I don't want to get too far off point since we are both NU fans.
I loved Aksarben, a shame it closed. Was really one of the nicest tracks around. Man they used to put 30K in the place on bigger days. Met and became friends with Mike Smith when he was an apprentice. That was the first time I really hammered a horse, about $300.00 at the time across the board on a horse that Mike rode. Brazen Bold ran 4th and I was really pissed cause Mike really liked him. (No, the horse wasn't wide either!!) He and I remain friends to this day.
I had a friend that told me to bet a horse called Quote Rosie. I told him I couldn't bet that pig based on the PP's. My friend assured me the "Form will lie today." I reluctantly put $ 5.00 across the board and was shocked when Quote Rosie won and paid about $ 200.00 to win. So much for Past Performances.
What Aksarben fan could ever forget Amadevil, Ogataul, Comet Kat, Bersid, Who Doctor Who, Gate Dancer and a lot of other greats. I never forget the day the great East coast sprinter Dave's Friend came to run in a sprint and packed about 130# and ran 1st or 2nd, can't remember. I remember thinking that he looked kinda small.
I loved driving in from G.I. and grabbing lunch with my wife in the cafeteria, much of the time we spent in the ole Coliseum area with the big screen that had such a lousy picture.
It was a great facility and the state of racing died when they closed the doors.
I'll give Riley a chance. I had no regard for Pelini as a coach, miserable man. Coaching for a slimeball like Tressel really fits him at Youngstown.
Good luck out there. Sorry to shorten up this reply, I'm sure 99.9% of the board members could care less about what happened 30 years ago.