Horse Racing Venues - III

If not an entire postcard, the above is at least a half a postcard of Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, and among the most famous horse racing tracks in the US, if not the entire horse racing world.  It is also known for being the first race course to host a Rolling Stones concert in 2006.

This short series on race tracks led me to wonder about horse racing elsewhere in the world.  Turns out thoroughbred breeding started in England, and expanded to France, the US, Argentina, and much later, Japan.   There are race tracks (frequently called "hippodromos" in non-English speaking countries) in at least 44 countries.  (For a complete list, see here.)  Given the specialist postcard collections I've stumbled across, I don't doubt that somewhere there is a deltiologist specializing in race courses worldwide.

P.S.  It's Postcard Friendship Friday.  The big question is, how did we get to another Friday so fast?

Horse Racing Venues, II

According to the back of this postcard, Juarez Race Track is "the most beautiful track in North America...(and) boasts an annual horse racing season, year-round greyhound racing, and a public golf course in the infield."  However, this postcard is from 1968 (the back references that Juarez-El Paso is the gateway to the Mexico City 1968 Olympics.  It's not clear, from a quick search, that this race track still exists.  I did find a reference to grey hound racing starting up again in 2005, but there was also a news report of a fire at the track in 2009.  It is still listed on the "Casino City" website.

Whether it's open or not, I'm not inclined to visit Juarez and its racetrack in the near future.  According to the Wiki, Juarez is situated on "the Rio Grande across from El Paso, Texas. El Paso and Ciudad Juárez comprise one of the largest bi-national metropolitan areas in the world with a combined population of 2.4 million people. In fact, Ciudad Juárez is one of the fastest growing cities in the world in spite of the fact that it is 'the most violent zone in the world outside of declared war zones.'"  In fact, when a Google search is run on Juarez, the first thing that comes up is a reference to the 22 murders committed last week, and the five committed on Wednesday.  Yikes.  Postcards of Juarez have appeared in this blog before (here), also reflecting a more innocent, less violent past.

Horse Racing Venues - A Short Series

A shout out to my client, Michelle, who recently returned from a visit to her family, and brought me back a couple of postcards, including one of the Saratoga Race Course.  It inspired me to indulge in a "race track" series, although it might be a pretty short series.

Saratoga is the oldest sporting venue in the USA, opening in its current location in 1864.  Its most well-known race is the Travers Stakes which is the oldest thoroughbred race in the country.  Saratoga's nicknames provide a glimpse into its history:  "The Spa" and "The Graveyard of Favorites".  The Spa refers to the nearby hot springs.  There's actually a mineral springs located in the picnic grounds which produces potable water.  "The Graveyard of Favorites" is a reminder of significant  upsets that occurred here: "Man o' War suffered his only defeat in 21 starts while racing at Saratoga; Secretariat was defeated ... by Onion after winning the Triple Crown; and Gallant Fox was beaten by 100-1 longshot Jim Dandy in the 1930 Travers Stakes."

Note:  I don't think I have a postcard from Churchill Downs (Kentucky Derby) in my collection - I  have to check.  However, I have already posted one with the recipe for a Mint Julep, the official drink of the Kentucky Derby, here.