Rudy was the usher in charge of the door nearest our box... he was a sweetheart and treated us like royalty and was very impressed with Ansel. Rudy was a former jockey too.
Shaq with the "little people" :-), He was there giving some sort of presentation... I couldn't quite hear what they were saying on the PA system. Earlier in the day he was sporting Red w/white diamond silks... that was a sight. I didn't get my camera dug out and turned on in time to catch that picture, darn.
The first clue that race 11 was coming up, was when the NYPD showed up enmass. There must have been over 100 NYPD officers on foot as well as several on horseback. We were told they were very concerned that PETA was going to try and sabotage the race.
Big Brown entered the track to a deafening standing ovation... guess this was another example of "it ain't over until it's over" The energy in the whole Park was beyond words, the noise was deafening, the anticipation of witnessing a Triple Crown Victory in just a few moments had the entire place revved beyond imagination. We couldn't hear ourselves think... the bell, "they're off !!!!!" the noise, the energy, the race announcer's voice booming... and suddenly there were gasps, and almost silence as 150,000 plus fans looked in disbelief as Big Brown was pulled up and in last place...
One of the things that I remember thinking was it all happened so fast... and it was over in the blink of a couple of eyes. Seemed one second they were loading the gate... and the next they were around the track coming into the finish... I think 99% of every one there was in shock... total disbelief that Big Brown was a big dud...The 2008 Winner of the Belmont Stakes: The race was won by Da'Tara, who led the race from wire to wire. The little bay horse had odds of 38-1. Just imagine the few believers in Da'Tara that bet on him to win...
watching the replay...
I was quietly grinning when the race was over and when I figured out "this" horse had won with the long shot odds... as I had followed the advice of my friends Cindi and Laurie and had bet $5.00 on all 9 horses to win so I'd have a souvenir ticket of the winner. I didn't say anything to anyone... then Amber said something like too bad we didn't bet on this one, look at the odds, and I quietly said, well I did... WHAT ! you did, really ?? !! $5.00 bucks??? you probably got $800-1000 dollars... I was feeling pretty smug as I went to the window to cash in my ticket... However my big head and smug attitude was short lived... When I presented my ticket, the lady stuck it in a computer and then handed me $26.00 cash... and I stood there waiting for more... and she was confused and I was confused... I said I thought it should be more... she showed me why it wasn't... and then I saw it... CRAP !!! when I placed the bet, the teller who took my money, put it on race number 10 instead of race number 11... and there was absolutely nothing that could be done... I did talk to the gal who did it, and she felt bad and remembered and admitted it was her mistake... but none the less there still was nothing that could be done... signs every where warning you to check your ticket before leaving the booth... that little lesson learned was more disappointing than Big Brown not winning. Oh Well... I'll be wiser next time.
The one thing I forgot to do that I intended to, was to buy a Mint Juleps. Oh well, I did buy Ansel a commemorative set of four glasses. One is for the Derby, Preakness, Belmont and Triple Crown each respectfully listing the winners of each for each year. Some of you reading may have seen the Derby glass that at the house that Ansel has from the 80’s. He jokingly refers to that glass as his computer… when he is trying to recall what horse won what Derby, he’ll say just a second I’ll go look that up… and he’s going to look at his old Derby glass. So now he’ll have a current full set.
Ansel is still in awe that he attended the Belmont Stakes... he said over and over again... he thought maybe he was dreaming... He thanked me many times for making it happen for him. We really did have a fantastic time. It was also lots of fun to have Gibb and Amber along... I think especially Ansel appreciated having Gibb there to chat ponies with. It was definitely a fairybook adventure, I'm so thankful we have stepped out on faith and let God bless us. I shall never forget the kindness of Belmont Park in 2008.
