8:00 AM
Saturday, August 12th finally has arrived and the
weather man on the radio promises a beautiful day.
10:00 AM
Run errands, buy the NY Post (for the racing advice), and take $200
from the ATM. Never have any
luck at the track; hope I don’t lose it all.
12:00
Noon
Mary Ann and I arrive at the track; there is Brian Sullivan
standing at the entrance talking to Gerard McGeehan. Gerard is Tom McGeehan’s brother and lives near me in
Colonia
,
NJ. Since TCGVA was founded, we have seen each other 3 or 4 times. Before that, we didn’t know each other.
12:15 PM
Find the picnic grove. Tom
and Martha Demers are selling TCGVA baseball caps ─ they got a great
deal on these hats. Tom
introduces me to Martha's father, Jim Turner. Mr.
Turner remembers my father, Joe Crowley: “Wasn’t your father the bus
driver? And, he could sing!”
12:30
PM Mary
Ann gets a table with Bill & Julie Smith, Mike& Peggy Cordero, and
Joe & Patty Salbeck. Hot
dogs for everyone! The food is
great and…oops, time to bet on the first race and daily double.
12:44 PM
Bet
Play the Over and
Theregoesmyhero (with Joe Bravo
up) in Races #1 and #2. My
good friend says he always wins with Joe Bravo, so Joe is our guy today.
1:05 PM
Play the Over drops dead.
Let’s have another hot dog while we pick the second race. Joe Dean and those who took NJ Transit are scrambling to place
bets.
1:
10 PM
Ray Serina comes over with Kookie Periera and says they have it all
figured out. Mary Ann says bet
Joe Bravo again.
1:15 PM
Take pictures of everyone. There’s
Cathy Scott Tupper’s Sister-in-Law, Cathie Tupper. Too many Cathies in
that family. Artie looks
great. He, Bill Smith and I
are Pace
University
alumni.
1:21 PM
Second race is over; Joe Bravo does not finish in the money.
We’re down $32.00. Juan
Espada comes by with Cathy to greet everyone.
1:30
PM
Ellie Murphy LaPLante arrives, gives me a big kiss, and promises to
write an article for the next On the Corner. She and husband David have renovated his grandfather’s house in
Vermont
.
1:35 PM
Finally, I get a kiss from Debby Gilson Kovalsy.
She is having a big get- together after the races but Mary Ann and
I have to go to a birthday party.
1:40
PM
Bet on
De Roode (with Joe Bravo in the saddle) in the 3rd
race. This amuses Tommy Rode
who thinks the horse is named after him.
Can’t lose; there are only 6 horses in this race.
1:45
PM
Duggie Silvano comes by to reminisce with his old catcher.
I’ll bet we were battery mates for more than 500 innings in
1965-67. He looks like he can
still pitch. Says he won the
DD at
Saratoga.
Mary Ann and Peggy follow him to the betting window.
1:50 PM
3rd race is over; De Roode doesn’t finish and we're
down $48.00.
2:00 PM
Reminisce with Mike Sullivan; he now lives and works in
Ohio.
2:
05 PM
Phil & Frances Blair say they too are going to follow Duggie;
Bob Gibson smiles and goes to bet on his own.
2:
10 PM Susan Harper gives me a big kiss; she and her husband John Pezzella
talk about racing in
Ireland. We bet
Banshee Brad and
Stormy Jim (ridden by Joe
Bravo).
2:15 PM
Charlie and Linda Perone are asking for everyone to pray for their
son who is shipping out to
Iraq. We all promise to write
too.
2:22 PM
4th race is over; no winners.
We’re down $60.00.
2:30 PM
Last call for food; one more hot dog will do it. Bet
Magic Skier in the 5th race; no Joe Bravo in
this race.
2:50 PM
Magic Skier wins and we recover $11.80. Now down $48.20.
3:00 PM
Time to bet the 6th race.
Forget Joe Bravo; I’m betting Life Long Friend
in honor of
everyone from TCGVA!
3:21 PM
Life Long Friend places and pays $5.80; I had him to win. Still down $48.20.
3:30 PM
Buy a second TCGVA hat for my son.
3:40 PM
Time to go soon; bet
Again and Again (how appropriate) in the
7th race with Joe Bravo.
3:51 PM
Joe takes 2nd place and we win $3.20.
Not bad; down $45.00 for the day.
4:00
PM
Leave for our god-daughters’ (they are twins) birthday party.
See you at the TCGVA Christmas party.
