Breeders' Cup 2013

Was hoping I'd get this up sooner, but getting all my pictures downloaded, cropped, or whatever and getting the videos to post (what a pain!) took longer than expected. At any rate...Here's the post about the BC. Link to my photos and videos at the very end. :)

So...it was an AMAZING day of races! It's definitely one of those experiences you need to have more than once to really get into the groove and to appreciate it more. I think I was a little overwhelmed the first time. Not to say I didn't have fun my first time, I did (a lot), but it's crazy too! 

This year, Tori and I decided to dress up and get seats. We did the no-seat thing last year, but it's a big race day and one of those days you can dress up and not have people looking at you funny. :) At any rate, I spent a great deal of time coming up with my hat and figuring out the details. I think we both turned out smashing! The thing about the races, especially a big day like the BC is you'll have people there in shorts and a t-shirt, people like me in a sundress and a hat, and others in a full beaded cocktail dress. That's basically the group of us who walked up to the gate. It was rather funny. Guys can be in shorts, slacks, or full suits. Or, as the case I saw once, a guy in shorts and no shirt. LoL The infield at the Kentucky Derby or any of the Triple Crown (TC) races has a reputation for debauchery. People bring coolers in, get drunk, etc, etc. The stands are for those that are a little more "civilized." The BC is different in that the infield hasn't gotten to that level. The infield is definitely for those who are more laid back (I think we were some of the only people in the infield who were even dressed up), but it's more "family" feeling than debauchery (to be fair, the debauchery at the Kentucky Derby is what the TV shows a lot rather than what I know to be true). A lot of families with their kids were out in the infield. 

Anyway, to start the day, Tori and I went to San Gabriel to a nail supply store. It sells things at (mostly) wholesale prices so you save a ton of polishes! I'd say they are around half-price of retail (not always, OPI, is only about 30% off), which is pretty good! It's hard not to go nuts...Especially since they're the huge displays and carry the collections for the year. I do always put back some, but I still always leave with a lot. I did walk out with 4 top coats this year, but they're half price and it's my main top coat now! Plus, I wasn't sure when I'd be back. LoL Anyway, after the polish place (I think we were in there for a little more than an hour...), we went to Santa Anita, which is about a half hour away from where we were at. 

The major difference this year for entering the park was metal detectors! They didn't have those last year and it completely flustered me because I wasn't paying attention. LoL I got a bin shoved in my face to put my stuff in it and it was confusing for a second. So then I'm about to walk through and the guy goes, "I need you to open your purse." I had so much stuff in it, though, I had to empty some of it out, but without thinking, I walked through the metal detector with stuff in my hand! Set it off. Figures. I put it all down and walked through again and I set it off again! It was funny because the attendant dude looks at me and goes, "Do you have any metal on you anywhere?" And I know he's not trying to be rude, but he looks me up and down critically as he says it and then I realize he's thinking (unless it's under my skirt), there is no way I'm hiding anything from the waist up nor do I have any other metal on me. LoL So I'm processing that and say that I didn't have anything else on me and the female attendant says, "The hat. The hats have been setting it off" Light bulb went off and then I remembered my hat has a wire in it. (Female attendant had to explain that to the dude.) I took it off and went through fine. Once through, you get our ticket scanned, walk through the turnstile thing, and you're in! I got my lanyard for my ticket and my free program. I didn't buy a Daily Racing Form this year. I never really use it and it's just another thing to carry. I mostly buy it because I *can* buy it. LoL Only certain places carry it (mostly simulcasts and tracks).

The best thing about walking through the main gates of Santa Anita, though, is you IMMEDIATELY see the Zenyatta statue in front of the fountain! We took some photos in front, of course. I can't pass up an opportunity for a picture with Queen Z. :) 

This year, they moved things around. I think they definitely learned from last year. Last year, by the main entrance they had the Tastes of LA, which are basically booths of food that are either the "official" BC stuff (like the cupcake and drink) or it's restaurant foods that are well-known in the area. this year, they moved that all to the OTHER side of the paddock/gardens. So it was less crowded on that end. I like how they moved the horse rescues to be more prominent this year, whereas last year they were hidden back a little. 

