I also
loved the detective work involved in picking winners -
putting together all the clues of the puzzle - the
horses past performances, their appearance on the
track, their post positions, the drivers strategies.
It was a curious blend of mathematics and fortune
telling, and if you chose wisely you were rewarded not
years later but 2 minutes later.
Providence
seemed to smile on me at the racetrack. More than a
few times I bet my last $2.00 in the world on a horse
race, and more often than not I won. When my back was
against the wall I did my best handicapping, sometimes
with the help of miraculous photo finishes.
 In 1965 I drove to Liberty Bell
Park for the first time, to see the great BRET
HANOVER race, only to be turned away at the gate.
No one under 21 was admitted to the race in
Pennsylvania. Undaunted, I returned to the friendly
confines of Brandywine where a young French-Canadian
driver named Herve Filion was becoming a legend
for his audacity and cunning in the sulky.
In the summer
of '67 I saw my first 2 minute mile, when ROMULUS
HANOVER and driver Billy Haughton won the
BATTLE OF THE BRANDYWINE, for 3 year old
pacers. It was the same Billy Haughton who had
inspired my interest in the sport.
During my summer vacations
from college I usually went to Brandywine once or
twice a week, and in time I developed favorites among
the horses who raced there regularly: SIR CHARLES,
GAMBLING GREENIE, DEXTER HANOVER, AND MISS CONNA
ADIOS. When the Grand Circuit came to town I saw
the nations fastest horses: OVERCALL, RUM CUSTOMER,
FRESH YANKEE, SUPER BOWL, ALBATROSS, AND
NANSEMOND.
In 1970, Brandywine
expanded from a 1/2 to a 5/8th mile track, and that
summer MOST HAPPY FELLA electrified the crowd
with a new track record of 1:56 4/5. His sons and
grandsons went on to become the finest pacing sires in
the sport. |
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