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From the Other Side of the Edge….
My Triple Crown
“Legacy”, …is now Over
By Joe Facinoli
I was always a “rail-bird”, …from as early as I can
remember.
Always loved the “ponies”, even when I was too young to sneak into a
track anywhere, …muchless be allowed to bet on them.
Watched them on TV, talked about them, and read whatever I could, …all
from a tender age.
When I was 17, after I had finished an evening shift at the local Acme
Markets grocery (stores closed at 9 pm, in those pre-historic days), I
would often find my way to Rosecroft Raceway, conveniently located in
the “heart” of my old home town, …Oxon Hill, Md.
Once in the parking lot there, I would mingle in with a crowd, so that
I could pass through the entry gate without anyone asking what this
unattended youngster (I was 17, but looked like 12, …maybe) was doing
in such a den of inequity.
And then it was all open to me. Life at
its rawest and most basic, …yet its finest and most
instructive.
All the atmosphere, the ambiance, the smell of smoke, and stale beer
(everywhere) and cheap whiskey, the half-eaten food, tossed on the
ground, and all the amazing cuss words (some I knew, many I was just
learning) and other “fine” expressions, from the throngs of frustrated
(and mostly losing) bettors/cast of strange and wonderful characters,
…all everywhere you walked, or looked, or sat.
And of course, …the smell and sounds of the horses.
It was great.
I thought that I had found my true place in life, …where I belonged,
somehow.
I quickly learned how to read the Daily Racing Form, …this crazy,
complicated, twisted and torturous set of facts and stats and
tendencies and possibilities, …which the “lifers” (the daily regulars,
…i.e. those foul-mouthed smokers and boozers, whom I loved so much,
somehow) poured over incessantly, as if they were deciphering some
secret science textbook, while trying to find a cure for
cancer.
And how to place a bet, too, …especially when I was many years too
young (21 was the minimum), and looked like I should still be holding
my mother’s hand, while crossing the street.
I’d find a friendly teller, and slide him an extra buck or two, while
placing my wagers. When his boss was too close, he’d
just shake his head slightly, and I’d have to wait a while, before
returning.
Or else find a willing “adult” (in age only) bettor, and give him the
same gratuity.
It was so cool.
And I learned all the excuses, and what stories to tell, when the
horses on the track, didn’t quite live up to the ones described in the
Form. Some of those broken down “nags” may still be
out there running, still trying to find the finish line, …back at the
‘Croft.
It was all so good.
I remember too, …so very well, …my first ever
winner. Like it was last
night.
Sumter Rebel. How could I ever forget him
??
Went off at 9 to 2 (4.5 to 1 odds), and paid me $9.60 for my beautiful,
…handicapped-it-myself, …$2 winning
ticket. At 17, …I was rich !
Since I had actually done all the “cyphering” for this choice by
myself, …I knew at that very moment, that there was absolutely no
reason whatsoever for me to go back to high school the next day, …and
the parents could now shut up forever, any more ridiculous talk about
college !!
What a feeling !! One of the best I’ve ever
experienced !
Top Ten in Life! (Right behind a couple of very “strong”
female acquaintances, …but well ahead of at least one
marriage.)
Nevertheless, …as life can so cruelly do to us, and so often, …reality
soon set back in (like, …losing the next 4 races), and I quickly gave
back all my ill-gotten gains, and even a little more.
My enthusiasm, however, …for this perverted and frustrating sport, and
lifestyle, …never waned. For the rest of my
life, actually.
A couple of years later, I did indeed start college (the parents were
so relieved), and as luck would have it, I landed just outside
Baltimore, MD, …home of Pimlico Race Course, and the world famous
Preakness Stakes (Second Jewel of the even more famous …Triple
Crown).
Many visits were paid to “Old Hilltop”, during my time in school, and
well after, …and during one stretch, I had a Preakness attendance
record of 15 straight years of horse racing (and infield partying)
madness.
But I’ve always been a “History person” too (in fact, that was my major
in college), and especially regarding the sports I followed and/or
loved.
So, in 1973, when some horse named Secretariat came to town, having
just won the Kentucky Derby, and then quickly won our beloved
Preakness, I knew that there was but one place I wanted to be, come
three weeks hence.
And that would be: Elmont, N.Y., for the Belmont Stakes,
…the final Jewel in the Triple Crown, and the toughest.
At that time, there hadn’t been a Triple Crown won since Citation
turned the trick in 1948 ---a full 25 years.
That was an eternity in thoroughbred racing, since during the ‘40s
there were 4 winners, and in the 30s there were 3.
But no horse had ever won the “Crown” during my lifetime, so I knew
100%, that I had to be there, at Belmont Park, for this historic
moment.
