The finish line is in sight. No, not for the First Night Saratoga 5k run that goes down Tuesday, post time 5:30 p.m. up on the Skidmore College campus in what looks to be sub-20-degree temperatures and a light snow. And no, not for the year that was 2013, although the days are now down to hours and soon to be minutes and seconds.
The finish is in sight for the top 10 most memorable moments from the world of racing adventure that started Christmas and goes to right now.
The list consisted of a few Saratoga-centric moments – the No. 2 selection of Wise Dan’s seriously great breeze in late July, the No. 6 choice of Eric Guillot’s allegations of buzzer use in the Travers and the No. 7 pick of Ken Ramsey’s bold number of wins prediction for the 2013 meet. Others came from Pimlico, Belmont, Gulfstream and The Curragh.
But really, seriously, it’s all about Saratoga, so without further ado …
No. 1. Starting at The Special.
The conversation went something like this:
“What do you think, now that you’ve got one day at The Special under your belt.”
“One day? What do you think I’ve been doing the last three or four?”
“Those were just practice. Tonight was for real.”
The words were spoken between myself and Sean Clancy, a few minutes after Sean, Joe Clancy and I put a bow on issue No. 1 of The Saratoga Special for the 2013 race meet. Others did their part, too, and are not be forgotten, but at that point of the night it was just the three of us in our fly-by-night office on Broadway, the hours counting down until the first race on the first day of the 40-day meet.
That first issue turned out pretty well. I wrote stories on Bahnah and Bret Calhoun, made picks for the 10-race card (tabbed 6 winners, too), and penned another piece on the meet. Great stuff by others in that 32-page opening issue. Better work was still ahead of us, right until the final issue, when again it was Sean, Joe and I putting the last touches on issue No. 35. We got some late help on that last one by writer Rebecca Fedler and my wife Elizabeth Collins, who brought a couple growlers of IPA to savor when Joe hit send for the last time in 2013.
In between putting those two issues out we endured plenty and enjoyed even more. Early mornings, long afternoons and late nights were always on the menu and we had no choice but to order all three, day after day, week after week.
The pressure of the daily deadline was ever present. The thrill of meeting those deadlines – or at least coming close – was plenty sweet. Being part of a team again, and going about the hourly and daily tasks at hand, was even better.
Work this past summer on The Special wasn’t so much a singular moment as a series of moments.
So it will have to be just that, the most memorable moments of 2013.
Happy New Year!
Tom’s complete list
Number 2: Wise Dan’s pre-Fourstardave workout.
Number 3: Point of Entry vs. Animal Kingdom.
Number 4: Lukas wins Preakness with Oxbow.
Number 5: Fall racing at The Curragh.
Number 6: Alleged buzzer use in Travers.
Number 7: Ken Ramsey calls his shot. Number 8: Saginaw wins Morrissey.
Number 9: Calidoscopio’s Brooklyn. Number 10: Dance to Bristol wins Skipat.
