Travers Weekend 2011

Well, we had a great weekend at the Travers Stakes in Saratoga. We beat Hurricane Irene out of Albany, and even took some money from the track. I had a fantastic time, met some fantastic people, caught up with a few friends from days past, saw some awesome racing, and got some great photos. The first race we saw featured a jockey losing his whip, and using his goggles to whip the horse instead! Friday afternoon we were able to see Kentucky Derby contender To Honor And Serve in a claiming race of all places.

horse racing
Jose Lezcano, the jockey on the right is whipping his horse with his goggles.

To Honor and Serve
To Honor and Serve at Saratoga

Mark made friends with one of the track photographers, Connie Bush, and we ran into her Friday afternoon. She was able to get Mark and I visitor’s passes Saturday morning, which was great, a once in a lifetime experience. It also meant that my day started around 4am as I got up, had a shower and headed to the track to photograph morning workouts. We were able to spend some time at the Oklahoma training track, and the backstretch for breakfast. It also meant for a heck of a long day. Mark and I ran into The Mig, retired Hall of Fame jockey Richard Migliore! He was a really nice guy and even posed for a few photographs. Mark maintains he bares a vague resemblance to myself, and I must say I think he is right!

Saratoga Training
Oklahoma Training Track

Richard Migliore
Dave and the Mig

We got to see great racing all day. I found a horse shoe which must have brought Tracy some luck as she did quite well on the day. We saw the return of Uncle Mo, almost a year to the day that we saw him win his maiden race over this same track. Unfortunately he lost by a nose in a photo finish, but it was an awesome race, and he did so good after a long layoff. He lost his back right shoe, and I was able to capture that with my camera from my spot on the rail. He’s an awesome horse.

Saratoga Racing
King’s Bishop Field

Uncle Mo
Uncle Mo, Dislodged Shoe

It was a great summer at Saratoga, and all in all I was able to take in three race weekends. The Jim Dandy, The Whitney, and The Travers. There won’t be a summer like it for a while. View all my photos from this summer at Saratoga in my flickr gallery.

Radio Controlled Air Show

I’m going back in time here, trying to catch up with some posts for the exciting summer we’ve had. Saturday August 20th I went to the Radio Control Club of Rochester’s R/C Air show in North Hampton Park. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I had a fantastic time, and saw a lot of really neat planes. The club has an airstrip at the park, that I haven’t used because I found a field a lot closer to fly in. They have four flight stations, and they were pretty much going non-stop. I saw a variety of planes from World War 1 bi-planes to futuristic looking jets. The majority of the planes were battery powered, which I think is good for the hobby. There was one plane they called a 43% scale plane. It was huge! They all flew and did loops and tricks. Here are a few photos and videos.

Habu Turbofan Jet
Habu Turbofan Jet
Plane for Sale
Plane for Sale
Large 43% Model Bi-Plane
Large 43% Model Bi-Plane
Variety Planes
Variety Planes
Nose Art
Nose Art

I had a great time, and plan to go back next year.

Adirondacks Vacation

The last week in July and first week in August, while the stock market was tanking, I spent an enjoyable week in the Adirondack region of New York on vacation. I was able to do a lot of swimming, some hiking, star gazing, sailing, kayaking, trespassing, and pretty much everything you can think of that is fun. I got to spend time with my entire family, which is really special to me. Even my Aunt Paula came out from St. Louis, she took some great loon photos. Here’s a sample of some of my photos, the full gallery is visible on my flickr page.

Loon
Loon

Tupper Lake
Tupper Lake

Summit
Mt. Morris Summit

Arab IR
Mt Arab Infrared

This was a really fun vacation, and all the photos I took can be viewed on my flickr page.