The first day in a week I could wake up late - and we still would make it to the races on time. Love the way they do the races so far. We were quite disappointed that I’ll Have Another wasn’t in the race for the Triple Crown, but there were still pretty horses to see and people watching.
Angel got all dolled up in her Derby gear -- green shoes, her fancy Fleur de Paris green hat, and a wicked green dress with race horses on it. I wore my boring fancy black dress, black comfortable Derby shoes and a black and tan hat. One of us was much more colorful than the other.
Downstairs we went looking for our driver (getting to Belmont Park was not supposed to be easy -- but we know better now) -- Carmel is reliable. He wasn’t there and some of the streets were closed off due to a flea market (right up our alley normally, too bad we had somewhere to go). When we called we told him about Angel’s hat -- I think we would be easy to find even in NYC in a get up like that.
Angel slept most of the way, but I couldn’t stop looking out the window --- After we left the tunnel and entered Queens you could see graveyards and actual houses not apartment buildings. There were even some massive malls along the interstate.
It was grey and drab out, didn’t know what to expect when we got there. He kept driving and driving and then got off the main road and entered a borough neighborhood right out of Ugly Betty. The houses were compact and the yards tidy and quaint. As we got closer to the track there was a business area......
Our driver dropped us off near a gas station across the street from the track area. Also getting out of a hired suburban, were 5 people with big buttons with “Street Life” emblazoned on them -- they were the Miami owners of horse number 1 in the Stakes race. I guess we got let off in the nicer area of the track. They knew the way to the entrance gate so we tagged along.
This racetrack had a much different look than Churchill Downs - there were no distinctive spires and no statues at the entrance. But they did have pretty frosted glass above the clubhouse entrance (ie the side door). Unlike Churchill (that is a recurrent theme that I will not mention again) this place was without fanfare. I liked the distinctive ivy covered walls and the parklike laidback atmosphere of the place --- it was on a different speed than the high energy Derby.
the men with the money, do you think I could hitch a ride?
We wandered around the grounds exploring the paddock area (they had a beautiful statue of Secretariat) and their version of the “infield”. A varied array of food vendors and a small logo shop of Belmont Stakes items were in this infield/outfield area.
it appears these are staple items along with sunscreen at these events.
gotta love a man in Wranglers
I think he is serious about this
Angel and I - 30 years from now? Nah, we would have on fancy hats then too :)
While walking around, Angel got a lot of attention with her stylish outfit -- the green shoes, green horse dress and green hat were a hit. At some point, even the ESPN people came up and filmed her. If we had gotten a dollar for every time someone came up and said “Best Hat/outfit/dress, I have ever seen here” we could have paid for our trip. Needless to say, we were both a tadbit overdressed -- at the Derby we were in with the crowd, here we weren’t. We noticed that while in Kentucky the big drinks were Mint Juleps and Moet, and here in NYC Coors or Bud Light were the libation of choice. We got to meet one of the buglers - Sam and a guy in a horse suit.
There were not that many people here for the early races and they didn’t have a lot of vendors. While Angel was in the tented logo shop, I hung out at the paddock watching the horses come out for a race. I picked Dr. Beer Goggles (all my picks normally came in last) and chatted with a man and his wife. He said I sounded like I was from Louisiana. What? How does he pick the exact state I am from -- there are a few Southern states. He replied, I watch a lot of Cajun Pawn Stars, Swamp People and Bayou Billionaires -- I start elocution lessons on Tuesday.
after a race
after a race
before a race
Angel came out and we made our way to the finish line -- here you could walk right up to the railing -- the “regular” folks were hanging out in this area. And we saw our bugler again.
We found our seats on the third level, preferred grandstand. There was a cover (which I really appreciated, as it was getting warmer out). At the back, there was a high wall with a 5-6 foot opening allowing for a great breeze coming through. Not a lot of folks up here yet. Great view of the track and area -- it definitely felt more like a “park” and less like a big time track. They had it set up for the triple crown race -- cool way to display the winners. Very pleasant and peaceful, with water features and pretty willow trees:
Our seatmates were awesome. Four people from NYC/Philly --- in the tourism industry. A very nice couple, he oversaw their businesses and she taught swimming in Philly and helped in the training of triathletes. Their kids lived in Portland and on a cruise ship (awesome adventures for young adults). Neither of them looked old enough to have kids that age. It is always a more pleasant experience when you have smart funny people around you who also like to have a good time. We got an invite to Philadelphia -- will take them up on that offer.
