This past week was one of mixed emotions to say the least for me and many others. It was nearly 10 years ago, when I wrote about the events of September 11th, 2001 and how they affected me and the thoroughbred world. This past week, it hit near home with the onslaught of Hurricane Irene and it's effects on our surrounding area. It was especially telling that it happened during Saratoga 's biggest weekend of the meet; the Travers. It was one of "highs" and then "lows" and it all happened in a 48 hour period.
NYRA had a great Travers day card with full fields and great horses entered. We saw some very impressive efforts and crowned a three year old champion named; Stay Thirsty. The weather for the day was fabulous and the crowd came out to see the best three year old horses in training race for the prize. In the end, the "underdog" horse; Stay Thirsty was the winner and everybody got the effort they wanted. The 2011 Travers lived up to expectations and everybody was happy. But, things would change in less than 24 hours for many in our area and that short lived excitement came to an abrupt end.
NYRA President and CEO, Charlie Haywood along with other officials decided to cancel the Sunday race card because of the impending storm. It was a good choice, because during the night, Irene's wrath made the capital region it's target with wind and lots of rain. This hurricane was everything the meteorologists had predicted. While the wind and rain wasn't too bad where I live on the "Sand Flats" just outside Fonda, to east and south the conditions were quite dangerous. It was only the beginning though of a nightmare week for the people of Montgomery County and beyond.
My internet cut out around noon on Sunday, just after I completed Monday's Saratoga selections. With the internet not working, I stopped at my place of employment to fax my selections to the RECORDER. Just before I left my department, I got everything off my office floor JUST in case there was a threat of flooding like in 2006. That summer flood destroyed everything in it's path on Park Street in Fonda, including most items in my office (mail room). That year, quick thinking got me to remove one of the most important things in the job I do. That was the mail processing machine. This time around though, I wasn't so lucky!
I gave a look at the machine and thought; this couldn't happen again. How wrong was I. Early Monday, I drove down Hickory Hill Road and when I reached the peak that overlooked Fonda, I saw the worst. The banks of the Mohawk River had overflowed again and when I reached the stoplight by Stewarts, it was deja vu all over again! The water surrounded the county public works building and all of Park Street for a second time in just over five years. It was something I thought I would never see again, but I was wrong. The next three days gave some of the people from Fonda and to the east a nightmare that will live forever in their minds. Flooding all along the Mohawk, destroying everything in it's path and a traffic tie-up never seen before on nearly every road for miles. When this happened five years ago, everybody pulled together and we got back on our feet again and survived. I'm sure the same will happen again, but it's really tough when it happens again so soon! In thoroughbred racing we have "up's and down's" and in life the same is true. This hurdle we will clear and the good life will return.
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