Summer at the 'Spa

Summer in New York. It’s just the place to be as a horse girl chasing (or was it running away from something)... I’m not quite sure exactly what it was that I was going for, and I’m not sure if I was lost, but I found a lot.  Mostly because there were more than enough horses and horse culture to satiate any equine junky. In this post-college gap year journey 2,700 miles from home I’ve found beauty, tons of new emotions…loneliness …rode enough horses to leave holes in my legs, and found that there is a place where the sport of horse racing feels absolutely alive.  I am left with a feeling that I can’t quite put to a particular adjective.  I rode the jumpers, learned a LOT, then checked my pulse and found that my heart still beats horse racing. 

After getting on 7 horses by 10AM this morning, I sat down with a clear head and my second cup of coffee- recapping some events from the night before and my time on the East Coast, and began to count my blessings.  I started to jot my thoughts down, feverishly tapping on my phone, then raced out of barn 58 from Saratoga to grab my computer to do the story some justice. I’ve had tons of little anecdotes and insights that were potentially pretty significant- but as a whole I felt like an incomplete mosaic of tiles just scattered all over the floor.  There hadn’t been enough to put a big picture together yet.  OH the people I’ve met… If they only knew that I was picking their brains and hoarding their experiences- (with the best of intentions, of course!)

Some conclusions so far: that it’s the nature of my generation and the paradox of my age group to overshare, relentlessly search for purpose, and be perpetually uncomfortable.  I have definitely had a lot of fun, but feel absolutely low at times- struggling to find clarity from these experiences.  It’s the quarter life crisis/plague still hitting me hard- “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up”!

I’ve bounced from one horse industry to another and it has caused a bit of that perpetual feeling of discomfort and a feeling of never actually ‘belonging’.  But the upside to that is my eyes are always open and fresh. Viewing things as an outsider makes every little nuance significant.  Racing has always been romantic in nature, (they don’t make as many bestselling books & movies about trail horses…) and growing up in the industry and experiencing it every day can make one almost numb, almost.

Walking around horse mecca (Saratoga) makes a track ‘insider’ feel like less of a carny and more like you are part of something.  I know this place is full of rich tradition and history but what pumps life into racing here is absolutely the town and its people. This is a place where the locals celebrate everything equine and going to the track is just a staple of the summer.  Being from humble-ish beginnings, but growing up in racing, I know the prince, and I know the pauper.  The prince knows the value and the prestige of racing, and he will support it because it’s both elite and profitable.  With so much for the pauper to spend his two bucks on that might pay him back, where is the sustainability going to be? Why should he care?

To me, the answer is because it’s thrilling, romantic, and open for everyone that wants either picnicking or pageantry.  They want to see the action. Everyone COMES to the track here, they take glamour shots, selfies everywhere, and pictures of horses in the morning. I know and love the game enough to want to share it with everyone. What a different experience when the people are present!  Building an OTB network does well to support the operations but it doesn’t give enough to sprinkle the fairy dust of horse-wonder onto future bettors and fans or young adults looking for their Saturday hang out spot. Even on a storming, inclement Sunday afternoon in a crowded paddock tent, the bartenders and barflies alike were dressed up and huddled motionless, in silence as Tom Durkin gave his last call.  It wasn’t just the weather that held everybody so near each TV.  I looked around and a server’s tears caused a few of my own.  There is greatness in horse racing and they know… the people that have experienced it know.  Each track has the potential to glorify the triumphs, the power, and the money that is embedded in the sport. There must be a push across the board, and in “smaller” tracks to follow suit and package racing in a way that preserves the sport and creates sustainability for both the bettor, the spectator, and the horseman.