Del Mar vs Saratoga

[Gander]

"Saratoga harness in the evening is better than going to a Padres game."

Thats very funny. Same with the ballet thing and ole' Mary Lou. Avoid this harness track like the plague, its a dump.

I live in Saratoga so I have no idea what it costs to rent a place there during track season. I'd have to imagine its very pricey. The restaurants are okay but please be advised many of them jack up their prices considerably during track season. Personally I think going to any bar and spending $5 on a beer and $7 for a watered down mixed drink is a waste of money, I dont do that on any vacation. I love this town though its much better during the off season when all the phony high rollers leave.

The racing is superb and if you know where you are going in the track it can be very comfortable, although I prefer not spending an entire day there, for me getting there around the 6th race is plenty.

Siros (bar right outside the track) is one big waste of time and money. It use to be okay about 10-12 years ago but has gone way down hill. It now costs between $6 and & $7 for a can of beer. And the crowds that follow these overhyped cover bands on the weekends there are awful. Your much better off tailgating or hitting a bar downtown.

As far as restaurants, "One Caroline" is superb and tops in my opinion. Everything there is very authentic and very hard to make at home. Prices arent cheap but not all that high scale either. If your looking for a nice steak without all the fancy touches, go to "Docs Steakhouse". Good bang for your buck. For about $25 you get yourself a pretty darn good steak with an all you can salad bar that includes delicious bread.

[Gander]

As far as parks go, Saratoga has 2 beauties, both very close to the track. One is 1/2 mile away- Congress. This is a great place to read the form or eat breakfast or lunch on a blanket. Many trees, nice grass, just gorgeous the way its maintained. The bigger park is the State Park, about a mile from downtown and the track. Great for running, has 2 magnificient golf courses as well, one traditional 18 hole par 73, the other a small 9 hole par 29 course.

[Exceller]

Back here again. I think it is pretty safe to say Saratoga has better racing but most people would rather go on vacation in San Diego.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Dixie Porter

Do any of you "Spa Geniuses" remember E. R. Bradley?

He would bet you the price you paid for your yearling that it would never break it's maiden. Yup, he died a VERY RICH MAN.

Is that possible? You're damn right it was..................

Dixie..

Who here do you expect is going to "remember" Col. Bradley??? Jeez.. I've talked to John Nerud a handful of times this past 6 weeks, and I wouldn't guarantee that HE remembers Col. Bradley...

Originally Posted by Davona Dale

Sure seems like a big difference of opinion about Saratoga. No matter. I plan to go and have a good time. One of the couples renting the house with my boyfriend own a party boat. They pack up drinks and dinner and go out on Saratoga Lake in the evening with a group of their friends. That sure sounds like fun.

I don't have a lot of money to throw around but I am saving every nickel I can so I can have a good time. Since housing is taken care of I just have to worry about helping out with paying the grocery bills and money to bet at the track. That's going to be a challenge.

If housing is taken care of Saratoga is a great place. The rental costs up there on houses and the nightly cost of a hotel are out of control though. Every year I get suckered into staying in Saratoga, but after this year I am going to stay 30 minutes outside Saratoga.

[Gander]

Boldruler-
Why dont you just sleep in your car and shower at a place like the YMCA, where you can buy a day pass for $7? Why would you rent a house, I mean how much time is actually spent in a house while you are up here for the races? Sounds like a big waste of money to me. Thats money you could burn and donate to the NYRA guys kids college tuitions.

Originally Posted by Gander

Boldruler-
Why dont you just sleep in your car and shower at a place like the YMCA, where you can buy a day pass for $7? Why would you rent a house, I mean how much time is actually spent in a house while you are up here for the races? Sounds like a big waste of money to me. Thats money you could burn and donate to the NYRA guys kids college tuitions.

The people I go with "need" to rent a house so they can have people over. Biggest waste of money ever. It is nice to stay up there an entire week but I am going to start just hitting the amtrak for the saturday card and coming back to NYC the same day. I used to love the mornings up there but after a while it is no different than going to Belmont on Saturday mornings.

[Gander]

Smart plan. A week is way too long anyways. You can get all the juice you need here in one day, just do everything larger. That would be like me going to Belmont for 1 week, I would lose my mind. I live here and probably go on average a total of 8-10 times per meet, but never for an entire card. To me theres just too much time between races and I like to spend the night before handicapping so I find 28 minutes between every race unbearable, especially in the heat. It gets extra tough because they throw a lot of 2 year old races at you, which I dont really care for.

Mornings are different, I love them and probably get over there 10-15 times per meet. I go a lot of weekday mornings before work, sometimes at the end or the beginning of my run. I'd rather see 60 horses work out in 1 hour with no downtime.

Originally Posted by Gander

Smart plan. A week is way too long anyways. You can get all the juice you need here in one day, just do everything larger. That would be like me going to Belmont for 1 week, I would lose my mind. I live here and probably go on average a total of 8-10 times per meet, but never for an entire card. To me theres just too much time between races and I like to spend the night before handicapping so I find 28 minutes between every race unbearable, especially in the heat. It gets extra tough because they throw a lot of 2 year old races at you, which I dont really care for.

