The Many Loves of my Life

[jbelfior]

I concur. Hialeah absolutely breathtaking back in the day. Saw Well Decorated (Eugene Jacobs) beat Tap Shoes (Horatio Luro) in the Bahamas Stakes in a thrilling finish. Cure the Blues was supposed to run in the race and scratched.

What a place. But needed a tank once several blocks away.

Good Luck,
Joe B

[Aceover]

1)Hollywood
2)Bay Meadows
3) Turf Paradise
4)Canterbury
5)Fairgrounds
6)Sportsmans
7) Hawthorne
Balmoral
9) Arlington
10) Maywood
11) Aurora/FoxFields
12)Fairmount
13) Churchill
14 ) Latonia
15) River Downs
16) Lebanon
17) Belmont
18) Hialeah
19) Calder
20) Gulfstream
21) Pompano
22) Springfield
23) Detroit Race Course

[Fairmount1]

Richiebee,

Was Cahokia Downs still open while you were at Wash U?

Might have closed before I was born but not sure.

[beazley]

Fun, some hidden gems and bucket list items still to come

Tokyo
Chiba
Chantilly
Maisons Lafite
Longchamp
Meydan
Santa Anita
Hollywood
Bay Meadows
Golden Gate
Pleasanton
Del Mar
Canterbury
Saratoga
Belmont
Aqueduct
Monmouth
Laurel
Pimlico
Churchill
Remington
Lone Star
Sam Houston
Manor Downs
Retama
Oaklawn
Calder
Louisiana Downs

[Aceover]

I can\'t be sure if I was ever at Cahokia but  I lean to the no

[toppled]

Thoroughbred:
Aqueduct, Belmont, Saratoga, Churchill, Parx (when it was Keystone), Ft. Erie, Finger Lakes.
RIP:  Hollywood, Suffolk (racing cancelled that day, simulcast only), Commodore Downs (Erie Pa)

Harness: Roosevelt, Yonkers, Batavia, Buffalo, Monticello, Saratoga (never for live racing, just thoroughbred simulcasting) Garden City (Canada), Sportsmans, Meadowlands

Back in the old days when NY wouldn\'t take Florida & other tracks I used to go to Connecticut OTB to bet the other tracks.

[johnnym]

I\'ve been to 5 tracks
Hialeah not in the hay day but you could see the beauty that the place use to be.
Gulfstream,God did they screw that place up..
Calder
Belmont
and Aqueduct.  
Two on my bucket list Saratoga and Del Mar

[Paolo]

Tropical Park (still a city park, but no racing since \'72)
Hialeah (long before shuttering, hurricanes, and quarter horses)
Gulfstream (before and after rebuild)
Calder
Tampa Bay (also back when it was called Florida Downs)
Fair Grounds
Turf Paradise
Yavapi (also when it was Prescott Downs)
Flagstaff
Rillito
Agua Caliente
Del Mar
Santa Anita
Hollywood Park
Bay Meadows
Golden Gate
Pleasanton
Albuquerque
Ruidoso
Santa Rosa
Sacramento
Stockton
Longchamp
Aqueduct
Belmont
Kentucky Downs
Churchill
Arapahoe
Thistledown
Fairmount

(nice list, but missing Saratoga, Keeneland, Arlington, and Oaklawn)

[miff]

In reviewing these lists and the far flung locations,it\'s apparent that some of you guys must have been in The Federal Witness Protection Program.

[magicnight]

Paolo, very nice list indeed. Oaklawn and Keeneland top my \"domestic must go someday\" list. I envy our Shanahan who just flies right into those meets on what seems to be a regular basis.

Seems you are the first to cop to Kentucky Downs. How did you like it?

[jp702006]

Might as well hit Del Mar up for the BC in 2017! I\'m a little disappointed that nobody on this board has been to Prairie Meadows. Yes I\'m a homer, its only 5 minutes from my house:)

[SoCalMan2]

miff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> El Commandante in Puerto Rico was.......a little
> scary.No
> Bowie?...young guys know nuthin!

I too noticed Bowie missing from a lot of lists.  First track I ever went to was Timonium and I was hooked on the first day.  Bowie was the second track I ever went to and I was overwhelmed at finally making it to the big leagues after a long summer at Timonium (when I first went, Timonium raced all summer).

my list

Timonium
Bowie
Laurel
Pimlico
Marlboro
Charles Town*
Shenandoah Downs*
Delaware Park
Penn National
Keystone, Philadephia Park, Parx
Garden State Park(only the Robert Brennan version unfortunately)
Atlantic City
Monmouth
Meadowlands (spent most of college and law school there)
Belmont
Aqueduct
Suffolk
Rockingham
Great Barrington Fair
Northampton
Saratoga
Fort Erie
Thistledown
Keeneland
Churchill Downs
Birmingham Turf Club (horses, not dogs)
Hialeah
Gulfstream (old and new)
Tampa Bay Downs
Sam Houston Park
Fairgrounds (before the fire only)
Jefferson Downs
Oaklawn
Sportsmans Park*
Hawthorne*
Aksarben
Turf Paradise
Emerald Downs
Pleasanton
Solano
Santa Rosa
Golden Gate
Bay Meadows
Hollywood
Santa Anita
Del Mar
Los Alamitos

When I first used to get the racing form, they had a whole page devoted to a map of the USA with all tracks listed.  Would love to find a copy of that map again.  Might be nice on the wall.

International tracks to come

edited to add Calder

[T Severini]

Without compare there was Hialeah. Both beautiful and sexy, unequaled before and ever since.

She had a stepsister named Gulfstream Park, sans Fairy Godmother. She couldn\'t compare with her sister\'s ethereal beauty, since she never had the glass slippers, but she was open and friendly and had a genuine woman\'s natural charm, so unlike her much younger and much colder sister by the same name.

Then there is Calder. Poorer still, but in the heat of the summer one can watch two year old card after two year old card and hopefully learn something in the process.

Lastly, the grand old girl Churchill Downs. You always come back to the one that remains faithful to herself.

[TGJB]

It says something that most horseplayers have more racetrack loves than actual girlfriends. Even temporary ones. What it says is a little complicated...

[magicnight]

TGJB Wrote:
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> It says something that most horseplayers have more
> racetrack loves than actual girlfriends. Even
> temporary ones. What it says is a little
> complicated...


Racetracks typically have a blended takeout of only 20% and so have a competitive edge.