It can begin at the Fasig-Tipton Sales in Saratoga or through one of several auctions at Keeneland, a 2-year-old in training sale, entry into syndicate ownership or with a newborn foal.

Getting to the winner’s circle is a long process and putting the right “bottom” in a young horse takes time. Dreams swell and shrink according to the journey but like life you have to appreciate each day.

A practiced eye can read the dreams above a trainer’s head the first time one breezes well or pops out of the gate full of run. Veterans may keep a poker face, but when they step from the rail walking high in the heel, the secret is out.

A new kind of hope emerges for those moving into the breeding shed and a million different schools of thought become employed in the process.

Breeding farms from around the world compete to syndicate potential stallions. According to most racing fans, this occurs too early; it has become common practice to retire classic winners at the end of their 3-year-old season.

A well-bred graded stakes winning filly or mare will most generally be accepted by the stallion manager for the most prestigious sires, but exceptions can be found for varying reasons.

Some decline to breed maiden mares for their behavior in the breeding shed cannot be predicted and some of the older or otherwise compromised stallions lack the patience for their naivety.

Many times, highly successful stallions are fully booked and something akin to a chess game begins to get a mare covered by a preferred stallion.

A shareholder may choose to sell his breeding right to the owner of a better mare in hopes of enhancing the stallion’s value. Often an opportunity for foal-sharing arises as was the case with Secretariat, a product of a foal-sharing arrangement between Meadow Stud and breeder-owner Ogden Phipps.

At the 1969 Saratoga meet, Phipps tossed a coin to determine which party would own the yet unborn foal of Somethingroyal and Bold Ruler. How many times do you suppose Phipps wished for a different outcome on that coin toss?

Handicapping begins with decisions made at this ‘first step’ in making a racehorse. Just like in racing, the best choice on paper does not insure the best result and here lies another reason the sport is so charged with emotion. When finally in the spring, a new crop of foals is born, a whole new set of dreams is born with them.

There is an old saying often heard on backsides of racetracks; “No one commits suicide if they have an unraced 2-year-old in the barn.” I think every horseman is propelled by hope. Most participants in this game come equipped with brave souls, strong hearts and unyielding optimism. How else could they compete in a game which requires such resiliency and demands so much “luck?”

Many businesses in Saratoga benefit from the dreams and expectations of horsemen. The restaurateurs are often hosts to celebratory winners. Winning owners, trainers or fans step into Lustyk’s or Frankie Flores art galleries, delighted to find artistic representation of some favored horse.

Lyrical Ballad Bookstore has long furnished the libraries of students of the racing game. Dennis De Jonghe designs jewelry from inspirations founded within this industry and many a happy wife or girlfriend has thrillingly been the recipient of these finely made pieces.

A certain number of racing families have long kept summer places in Saratoga, but in recent years every real estate company in the area has found domiciles for the growing number of people who wish to have not just a home for the summer but their own place to retreat to at other times of the year too.

The Oklahoma was again the training grounds of choice for Nick Zito to prepare his fifth Champagne Stakes winner. War Pass goes into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with a perfect 3-for-3 record.

Trainers are not immune to adopting tactics that work and in the future more may opt to train their star runners in Saratoga after the race meet ends.

Indian Blessing, a Bob Baffert-trained daughter of popular sire Indian Charlie catapulted her Saratoga maiden win into a set-up for victory in Belmont’s Grade 1 Frizette Stakes and earned a trip to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Saratoga remains a big part of every horseman’s dream.  This community is blessed to have the best racing in the world right off Union Avenue.

Best of Racing Luck-

Marilyn Lane