Ted was the kinda guy who always had a smile, or a kind word. He would help you long before he would do for himself. He started working in security so long ago; I don’t think they had invented flashlights yet. But even in the darkness he always shined bright. To extinguish the light he brought into the world, he will be missed more than many will know.

When you made your way into the parking lot, he would be one of the first people you would see. He was easy to spot with a program rolled up in his pocket, and a selection for every race. He walked the lots, and as time creeped by, he made his way into the main office keeping things under control.

He had some tough days in his life, but he always seemed to walk with that little spring in his step. Ted loved the ponies, as his grandpa used to take him when he was just a lad. He had a real flavor for speed, and he could find every horse who would make the lead just by glancing at the program.  If you looked, you could see past the smile, and know down deep he saw many of tough times. He once told me when he retired, “there wouldn’t be any security here anymore.” At the time I chuckled, but after his passing, I realized this old horse player may have had a good point.

He loved the sport and all the beauty that goes along with each race. I never thought about the track without this friendly face. One day, I didn’t see a program in his pocket and asked if he lost it. He quietly said, I am just taking a break. Let them run, and I’ll just watch for a while. This didn’t have the usual tone of the lifetime player, and things didn’t feel the same. The next week, I was reading the paper and saw a familiar face in the obituaries. It spoke of a man who lost his wife early in life, and fought in Korea. He raised a family, and had a brother who was gone long before. The track was his home, and the people were his longtime family.

The races will continue, and the horses will run. But, the man who made the place a little brighter is no more. Just a memory that will make you smile when you see a horse lead from gate to wire.