Quote:The horse is a great story in a time when the sport really needs one. 

 

When I was a kid, I had an opportunity to go to Belmont with my grandfather.  I was a little kid, but I still remember going to see Secretariat run.  I was 5 or 6 years old.  My grandfather used to go to Belmont all the time because he loved the horses, and where they lived was 20 minutes from the track.  I still have pictures with my grandfather, my dad, and my brothers at the track.  In one of them, Secretariat is in the background as they were walking the horses out of the paddock for the race.  Pretty cool. 

 

That is a cool story and one to keep alive with your children.  

 

I don't know if they still do it, but Andy Frain used select one high school in Louisville every year to hire ushers, ticket takers, and so forth, to work the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby.  I got to do it in my Freshman year.  I stood a post in the Paddock Lounge for a few hours while watching Jimmy the Greek put the schmooze on a hooker.  What an amazing experience those two days were for a 14-year-old.  In later years we used to go to Churchill Downs on the weekends and bet on the ponies.  I hit an 11-1 odds on a win ticket once and cashed in pretty good.  

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