My sister had a friend who lived on Long Island, so that made the trip
much easier (I would have stayed in my car, didn’t matter, as long as I
was at the finish line for “Big Red’s” big day, …but ok, this was a
little better).
And we saw it.
The most amazing Horse Racing event, …in the history of Horse Racing
events.
There have been better, and certainly much closer, horse races
(Affirmed over Alydar, for the Triple Crown win 5 years later, for
one), but none with the power, and emotion, and significance, and
lasting effect of this one.
I’ll never, ever, forget it, …and was so fortunate to have been
there. (90,000 people, me included, cried like
babies.)
Four years later, history beckoned once again.
Seattle Slew won the Kentucky Derby, then the Preakness, and it was on
to New York, for a hoped for re-play.
And it was. ‘Slew won his “Triple”, …and I was there
again, hanging from a rafter on the Third Level, over the finish line,
at Belmont Park.
But there was less emotion than during the unmatched scene, created
when Secretariat, …the Super-Horse of super-horses, …smashed in such
spectacular fashion, that 25 year drought of Triple Crown
winners.
Still a glorious day, though, for all us “rail-birds” who just can’t
get enough of this kind of “historic” stuff.
The very next year, 1978, Affirmed came along, and did it
again. But this time with more flair than ‘Slew, during an
unforgettable series of three wins over Alydar, each one by less than a
length.
And I was there again, of course, …now a seasoned (if not yet grizzled)
veteran of this event, …although it was not possible, in my
horse-addled mind, for it to ever grow old.
The finish of this race, with at least 3 lead changes in the stretch
(seen easily from my now familiar, high perch), was the best and most
amazing, under the circumstances, these eyes have ever
seen.
So I had done it. Seen a Triple Crown won, in fact
three of them, on site at Belmont Park.
But what now? Would I continue to go, every
year that a fast horse would win the first two legs of the
Crown?
It was very cool, having the “record” of being at ALL the Triple Crown
wins in my lifetime. But would I risk that, if
another “Big Horse” came along, to threaten that (my) accomplishment ??
I kinda “shared” those wins, with those great horses, …at least in my
feeble, rail-bird-distorted, mind. And I didn’t
want to chance that, …nor lose it.
I didn’t have to wait long.
The very next year, Spectacular Bid, thought to be another
“superhorse”, won both the Derby and the Preakness, and my history
blood just would not permit me, …not to go to N.Y.
It was just too soon to chance it, …and to “give up” my
record.
So I went, …but ‘Bid didn’t. Oh he was there,
…but finished up the track. It was a much longer ride
home to Baltimore, …after that one.
Eleven more times since 1979, “big horses” have won the first two legs,
…and eleven times they failed at The Belmont. (One
more “Double” winner was scratched, to my solace, before running in
N.Y.)
All eleven times, I passed on a trip to Long Island, and sat at home
(or at some Horse/sports Bar) nervously watching the big race, …but not
knowing how to feel.
I wanted there to be more “history”, and another Triple Crown winner,
…but selfishly, I wanted to keep my very cool trick
alive.
All the Triple Crowns, ever won in my lifetime, were witnessed in
person, by this very set of light blue eyes, which are looking at you
right now (usually with a pair of shades covering
them).
I never got tired of saying that, …and it always brought back many
great memories, and initiated a lot of great stories.
But all records are made to be broken, and eventually are, …and it was
time.
As I sat in front to my flat screen this past Saturday, …alone and by
myself, …with no stale beer smells, no spilled whiskey on a filthy
table, no half-eaten cheeseburgers under foot, nor any harsh words
flying about, and no cigarette butts to step on, and stink up the
place, ….the time had come.
A marvelous horse named American Pharoah had swept through the Derby,
then the rainy, sloppy Preakness, and finally, …as I watched intently,
still not quite sure how I should feel, …“Pharoah” dominated The
Belmont, and rode away with the first Triple Crown in 37
years.
And I cried with happiness, ….just as I had at Belmont Park, in person,
on that unforgettable June day, in 1973.
It was finally over, …my “streak”, …and I was okay with
that.
Silly, I know.
With all the world’s troubles, some very close to home, to get
emotional over something as relatively “meaningless and stupid” as a
bunch of animals, …running around a big dirt oval.
But Peace and Happiness, and relief from the load that Life brings us,
…is where you find it.
And I often find it, …while watching (and occasionally making a short
term investment on) beautiful horses, who work as hard as they can,
doing the only thing in life they are trained to do, while trying to
please a bunch of other animals (us silly humans), who feed and take
care of them.
Does it get any better than that ??
I don’t care to know.
Joe Facinoli
--Joe can be reached at: joefacinoli@gmail.com
Intelligent Response Encouraged !!
© Copyright 2015, Joe Facinoli
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