Say What?

by Ed Meyer

posted on June 4, 2009 in General Discussion, Other Events | 2 Comments >>

I have been reading about every page leading up to the Belmont. The thing that gets me the most is some of the darnedest things people say. Here are few quotes that may stand the test of time.

“Money, horse racing and women, three things the boys just can’t figure out.”
– Will Rogers

“The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid and stable business.”
– John Steinbeck

“Nobody has ever bet enough on a winning horse.”
– Richard Sasuly

“The horse I bet on was so slow, the jockey kept a diary of the trip.”
– Henny Youngman

“Horse racing is animated roulette.”
– Roger Kahn

“One way to stop a runaway horse is to bet on him.”
– Jeffrey Bernard

“I think all horses can run a mile and a half. It just takes some of them a little longer.”
– D. Wayne Lukas

“The racetrack is a place where the windows clean people.”
– V.P. Pappy

No matter how much we win, how much we lose, or if we break even, we will have a story. I think that may be half of the fun. I would bet you dollars to donuts that you can remember your first big winner. How about the day you lost by a nose for all the marbles? What about the time the OBJECTION sign not only took your number down, but gave you expensive stationary?

How about the characters in the game? Have you met anyone like a typical racetrack goer in any walk of life? We are odd folks who get more exercise smacking a program against our leg and making some of life’s best friends.

I don’t think I would trade my racetrack memories for anything. Well, maybe the winner of the 5th…. Enjoy the Belmont this weekend, and possibly history will be made. You know, it will be another story we can talk about if Calvin Borel rode two horses and won three of the biggest races in the game.