Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Slacker, yes.

This post is brought to you by Patrick.

Yes, tis’ true; this blog has been left unattended for what seems to be (thanks to Patrick) 10 days.

No, it doesn’t mean I’ve been wallowing over the events that took place at Pimlico nearly two weeks ago. In fact, I have been doing a lot, and all I needed was a swift kick in the arse.

Hey, that’s what Friends are for.

Don’t ask me how, but incredibly and surprisingly, I managed to make a stop this past holiday Weekend at Grants Pass Downs for the first stop on the summer fairgrounds tour.

GPD was very cool and unique. A tiny track that actually houses a high school football field in the infield. I was able to witness a few races – the highlight being a 1 1/16 race that went FOUR turns!! The folks I was with – non horse fans- were delighted to be so close to the horses and the excitement. As as I. Where else do they sell 50/50 raffles (benefitting the local high school marching band I tink) at the racetrack? For those of you keeping track at home, it was a quinellas only affair (with Tri's also offered).

I guess now I HAVE to go visit Tillamook in a few weeks when the fair circuit moves to the coastal, cheese famous town.

So, after being swamped with work, I was able to see the horses in a new, unique environ, check out some Redwoods, hang out with locals in Crescent City, Calif, spend time enjoying the New England feel of Ashland, Ore., and witness the sheer beauty of Crater Lake.

1,100 miles later I was back in reality. Getting my b*&#s busted for having the same post up for 10 days.

I guess life is not so bad.

Here are some photos:



Race 1 - Sunday May 28th, 2006


Road trip crew (me taking the photo)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

50/50 tickets and quinellas! It sounds like my kind of place!

Ruben Bailey said...

I knew you'd like that!

Anonymous said...

Why the heck did I not see you??? That was the only day we were there!

Ruben Bailey said...

I was looking for you guys, Jolene. We were only there for the first two races - got there at about 12:15.

I had my hawkeyes out....

t said...

Very cool! Man, Oh man, do I want to go to Grants Pass Downs! I've tried several times over the year, but it just never worked out.

Tillimook will be wonderful. Last year I was talking to Jerry Weaver, a NorCal trainer that does most of his running on the fair circuit, when he told be a story of winning a race there in the late sixties. There was no purse, but as the winner he got an 80 pound wheel of cheese! Now, that's racing.

Anonymous said...

Brad, do I have to tell you Jerry Weaver stories? :) He's great. We've known him for years.

Blogmaster D- We missed the first. :*( That explains that, almost anyway!

Let's all try to hook up in Tillamook! :)

t said...

kick *ss! I'm game for a bloggers west coast convention at Tillamook. When is it? August? And, yes PLEASE regale me with copious Jerry Weaver stories. He really is a great guy.

Ruben Bailey said...

Let's do it.

Jolene, when does Tillamook take place?

Anonymous said...

Jerry, in fact, has my dad's Bertrando colt right now. Michael and I joke that in true Weaver fashion, he'll finish in the back of the pack again, maybe one more time, and then win at odds of 50-1. ;)

Jerry is a retired dentist, lived about forty minutes from us "back in the day". his real passion was always the horses. When he first relocated to GGF, I remember us hauling a bike down in the tackroom of the horse trailer...Jerry needed backside transportation. ;)

Tillamook blogger bash! Who's bringing the cheese knife? :) August 12 is the "big" day.