belmont stakes | Musings of an Aging Nobody

Passing On Your Left

June 5, 2021 curtisc27@gmail.com Comments 2 comments

It’s Belmont Stakes Day.

Kim and I got up early and walked five miles along the Sugarland Run Trail.

After lunch, we decided to keep moving and ride our bikes, so I loaded up the bikes and drove to downtown Herndon to jump on the W&OD bike trail.

Today, not feeling the cycling cool, I opted not to wear my bike shirt, just a sleeveless tee-shirt and I put my bike pants on under my shorts.

Besides being more practical since I could carry my wallet and phone, though not my goal, the bike pants under my shorts made my butt look bigger.

When you are me, that’s a plus.

I have never been to the Belmont. I have been to the Kentucky Derby, I have been to the Preakness, but never the Belmont. Growing up in New Jersey, not that far from Nassau County on Long Island, I had plenty of opportunities.

I remember a bunch of us watching the Belmont race one year at my friend Ricky’s house back in the 70’s. As we watched the winner being brought into the winner’s circle for the photos and the interviews, there on our TV screen was another good friend and classmate from Oceanport, Chris Nagel smiling and wildly waving his tickets, winners I guessed, while pressed up against the winner’s circle fence and on national TV.

Since I am not normally that lucky when it comes to betting on these races, the 2008 Belmont Stakes is another memory. A long shot named D’Tara won the race at odds of 38 to 1. A horse named Dennis of Cork ran second. Anak Nakal and Ready’s Echo ended up in a dead heat for third. I had all four of those horses boxed in a trifecta (the first three horses) and the exacta (the first two horses). As a result, I landed two trifectas, one with each third-place horse, and the exacta.

Kim got some new patio doors and a front door out of that one.

The problem with biking along the W&OD bike trail is there are beer stops. Heading towards Reston the first stop was The Bike Lane, a bike shop that also brews their own beer. They had a great Kolsch and we sat outside at a picnic table. I asked the guy pouring my beer if Tommy, an awesome young man who attends my church still worked there. “Tom Brown?” he asked, “yeah we call him ‘T Bone,’ he is off today for his sister’s graduation party, I’ll tell him someone was asking about him.”

Another four miles and one very large hill later we stopped at The Caboose, a brewery in Vienna, Virginia adjacent to the bike trail. There we had a Czech and a Citrus Pilsner.

Then it was eight miles and that one big hill back to Herndon, ending at the Green Lizard, our local bike shop, for one more draft beer.

Then home to watch the Belmont Stakes.

It was a good race, though I didn’t get as lucky as I did in 2008. The horse Rombauer who won the Preakness beat my pick, Known Agenda, for third place knocking my trifecta out. But I did have the exacta. Not bad since I just played my birthday numbers and threw in Hot Rod Charlie because he had a good story.

No Triple Crown winner this year, some unneeded drama, now we look forward to next year.

At one point on the way home on the bike trail, Kim and I had gotten separated a bit.

I was riding slow, now tired from the long day.

A bike rider came up behind me and gave the courtesy warning before passing me, “passing on your left.”

Only this guy said, “passing on your left, ma’am.”

I had to laugh.

It was a nice relaxing day.

Lots of exercise.

Lots of sun.

A few beers.

Lots of racing.

And the question,

Was it my hair?

Or my new butt maybe?

That earned me a…

“Passing on your left, ma’am?”

Guess I will never know.

Postscript:

Our feature image is a selfie taken at The Caboose Brewing Company and Tavern in Vienna, Virginia.

We’re Going to Make It……

June 20, 2020 curtisc27@gmail.com Comments 8 comments

I haven’t told my wife yet.

How do I tell my wife this?

Do I just come out and say it?

Do I leave a note on the counter?

Maybe a photo?

Maybe write a blog?

This is a big weekend for me.

I am a big fan of horse racing as you may know and today is the Belmont Stakes.

Tomorrow, as you also know I am sure, is Father’s Day. And next to horse racing, yeah I think my kids are pretty special too. So I am looking forward to spending some time this weekend watching some horse racing and also spending some time with at least some of my kids.

Eighteen years ago the family wanted to do something for me that was special so they asked me what I wanted to do on Father’s Day and they would arrange that.

I said, “I want to go to the horse races.”

And so, they worked it out that they would take me to the races at Laurel Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland on Father’s Day.

Not having a vehicle big enough for the six of us, we took two cars. Alexa at the time was attending the University of Maryland in College Park and recommended that on the way, we also go out for brunch at the 94^th Aero Squadron Restaurant located at the College Park Airport which she had been to before. This restaurant was a theme restaurant based on World War I and II aviation and complete with replica planes surrounding the building with sections made to look like it was exposed to “air raids.” On the way out of the restaurant we asked a passerby to take what would turn out to be the last photo of all six of us together in front of one of the planes positioned outside the restaurant, before heading over to the racetrack.

That was a great Father’s Day memory from 2002.

Now it is Father’s Day weekend 2020.

And this year we happen to have a horse racing emphasis once again on this weekend. As a result, it made it a little bit more special, though still bittersweet.

The Belmont Stakes is typically run on the third Saturday after the third Saturday in May when the Preakness is run which works out to be normally the first Saturday in June. This year, however it’s on the third Saturday in June. And typically the Belmont Stakes is the third leg of the Triple Crown and usually follows the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness which are the three races that make up the Triple Crown, but this year the Preakness will be the third leg sometime in October. Triple Crown races are limited to horses that are three years old.

Are you following all this?

Of course, all the confusion created this year is on account of the virus.

Although Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June remains unaffected by the virus with the exception of the fact that unlike eighteen years ago, this year I couldn’t go to the races even if I wanted to because patrons are not allowed in the stands to watch the live races. Not to mention, though we probably could go out for brunch if we really wanted to by following the limited outdoor seating rule, I would prefer to stay in my back yard.

So in honor of this special memory of horse racing and Father’s Day eighteen years ago I thought it important this week to do something different that was special and on my bucket list.

Which, I haven’t told my wife about yet.

But here goes:

“Honey, we own a racehorse…”

“Actually, we own four…”

“Remember the evening this week we were sitting by the fire pit and I was on my cell phone?…

“And, you said you were going to go in because I was on my cell phone and not talking to you anyway?…”

“I wasn’t talking because I was busy buying a racehorse. Well, actually four. Well, actually just a share of four racehorses.”

“ A very small share.”

“They are just two years old and they are all girls. Just what we need right?”

“Isn’t that great?”

“Happy Father’s Day?”

“Right Kim?”

“I love you…”

Donny is gone, the 94^th Aero Squadron Restaurant is gone, I don’t think I have been back to Laurel Racecourse since that day, but I still have a photo and a nice memory.

And still stuck in the door of one of our kitchen cabinets is another reminder of this same time not quite eighteen years ago. This one came in a sympathy card at the time and reads:

“NO MATTER HOW TOUGH LIFE GETS, IF YOU CAN SEE THE SHORE OF HEAVEN, AND DRAW STRENGTH FROM CHRIST, YOU’LL MAKE IT………………..