Maybe It Never Rains in California, but it Sure Does in Saratoga!

Well, I pulled off the whirlwind trip to Saratoga and made the most of it. I met up with Juliet Harrison as planned, and we headed right to the track (once we remembered how to get there!). In typical Saratoga fashion it was hot, and the clouds started to roll in as the afternoon went on. It was a "Breeders' Cup Win and You're In" day, so four nice stake races were scheduled. Right before the Go For Wand, the rain hit. Like die-hards, we stood by the rail and waited to watch the race. Taking pictures at this point was kind of difficult because while we were willing to get wet, we weren't willing to let our cameras get soaked! Thanks to the program which I'd earlier been grumbling about (the tops of the pages weren't cut...and most of it is printed on newsprint, so my hands were black) I had a shield for my camera, even if I'd left my rain coat in the truck!

Ginger Punch put in a huge performance to win the Go For Wand - I was really impressed. After spending most of the race locked in on the rail she broke out and emerged victorious. In the post parade she'd looked clearly disgusted by the rain, so I'd thought maybe it wasn't going to be her day...but a bit of rain and race-riding wasn't going to stop this girl! The rain did stop us after that race, admittedly - we didn't stick around to see Commentator win the Whitney, unfortunately!

A visit to Saratoga isn't complete without seeing some galleries and a stop at Mrs. London's for the to-die-for pastries. Sunday we hit the races again and upheld our now-tradition of some Ben&Jerry's (despite the exhorbitant cost of it at the concession stands!), took some more pics, watched some more great racing and yes, got rained on again.

Till next year! :)