Thanks jack. My real wrap up just occurred over on the Oracle or gander thread. If you really wanna know what it feels like when it closes, read that. Its the only time of the year when you get to see friends both near and far just about every day for 6 weeks. People put aside reality and whatever else to make sure that they are there. The rest of the year you may see friends at certain gatherings but its only once in a while and never in an atmosphere like that. Its pretty depressing. 5 1/2 weeks ago after the Jim Dandy I went out to dinner and then went swimming at a late night bbq party with friends at their house around the corner. The older you get the more you realize just how great a warm summer night like that is with the beer flowing and splashing around in a pool with friends after a great day of racing with another one on tap for the next day.
There will be football gatherings, baseball gatherings, and big race day gatherings still to come. But sitting in a house earing jeans and drinking beer watching tv while its cold outside and getting dark early can never in any way compare to what goes on here. Ask anyone who comes here or lives here, its not the races in the afternoon that matter. Its the warm and sunny mornings watching the horses workout, and the nights with friends. You can't get that at any other place.