what got you in .. why is horseracing ...

[azerica]

Originally Posted by jballscalls

My dad would take me to Longacres every weekend during the season. I can still hear Gary Henson "And here he comes, the Captain Condo is on the move" after they closed longacres i didnt go to the track for probably 7 or 8 years. when my dad got sick i started going with him alot that spring/summer of 2001 to Emerald Downs. After he passed away i spent alot of time at EmD and started falling in love with racing as i did in my childhood. I dont gamble hardly at all anymore, just love being a part of the game and enjoying it everyday.

I love Emerald Downs. They had it nicely decorated with the past triple crown winners banners for Smarty Jones' attempt in the Belmont.

Belatde condolenses for your father...

[pgiaco]

Degenerate gambler Grandparents. They used to take me to Aqueduct to babysit me. Fell in love with the horses then and there.....The gambling/problem solving angle appeals to me, but pedigree research and mating planning sealed the deal.

[SentToStud]

Worked the backstretch at DRC a couple summers as a kid.

Drove 1000 miles to see the Seattle Slew/Affirmed Marlboro race. Still the best sporting event I've ever seen or heard of.

[magic_idol]

Started going out with this bird after the bust up of my first marrige who was a track rider ,she then became a adult apprentice jockey so i never got to see her so got into training just to see her
Remember lying on my RV to get my trainers licence as they like people from racing families not a Welder from the ghetto,won my first race with a 5k second hand horse with my apprentice now wife aboard & that was me gone ,
Now she works for the opposition "Queensland Racing" teaching apprentices & im still stuck dreaming loving & hating them all at the same time

[2Hot4TV]

Grand Dad would tell Grand Ma we were going fishing at the local park and we would go to Santa Anita. I go back a ways and cashing a winner on Mr Right in I think was the Santa Anita Hcp got it started, but seeing horses like Big Red, Slew, Bid, Affirmed, Precisionist, and John Henry has continued to seal it.

[King Glorious]

I would go over my grandfather's house and no matter what was going on, he'd always go to another room at a certain time of night. Turns out it was when the race replays show was on. I started going in and watching with him. I didn't know anything about the races but I liked the action. I'd say that hearing Trevor Denman call the races was what really excited me the most. The next year, I started paying more attention and was really drawn in watching Snow Chief in the SA Derby. By the end of the year, watching on tv wasn't enough so I told my grandfather that I wanted to go to the track for my 16th birthday. Just so happened that this was the same day as the BC at Santa Anita in 1986. First bet I ever placed was on Capote in the BC Juvenile.

The interesting thing for me is that I don't care for the gambling part of the sport. If I see something that I like, I'll play it. Sometimes it's weeks or months between plays for me. What's even more interesting is that I don't like horses at all. Never have. Well, I like them when they are racing and winning but that's all. If they can't win or once they retire, I don't care anymore. I think that the fun part for me is trying to decipher the form and how a race will turn out. I like watching horses that don't need anything. They don't need a certain track, a certain condition, pace, weight, level of competition, etc.; they just go out there and take the race to the others. I like flat out speed. Give me a horse that is going to run as fast as he can as far as he can and that's a horse I'll follow.

I like the promise of tomorrow. Seeing an exciting 2yo that I think could be the next big thing is what keeps me. I don't care so much about the Derby. We all know that's a crapshoot race anyway. I remember in April I said that I didn't know if Curlin would win the Derby or not but that by the end of the year, he'd leave no doubt as to who the best 3yo was. I care about the entire season and watching things unfold.

I care about the top races and the top horses. I know that the claiming game is the backbone of the sport but I have no interest whatsoever in watching the lower levels of racing. If it's not grade one or two, I'm not interested. Which makes it hard to keep interest these days because the lines between top horses and middle level horses has never been so blurred.

I love the trainers like Lukas and Biancone. They aren't afraid to step out of the box and try unconventional things. I don't like the guys that pigeonhole their horses into certain things and stay there.

I'm disappointed that next year, we will be without so many of the top horses from this year. Street Sense is gone. Lawyer Ron is gone. Hard Spun, AGS, Octave, Dylan Thomas, etc. It's basically like starting over from scratch each year. But the prospect of seeing War Pass turn into an all-time great will have me back next season.

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

The interesting thing for me is that I don't care for the gambling part of the sport. If I see something that I like, I'll play it. Sometimes it's weeks or months between plays for me. What's even more interesting is that I don't like horses at all. Never have.

You are - without a doubt - one of the most perplexing individuals I have ever encountered on the internet or in real life.
I have never heard of someone who did not like gambling OR horses, but was a big fan of this game.

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by miraja2

You are - without a doubt - one of the most perplexing individuals I have ever encountered on the internet or in real life.
I have never heard of someone who did not like gambling OR horses, but was a big fan of this game.

I do like the gambling. Just not that important to me. I don't need to be in on every race to make it exciting for me. The horses as animals, I don't care for. As competitors, I like to watch them. The fun for me is trying to see if I can be correct in my handicapping.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by miraja2

You are - without a doubt - one of the most perplexing individuals I have ever encountered on the internet or in real life.
I have never heard of someone who did not like gambling OR horses, but was a big fan of this game.

What he also is, that you don't find on the internet too often, is bluntly honest.

Personally I respect that a great deal.

[EpBurns]

The First time I ever went to the races was at Bowie I was about 11 years old and my uncle who has loved the horses and owned some later in life had a friend that was a trainer, It was a stakes races at Bowie and my uncle gave me a ticket to hold for him it was a $2 exacta box with the friends horse and he won the race and the exacta paid $132.00 and he gave me the ticket I thought I was rich,,, I will always remember the horse that won that day name was Isella (sp?) and ever since then I love the excitement of horse racing the thrill you get when they come to the finish line win lose or draw.

[Port Conway Lane]

Originally Posted by EpBurns

The First time I ever went to the races was at Bowie I was about 11 years old and my uncle who has loved the horses and owned some later in life had a friend that was a trainer, It was a stakes races at Bowie and my uncle gave me a ticket to hold for him it was a $2 exacta box with the friends horse and he won the race and the exacta paid $132.00 and he gave me the ticket I thought I was rich,,, I will always remember the horse that won that day name was Isella (sp?) and ever since then I love the excitement of horse racing the thrill you get when they come to the finish line win lose or draw.

I remember Isella. Was your uncle's friend Leon Blusiewicz?

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

What he also is, that you don't find on the internet too often, is bluntly honest.

Personally I respect that a great deal.

As do I.
There are few people I enjoy arguing with more than KG.