Did you ever go to Atlantic City Race Course in the early 70's!
It was a great place to race.
Haughton, Dancer, Miller, ETC sent their two year olds there from Pompano. Lots of barns, green grass, and a good track kitchen where everyone went for breakfast.
just before my time
my father started taking me to the AC track(tbreds) the year after the GSP fire(another "I was there")--around 1977
the south jersey scene was rapidly changing as casinos just started at Resorts International
we had Keystone Racetrack in the winter and night time tbreds in the summer--even saw a few Jersey Derbies there(daytime cards)--well waited for the new Garden State Park to be built--which it was in 1984(opening night was the night Villanova beat Georgetown in the NCAA title game)-but turned out to be a big flop, built by con artist Robert Brennan whose ITB way overspent-and the tbreds failed soon after-but not after bringing us Spend A Buck--harness racing was a success there, only about a 15 minute drive from my parents house-i was there every night--.. saw Nihilator, Mack Lobell, Flak Bait, and many more famous horses... the March of Dimes trot--featuring Mack, Ourasi and the winner Sugarcane Hanover
so I was a tad young to see live harness racing at the AC track
my first trip to a harness track was Liberty Bell around 1977 and in the winter we would do double-headers-Keystone during the day, dinner then Liberty Bell at night which was about 3 miles away--one of my first trips I saw Meadow Blue Chip-one of the first really good mares for the Blue Chip guys
I will never forget those cold Sunday nights at Liberty Bell--where I first fell in love with a speed horse named My Bill Forwood-who would dominate our Preferred pace then go back to YR/RR after he was kicked out for being too dominant at LB
those were the days-great memories
