The Spa

You spend a lot of money during a Saratoga vacation over four days at the track in order to win $40. But who's complaining? Not me.

And there's absolutely nothing better than cashing your first bet, in my case, a $2 win bet on Jimmy P in the first race on the card—a hurdle race, no less.

Handicapping a hurdle race requires deep thought and prayer that your horse won't clip the fence and go down and eliminate all chance of even finishing.  If you're of the Catholic faith, rosary beads might help during the running.

Jimmy P exploded on the final far turn and won by over 30 lengths. It was a Secretariat performance, and he paid a nice $15 for $2 to win. We were off to the races. And we did well on the rest of card. The starting $60 voucher only grew in value.

It's always nice to start the second day of wagering with a voucher whose value is greater than the starting $60 from the day before. The second day, Thursday, went even better. 

Watch enough races, on television or at the track, and you'll notice how the crowd of people who get to bask in the winning glory for winning varies greatly.

Some owners have large entourages of friends and relatives. Mike Repole, who gets to be in the winner's circle a fair number of times, comes with a pack pf people who look like that all got off a luxury touring bus. Mike is never alone at the races.

He's not the only one who puts a crowd in the photographer's viewfinder.  One of the somewhat newer things about racing that's evolved is shared ownership, public stables so to speak. 

A group of people have been tied together, all with fractional ownership of the horse. When the syndicate is big and enough of the owners show up, the winner's circle looks as crowded as a NYC subway car at rush hour.

One such ownership group won the first race on Thursday with an unraced two-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Jose Ortiz. Manhattan Twist put in a nice performance and rewarded all owners with a trip to the winner's circle. The ownership group of My Racehorse and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing looked like the track attendance.

And what a scrum of people! There were more people than even a Mike Repole entourage. A listing of their phone numbers would make a small book, with last names that start with every letter of the alphabet. No one ever has to be asked to smile in the winner's circle.

Friday's card brought the entry of Sizzle in the 5th race. Sizzle is wholly owned by Richie P., a good friend of Bobby G., who of course is one of the Assembled who occasionally get together at Aqueduct and Belmont and try and perfect equine prophesy. 

Richie has owned one or two horses for decades. He's occupied the same owner's box at Saratoga for just as long, and has had some winners at Saratoga.

We were looking forward to Sizzle's start, since the last two times it was entered for the turf and it was rained off, therefore scratched. Friday's weather looked like no rain and the start was anticipated.

Sizzle was scratched early and it wasn't apparent why. The race was going to stay on the turf, and she had a very decent chance of winning the $50,000 claiming race for non-winners of two lifetime. Tyler Gaffalione was slated to ride and that only added to the winning chances.

I caught up to Richie in his box and he explained there was wind in the air that there were people who were going to claim the horse. Richie and his trainer Lisa Lewis didn't want to lose the horse to a claim, so they decided to scratch her. Another race was chosen for early September at Saratoga that would fit her eligibility and surface preference, but would not expose her to being claimed. The game is best played with patience.

Plan to attend the races at Saratoga for four days, and you can bet on rain as well. And did it ever rain on Thursday toward the end of the card. For the past several years our seating preference has been a table in the Fourstardave sports bar on the main floor. There are lots of TVs, and the food service is good with decent prices. A seat with a table for handicapping only adds to the enjoyment.

The seats we choose are on the outer rim, by the New York Mac 'N' Cheese truck. We get unobstructed viewing from any angle from the overhead TVs, plus front row viewing of the parade of people who pass by, most without a Racing Form or program, but nearly all eating and drinking something. These  upstate people never stop eating.

Normally, even on the outer rim, the rain won't blow in, unless of course it rains so hard and so suddenly that you think you're in the tropics. Such is what happened toward the end of Thursday's card, taking the last two races off the turf and handing the Pick Six and Pick 5 players a bonus of an ALL bet in those races. That of course allows more people to win and lowers the payout, but is only fair since when those tickets were created the handicapping called for turf, and now if wasn't going to be turf. But Thursday's rain was a bit of a typhoon, and we had to move inward. At least we remained relatively dry.

I'm old enough to remember when admission to the track was $2 for Grandstand and $5 for Clubhouse, Clubhouse being closer to the finish line with a more desirable view. But the seats weren't reserved seats. You claimed your seat with a newspaper covering which was honored by others.

At some point in the last 20 years Saratoga turned into all reserved seating. The admission price is now $10, with no distinction for Grandstand or Clubhouse. A reserved seat is extra. The only seats that aren't reserved are toilet seats.

Reserved seat pricing is variable based on the day of the week, with the latter part of the week going up, with Saturday being the most expensive. Choice picnic table can be reserved as well. There is a price for everything.

Despite all the prices you encounter, when your voucher at the end of four days of betting is greater than when you started, you forget certain things.

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