"Seen at Saratoga" ...... you'll never know, who you will run into!

When watching thoroughbred racing "live", there are three things important to me. Number one are the horses, after all that's the reason we are at the track. Number two, the atmosphere and the people. Whenever you gather at a place and your interests are common, that's when you have a good time. And last but not least, success and winning. Nothing is better when your horse finishes first and you win your wager. These are the main elements for me when attending this magnificent sport.

A few years ago, the Recorder ran a column called "Heard on the Street". It was about the columnist thoughts and views with things going on in the city and people he saw and interacted with in his travels. Here's my similar version, only at the track and with the people I met in my past two visits. We'll called it; "Seen at Saratoga", you'll never know who you will run into there!

Last Saturday, I went over for the Jim Dandy Stakes. I decided to hang out by the clubhouse entrance near the paddock area. Around 12:30, I get a text message from Spike, who I grew up with in Fort Plain. He and several other of my friends who I knew were at the track and we decided to spend the day together, reminisce about the good old days and play the ponies. Most of these guys live in the Capital District area still, but my buddy; Scott had traveled from North Carolina to upstate N.Y. and has a camp on Stoner Lake which he spends summer at. He was at the track this day, celebrating his girlfriend's birthday. It was the sixth race when things got interesting for our group. After both Spike and I had singled out the longshot speed horse in the 6th turf race (Almasty) , our focus turned to the 7th race which was also on the grass. Spike had used four horses in this final leg of a pick three which he was alive in to win. I decided myself, to "box" his four runners in a dime superfecta and hopefully not jinx him on his chances to cash the ticket. Our other buddy; Cosmo used runners we need in our bets in a exacta and Scott had the good fortune to get a win ticket on the #5 - Go Around, that somebody had left in the SAM machine. Needless to say, we all walked away winners after that race. Spike had the pick three for around $500, I had the dime superfecta for just under $100, Cosmo had the exacta box ($120) and Scott had an exacta birthday present for his girl, a $10 win ticket on the #5 ($52). Yes, it was a fun and profitable day for the gang from Fort Plain and one that could only happen, at the track!

Monday, I was back there again for the Low Roller Handicapping contest and get the "free" Saratoga cooler bag giveaway. In my travels, I ran into the Monday crew from Ripepi's Restaurant and also saw an old co-worker from the county. It was nice catching up with those guys and discussing the current events, both on and off the track. Shortly after that, I caught up with a group of horse players from the Southside (Port Jackson). These people know how to have fun at the track and went all out with their picnic set up for the day. That's one of the best things about the Spa, you can bring in your own food and drink. Hope it ALWAYS stays that way! It was later in the day and so far in the contest, I hadn't pick winner. The Southside group was doing ok and one of them liked the #6 - Den's Legacy in the 8th race and the longshot. We couldn't figure out why the horse was 21-1, but it didn't matter...... he won! He was one of my $2 WPS plays in the contest (which returned $65 for me) and that guy from the Southside had $40 to win on him ($900) not a bad day for him and myself!

This is just a few examples how things, unplanned can develop into great memories at the track. Even though I do my share of complaining how things are run there now, nothing can take away the pure fun and excitement of friends gathering together with mutual interests. Plus, the winning helps too!