Gas prices plummet

by Gordon Waterstone

Shocked! Absolutely shocked! Yeah, I know I started the first edition of this year’s Backstretch With Gordon with the same words, but it’s the only way I could describe what I felt when I drove home from The Red Mile after Friday’s (Sept. 26) race card. I was shocked to see that gas prices had plummeted overnight from $2.79 all the way down to $2.61.

Yes, $2.61. That means, with my Kroger points that’ll get me a buck off, I will pay $1.61 a gallon. How could I not lead with this momentous news?

Actually, I was going to lead with the weather, and what a difference a year makes. Last year’s Friday card during opening week of the Grand Circuit meet was literally washed out due to Tropical Storm Helene that reached the Bluegrass. This year was as perfect as a late-September day could be in the Bluegrass, with few clouds and temperatures in the low 80s.

On Thursday night I attended the Kentuckiana Farm pre-sale party, which was held at the Malone’s Banquet Center across the street from where I live (hard to find an excuse to decline the invite when I can walk there in three minutes). As always, I was glad I made it.

After chit-chatting a few with a few after I arrived, Joe Holloway grabbed me to join he, Karl Nagle and Diane LEWIS at their table. Yes, I’ve heard it from a few that I called her Diane Wilson in the first Backstretch column, and I apologized over and over to her. Diane said I should be glad that I didn’t misidentify her dog Roxie with Linda Toscano’s dog Bailey, otherwise things could have got “ruff” for me.

Jonas Czernyson and Kristin Shetler sat with us, and I told Kristin to say hello to her dad, Dan, for me. I still have this tiny Dan Shetler bobblehead from years ago, and when Kristin told me she still has a big box of them and would I like more, I couldn’t say “no” fast enough.

I talked to a bunch of people at the party, too many to name them all. I did have a chance to talk to Shawn Steacy for a few about Sylvia Hanover’s rivalry with Twin B Joe Fresh. I had a chance to speak to Jimmy and Christina Takter as well as daughter Nancy Takter. Also part of that conversation was Perry and Annelee Soderberg. George Segal came by for a few minutes and we spoke, and as Marvin Katz walked by on his way out the door, I congratulated him on his recent election to the Hall of Fame in Goshen, NY.

I saw Andrew Harris so I went over to speak to him for a few. I saw Casie Coleman also, and I noted to her that I saw her Facebook post that she went directly from the airport to Red State BBQ when she got to town. Some of the drivers were there as well, and I grabbed a second with Tim Tetrick and Yannick Gingras. I told them both that with me kind of semi-retired I miss talking to them. I also made sure to thank Bob and Becky Brady and Ken and Lisa Jackson for the invitation.

When I made my way out to the parking lot, I bumped into Per Engblom, and he explained he went outside to watch one of his horses race at Yonkers.

I waited until the afternoon races to go to The Red Mile on Friday, and I decided to take a different route after my slow crawl on Thursday. Taking New Circle Road to Versailles Road and then coming in the back way made a huge difference as it took half the time it did on Thursday. I do have to admit I missed seeing the scenery while driving through campus as I did on Thursday, but my time was better served this way.

I did go to the backstretch on Saturday morning, arriving at 8:30 a.m. As I walked in from the parking lot, Julie Miller was giving me a big wave as she walked toward me. I thought that was so nice of Julie to greet me like that, and then I realized she was actually waving at a truck pulling in that she obviously was waiting for. I just happened to be in the path.

I knew that the breakfast tables would have coffee and donuts — sponsored by my sponsors Steve and Cindy Stewart’s Hunterton Farm — and when I reached the tent, I saw coffee but the donut boxes were near empty. I decided to walk around and then return for hopefully fresh donuts. That turned successful as the boxes were full when I returned. I had to push Joanna Ricci, Chris Tully, Emily Ratcliff and Nick Salvi out of the way to get to the donuts, but that too was successful.

Jim Campbell was driving by so he stopped and rolled down the passenger window to say hello. As I was walking away, Debbie Daguet walked by and said hi, and then I saw Ernie Hendry coming off the track. As he went by, he gave his condolences on the Detroit Tigers. Ernie is a huge Tigers fan and he said watching the team lose Friday night to the Red Sox in the ninth inning made him almost throw a brick at his TV.

I had told Andrew Harris at the Kentuckiana party that I would be stopping at his barn on Saturday, so I then headed there. Assistant Keelan MacDonald was heading to the track with a horse and he told me Andrew would be back shortly. I went into the barn and introduced myself to Kayla Chappell. Kayla and I have had interactions on Facebook but never met, and she told me she was glad I came in to see her.

