Brian,

Can we call you Kool-Aid?

It's funny, because I saw M's post and almost laughed out loud that even though I have a real, human name as my username, she still called me Kool-Aid.

I don't mind one bit what you call me :) Though I may not have the Kool-Aid avatar forever, I'm waiting for an appropriate replacement. Mostly because I don't think that my avatar that I use on my journal, of Lance Bass's face with the words WAY GAY painted on it, would be appropriate here :D

:D
I can lend you my avatar if you like.... ALWAYS love looking at David Boreanez... YUMMY! You can put that across his pic "YUMMY". :D

I'm somewhat of a newcomer-- been here for about the last month. It has only been within the last year that I have really taken a strong interest in horse racing. I loved to watch it as a kid on tv, but it was tough to develop an interest because horse racing was only on tv four saturdays a year.

Last spring, my wife and I made a small trip to Lexington and I realized that it was going to be the same weekend as the Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland. I told my wife that going to Kentucky and not seeing a horse race is like going to New York and not visiting the Empire State Building or like going to Vegas and not gambling. It's just one of those things you have to do. It worked. It worked so well that I tried that same logic to convince her to go to the Jim Beam distillery. Didn't work so well on that ;) , but at least we got to visit Keeneland and see a real deal G1 race. :) Sinister Minister raced to the front and never looked back.

In anticipation for the trip, I just started reading everything I could find about horse racing. More so about the history than about handicapping. I just loved it all and have been trying to learn more ever since. I've been listening to ATRAB since I got sirius last July, reading everything I can, and trying to watch it as much as I can-- which is still pretty infrequent because I don't have cable or Direct-tv. But I try to stay current by keeping up with the DRF and NTRA websites, and definitely by reading this board. This is really a great community and a great way to talk (and learn) about horse racing.

I'm still learning, and it just seems like there is sooooooo much to learn. I'm really glad that there is a forum like this that goes beyond the basic stories and headlines.

I like you already for that. You seem like a crafty one. I'm officially looking forward to posting with you!

If you can't watch it live, a great place to watch replays is www.calracing.com. You have to sign up, but it free... it's a great resource!

Welcome... there are a lot of long time/VERY good horse players here and they are amazing resources... like you, I'm fairly new to this - I've only been into racing for three years now and it's the best addiction I've ever had (well, except for my bourbon addiction, that's good, too! :D )

Hey Mugwump,
i liked your story and i can relate to it as most everyone else on here can. We all went through similar experiences that made us love the sport. many of us caught this bug years ago but we can all relate to the feelings you have been going through. You have found the right place if you want to relate to people who want to take in all of the various aspects of the sport. If you are new, you have a lot to learn and you need to keep studying and applying yourself and reading and participating at places like this. This is a real mishmash community with some people coming directly from the industry with many years of experience as well as relative passersby that are drawn in for various reasons. You will find that this community is very tolerant of newcomers and in general very willing to assist people that are in the initial phases of exploring this sport.
welcome!
Glad to see you post, please continue to post and participate.

welcome all !!!!!!! have fun :)

also you can watch the races online. some tracks show there races. also sign up on one of the web sites that have betting on them like tvg express bet youbet brisbet and so on.