PlayersPg_DeRosa.qxd_Florida Horse_template 3/14/13 3:05 PM Page 1
WRIGHTS OF DEROSA
Racetrack Joints O a Big Part of Industry Culture, Impact
ne of the things I love most about thoroughbred racing is the social aspect surrounding a day at the races and how often that day at the races turns into a night on the town. by Ed DeRosa Well-known haunts dot the landscapes of racing’s most storied venues: Siro’s, Brigantine, and Mount Washington Tavern are as familiar to the denizens of Saratoga, Del Mar, and Pimlico, respectively, as the racetracks themselves. What many people fortunate enough to have grown up or only been involved with racing at the highest levels might not realize, though, is that tracks at all levels support this kind of socialization among patrons and the city. Talking with Louisville Courier-Journal Turf writer Jennie Rees one day, it came up that I was from Cleveland and got into thoroughbreds attending the races at Thistledown. She didn’t ask me whether I had seen Skip Away win the 1996 Ohio Derby or if I remember the slinky esWhat many people calator. No, her first question about my Thistledown exfortunate enough to perience was whether I had ever been to a place called The Winking Lizard. have grown up or I not only had been there but also remember my first time only been involved going there being at the ripe age of six following a day at with racing at the the races with my grandfather. I swear we saw more people highest levels might “from the track” there then we ever saw at the track itself. I don’t remember my first trip to the racetrack, but there not realize, though, had been many before this day, and I did enjoy, but this is that tracks at all added a new dimension: people swapping stories (what I levels support this now know as “bad beats”), eating better food than you kind of socialization could get at the track but for the same price, and something among patrons and called chicken wings all made this a watershed experience. Sadly for Thistledown, The Winking Lizard is doing a the city. lot better than the track that helped make it a Cleveland institution. Ohio racing is not what I would call the major leagues, but “the Lizard” has expanded to 14 locations throughout the Buckeye State. And the success of The Winking Lizard is something I wish more people who regulate and helped fund racing realize. Tracks are destinations, yes, but they’re also a community. The sense of belonging at a place like The Winking Lizard where people could swap bad beat stories or gossip from the stable area is far more intimate than relationships built at bars near other sporting venues. I had some great fun living in Cleveland when the Indians made the World Series in 1995 and 1997, but 74 THE FLORIDA HORSE • MARCH 2013
that excitement pales to the energy surrounding Derby (Kentucky or Ohio!) days at Thistledown. I wear the tracks I’ve visited, 56 separate locations for live racing, like a badge of honor, and I wear a pants size bigger than I should because of the “racetrack joints” near many of those facilities. Ellis Park is absolutely one of my favorite racetracks to visit, and that has as much to do with the bucolic nature of the plant and its patrons as it does its proximity to The Log Inn in Haubstadt, Indiana. And it isn’t always about what comes after the races, either. I typically like to do the heavy lifting of handicapping a day at the races the night before, which makes breakfast perfect for reviewing the day as a whole and plotting wagering strategy. Rod’s Grille in Arcadia near Santa Anita and the diners of the Eastern Seaboard are great ways to start the day, and the counter at Wagner’s Pharmacy across from Churchill Downs needs no introduction to those who have been to Louisville. Two glaring omissions from my list of places I’ve visited are Fair Grounds and Oaklawn Park. Tragic not only because each is a great place for racing but also because both offer the type of scene I said I enjoy. Hopefully it’ll be sooner rather than later before I finally make it to those places. In the meantime, though, there is Keeneland and Derby week to look forward to. Malone’s, Harry’s, and Dudley’s are all popular post-race spots in Lexington, but I’ve grown partial to grabbing a pie before heading to McCarthy’s Downtown. And regardless of where you decide to go, the dinner-drinking combo is always a formidable one-two punch. The Winking Lizard offers both as a sports bar, but sometimes a feast at Guiccardo’s Italian Kitchen was more in order after the races. Sadly, Guiccard’s didn’t fare as well as The Winking Lizard and is long gone from the Thistledown community, but then, so am I. ■ Ed DeRosa is director of marketing for Brisnet.com, the official data source of the Kentucky Derby and TwinSpires.com. Ed joined Brisnet.com in July 2011 following nine years as a writer and editor with Thoroughbred Times. He grew up in Cleveland and learned to love horse racing while going to Thistledown with his grandfather. Ed is a diehard Indians fan, leaving him to wonder which--if either-will come first: A Triple Crown winner or an Indians world championship. Ed's favorite horses are Real Quiet, Ghostzapper, and Rachel Alexandra.