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Yonkers1A just to clarify.. Did the horses have 10 gas positives or was it directed at Oakes’s flatulence you are referring to? Just asking…..
Oakes is a POS so maybe I was smelling him
Was that you sitting next to me on Sat. nights?
Very good point. No one after us will ever know what it was like to hear 35000 people scream at a harness track, to taste roasted peanuts on charcoal after a night at Roosevelt or see Herve intending the whole time to finish 4th...finish 4th and this is sad.Sure, it's what we have now and we call it harness racing, but it isn't harness racing.
Never did I say Harold Story was as good as Herve. I said, Story was second to Herve in measuring a drive. Be for the win or where ever he wanted to place. If you are not familiar with Story, you owe it to yourself to get his book. I can't remember the name of it. When I do, I will post it. Those who were around can attest to the skills and creativity of this man.
I was about 6 years old when my father took me on Saturday mornings to the barn are at Roosevelt Raceway. He would sit me in the owners and trainers box on the training track as he went about his business. The old man was a bookmaker and had money on the street. Roosevelt was a weekly stop to collect. There were a couple trainers there who fronted for him. One owned a bar on Old Country Road the other was a bartender at the Wheatley Hills Tavern. I did not know at the time but, a kind man would say hello and talk with me as I sat in that dusty booth. His name was Bill Houghton. He asked if I liked the horses. He told me when I turned 16 I could get a job as a groom. I met many of the top trainers. As I got older, I would realize it was like being backstage at Maddison Square Garden. These guys were on TV, radio and in the newspaper everyday. At 18, my old man bought me a couple old racehorses that needed rehab to come back to the races. It was now in my blood. I soon developed an allergy to all animals, including horses. That ended any idea of a career horsemen. My father had great connections to just about anything. He owned a bar on Long Island and his clientele consisted of Cops, Firemen, wannabe wiseguys and wiseguys. These were my role models. Also in the bar were a few politicians. I had nothing to do with it but, at 26 years old , I found myself in Albany at a Senetor"s office picking up a letter, appointing me to a position of Inspector, (pee catcher) at Finger Lakes racetrack. I was then appointed to Patrol Judge for the winter meet at Buffalo Raceway. I first needed to meet with the Director of Racing Personnel at Saratoga. I did not know at the time byt, he was trying to block my appointment for whatever reason. After the meeting he sent a letter off to the Racing and Wagering board saying I turned down the offer. I didn't. He said to me, "you know for you to get this position, I need to fire the guy there now. Is that what you want me to do? " I sad no . That was all he needed. I left the business for 20 years and re- entered as an owner after selling my business in 1999. lasted until 2008 when everything I had was lost in the great recession. Now I dabble in selling breeding stock to some fine people in Brazil.
