Belmont Stakes patrons brave long lines, alcohol abuse
I am embarrassed to admit it took 40 years as a New York sports fan and 25 as a New York sportswriter for me to set foot in Belmont Park.
But I got there Saturday, and wrote a column about it in the Sunday newspaper.
I was positioned with the ABC announcers just past the final turn.
I saw Big Brown in third place on TV, then turned to watch him run by our location live. Then the first three horses ran past, then another, then another . . . Where did he go?
Well, now we know, of course. Sigh.
Click below for random Belmont Stakes day observations:
About 90 percent of the people on the LIRR train to Belmont with me were in their 20s. About 90 percent of the people on the LIRR train from Belmont were in their 20s, only by then most of them were really, truly, profoundly, scarily drunk. One 20ish guy who got on at Jamaica and hadn't been to the race came up to me and said, "I've never felt so mature."
I saw the longest women's room line I've ever witnessed, as well as the longest port-a-john lines, as well as the longest ATM lines. Wow. Maybe sometime I should see what Belmont looks like on a Thursday.
Did you know there is a betting window in the press box? Why hasn't the NFL thought of that as an additional revenue stream? I thought about betting on the big race, but figured gambling on an event I was (sort of) covering would be questionable. So I decided to end my 30-year ban on Belmont Stakes bets - I was scarred by losing $10 on Alydar in '78 - and put $5 on Endless Circle in the fifth. (Thanks for the tip to a colleague who shall remain nameless but also is a member of the Former Newsday Giants Beat Writers Club.) The $107.50 payoff made me 2-1 all-time in Triple Crown-race-day wagers. I had $10 on Funny Cide to win the '03 Derby. I'm quitting while I'm ahead.
The Belmont track is really, really big, by the way.
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Comments (4)
I used to go to the Belmont in the 70s when I liked going to the racetrack. By then, the crowds were already starting to disappear, and the people who came to this race knew nothing about what was going on. There is some racetrack etiquette that used to be involved about saving seats, betting etc. that no longer apply. Obviously Belmont doesn't get large crowds at all anymore and is more run down than it was 30 years ago, so they can't handle a large crowd because they don't know how to do it. I also read somewhere yesterday that they now have a dress code for this race and women weren't allowed in if they were wearing shorts, sandals, cut off shorts or tank tops. Very nice, it was 100 degrees in NY yesterday and they were supposed to wear dresses, long sleeved blouses and dress shoes? I suppose men needed to wear suits, hats and ties :(
The women I saw were not following the dress code you describe.
The story I read was about how the Hooters girls wouldn't be allowed into Belmont Park to root for Big Brown because of their skimpy outfits and Belmont's dress code, but may have meant into the clubhouse area and wasn't specific. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the view and you should have bet $10 on the rest of the field like you thought.
Letting Hooters get in on the promotional aspects of UPS Horse jinxed him. Oh well, out to stud he goes.