Funny story about the belmont
 

Was talking to gpk on messenger and relayed to him my story for watching the belmont and he though everyone would enjoy, so here goes nothing.

Where I work, we have no cable tv, so i was resigned to just dvr the races and come home and watch them after work. We had been slow that morning, so i had decided to walk over to the radio shack directly across the street from where i work and see what gadgets i could play with. Upon entering, i noticed a big screen tv, that was turned to some show on tlc. Instantly, my mind was turning. If only I could get him to move that tv to the front window and turn it on espn for 6 hours, I'd be set.

Soooo, i just went up and bluntly asked him to do it. He of course said no, however everyone has a price, and his was cheap; 10 bucks and i had to help him move it to the window and then move it back. So we moved the tv to the front window, and instantly i relized that this was not going to work. How could i possibly see the tv from all the way across the street. The mind kicked into gear again, I know i need a pair of binoculars. I also conned him into letting me borrow the display set of binoculars and i watched out my front window into their front window for the whole day. If that doesn't say how much i love horse racing then nothing will; or maybe it just says im a compulsive gambler...... who's to know.

Scavs....you got nothing on my boy Chad.

scavs was waching earth google at work

Great stuff.

Holy cow. That's tv dedication. I remember watching the 1991 Belmont on a KMart television. I made my parents pull over to the nearest KMart while we were traveling and I ran in to watch the race. I was quite anxious to see how Strike the Gold did and he acquitted himself well. There would've been Hades to pay if I had missed that race.

Many, many years ago when I was in jr. high, my mother trained a gelding that I adored, and have to this day, he is 24yrs old. I threw such a fit if they even thought about going to the track to run him without me. So on race days, at the same time, my teacher would get a call saying for me to come to the office I had a dentist appt. I dont know if the principle ever looked outside and saw the truck and trailer, but my classroom at that time of the day was facing the road and the teacher would look up and say "Umm Elise, your dentist appt is here", then as I was leaving she would smile and say "Good luck at the dentist, and put $2.00 on his nose for me".:D I also missed Sr. Prom and Homecomming because we had horses running. I was late for my high school graduation because we had a colt running in a Fut. in TX and didnt want to miss it. Got to the auditorium about 10 people before my name was called, but it was worth it cause we won the Futurity.:D

For this year's Preakness, I was arriving at the Philly airport on a flight from Europe 2 hours before post time. I live 2.5 hours from the airport, but had been thinking all week I'd be able to catch it somewhere on the ride home. By the time I cleared customs, I still had 45 minutes to post. Too long to wait at the airport--I had enough time to get to the 1st rest stop on the PA Turnpike. They had 3 TV's in the Food Court. I found the manager 5 minutes before post time and asked her to change the channel. She said the only 2 channels they got were CNN Headline News and the Weather Channel! She claimed she had tried getting other channels recently. I pleaded with her to try again anyway, but she was a real jerk about it, saying she had to close down some cash registers first. (Like it would have taken more than 30secs to try.) Of course, I may have seemed like a wild-eyed lunatic to her.

I ran out to my car radio hoping to find a broadcast, but after several scans up and down the AM and FM dials, nada! So frustrating! Got the result from some radio sports talk show, hearing only "and Curlin nipped him at the wire". Took another 5 minutes to figure out it was Street Sense that got nipped!

--Dunbar

That first story is classic stuff!

THis may be one of the most classic stories ever. And you picked an historic Belmont for it too!

If I were that store owner, I just know I would have had to switch the channel to the Teletubbies right as they hit the stretch...

Great story and what a Belmont to watch!!

Isn't it amazing the lengths to which we will go to watch racing? I spend most weekends in VT and do not have a robust cable package so unless the races are on a network station I have to scrounge around and find a place to watch. I've shown up at bars just as they are opening and begged to watch their TV to see the races. There aren't many fans around so some guy is always trying to change the channel to watch some sissy show - I hold my own and get to watch the races. Of course it helps that my friends are hearty drinkers and good tippers!

Seriously considering upping the cable package.....

Your right, I can't compete with this. I expect nothing less from my boy Skippy though....Not only binoculars but a conn job to get to watch, FOR SIX HOURS. So serious, I am pissed I didn't think of it.....

My boss is nice, we have Direct TV on a 42 Plasma in the office.:D And I had to go in for alittle while Preakness sat, so I asked the girls if I could watch it. I dont know if everyone knows but Street Sense is called "Big Daddy Rabbit", around the barn. Weellllll, so the race comes on, the girls are trying to dispatch the alarms we have, I am hopping up and down, riding Street just as hard as Calvin, they come down the lane and I start hollering "Come on Big Daddy,Come on Big Daddy,Come on Big Daddy!!!!" Never once thinking how it sounded, I was to caught up in the race. The girls bust out laughing, one of the cops on the other end ask "Who is that, and who is Big Daddy?". how embarassing. still trying to live that one down :eek:

Hey, what can i say. I was not missing the belmont. I can't believe the guy did it for 10 bucks, i mean he took the first offer, i would have given him 40 or 50 easy, but whatever, Loved that i got him to toss in the binoc's too. That was almost better then the tv moved. I'm sure everyone driving by was like wtf is the tv doing in the store window and whats up with the wierd guy with the binoculars.I have to say one of the funnier things I've done in awhile. Glad everyone got a laugh out of it and scavs, I may have one-upped you here, but im still trailing overall:)

That's an excellent story. Don't know if mine can top it, but it has its moments. I worked for a firm that was severely affected by 9/11. I joined after. We had rebuilt our entire trading desk and its success was a source of pride. We had visitors every day. One day I had some sizable interest in a pick 4 that was going off late. Everyone in the office was just about gone and I turned on the 50" plasma to TVG. I watched with delight as the first three hit nicely. 9-1, 21-1, and 14-1. I'm sitting pretty heading into the last race. I am consumed with the post parade and am scared to death as they go into the gate. Just as they load a voice behind me asks, Do you like the Stonerside horse?" I turn around and its none other than Robert McNair and my boss. McNair was a good friend of his and he came to see the new office. We watched the race together. His horse ran 3rd but I collected $ 4,500. They invited me to join them for dinner. I sent him an 8X10 of Congaree that I snapped at the Breeders Cup.

****, you have me smoked with this comediness, I just do alot of little stupid comedy things, nothing massive like this one.....

Wow. THese are great!

Love it!