Putting Liz Taylor aside for the moment, I'll echo JB's "well said" and also commend Fairmount for anchoring his theme on that song by the Motels.

I don't know the band's wider catalog, but their two hits (the other is "Only the Lonely") both beautifully capture a sense of longing that seems to have largely vanished from pop culture, yet remains the very essence of Saratoga's allure.

It's why we care about the place. It's why we get upset when trees are chopped down to make room for some tacky ersatz museum, when the entire property was already a living, breathing, galloping, snorting, screaming, cursing, pooping museum of the racing life.

That's the thing about the racing life. It goes by at a fast clip. At the Spa, we can kid ourselves that it doesn't. We take the waters, and are cured. For the moment, anyway. Which is really all that any of us can ask.

As to Liz Taylor, I'll take "National Velvet". A girl, a boy, a horse, and a happy ending, despite the worst bad beat in the history of horse racing movies.