I spent many afternoons at Freehold, Real Quiet. And I much preferred the old grandstand that burned down in the early 80's to the one that replaced it. Back then you would get at least 3,000 people on a weekday and place felt crowded. And smoke hung over the floor of the grandstand which is not be healthy but did add atmosphere to the place.
In fact, after Freehold was rebuilt a buddy and myself spent many a day or evening on the 4th floor when that floor was setup mainly for simulcasting. It also was one of the last smoking areas inside the grandstand and we appreciated that we had a place to go play and smoke. Most weekends and the holidays the open room design on that floor was bustling with activity.
I know and understand most people are thrilled that smoking is taboo now and I get it too. Smoking kills - no doubt about it. Still, once Freehold banned smoking up there that floor became a ghost town and management decided to shut it down. Going forward, for the same big factor pubs have closed and are closing in the UK, people have decided to bet from home where they can light up if they want to. Which hurts pubs and gambling establishments more than most businesses.
Returning to my memories of Freehold, here's a couple:
1. I loved Herve Filion. I don't care what people say about him. All I know is that if he was driving a 30-1 shot out of the 7 hole at Freehold and I bet his horse, Herve was going to make a move somewhere. Either he would go for broke and try to surprise the field by gunning for the lead or he would go 2 or 3 wide in a bid to win the race. In short, you got your money's worth with Herve.
2. Cat Manzi was another driver I wanted to bet on. I don't know how many races Manzi won for me but it was a lot. The guy is 6 months younger than me (he just turned 74 in June) and I read he has driven the most harness horses in the U.S. history of the sport.
3. A race I haven't forgotten: around 35 years ago I was driving home in a snowstorm after working that day in Lakewood. Being the kind of guy I am or was, I decided to go home to West Jersey by going north first on Route 9 before getting on Route 537. Of course, Freehold is at the junction of Route 9 and Route 537 and I wanted to see if they were still running. They were! (Route 33 is just north of Route 537 and they both intersect with Route 9, JolyB.) But they sped up the card because of the weather and there were just two races left to be run. I found a discarded program which was fortunate because I didn't have much money on me. I decided to wheel a 4-1 shot over the field. Coming for home, my horse is about 4 lengths in front. The favorite is a clear second and the only horse making any kind of move is the 6 horse who is 60-1. If the 6 can get second I'm going to win over $400! So I start cheering for the 6....the rest you can guess... the 6 caught the favorite and then my horse in the last stride!...FYI, it was snowing so hard and so windy too when I headed west on Route 537 after that race, in places the snow completely buried the road. I was actually driving without knowing for sure where the road was. It wasn't the first time I thought about making an appointment with the proverbial track psychiatrist!