We watched a race and then went to the clubhouse area and got lunch. The ambiance was like a food court -- $15 you got a bottled coke, and either pizza and salad, burger and fries, panini and chips. We opted for the burger and fries (and grabbed a fresh squeezed lemonade in the grandstands). And we watched another race:
Angel and I went downstairs one more time to watch the pretty horses in the paddock before a race. Secretariat’s jockey and groom were set up for an autograph signing. We opted out this time.
In the paddock area, we found a standing place right at the railing. I picked the prettiest horse -- Giant Ryan. He was so graceful looking -- a fine specimen of a horse. Angel picked three horses she liked. After watching them prance through the paddock area and then out toward the track. We made our way back to our seats because it was getting very hot out.
During the race, Giant Ryan was doing well in the front part of the pack. Around the last curve, he slowed down. Angels horses were all in the front and came in win, place, show -- if she had boxed them -- we could have been in the money. Giant Ryan fell right in front of me, my heart sank, as I did, back into my seat. I couldn’t watch as they took him off in the equine ambulance. The crowd cheered, but knowing a little more about horse racing, I knew what awaited him -- if they could not do surgery (it turned out to be an ankle injury) then he would have to be put down. [And later we found out that is what happened.] That put a damper on the rest of the races for me.
We watched the races and my dad texted me which horse to bet for him. I picked mine for the Stakes race, Angel picked hers. Then Ms. Green hat went down and bet them all for us and I watched all our stuff (it was a hassle to carry it around with us and she is better at the betting window than I am).
I went down for something and when I came back, a new “friend” had joined us. Can we say drunk 20ish galloot -- he was very obnoxious and had socially unacceptable behavior. Angel was her normal courteous self, and I sat there and giggled like a 12 year old and took pictures. Our Philly neighbors were concerned too. He finally realized he was getting the cold shoulder and shuttled himself downstairs. We can attract some interesting characters sometimes.
The big race was upon us, everyone stood and they sang “New York, New York”, the bugler played and it was on (the energy level was a different character here too than the Derby -- it was a longer race to watch) -- Dad had bet Union Rags (he raced in the Derby). I liked Optimizer (yet again) and Street Life. Angel picked Dullahan and Union Rags. Union Rags had a cool backstory -- the owner, a lady in a wheelchair, had sold him. Then she had a dream about him and took that as a sign and went and bought him back -- good second thought and good purchase -- he won. Belmont is one of the toughest tracks and the longest race in the Triple Crown and Union Rags tore it up. Dangit, my dad was right again. So I had a winning ticket, kind of:
Our Philly friends left, we packed up and watched the last race and then we made our way out after taking photos of us with the track behind us. While waiting in line to collect our winnings, Angel had a Boston photographer, Matt, take her photo. One of her last of the day.
I think he was tired...
We thought we could catch a cab and wandered around the parking lot for about 20 minutes. After discussing the situation with a bus driver (of a shuttle bus), we made our way back up 4 flights of concrete stairs (with the rest of the crowd) and across the concrete covered walkway (it felt like it was forever long) to catch the Long Island Railway for Penn Station. We paid a whooping $7 each for a one way ticket and caught the second train out. Everyone was running for the last cars and we just got on the closest one -- and found a seat quickly.
It was a quick and relaxing ride into the city. After spending a whole summer on trains and working in London for a few months, this was a very nostalgic feeling. It was so comfortable to leave the driving to someone else.
At Penn Station, we caught a cab for our hotel, we were pooped out. But had a dinner date with an actor from our hometown and we couldn’t stand him up. Even though he was in the middle of practice for his upcoming performance, he had time to meet us at Trattoria Casa De Isacco near our hotel.
our chariot awaited us... not
This restaurant was very small, probably only 10 tables, and dimly lit. The owner was also an opera singer and loved Elvis -- Elvis photos were all along the walls and fake grapes and vines were decorations along with old chianti bottles.
The food was excellent -- my homemade lasagna was great. A fitting last nighttime meal in one of my favorite cities. (And yes, we didn’t need any help getting to sleep at night as I wondered how my feet would feel in the morning.)
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