Re: Favorite going to scratch??? (545 Views)
Posted by:
Dana666 (IP Logged)
Date: April 29, 2021 09:26PM
I want to say Richmond Avenue? I remember a great pizza place nearby called Gino's. I would go with my dad and some of his friends, all WW II Vets--a hardboiled crew to say the least. They mostly went to Monmouth and Jersey tracks, but from that ridiculously young age, I always liked New York racing better. Back then, you could smoke, and the smoke inside was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. People packed in there like maniacs. The bathrooms never worked and smelled god awful. You got these cool little tickets with letters, not numbers! Some tracks, like Monticello and Finger Lakes, just gave you the audio call with no video. Noting better than sitting down at Gino's with a nice slice and a racing form--real papers back then, not these little books, handicapping jocks like Jerry Bailey and Angel Cordero. Too many memories! Monmouth Park was always so beautiful and we'd take my mom and go out to a nice dinner at the beach afterwards, but OTB had the better racing, so you had to endure that place to bet on it, unless you wanted to take the drive east to Aqueduct or Belmont, which I did a lot in my college years. How they don't have every Breeder's Cup at Belmont is beyond me. Anyway, good luck everyone and good night.