That precludes my response.

im sure it was a good one too......

I first went to Monmouth in 1981 on a whim. My friends brother was going and asked if we wanted to go. As it turns out it was a big day at the track as we saw Five Star Flight win the the Monmouth Invitational (now known as the Haskell). He tried to show us how to read a form and a program, I'm still learning. I've been into racing ever since then.

What has kept me involved is the "Puzzle" aspect and knowing that it is parimutuel wagering and all my experience and "knowledge" should one day provide an advantage over the people that are betting names, numbers and colors. I'm still waiting for the elusive big score, hope it comes soon, real soon.

After reading most of the these posts I think I might actually be PMACDADDY's long lost brother.

I too am in a profession dealing with numbers (accounting) as he is and enjoy spending time at the track with my 5 year old son.

A Texas bred horse by the name of YESSIRGENERALSIR got me into the sport.

My parents owned horses when I was younger. I think my mother liked it more than my father, my mother likes the action, my dad is pretty conservative. To this day there is nowhere I feel as relaxed as I do at the racetrack.

Hey BID, are those the familar black and lime silks of Billy Hays in your Avator??:D

No, but I like when Luke calls the familiar silks of X owner.

Those are none other but the famed silks of Archie De silva on Champion Silent Witness

I like animals. I'm a statistics and figures and charts geek. I like gambling.

Got into seriously in the summer of '86, started my first real full-time job and a co-worker loved to play everyday. I would follow the Triple Crown races and the Spa, but not the daily grind. That was 21 years ago and I've never looked back!

Welcome back DTS-55! :) Glad to see you posting again...you sent me my first PM back when this board started. How's things down in the southern tier? I'm sure things will be picking up soon with hunting season starting on Saturday.

Afleet Alex and Lava Man love both of them:D

As a boy I would visit my Grandmother and her brothers for a couple of weeks in the summer. They used to take me to Monmouth Park a couple of times a year. Loved the Paddock and how the horses walked through the building to get to the track. If you havn't been there it is a beautiful track and I explored every inch of the place. If I picked a couple of winners for my grandmother it was a stop for ice cream on the way home. Since those early days I have loved racing because of these fond memories. Now I enjoy the game because I find handicapping and trying to predict the outcome a challange, which I openly admit, I am not very good at.

Uh, me too. But I think everybody here already knew that :o

For me it was the challenge to come up with the winner of a race. The stuyding, the projections how a race would unfold, the grace and beauty these animals have and the most of all, the companionship I shared with my father and grandfather.

My personal story would pretty much echo Spyder's

I've been going to the track and following the horses for fifty years.

Fifty years. Half a century stuff!

And, I'm now 51.


My mother didn't drive, as most mothers didn't back in the late 1950's and early 1960's. But, she'd call a cab and lug me to the track, even as an infant. I've posted around here before, but it's a true story that I was reading the DRF and the Cleveland Plain Dealer sports page at age 4 and 5.

I've also posted before that I won a major spelling bee in the legs to the Washington finals by correctly spelling the word "inquiry." When the principal inquired live on stage how I was so confident in the spelling, I let the audience know that I had seen the word on the odds board at the track many times before.

Ascot Park was my first and most beloved track.

The track that Eddie DeBartolo bought and closed in the mid-1960's.

At this moment, I'm looking at a nicely framed original ink winner's circle photo from Ascot Park. July 1, 1950. "Fly Demon" was the winner, with "H.Craig" up. Owned and trained by "O. Meredith." "7 furlongs in 1:26 2/5-Fast". The "Akron-Cleveland Purse." I bought it last year on eBay for just a couple bucks. I was ready to go 50 times higher to get it, but apparently I'm one of the few who know, care or remember Ascot Park.

I, too, darkened the door of Randall, Spyder.

I started watching the Derby in 1972 and grew up in the 70s and 80s. When you start out on Riva Ridge, Secretariat--Sham, Foolish Pleasure, Bold Forbes--Honest Pleasure, Seattle Slew, Affirmed--Alydar and Spectacular Bid...you think horses come around like that every single year. Turns out I was wrong!!

I like animals. I'm a statistics and figures and charts geek. I like gambling.
__________________

I graduated from this school as well......

Watching Easy Goer and Sunday Silence teach me what the triple crown was didn't hurt either

My grandpa got me hooked on the track atmosphere. I never bet except to say i placed a wager on any race and that was a rare occasion. I love the crowds, the horsey smells of the paddock, the thunder of hooves....it wasn't until a few months ago i decided to try to learn to read the form......

Used to go to the greyhounds in Arizona in the 70's with my grandparents. My cousin and I would walk around and collect old tickets off the ground & check them against the program for fun. One day he found a winning ticket & my grandfather made him split it with us 4 ways. He's still mad about it to this day. Since then, I'd have to agree that the puzzle aspect is a strong pull for me, along w/the parimutuel aspect. I also haven't found a form of gambling that provides a better rush when you win. I think that goes back to the puzzle & the feeling that comes along with solving it...especially on a longshot. I just will never understand how someone could sit at a slot machine for hours on end when this is readily available...baffles my mind.

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.