Oh, how I miss Aqueduct!

I can understand why folks think it would be good for New York racing to take a few months off in the winter, though the economic ramifications would, I think, be pretty significant at both the individual and municipal levels.

But from a strictly personal standpoint: I have the rare weekend afternoon at home…and no local racing programming? No Illman and Rotondo? No Serling/Blewitt/Donovan/Rushton? I tried, I really did, to pay attention to the racing from the Fair Grounds and Tampa Bay Downs and Hollywood—but it’s just not the same. And I’m not the only one who feels this way.

Fortunately, entries for racing later this week will be taken this morning, so we can at least peruse them in anticipation of the return of local racing later this week. Unfortunately (well, not really), I won’t be around to catch that first day of post-holiday racing, as I’ll be southwesterly bound, first to Lexington and thence to New Orleans, for a little post-Christmas trip with a Saratoga friend. New Year’s Day at the Fair Grounds!

I did manage to keep myself busy this weekend, even without local racing, with a few racing enterprises. Caught this order of finish on Saturday, in the second at Laurel

Win: Macho’s Gold
Place: Shyisha
Show: Mane Macho
4th: Molten Machismo

Oooh, so close to the Macho trifecta! Hunch bettors must have agonized…

And to prove that I practice what I preach: I spent a little time on Saturday morning with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation auction. I’d never bid on anything online before, and I was surprised at how energizing an endeavor it is…I didn’t think that I really cared whether I got the item, but as I went back and forth with another bidder, those competitive juices got flowing, and I think I even crowed aloud triumphantly, “Ha!” when I was notified that I was the winner.

It felt more than a little self-indulgent to be buying something for myself in the week before Christmas…but I quickly rationalized that I’d not yet made my end of year donation to the TRF, and thus my bidding budget could match my anticipated donation…and that, fortunately, turned out to be more than enough, and I am now the proud of this…now, to get it framed!