Mornings are different, I love them and probably get over there 10-15 times per meet. I go a lot of weekday mornings before work, sometimes at the end or the beginning of my run. I'd rather see 60 horses work out in 1 hour with no downtime.

The mornings are great. Some part of me likes to take the Amtrak back the same day and have Sunday to recover from my drinking and losses.

Originally Posted by boldruler

If housing is taken care of Saratoga is a great place. The rental costs up there on houses and the nightly cost of a hotel are out of control though. Every year I get suckered into staying in Saratoga, but after this year I am going to stay 30 minutes outside Saratoga.

Hey Cheech ...

I have been to Del Mar ... only once, but I was there ... and I've been going to Saratoga since 1962 ... when I made some dough betting on Firm Policy over Cicada in the Alabama.

And it IS possible to stay in Saratoga without having to sell your soul to Lucifer ... Mrs. Brooklynite and I will be enjoying the Spa this year for $99 per night in a comfortable place with a nice swimming pool just 7 minutes from the track.

[Kasept]

Hey.. Enough.. I yanked the unpleasantries and will continue to do so,

Tone down the rhetoric. The threats... the grandstanding... the self-congratulatory... Enough to discuss without the b.s.

A huge weekend of racing on tap... I don't care what went on elsewhere. It's adult swim around here...

Thx..
SB

Originally Posted by Kasept

Hey.. Enough.. I yanked the unpleasantries and will continue to do so,

Tone down the rhetoric. The threats... the grandstanding... the self-congratulatory... Enough to discuss without the b.s.

A huge weekend of racing on tap... I don't care what went on elsewhere. It's adult swim around here...

Thx..
SB

Thanks Anton Scalia. Why don't you go through all the threads and pull all the unpleasantries? Just censor the ones you or this loudmouth doesn't like? Nice to know that freedom of speech is alive and well in america.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by boldruler

Thanks Anton Scalia. Why don't you go through all the threads and pull all the unpleasantries? Just censor the ones you or this loudmouth doesn't like? Nice to know that freedom of speech is alive and well in america.

I'm doing the best I can to minimize the unpleasantries when I see them.. I don't particularly have time to supervixe this 24/7... I'm naively relying on the maturity of those that post to conduct themselves accordingly.

[prudery]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Dixie..

Who here do you expect is going to "remember" Col. Bradley??? Jeez.. I've talked to John Nerud a handful of times this past 6 weeks, and I wouldn't guarantee that HE remembers Col. Bradley...

The colonel, who was not actually a colonel, probably has been dead for some sixty years . He is most memorable for naming all his horses with names that began with " B " . Black Toney, Black Servant, Busher, Bimelech, Behave Yourself, etc. I would think that Nerud would remember him .

Churchill derby week blows both Saratoga and Del Mar away. Nothing better than the morning at Churchill when the big horses are in the house.

[Togacapper]

Originally Posted by Hoisttheflag

Churchill derby week blows both Saratoga and Del Mar away. Nothing better than the morning at Churchill when the big horses are in the house.

Yeah the week.... Come spend 6 @ SARATOGA

[Exceller]

Originally Posted by Togacapper

Yeah the week.... Come spend 6 @ SARATOGA

Homer. Saratoga would probably be great if you lived there, but 6 weeks anywhere is too long unless it is home. The week going up to the derby is better than any one week at Saratoga.

[Gander]

You dont need to be here the entire 6 weeks, especially Labor Day. While it is nice that the crowds dwindle, the racing isnt all that great, save for the Forego which is a cute little sprint that I love... and it is kind of depressing as it marks the end of the summer.

Just pick any of the other 5 weekends and you cant go wrong. Every one of them has something for everybody...

Opening weekend- Marks the beginning of the meet, everybody is happy, place is sparkling clean, theres a few good races like the Diana and the Jim Dandy.

Whitney Weekend- Always a nice undercard with the Test, the Whitney is always good for a laugh or a scream.

Sword Dancer- Saratoga's premier turf race, but the real treat is you get great simulcrash action from Arlington Million Day.

Alabama- By this weekend everybody is hungover and the track is looking lie it needs a good cleaning. the fillies provide us with laughs in the Alabama. So much tradition with Farda Amiga and Society Selection.

Travers- The meet's premier race and race card with the lovable Kings Bishop. Let it all hang out because the day after card is always a letdown. The meet for all intensive purposes is over!

[Exceller]

Originally Posted by Hoisttheflag

Churchill derby week blows both Saratoga and Del Mar away. Nothing better than the morning at Churchill when the big horses are in the house.

I couldn't agree more. I went one year and it is awesome with the tv coverage and the big name horses. You can just sit there for hours in the morning watching the derby horses hit the track.

Originally Posted by Dixie Porter

Do any of you "Spa Geniuses" remember E. R. Bradley?

He would bet you the price you paid for your yearling that it would never break it's maiden. Yup, he died a VERY RICH MAN.

Is that possible? You're damn right it was..................

"Colonel" Bradley ... gave all his horses names which began with "B" ... Bimelech, Busher, Baby League, etc.

Not only a great character ... but a great contributor to the success of the game.

Once again ... Dixie's memory enlightens us.