driver or trainer quirks

[wisha roder]

What's the strangest thing you've seen a driver or trainer do? 

[Meadow Ford]

Barf in the back of the stall just before their first race of the day.

[Fuguzzi]

I remember if you talked to Donald Irvine jr. in the paddock, he was chain smoking for one and he obsessively flipped his blonde bangs out of his eyes repeatedly. I mean like every 5 seconds. One other thing, that guy could fucking drive. Was making an impact at YR but got caught up gambling with Marohn and Marsh and suddenly just cleared out his colors and vanished for good. back to the midwest, I guess.

[Bitter Truth]

Red Mile one year..There was this Beer going around [guy at work told me about it] that would fuck you up..Got banned soon after..But Jim Morrill was reported to have tangled with some of it..Was set to parade a horse and horse just kept going around and around in a circle..He was removed from the horse and the rest of his drives that day..Don't remember how the horse did that day but he stopped going in circles.

[SeattleSlew]

What's the strangest thing you've seen a driver or trainer do?

Not sure if you would call it a "quirk" but I was quite friendly with one driver (whom I co-owned some horses with, and then made the mistake of breeding horses with).  Sometimes I would fly with him to stakes races he had assignments for.  There were at least 6 or 7 times when he asked me to bet a pretty substantial amount on a horse other than the one he was driving (which was odd to begin with, as he was driving heavy favorites in all of those races.)  He won every one of those stakes races and lost every one of those bets.  When I asked him, he said that if he won he would earn his 5% (or, if he had traveled to steer one, the owner sometimes upped that amount), and if he lost, he figured he would lose to the horse he bet on, so he would make it up that way.  He DID have a lot of other true "quirks" but out of respect for his memory I will leave those out of a public dialogue.

[Fuguzzi]

Didn't John Chapman wear the same shirt under his colors every night of his life? Collared, button down with big polka dots?

[kooter for hipin]

Didn't John Chapman wear the same shirt under his colors every night of his life? Collared, button down with big polka dots?

Don't know about that but my mother would meet him at Gam Wah after he got one home.  My parents owned New Market Farm Racing out of Reddick Florida and she could send it in.  Chappy, who was also known as "Golden Hands" could get one home. My mother knew the game and wouldn't give me anything when she was alive. Smart woman!

[Fuguzzi]

Interesting

[The Exporter]

I remember if you talked to Donald Irvine jr. in the paddock, he was chain smoking for one and he obsessively flipped his blonde bangs out of his eyes repeatedly. I mean like every 5 seconds. One other thing, that guy could fucking drive. Was making an impact at YR but got caught up gambling with Marohn and Marsh and suddenly just cleared out his colors and vanished for good. back to the midwest, I guess.

The ,man is in his mid 70's and still driving. His other notable quirks were, driving his pickup though a house and pissing on slot machines. 

[Fuguzzi]

I cant defend the last part, but when he arrived in NY he impressed me immediately. I knew there was an Irvine family midwest, but had never seen him drive. went DTR with 2 of mine when it mattered.

[7minuteAbz]

Dave Marshall would be smoking a cigarette in the post parade, then toss it away as he went to the gate.

[Fuguzzi]

I saw that up in NE. Other drivers did that too. I was told John Gilmour sometimes had a flask in his colors while on the track. might just be hearsay.

[JIDGE]

Didn't John Chapman wear the same shirt under his colors every night of his life? Collared, button down with big polka dots?

I don't know about the shirt but if you want to watch one of the worst (winning) drives in the sport's history watch the '77 Big Towner Monticello OTB classic. Sorry, but never was a big fan of Chapman.

[Mailbox Money]

If I remember correctly,it was Gagliardi had fishnet sewn in the ear straps of his helmet,  to keep his hair from sticking thru and blowing in the wind I guess! 

[Fuguzzi]

If I remember correctly,it was Gagliardi had fishnet sewn in the ear straps of his helmet,  to keep his hair from sticking thru and blowing in the wind I guess! 

Gettin kinky here