Getting around Belmont weekend

[declansharbor]

Originally Posted by Cardus

You were one of the 30,000 to 35,000 Philly fans that day, right?

Yes. Most of my family was in attendance. I think Elmont is still recovering from us.

[pick4]

Originally Posted by Cardus

Still recovering? Tell me about it!

I still like to blame the Philly crowd for NYRA's policy forbidding people from bringing in their beer. Charlie Heyward told me a year later that NYRA had never had as many problems (fights) among the crowd than that year.

The day before the race, I was at Belmont. (I thought that a longshot filly won the Acorn that year.) Tom Hammond was rehearsing for the next day, and as I ascended the steps in the section over which the TV platform exists, I said to him that I had heard about all of the Philly people coming in for Smarty, and I was hoping that they weren't Eagles fans! He had a laugh.

It was a great day, though.

I went to the Belmont Stakes in 2002 and that was a huge mistake. I went with my father and we arrived at Belmont Park at 9:30 and did not have tickets. I'll never attend the Belmont again unless I have seats. But when we walked in the backyard, it was mobbed and looked like a boozefest. There were college kids downing beers like they were at a frat party. Anyway, by the first race the backyard was as crowded as could possibly be. It was a miserable day. Standing in line for twenty minutes to have a chance to get a bet in. I was shutout a few times.
I went up to the grandstand to watch War Emblem make his bid for the TC. After he lost I went back to meet up with my father and once I found him it was impossible to not notice the brawl going on in the area the same group of college kids were boozing it up at 9:30am. It looked like a cartoon fight. A huge cloud of dust and anything and everything imaginable flying up and out of the cloud of dust and people fighting. Eventually Nassau County police on horseback arrived to break up the fight.

After witnessing that I believe NYRA did the correct thing in banning BYOB. While it hurts the guy who can go to the track and can drink a few beers in a responsible way, the harm that a group of immature kids can cause is not worth it.