| Chapter Nine: My Favorite Place, Monmouth Park
From the first day I ever went to the track I was fascinated with it. Opening day was spectacular. EVERYONE was dressed to the hilt. The women were dressed as though they were going to a wedding. BEAUTIFUL dresses and very classy wealthy people everywhere. The track itself was really outstanding. Flowers everywhere. The security at the box seats was unbelievable. If you didn't have a pass or ID to the fact that you owned a box.... You DID NOT GET IN (even to look for someone for a minute). The bars were very nice and clean. Of course ALL the men HAD to wear jackets. NO EXCEPTIONS. Ladies were not allowed in wearing slacks or shorts, and even dresses had to be a respectable length, and it was always crowded. Today’s crowd looks pathetic to the way it was for the first 25 years. I always had free horseman’s passes given to me by our roomers, Chick Lang, jockey Nick Shuk and his agent John Wilke, Jack McKenzy, etc. One of our first roomers was Gorden Potter who was an ex-jockey who rode quarter horses out West. He had books full of pictures of his winning mounts. It was his first year working at Monmouth and he was an exercise rider for a WACKY trainer named Dr. Cope. He also worked for Dave Emery who was leading trainer. Potter would later go into the army and when he got out he went to work for a really good trainer in the Arlington park area named "Tennessee" Wright. In 1960 he won the Jersey Derby with a horse named Crimson Satin. In those days it was like winning the Belmont. Cyril and I were separated then. Chris’s farther and I went to Garden State park to see the race (he didn't know I knew potter) and I went over in the clubhouse to see Helen Borek (her husband was a jockey Agent and I always found them a place to rent while they were here). Anyway, Potter had just come out of the paddock and spotted me and came over. He said he loved his horse and to be sure and bet on it. I went back to the grandstand and casually mentioned to Bud that I liked this horse. I didn't dare tell him I knew Potter that well. He put a small bet on it. It was a long race. I think it was a mile and a 1/16th and Crimson Satin was WAY in the rear. At the far turn he stared to move up, but I still didn't think he had a shot, but at the top of the stretch he came FLYING and won it. Bud had a near stroke when I later told him Potter told me to bet on him. He said he would have put $500.00 on it had he known. He was furious with me. He is now retired but he has a son Gorden Potter Jr. who trains. He married while he was in the army and had 4 kids I think, but divorced his wife long before the Derby. I guess in the past 10 years he and his son reunited. His second wife died a few years ago and he retired from racing (I'm sure he still helps his son with his horses and owns a couple of his own). The biggest bet I ever made started out as a $2.00 place parlay with Cy Shillings who was a teller in the clubhouse. We each picked a horse every other race. In those days there were only eight races a day. The only gimmick was the Daily Double. No exactas or trifectas, or pick threes etc. Going into the 7th race we had $150 to bet with and we were between two horses. One was Judge M and the other was Joeyboy. It was my turn to pick the horse. I forget which one I picked, but I know it was trained by TJ Barry. He was a VERY good trainer. Both horses were 9/2. At the top of the stretch they were neck to neck when my horse broke his leg and fell and was later destroyed. The other horse won. The worst of it was the horse we had picked for the final raced went off at 42-1 and won easily. That was the biggest disappointment I can remember... other than the 24-1 horse I bet on at AC one day who was ahead 21 lengths at the top of the stretch and JUMPED OVER THE HEDGE AND DROWNED IN THE POND. Her name was NAUTICAL GAL !!!! I would have had the exacta with her winning. Tommy Root rode her. He was later killed (I could have done it myself that day). Another disappointment was the day I gave my son $20.00 to bet on a horse Danny had trained while Chris was valeting. I NEVER BET $20.00 ON ANYTHING, but I just had a hunch that day. It won and paid $22.00! I can remember coming down to collect my money and all of his valet friends where there and he told me he HADN'T played it. He didn’t know how close he came that to being run over by my car! Then there was the day I went to the track and with $2.00 just betting to win and came home with EIGHT winners and $240.00. The most I ever won in one day was when I hit a $4500 tri (for a dollar). I came out and tipped Chris $100.00 and all the other valets knocked themselves out to get my car after that. Remember? I had lots of great times at the over the years. Today I go and see ghosts of the pass. I used to know EVERYONE and now I know NOBODY. But I still find it thrilling even though it's very tiring anymore. I STILL look forward to going each year and I cry when I stand there as they start with the STAR BANGLED BANNER, and cry again when it ends with OLD LANG SIGN, or the SUMMER WIND by Frank Sinatra. But it will NEVER have its GLORY days again. EVER since the State took over in 1993 it has gone STEADINGLY DOWN. It's not clean anymore or flowery, or classy. People go looking like slobs. The class of people has gone down the tubes. The services are lousy, the tellers are getting to be non-existent (they are trying to force us to use the self betting machines, and I will never do that). The food used to be great. Sandwiches were all deli-like and worth the price. I used to go to a lot of the free lunches for various organizations. THEY WERE WONDERFUL. HUGE tables of anything you could possibly dream of. Today most of them are garbage compared to the 40's, 50’s and 60's. Absolutely NO COMPARISON. BUT I still look forward to that sound of the bugler and than thrill of the gates opening and THEIR OFF!!!! I just hope I'll be around to see and hear it once again this year. I'm just a horse degenerate! ... NEXT! |
| T h e L o v e l y L o i s S t o r y A Biography of Lois Eleanor White |
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