- Saratoga Opening More Special Than Usual
By Steve Byk
The arrival of Saratoga on the racing calendar is always highly anticipated, but no more so than here in the "foothills of the Adirondacks". Forty six weeks of the year is dedicated to awaiting Opening Day at the Spa; in many of our minds a justification for living through Upstate New York winters. While for many a trip to Saratoga is a special yearly pilgrimage, for me personally, 2006 is especially evocative.
Having visited the Race Course annually for nearly two decades, when it came time for me to leave Montreal in 1999 after 10 wonderful years north of the border, it occurred to me that I could move to the Saratoga area. Little did I know then that my life and career would be inexorably changed by the decision to settle in the tiny hamlet of Greenwich, 13 miles east of the home of America's premier race meet.
I was simply a fan of the game and the scene that attends meets like Saratoga, and my initial exposure to the "inside" of racing came innocently enough in tangential ways as a consultant to foodservice concessionaires Carolina Barbecue Co. and as helper to OTB acquaintance Malcolm Souness who ran a one horse stable.
Bill Mayberry and Barry Frey of Carolina Barbecue were interested in packaging their sandwiches for commercial sale, and as a food broker and manufacturer's rep, I agreed to help them. Malcolm's OH-bred In Memoriam ("Junior") was the first horse I "worked" around since summer riding excursions on Red or Big John at Brentwood Day Camp in Manchester, CT as a pre-teen. Both experiences have led to what will likely be a life-long association with racing.
My connection to Carolina brought me to the 1999 and 2000 Breeders' Cup at Gulfstream and Churchill Downs, and in 2001, my first Derby. That summer I began managing the Barbecue's main installation at Saratoga, the 30 seat cafe across from the Carousel. Working with Malcolm also brought me to Belmont for Junior's first race after more than a year on the shelf, and his 2nd place finish at 53-1 was a thrilling event that cemented my interest in learning everything I could about what it took to be successful in racing as an owner or trainer.
My growing affinity for the game led to my writing about racing as a poster on internet message boards during War Emblem's Triple Crown run, and in 2003, I launched the first incantation of "Derby Trail" in Yahoo Groups on a snowy Saturday morning in February. Previewing and recapping the preps weekly, in March I wrote about Barclay Tagg's under the radar NY-bred gelding and his potential as a Crown event prospect. I rode Funny Cide forward to Kentucky and through an amazing 5 weeks as an observer of the racing and participant behind the scenes with Carolina.
Each succeeding year, my daily ritual of hosting fans, owners, trainers and track personnel at the Barbecue at Toga and spring campaign through Louisville, Baltimore and Elmont, further enhanced my commitment to a life around the game as well as my understanding of the sport from every angle. It's now seven years since I moved to the area, and with Saratoga's opening less than 48 hours away, it's difficult to fully comprehend what has transpired in my life.
As a contributor to the Blood-Horse, co-host of "At the Races and Beyond" daily on Sirius Satellite Radio and proprietor of "Derby Trail.com", I find myself totally immersed in racing on a daily basis, and remain mystified at how it all transpired. Three years ago I was an anonymous web "blogger", and this past spring I attended the Triple Crown events as a full-fledged member of the racing media. Mornings were spent with radio partners JJ Graci and Samm around the stakes barns, while the evenings featured dinners with them and Steve Haskin, to whom I most beholden for my career ambition fortunes.
On Derby Day, I made "the walk" with Sweetnorthernsaint to the Downs paddock, watched the race as a virtual member of Mike Trombetta's barn staff, and wiped the sand from the gelding?s face on the track apron, holding his bridle as Kent Desormeaux unsaddled. To say the least, it is was a far cry from leaning on the paddock fence before a race at Saratoga 10 years ago or happily visiting the Springs every summer with long-time track pal Phil Melnik or a girlfriend of the moment.
The relationships I have developed with fans, owners, trainers and NYRA staff during the 36 days of Saratoga since 2001, remain the most important element of my transition from observer to participant in racing. Besides greeting hundreds of people that I see only a day or two a year, 2006 will find me introduced to dozens of new friends that I have met through Derby Trail or via the radio show. Moving to the Saratoga area in 1999 began this odd journey, and with the meet upon us, I find myself somewhat overwhelmed at the good luck and rare privilege I've been afforded to this point.
My own life is an example of how racing welcomes anyone who loves and respects its' majesty and grandiosity, and I relish the opportunity to again absorb the experiences that lie ahead during the next six weeks. Each Saratoga summer is simultaneously a unique and familiar annual happening, and whether you attend in person or view it from afar, its' wonders are capable of influencing and redirecting the tides of one's life. If that sounds silly or "over the top", I can only invite you to see it through my eyes, as someone whose own life will never be the same as a result of "moving my tack" here just seven years ago.
Steve
(I've meant to take the opportunity to thank a number of people for what's transpired for me the last few years, and this seems like a perfect chance. My unending thanks to Barry Frey and Bill Mayberry; Steve Haskin; Seth Merrow (Equidaily.com); Mike Pawluk; Jerry Brown and the Thoro-Graph Team; Gus Alonso, JJ Graci, Anita St. Clair and John Perrotta; Andy Serling; David Doonan; the 300+ members of the original Derby Trail; and my parents, Herb and Gloria Byk, who all are responsible for the fun and rewarding position I have found myself in. And to the late Charles Hatton, whose "Year in Review" writing in the DRF American Racing Manuals originally inspired me to start Derby Trail.)