Finding our seats was semi-easy. I knew, from the map, which section we were seated and we got to walk over the bridge and get eye-balled by an old lady to make sure we had the proper ticket to enter into the section. We figured it out, but we couldn't figure out what the sections were! We were in section F and we couldn't see any labeling other than seat and row. We finally, at the end sections, found on the back wall it said "G" "H" and maybe "I" so we figured F had to be the section next to "G" and found our seats. It was a total fluke we were in the Clubhouse Apron instead of Clubhouse Loge. We originally wanted the Loge, which is on a 2nd level, has "padded" individual seats, and a little bar-like table-bench in front to put drinks and papers. They're about $40 more than the Apron and it's nice to be higher up. Unfortunately, I dropped the ball and bought our tickets a few days after they went up (I'm signed up for the pre-sales before general public) and they sold out! In horse racing, it kind of goes you want seats higher up and as close to the finish line as possible. Higher up allows you a better view of the entire racetrack and, of course, the finish line is where the real excitement happens. Between those two, which you want more is up to you. We ended up in the 6th row on the end. The seats closest to the finish line were taken and the ones that were open were further back. The seats we got were fairly close to the track, but were also end of the aisle seats so we could get up and down easier. Turns out, they were really good seats! I liked being closer to the track and we weren't that far from the finish line. I also forgot about the tunnel leading to the track and everything else (photographers, news tents, etc), so being further away from the finish meant we could see better in that direction. Also, being in the 6th row meant we were close, but we were also higher than the bottom rows. So, they were excellent seats! If we go next year, I think that's around where we'll sit again. 

 

Photo of the finish of the Filly & Mare Sprint from my seat

I do think my favorite thing about the seats was the cheering. Because we were at the first turn (almost), the horses run around the track and go for about another quarter of a mile while the jockeys try to get them to stop running. When they turn around to go back, they first go by the Clubhouse, which is where we were. When the winner comes back, everyone starts cheering! It happened for every winner. Being in the grandstand, you don't get to do that because they go to the winner's circle, which is near the finish line. So that was fun. The more favorite the winner was, the louder the cheering, but it never failed that there was some cheering. It was a fun aspect of racing I missed out on last year not having a seat, especially not one at the Clubhouse.

I did manage to watch a few races from my seat, which proved to be nice. I wasn't sure how much I'd actually sit in it, but I actually sat in it for maybe a few hours (or less). If I wasn't sitting at it (or, more likely, standing at it), then we were walking around. We went into the infield to get some footage of the horses coming running along the back and saw where they set up the stage for the singers. We also looked at the food trucks. They also had things to do for kids. It was way more active in the infield this year than last year. We got lunch at a crepe food truck and sat on a bench eating while a race was finishing. I also walked around the paddock and we went to the other end of the infield I had never been to. Turns out, the other side away from the stage had a huge picnic table area and another fountain. Never noticed it before! It was less "busy" on that end, which is where we ended up hanging out for a time. The paddock was pretty crazy. It's always crazy because in horse racing it's a big deal to watch a horse get saddled, go to the paddock, get the jockey up, and then walk to the track. It's a big movement. I took photos of the craziness and then briefly saw the other side where the Taste of LA was placed. It was like a mini festival over there. They had some guy singing (a lot) and the food stands. There is also a shaded bench area over there. It's truly amazing, when you think about it, how many different vendors were there! The track is HUGE! In ways, I just like walking around because it's bustling. 

I did talk to a few people this time. Random people who are asking your opinions about the track or whatnot. A lot of people were pretty drunk by the end too, which was kind of amusing at times. This time, instead of seeing a person placing bets on an iPad, I heard a guy in his seat making phone bets. Going to the window to place a bet is part of the fun, but if you're a "hardcore" or seasoned gambler, you basically do it over the phone or Internet. Most times, gambling at big events means you get a ticket you can keep for a souvenir. I know when Zenyatta was racing to win her 3rd BC race and 2nd Classic (not to mention make history by being 20-20), the handle (or the amount gambled) was really high that year. Attendance was high too. A lot of that handle was gambling on Zenyatta winning. If she won, you bet people were going to keep those tickets as a souvenir of history or ebay them off. In fact, a lot of them showed up on ebay afterwards (even though she lost). Anyway, it's kind of interesting to see how everyone bets. It's also funny how people share information. 

 Mizdirection won the Turf Sprint for the 2nd year in a row

The races were especially interesting this year. I'm not sure how much it says about the races or the track, but 9 winners from last year returned to this year and 5 of them repeated their win. FIVE. It's usually a rarity for horses to repeat, but this year it was practically a common occurrence! Not to say the horses weren't challenged, but it was still pretty amazing. There was one fatality, which I somehow completely missed. I must say, it's somehow hard for me to pay attention to the loud speaker when I'm there. LoL It's like I tune it out and probably because it always seems like they're saying something. And, let's face it, with almost 60,000 people there this year (better attendance than last year), you've got to tune out some sounds or it'll drive you nuts! 

