When I lived in Albany, NY for 17 years in the month of August. Albany is 30 minutes from the Saratoga Raceway (Saratoga Springs). That’s fun!!! But it’s for the social scene, with the peasants outdoors who bring their picnic tables and go to the windows to bet for fun.

Not the people that go to the expensive club house (where you have to dress up) or with the die-hard gamblers hanging by the benches or seats with TVs so you can’t do anything but watch the horseraces.

Used to fly to the races in La. with Edna Gardner Whyte, and she always placed the bets for me, but of course, I was left seat in those days!  ;-)) What a hoot.

 http://iwasm.org/Profile-EdnaGardnerWhyte.htm

I’m horse crazy. Used to jump and ride hunter-hack, would go to Arena Polo games, a horse trader friend gave me a foal in the blood lines of Northern Dancer, and I read Seabiscuit at least 6 times. I watch the Kentucky Derby and major races, but don’t bet on horses. Even though it is exciting, am also aware of the cruelty in it.

When the Argentine polo ponies dropped dead in Florida I instantly assumed it was foul play. Even at small equestrienne centers I belonged to there is inner rivalry [esp between very intent teenaged girls] that it wasn’t unheard of that just before a major 3-day event someone would sneak in and hack off a prized horse’s mane or tail so they wouldn’t look good in a show. 

This question made me remember something I’d forgotten. I had a trainer who would stand in the ring and give a course of instructions. Do a posting trot, a sitting trot, turn, change leads, canter, and then take a series of jumps in a certain order. On one jump my horse didn’t like the configuration and put on his brakes 2-3 times just before throwing his head back into my face.

It was hot, the instructor was standing in the sun and getting testy. "Come to the center of the ring" meant you are going to get chewed out.  She said, "If you stare at the jump [obstacle] in anticipation of what he is going to do, you will crash every time. Look out in the distance at your goal which is the other side…look at the barn and aim for that." I did it and flew over. I was making the horse lose confidence. I used to use ‘aim at the barn [goal]’ as a metaphor for flying past any obstacle. It worked.

I miss that horse…he was a thoroughbred in every sense. Horses are so sensitive, smart and sweet and misunderstood and horribly mistreated. 

My ex-father-in-law was a breeder/owner/trainer and when I asked if I could take one of his horses out for a ride he immediately directed his idiot daugter-in-law to the public stable a mile away.  Up until that time I would go to the track occasionally with my then-husband. But as I came to learn more about what went onl behind the scenes I refused to support in any way horse-racing.

HOwever, back in the early 70’s my FIL had a horse named after my MIL, "Mae W S" who was run in a claiming race. My FIL felt certain that this horse was a poor performer and would never win - it had no heart. And wouldn’t you know it? A busby in the French Quarter had the sole ticket to win. It paid the most money ever paid [at that time] in North American continental racing history. Oh - and the horse never even left the starting gate again.

Don’t bet on the horses, but doesn’t mean I won’t if the opportunity presents itself.  Haven’t been to Santa Anita in years.  

Living on a ranch we rode all the time, we would finish, clean the horses and the tack up and then go jump in the pool (we wore our bathing suits under our riding clothes).  I love horse and riding and have been lucky to ride some great ones.

We used to have a friend that was a wrangler for the movies, some of his best work was in The Man From Snowy River - Denzel Cameron.  He was such a wonderful horseman and would saddle up horses and trailer them over to our ranch so that kids that had never ridden before got to ride and taught horse husbandry by one of the best.  We had 5 horses, but there were a lot more kids.  He was amazing.  He could get a horse to do anything and was always gentle and respectful.  He taught me how to listen and watch your horse to understand it better.  I miss him.

 Naturalbornriders.com