First off, about me: My name is James, I'm 22, and I'm the racecaller at a harness track near Philadelphia. I finished a degree in music composition from Duquesne University last December, and I now reside in northern Delaware. I'll talk about my endeavours in life--as a racecaller, a composer, and maybe the occasional philosophical rant. Apparently, that's what these blog thingies are for ;)
This year I decided to spend Fourth of July weekend in the Cradle of the Trotter, Goshen, NY. In addition to visiting the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, I called a few races at the Historic Track Grand Circuit Meet. Simply put, I had an absolute blast and would recommend Grand Circuit Week at Goshen to ANYONE.
I left Friday morning just after 8, giving me plenty of time to make 1 p.m. post. That is, until, my right front tire blew out little more than three miles into the journey. Needless to say, I was set back a couple hours, but thanks to National Tire and Battery being open on a national holiday, I was on the road in time to make the last four races at Goshen on Friday, of which I called the last three. I called a couple this afternoon too, including a race with Dave Little from the New York Daily News. Kind of like at All-Star Announcer's Day last year, except Dave did play-by-play and I did colour.
About Goshen itself, it's a quaint little town about 45 minutes from New York City and an hour from the Meadowlands. The track is located right in the middle of town, with a wooden grandstand that seats about 1800, I'd say. The judges stand and commentary box are located in the infield, making the sight lines at the head of the stretch a bit difficult. A couple trees on the backstretch didn't help, either, but it was no worse than calling at Suffolk last fall. The racing was competitive and of good quality, but the best part was by far the crowd. The 1800-seat grandstand was beyond capacity both days, with the outside fence lined three-deep on both ends of the grandstand. With no betting at Goshen, they're truly there for the love of the sport, and the atmosphere is easily unrivalled. I'll definitely be going back next year.
Tomorrow, it's back to reality (but I'm not complaining one bit). Life truly is good.
2 comments:
Hi!
I am an excersize jockey for a small barn. They race at Delaware Park! It is so good to talk to someone also from delaware who loves horse racing.
When I go to the track I often just go to watch the beautiful creatures run.
It is amazing.
It's a great sport; if only we could convince the powers that be industry-wide to gear promotion to our generation.
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