At any rate, there was one fatality and the jockey was injured and had to have his spleen removed and missed the rest of his mounts. Ironically, his horse won the Classic later that day. So there was a jockey shuffle for the rest of his mounts. The race with the fatality was also a crazy race because the horse that finished first interfered with the 2nd place horse coming down the lane. The first place horse bumped into the 2nd place horse. It's not an automatic disqualification in horse racing when a horse bumps. The stewards (there are 3 or 5, I can't remember) will review the replay of the race from a head-on view and a side view to see if it's DQ worthy or not. It was a pretty controversial bump because the horse DID bump into the other, but their real concern is to decide whether that interference changed the result of the finish. Horses have been DQ'd all the way down to last before. The stewards took a LONG time to come to a decision, but finally decided by majority that the horse who finished first should be DQ'd to 2nd place (places reversed). I could have gone either way as a viewer, but my first thought was it should be changed. A bump like that could have thrown the horse out of its momentum and affected it's late charge. Inquiries can be made for all sorts of reasons, as long as the jockey or trainer felt there was a reason for an inquiry into the race. They always happen right after the race too. So you'll always hear the "hold all tickets."

Another race that was crazy was the first place horse had no doubts it won, but there was a photo finish for 2nd and 3rd. The stewards took so long in saying who won that everyone suspected it had to be a dead heat (a tie). Dead heats in horse racing are pretty rare. I mean, what are the odds two (or more) horses would hit the wire all at the same time? Horse racing still does it by a photo and not seconds. Who ever got his/her nose to touch the wire first wins (no tongues like Cars!). The stewards took so long I knew it had to be a dead heat and, sure enough, it was! The photo is definitely of the two getting there at the same time. In a dead heat, the finishers who tie share the money for the two places (in this case, 2nd and 3rd place money would be split amongst the two of them). There has been 1 dead heat for 1st and 2nd place in BC history (in 2003 with Johar and High Chaparral in the Turf). 2nd and 3rd place dead heating isn't as "big" as a 1st or 2nd. 

There was also a lot of photo finishes (like the Classic). A lot of those were much quicker as they didn't result in dead heats, but it still meant there were several races that were rather close to who won. It's always more exciting when a group of horses comes to the finish line all close to each other because there's a chance a different horse could win or it's just a battle that's fun to see, but there's also something kind of neat watching a horse trounce a field. It's not as exciting, but it's neat to see a dominant performance.

Two things they did this year was have Richie Sambora (of Bon Jovi) play on his guitar the call to post and have Kristen Chenoweth sing "The Best is Yet to Come." It was a fluke I even saw Sambora. I wanted a video of the buglers so I went over to where they would be. I'm standing there and this other dude is there! Then he plays his guitar and he's finished. It was funny. It was so short someone says something and he holds his hands out in a "sorry" motion, shrugs, and says, "That's it." LoL We all thought he was going to do something else! Turns out, he was really there just to do the call to post. I went back to my seat and went back when the buglers came out for the Classic. After they were finished, Kristen Chenoweth sang. I didn't know she was the one who was going to sing it this year so I stood there to film it. She was rather good and I liked her more than Tony Bennett who sang it last year. I must admit, it's kind of amusing when the BC does little add-ons like that because most people at the track really could care less about that stuff. There's so much else going on or people are making bets. In actuality, things like those add-ons are more for the TV audience, IMO. Maybe I'm wrong for the majority, but it's what I feel like happens. Even at the track, most people will hear it from their seats or where ever they're standing/sitting or will watch it from a jumbo screen rather than watching it in person. Not enough space to see it in person!

My one complaint, as it for any track, is the smoking. There are no smoking rules at the track. Probably because you're outside and maybe part of history, but it's kind of annoying. I only had one instance where I was tempted to say something because I was standing behind them. Other than that, it really wasn't too big of a deal. 

I am amazed, though, my feet held up. LoL I, smartly, put in some cheap shoe inserts to help my heel since I've got heal spurs and they did pretty well! I couldn't walk well later on after sitting in the car, but that was to be expected. My outfit, in general, worked out well. It was comfy enough to go the entire day. It was a LONG day. Got up at 6:45am and finally went to bed around 11pm. I was in the dress from around 8:15am to around 10pm. It was a FUN day, though!

Favorite picture of Tori and I

With that...Maybe will go again next year. Santa Anita will host for the 3rd year in a row next year. I would be highly surprised if it's there for a 4th year, though. It should go back to Churchill and will probably be an even bigger crowd there! I had a TON of fun, though. Will definitely consider going again next year and have some time to decide till tickets go on sale.

Link: Breeders' Cup 2013 Photos/Videos

Time for photos! Above is a link for all my photos and a few videos. This, obviously, are not all the videos or even photos I took, but the best or most "important" ones. I tried to put everything chronically (even the videos). I guess that's a little bit of OCD coming in because I want them in order even if there are some photos that don't need an order. LoL All the photos have descriptions too.