The Harris barn is loaded with star horses, and no disrespect to the others, I wanted to see up close and personal the 3-year-old filly trotter Yo Tillie. She was in the first stall, but when I looked in, she had her back to the gate as she watched things out the back window. Of course, I yelled “Yo,” and she turned around and came up to me.

I stroked her head a few times and wished her luck as she was competing in the ninth race on Saturday. She seemed to be listening and wasn’t happy when I started to walk away as she wanted more attention, but I have to be careful as yes, I am allergic to horses. I can be near them but I always have to wash my hands soon after.

Andrew came back and we chatted a few about his 2-year-old filly pacer Topville Lucky, who he and partners Bruce Areman and Bill Pollock recently purchased privately from the Erv Miller barn. Topville Lucky won a Bluegrass division Thursday afternoon, and I told Andrew I was looking forward to hopefully another win from Yo Tillie Saturday.

Another private purchase a while back by the aforementioned trio, Yo Tillie was coming into Saturday’s race unbeaten in nine starts. For many weeks I was the sole voter in the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown weekly poll that had Yo Tillie ranked first. After sitting second several weeks to Miki And Minnie, when that one got beat, enough other voters put Yo Tillie first so she was able to vault to the top. Alas, that lasted one week as she fell back to second after Louprint’s Little Brown Jug victory.

And alas, Yo Tillie will likely fall further as she got beat on Saturday at The Red Mile. For a while I thought I was actually going to be able to place a win wager on her as another horse was taking all the action. I couldn’t figure out why that horse — Royal Mission — was taking all that money, allowing Yo Tillie to hover around even money and 6-5.

But at around a minute to the start, around $1,300-1,400 disappeared from the win pool on Royal Mission, sending that horse from favorite status to extreme longshot status. Royal Mission ended up seventh as a 101-outsider. Yo Tillie ended up the 1-5 favorite but settled to second behind Delaney Hanover.

Bob Heyden walked by me early in the card and pointed out Greg Wright, Sr. sitting by himself in an upper row of the grandstand. I’ve known Greg since my early Hazel Park days so it was great seeing him. As I made my way up to see him, I saw Trevor Ritchie and told him Greg was there, and Trevor also joined us for a few. I knew Greg knows Jeff James well, so I made a phone call and Jeff made his way down between races to greet Greg. Seeing Greg, as well as son Greg, Jr., who later came up, made my day.

I also saw Michigan Harness Horsemen’s Association president Brett Boyd sitting in an apron box. I made my way there and told Brett I was glad he was wearing an Aiden Hutchinson Lions jersey and not a Tigers jersey. Brett was there with his wife Brandy, and son Braxten’s fiancée Brandy (Brett said it’s convenient they have the same name).

They were there to watch Braxten drive the 3-year-old colt pacer Madden Oaks in race 7, a Bluegrass division. The Meadowlands Pace champ was coming off a scratch “sick” and while he gave a game effort, he tired a bit in the stretch but still held on to finish third.

I also ran into Joe Koury and Larry Karr on the apron. Joe and I got to know each other well when I interrupted his acceptance speech on behalf of Foiled Again winning the Bergstein Proximity Award from the U.S. Harness Writers Association at the 2019 Dan Patch Awards dinner in Orlando. Joe began his speech and then I ran onto the stage and interrupted him, noting that with the award winner being present in the banquet hall, shouldn’t he be up there?

And then Devon Miller came from behind the curtain with Foiled Again, leading to a moment that I will never forget. We pretty much kept it a secret from everybody, with even trainer Ron Burke and co-owner Mark Weaver not telling their wives or driver Yannick Gingras.

There was a small group of people from Greenville, NC, at The Red Mile Saturday. They had been in the office on Friday to pick up their box tickets from Bessie so I spoke to them then. The group was part of a youth hockey tournament that was being contested in Lexington (they were scheduled to play at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday). I arranged for two of the adults to get a ride in the starting car, and they told me after they rode around for race 2 with Mike Moss and Erick Hager that it was better than a ride at Disneyland.

If you are reading this early in the day (Sept. 28) there is still time to get tickets for the barbecue dinner and music at the Stable of Memories (AKA the Round Barn) at 6 p.m. tonight. The special night honors Kit Glenn-McKinley, who is now 94 years young, for her years of dedication. For reservations online go to stableofmemories.square.site.

I will be back with you on Tuesday (Sept. 30). Thanks again to Steve and Cindy Stewart’s Hunterton Farm/Hunterton Sales Agency for their generous sponsorship of this column. I also have to publicly thank Cindy for helping get those snails out of their shells for me when we had dinner together after the Prix d’Amérique last January in Paris.