Brad Family Christmas 2017

Christmas 2017

Ollie's First Big Road Trip

Breeders' Cup 2017 - Day 4

Today was a very interesting day.  With the first race being set for 10:10 am and knowing there would be a capacity crowd we left the resort about 8:30 am.  We had no traffic and pulled right into our assigned parking lot.  About a six minute walk and we were through the gates and inside.  I shot a quick intro video and we had our photo taken in the paddock to mark the occasion.  

And while you may or may not believe this, I completely enjoyed the day despite not cashing any tickets.  I had said to Kim before I left that for big racing events like this, sure I'd like to have a lot of winners and make some money, but this is a "Retirement Adventure" like going on a cruise, etc.  And we have NEVER had a cruise where as we left the ship on the final day they gave us cash back to thank us for enjoying the trip.  So ANY money I cashed was a bonus.  I'd collected some money yesterday so I was already content.  But it wasn't so much the not winning today as it was the unbelievable results that were produced.  It's not uncommon to have one, maybe two longshots come in over the course of a day where you look at the winner afterwards and say "go figure."  But today, seven of the nine races were won by non-favorites......

The weather was fabulous and it will be a great story in the future to say I was there on "longshot Saturday" of Breeders' Cup 2017.  It was an interesting way to wrap up the racing part of the trip.  We were amazed that after the final race we walked out of the facility and through the gates it was understandably shoulder to shoulder.  But when we hit the first parking lot the crowd thinned noticeably.  And when we reached our car there was no one around.  We drove out of the lot, waited briefly for one traffic light and were on the road back to the Cape Rey Resort, wow.  We had decided we would eat at the on-site restaurant and we were immediately seated.  I ordered a cup of clam chowder and beer-battered fish & chips.  When it came and I took the first bite it was unlike any fish I'd ever had.  I took a second bite and then I pulled the next piece of "fish" apart and showed it to Keith.  I had chicken tenders!  I enjoyed them, but it wasn't fish.  We laughed when we explained it to the waiter and said we didn't mind, but he took it off the bill anyway.  I went to get my boarding passes before we headed upstairs....and that's also an interesting story.  Yesterday at the races I got a text from United Airlines that they were anticipating severe thunderstorms in Chicago, where my connection was and that flights were most likely to be canceled.  So I had my choice of three alternatives....leave TONIGHT at 10:45 pm with a four hour wait in Chicago for a morning flight; leave at noon or at one pm and fly through Houston tomorrow and arrive home about 10:15 pm (instead of the original 6:30 pm arrival).  The noon option was the best choice.  The good news is that I got to enjoy one last morning on the balcony and that the trip time was reduced by about 1 1/2 hours.  The bad news was the later arrival, especially for Kim having to pick me up and go to work on Monday.  But particularly because Keith and I had coordinated our flights so we both left at 6:30 am originally.  Now he had to get an Uber to the airport early leaving me at the resort.  If that's the worst of the travel "issues" then consider me very fortunate!  Here are pics from Saturday:

Breeders' Cup 2017 - Day 3

Breeders' Cup Friday - November 3

"I'll Tell You Who WON'T WIN!"

With that prophetic statement by Keith, who had a fabulous day, my day turned around nicely!  It all started very early in the morning.  I was awakened at 4:30 am by three consecutive buzzes from my phone because my bank was alerting me to "suspicious" charges.  I dealt with the problem and as I tried to relax I looked at Twitter and discovered one of my most favorite former students, WPLG reporter and anchor Erica Rakow was on the morning news desk on the local ABC station.  I texted her that I was in San Diego for the Breeders' Cup and while on the air she texted me back and wished me luck....pretty cool!  

After breakfast Keith and I headed out to Del Mar around 9 am.  We pulled right into the parking lot, thanks to our pre-paid parking pass and walked to the track.  We had our photo taken together in front of the Breeders' Cup statute - as is tradition.......  

We walked around and checked out the facility and then checked out the merchandise.  I was disappointed none of the polo shirts had the "Del Mar Breeders' Cup" logo, just the generic BC logo.  

So I settled for a hat.  One of the more interesting stories of the day came before the third race as I was standing at the end of the grandstand on the fifth level and I was approached by a Breeders' Cup representative.  She asked me if I'd like a lapel pin and in exchange would I answer a series of survey questions about our visit to the San Diego area.  She was very pleasant and talkative and we chatted for about fifteen minutes.  

The first Breeders' Cup race was the Grade 1 Juvenile Fillies Turf and I liked unbeaten Rushing Fall.  She swept to the front as the bulky field turned for home and she drew off!  I cashed for $40!  Whoooo hooooo!  

The second Breeders' Cup win came in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf when the European invader, Mendelssohn drew off to victory.  

Here are the "best" of the sixty plus shots I took today.....