“All the leaves are brown
And the sky is grey…” 

Perhaps the lyrics above are a bit of a stretch. If your leaves are brown at the moment, it’s likely more to do with drout than the winter conditions the Mommas and the Poppas were singing about back in 1965.  For some reason though, I couldn’t get this tune out of my head today – changing the verbiage from “California dreamin” to “Saratoga dreamin.”

Well racing fans – it’s finally here.  The spa!  The legendary summer meet at Saratoga is set to commence with an 11 race card on Wednesday afternoon.  With Del Mar in full swing already out in California, and Saratoga heating up in New York, one of the more enjoyable parts of the season is upon us.

I’ll be flat out honest here and admit that I won’t be betting too aggressively right off the bat at Saratoga.  It’s a track I seem to be hit or miss at – and seldom do I fully understand beyond luck precisely why I’ve hit or miss.  All that makes me think to myself “tread carefully, young man! (note: can I still refer to myself as “young man” at 30?)”

Then again, who says you need to jump in full force to catch a big score?  I’m sure by now many of you are familiar with the story of the gentleman that hit the Saturday Pick 6 at Del Mar on a $12 ticket.  If what Nick Hines said yesterday is true, we also had an $8 ticket hit the Pick 6 earlier in the week.  Now those are my kind of bets! 

All this combines to leave a horseplayer with a feeling that must be described as optimistic.  Surely if these guys can pull it off on a limited budget – than so can we!  Add in that we’ve got opening week at Saratoga and are coming hot off opening week at Del Mar….yes – these are magnificent times to be alive.

The only thing that bugs me a tad is that “opening day’ is a Wednesday – which means I’ll miss at least the first few races at Saratoga during my rush hour commute from work – more’s the pitty.  Still, we’ve got 11 races to digest on Wednesday, including what appears to be some fantastic two-year-old competition highlighted by  Ocean Colors in race 9. 

Of course, there’s also a certain champion chestnut colt currently training at Saratoga while his connections decide his next target.  Some of you may have heard of him.  Apparently he won the Preakness and the Breeder’s Cup Classic last year, although is name escapes me at the moment  I’m kidding of course about forgetting his name- just trying to see if I can actually go one full post without mentioning my favorite “C” name.

My main point is this: We’ve got much to be excited about as horse racing fans.  Before the summer is out we should have a better read on “you know who’s” future plans, we should see Big Brown return at Monmouth in the Haskell, and we should have seen a veritable plethora of 2 year-old talent at Del Mar and Saratoga.  I just hope that everyone’s bankroll is in good shape heading into the meat of the summer season.  If not, hey, there’s nothing quite like the longshots we’ve seen thus far at Del Mar – not to mention the opportunity to score big against favorites at Saratoga.

Also , look on the bright side of things.  Once opening day is out of the way – we’re just two more days away from the weekend! 

Weather could be an interesting factor though for opening day.  Saratoga usually cards a healthy dose of turf races, and Wednesday is no exception with 5 races carded for the grass.  Here’s hoping the weather cooperates, although I’m sure many on the East Coast suffering from the current heat and humidity are hoping that something does break quite soon – and doubtless that will involve some fairly heavy downpours at times.  Who cares though – it’s Saratoga!  And the weather should be gorgeous by the time the weekend rolls around.

So here’s to summer – and here’s to Saratoga.  Now I just need to figure out a date to make the journey.  I’m almost ashamed to admit this – I’ve never been as of yet.  All that could change quickly if, well, you know who were pointed to a race like the Woodward on August 30th – but that’s getting ahead of ourselves.  For now I’ll just be content to see if I can spot the next great one.  After all, it was last summer at Saratoga that a horse named Big Brown quietly took his debut race.  Who knew just a few months later we’d be talking about his potential to win a Triple Crown?  That, my friends, is the beauty of Saratoga.