The 2009 meet gets off to a terrific start when Saratoga Russell wins the fourth race…
…but Naughty New Yorker finishes last on a dismal Friday.
Ernie Munick and his impromptu back-up band don’t let the rain deter them in the backyard…
…and we saw far too much of this sloppy mess in opening week…
My favorite name so far: Nacho Friend, by Friends Lake out of You’renotlistening
After much complaining, the light bulbs are changed…
Day 1 brings a fatal breakdown; day 5 a horrible paddock incident in which It’s My Day fractures her skull.
Overheard: a security guard manning the chains near the entrance to the paddock: “Here comes a rider I love to hate.”
The language obsessed spent a week in a state of intense agitation:
The break of the Jim Dandy:
Mine That Bird getting a bath…
And when it’s glorious, there’s no better place to be…
Click on photos to enlarge them, and check out my column on racing’s history in today’s Saratogian.
Brooklyn Backstretch 
Nice to see someone changing the light bulbs, it appears that problem was as simple as it seemed, poor maintainance.A little bird told me the Go For The Wand banner has been taken down too, maybe the NYRA should auction it off for charity. It would probably bring a bid or two.
The banner has indeed been taken down, and is stored safely steps from where I am sitting. I can keep my eye on it daily. Today, crews were at work replacing bulbs on the main screen.
The last shot of the Grandstand has that timeless quality I like about our sport so much. Was that picture taken last week, or in 1950'something?Keep 'em coming…..
I honestly think there is a fuse or circuit problem with the main board. I have been to the spa 6 of the 7 days so far and every day a bulb is out. Yesterday, the board still has missing/burned out bulbs. Especially with the #'s 6,8 and 9 it is impossible to make out the #'s.Can't NYRA get a licensed electrician to check it out?