by Debbie Little

A few years ago, my husband and I took a private tour of Yellowstone National Park. Our guide, Gary, that we called “The Bird Man,” because he was an expert at finding eagles, falcons, and ruddy ducks, gave us some great advice. He said, “Don’t get so caught up in taking pictures that you miss what’s going on.” In other words, just take in the moment.

My assignment last weekend for the finals of the Breeders Crown was to get quotes. As a result, I was stationed in the paddock at The Meadowlands. Even though the paddock can be a chaotic place at times, in addition to doing my job, I remembered Gary’s words and tried to just take it all in.

When I wasn’t running around getting quotes, I spent most of my time in the paddock office trying not to annoy Meadowlands paddock judge Jim Kopacz.

The paddock office is where many of the trainers hang out and watch the races.

There is an armchair directly in front of the TVs where you can usually find Ron Burke. When I needed to get quotes from Burke about passing Jimmy Takter as the top Breeders Crown trainer by earnings, I sat in that chair because I knew he’d come back. I told Burke that I was sitting in his chair so that no one else would try to take it from him and I’d give him the chair back if he’d give me some quotes. A special thanks to Kopacz for lowering the sound on the TVs during my interview.

Later on, David Miller moved over into that chair because it was not in the direct line of the vents that were spewing cold air. When Burke came back and saw Miller in the chair, he told him to move. Miller grudgingly did so. Burke then told me that he wouldn’t have made me move, but “the old man,” referring to Miller, could sit somewhere else.

Sitting in a room with so many trainers with Crown horses, I was reminded of my early days covering races when I was told there is no cheering in the press box. I never understood that because no one in the press box should have a vested interest in the outcome of the races. However, in the paddock office it’s totally different.

For the most part everyone was pretty quiet until they were coming down the stretch and then you heard a little excitement.

I was sitting next to Chris Ryder watching the 3-Year-Old Filly Pace. In the stretch, he tapped my leg a couple of times saying, “Come on!” I had no idea at the time that it was his filly, Tarrific, out of the 10-hole, coming through at the rail just to miss to Burke’s My Girl EJ.

I was also sitting next to Ryder for the Mare Pace with Twin B Joe Fresh. This time there was no need for leg tapping, just a hug.

Speaking of hugs, I was in the right place at the right time in the paddock to see the embrace between Linda Toscano and Scott Zeron after winning the 3-Year-Old Filly Trot with Allegiant. It was the first time the two were seeing each other after the win because Toscano was not in the winner’s circle for Allegiant because she was warming up It’s My Show for the Open Pace.

Noel Daley let out a “Yeah!” when they hit the wire in the 3-Year-Old Colt Trot only to stop a second later to check with Burke that he had, indeed, won. Daley’s Sig Sauer had defeated Burke’s T C I by a nose.

Anyone who has not been in the paddock on a weekend like that, might not understand how little time there actually is for the drivers and trainers between the races.

I was able to get a few quotes from Sarah Svanstedt in between warmups after the Team Svanstedt supplements of Call Me Goo and Nelsonbriteagle NO finished 1-2 in the Mare Trot. When asked about the retirement later that night of Jiggy Jog S, Svanstedt started to get emotional. She later said that she made sure she kept her ball cap on during the ceremony to hide her tears.

Someone I noticed who had very little time for anything, let alone quotes, was Dexter Dunn. He was gracious enough to give me a quote or two on the walk from the drivers’ room to his horse for the next race, but there were times during the night when even that just wasn’t possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if he needs new soles on his boots for all the running he was doing. During the end of Jiggy Jog’s retirement ceremony, the field was already heading on the track for the next race. Dunn literally had to take the van back to the paddock, jump on his horse and not long after go to the gate, where he finished third.

There was a heavy TV presence/video presence this year, as early in the night I was “Spottin’ Two Ottens,” as well as COSA’s Michael Carter and Fox Sports’ Gabe Prewitt. It was nice to see Prewitt dry for a change as he seems to always get caught in a downpour on those Fox shows. The question came as to how long it’s been since both the Breeders Crown elims and finals were rain free. No one had an answer, but it seemed to be quite some time.

With interviews being done by The Meadowlands, COSA, the USTA, and Fox Sports, before the journalists even got a crack at any of the winners, it meant a lot to me when anyone took a few minutes to answer my questions.

It’s usually easy to get winners to talk to you if you’re persistent enough, but I also needed to get quotes from a few that didn’t win. I give all the credit in the world to horsepeople who understand that sometimes you need a quote about why the favorite broke or about finishing a nose back in such a big race. Jason Bartlett has never been anything but a class act and he was again on Breeders Crown weekend.

I got to meet Dunn’s father, R.J., after the races in the Diamond Creek Winner’s Lounge. I told him that he raised his son right, because even after all those other interviews after winning with Twin B Joe Fresh and his drives for the night were done, Dexter still took the time to answer my questions.

I’m going to remember this year’s Breeders Crown weekend not just for the fabulous performances on the track but for those behind the scenes, like the incredible thankless jobs done by Hambletonian Society staking manager Nadia Tarnawa, winner’s circle host Gary DiLeo, winner’s circle attendant Andrew Morgenbesser, and, of course, award-winning track photographers Mike Lisa and Jim Lisa, who kept things so well organized and professional in the winner’s circle. Not to mention the incomparable Heather Vitale and Diamond Creek’s Caroline Vazquez, who looked out for all the winners in the Winner’s Lounge.

After that weekend, I can’t wait for the next time The Meadowlands plays host to the Breeders Crown. But on the current rotation, that won’t be for at least three years, which may be a good thing since I found out the hard way that my asthma doesn’t like spending so much time in the paddock and I’ll probably need that long to recover.