Saratoga... a different experience

Posted by Avram Freedberg

They say you can’t go home again. Part of the reason for that saying, is that conditions change, you have certain expectations that may not be realizable, you’re used to magical things happening and now it’s mundane.

Each of the past two years, we have arrived in Saratoga and Ahvee’s Destiny has run in a Stakes race the day after our arrival… and WON! What a wonderful way to start your vacation.

This year we arrived to find the house we were renting rife with problems. We walked in to find a cleaning person “finishing up.” Suffice it to say that in our opinion, she hadn’t really started. The refrigerator was filthy. The first time I tried the Master bath shower, it started spewing mud on me. All the windows were open and the flies roamed throughout. It was hot and uncomfortable. When it rained, it leaked on my sink in the Master bath. There was no remote control for the garage. And, the pool looked like a swamp.

So, we had a cleaning person we knew come in and clean. We dealt with each of the problems – one by one. Only the pool remains an issue and even that has been made more presentable, though it’s not usable yet.

We have not had one horse race yet. Ahvee’s Destiny was scheduled to race Sunday in this year’s edition of The Finney Stakes, which she won last year. Inexplicably, the race did not fill (with entries) and was not used. So, we’re caught in a dilemma about where and when to race her.

Arielle’s Song is preparing for her “do or die” race. If she doesn’t do, she may no longer be a race horse.

Hear the Footsteps arrived this week. He is still pointing to a race on August 7th. However, he is a little thin. So, is It’s Truly Ahvee, who had a nice breeze today but was reported as “running out” a bit. So, we’ll have to see how he comes out of the breeze tomorrow.

Two out of four of the Obviously NY Stable 2-yr olds, have been famed out due to physical problems. Holy Blitzer is still at Belmont with some soreness. And, Katy’s Office Girl has been sent to a farm an hour north of Belmont for 60 days.

On the plus side, we’ve had fun with good friends and are situated right next to the Oklahoma training track. So, we wake up to see horses all around us. We’ve gone to several concerts and are seeing Maroon 5 tonight and Sting with the Royal Philharmonic tomorrow night. Last night, we spent some time with Bo Derek at a charity event because we were with Bay Buchanan, whom Bo wanted to meet and greet. Plus, we had fun at the auction. The historic Canfield Casino venue was very special.

It’s always fun to feed the horses at the stables and be out watching them train early in the morning. We find it at once peaceful and exhilarating. The food has been really good. I’m sure the waistline has grown!

Hope all is well with you. Still room available at the inn for next mid-week… Have a lovely weekend!

Best,
A.
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