By Sean Clancy
From The Saratoga Special, reprinted with permissionThis was Saratoga 2001:
The Saratoga Special opened for business.Take out was the talk. OTB was in question. Barry Schwartz was at the wheel. Mike Smith flew off to Del Mar. Mike Luzzi went to the hospital. Jose Santos held his arm. Donnie Meche and Mark Guidry anteed up. John Velazquez and Edgar Prado bombed in from the Belmont cannon. Only to meet Jerry Bailey at his house. Steve Asmussen pulled up a chair. Ronny Werner along side. Macho Uno ducked his way to defeat. Mayakovski stopped the clock. Touch Love and Buster's Daydream flew Maryland's flag high and proud.Flute found an allowance race and Hap laughed his way through the Bernard Baruch. Victory Ride did exactly that. Lido Palace broke through. And Red Bullet made up for Macho Uno. Shug kept his foot on the floor with Serra Lake. Saint Verre found the circle. Two Dancers jumped in the Lake George. Volponi had them thinking Travers. And Snow Dance was on her way.Top Official made the meet. Big Bambu put Thistledown on the map. Shaun Bridgmohan lost a tooth. Bailey was up by two. Buck Wheat got a plaque. City Zip made us appreciate. Frank McCourt came for a visit. Scorpion stung Free of Love. Congaree blew up with a knee. Aaron Gryder got bucked off. Mott led Shug by two. Velazquez won five on a card. Even Dr. Ruth was here for the action. Gryder came back to win three. Five Star Day freaked
in the Vanderbilt. Then it was Hall of Fame Day. Earlie Fires cried. Holy Bull found a home. Tom Smith--better late than never. Richard Mandella got an armshake from Allen Jerkens and a spot on the wall. Paseana came full circle. Maskette as well. And Baptize took the prize.Sales Week was here already. An Unbridled's Song brought nearly two million. Roger King made another show. The next night Storm Cat took over, $3.3 million over. Bailey and Velazquez were tied. Wayne Lukas crept up the list. The sales finished with records all around. Irving's Baby splashed around. Jorge Chavez's knee went around. Secret Status came around. Jimmy Jerkens won two. King Cugat lost With Anticipation. Mott and Lukas were even at 10. Penny's Gold was polished. Dreams came true. You, You, You. Jump Start stepped over a Champ. Ray Ganpath won one for the Chief. Saratoga Sunrise came and went again. Shug sent out two sisters. Paul Toscano lit up the board again. Megantic made Bailey cringe. Thunderello created a gasp. I'm All Yours won a stakes. Summer Colony made a three-word quote. Raul Rojas won another.Then it was a Fluteabama. Frankel wasn't done. Victory Ride cracked a leg. And Point Given paused it all. Snow Dance walked the dog. Damned if Saratoga Sunrise didn't come again. Mott reached 13 while Lukas clawed to 12. Personal Pro was certainly that. Velazquez was up by one. Trucking Baron won the Heart Award. Point Given played around the town. Gary Stevens stopped to chat. The Special reached 28 pages. Pompeii made Robert Clay repent while Kimmel's barn said goodbye. Sky Mist made the paper. Beautiful Pleasure whispered watch out this fall.Travers day attracted 60,000. Dr. Kashnikow weaved like a loom. Squirtle Squirt got the best of City Zip. And nobody got the best of Point Given. The Chief Shined Again. Bailey was suddenly up by five. Mott by four. Ransom's Pride chased the duck. It's a Giggle jumped to three at the meet. Cashier's Dream was better than the ATM. Velazquez squeezed the overnight for the last drops. Came Home in the Hopeful. Delaware Township made like Forego. Velazquez did five one better with Starine.And The Special was out of words. And until next year . . . farewell from the Spa. Contact Sean Clancy via e-mail at sean@thesaratogaspecial.com or telephone at 518-581-1947.
