and I was raised on the backside of Delta Downs, EVE, The Fair Grounds, and every match track from Krotz Springs to several in Miss., that I cant tell you about.lol My strongest memory after all these years, is that my mother always put the horses first, before money or on our small scale, fame. I watched tons of times her tell an owner to come pick up a horse if he wouldnt allow a horse rest when it needed it. I have also been in the winners circle at the old EVE getting our picture taken after setting a track record and a man walk by and ask our owner if he was finally gonna get a man trainer....men! My first crush was Randy Romero! My mom and his dad matched horses all the time and I followed that poor boy around forever.I always just loved horses, 2k claimers to our stakes horses. And I always knew my mom would kick my ass if I didnt do my best by them no matter what. And I will always respect her for that.I started following TB's when a family friend went to work for Richard Mandella in 1982...yes 1982, and I have lived vicarously through her as she went around the world with Kotoshan,SandPit,Soul of the Matter, The Tin Man and my boy Pleasantly Perfect. She has had plenty of chances to move up to asst. trainer,but her love is the horses and thats what she does everyday. And thats why I pull for all of the Mandella horses.
__________________
Me and PP at Lanes End
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#20
06-10-2009, 12:41 AM
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Long time lurker on this and several other gambling related forums. Enjoy reading everyone's posts and thought I would share my story.
About 15 years ago on a family vacation to New Mexico, we stopped at Riudoso Downs for a day of quarter horse racing. I'll never forget the first horse I bet on, Tequilamockingbird, probably because I had just read the book To Kill A Mockingbird in middle school. The horse went off at 6 or 7-1 and I walked up to the window with my mom to make a $2 win bet. Of course, the horse wins, and the rest is history. I remember holding that $14-16 bucks in my hand and thinking I was on top of the world. Flash forward to about 5 years ago, I had about an hour long break at my job every morning. An old retired truck driver would stop by every day during our break and bring his Dallas Morning News with him, so we could pick out our ponies at Lone Star Park for the day while we ate breakfast. Whoever picked the least correct from the day before had to buy breakfast the next day for the other 3 guys. After I bought breakfast for about a month straight, I started to get my hands on everything I could horse-related. Started going to the track with the old truck driver (Louisiana Downs) and fell in love with the sport. Actually got halfway decent at it and stopped buying breakfast for the other guys too. Sad to say the old truck driver whom I had befriended found out he had kidney cancer, went through chemo, beat the cancer and then died in a car wreck one day coming home from dialysis. Going to the track reminds me of him and all the good times we shared and kind of makes me feel like I'm carrying out his legacy, because I know he loved to be there. I choose horse racing as my primary gambling choice because of the skill involved. I love a challenge, and it seems every race I handicap creates a new one. Like I said, I thoroughly enjoy reading everyones opinions/posts and would like to thank you Steve for the excellent site you have to bring so many people together that enjoy the same thing.
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