Backstretch with Gordon on Saturday

September 27, 2008

It's shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday morning as I sit in The Red Mile pressbox and look out over the racetrack, trying to figure out if it rained overnight or not. It seems wet in some spots, but other areas look completely dry. But one thing I do know is that the sun has finally broke through the clouds which means hopefully things will warm up for what is expected to be a great day of racing in Lexington.

My day didn't start out so good as my "child," my cat Maxie, didn't feel so good and got a bit sick on the bed. With me spending all my time away this week and again next week, not to mention being gone last week for a couple of days at the Jug, Maxie is a little upset with me so I guess this was her way of showing it. I tried to explain to her that this isn't a good time for me to be doing laundry, and I think she understood. The thing about Maxie is that she thinks she's a dog and acts a lot like one.

Speaking of dogs, and I mentioned this yesterday, there are dogs and more dogs in the ban area. As you see in the picture, there's one of my long, longtime friends Meegan Sattelberg carting her miniature dachsund around in a stroller. The dog's name is Oscar G (not exactly sure what that G stands for) and Fred Grant told me to make sure I mentioned that the dog is his. Whatever, I think Oscar just might be the most spoiled dog I've ever seen. And I know Megan's a good mom to him.

I saw Tom Merriman tossing a ball to Leah, a dog owned by Ron Gurfein assistant Chris Lakata. I'm not sure who was having more fun, although Tom did tell me he's really not a dog person (he used other words, but I think I'll take the gracious route in explaining). Even my friend, Nick Salvi, brought along his boxer, Diesel, on the trip from New York. There was Nick yesterday with Diesel--who seemed to take an intense liking to me--carousing the grandstand.

As I was walking up to the pressbox I saw the boss, Kathy Parker, sitting by the Dan Patch memorabilia that will be on display. Charlie Leerhsen, who wrote Crazy Good, the book about the great pacer Dan Patch, will be on hand from noon to 2 p.m. signing copies, so if you're on hand be sure to stop by. I looked over the collection and there's some fascinating things, including old bottles of alcohol and cigar boxes with Dan Patch's name on them.

One thing about today's races as it's certainly not a "dog" of a racecard for the afternoon's private party here at The Red Mile. What a great race program put together by Connie and her office. The action starts right away in the first race with the appearance of Indiana star 3-year-old filly trotter Mya Tri, who has yet to experience defeat in 21 starts over her two-year career.

And it just keeps getting better, topped off by those final three races featuring, respectively, Art Official, Deweycheatumnhowe and Somebeachsome. The only downer right now is that it really doesn't appear this will be a day for world-record efforts, but who knows, with the talent of the three I just mentioned, anything can happen.

Speaking of Dewey, I saw trainer, driver and co-owner Ray Schnittker this morning on my barn travels. As I was walking by someone asked Ray how many he had in today, and Ray replied, "Three: Make It Happen, Riggins and Deweycheatumnhowe." I couldn't resst so I asked Ray, "Dewey who?" which at least got a slight chuckle from the horseman. I like Ray and it's great to see how much he's been enjoying this year with Dewey. I know how hard he's worked over his career--just as many, many horsemen have--so it's nice to see him enjoying the fruits of his labor.

I also ran into our first over blogger Andrew Cohen in my backstretch journey. Andrew arrived yesterday from his home in Colorado and will be here through the sale and Kentucky Futurity day. Andrew's a co-owner of Share The Delight, who drew in with Art Official today, and I wish Andrew the best of luck. Andrew wants to wander the backstretch with me one morning next week, so I'll be giving his take as well that day.

One final reminder--oh yes, I forgot to look at gas prices this morning but I assume they're still holding from yesterday--that the UK football game starts at 7 p.m. tonight. That means the track will be letting out as the football traffic is coming in, which likely means a bit of a snarl. And for those horsemen in town, remember the restaurants and bars will be filled with non-ticket-holding fans watching the game that is being carried on local TV.

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