POSTCARD FROM SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK…
By Astrologer, Carole Hemingway
As I sit in comfort in my cozy condo in Freeport, Maine where the view outside my kitchen window looks out to the Titan Store of L.L. Bean, I am sipping hot lemon lavender mint herb tea with honey, watching our third snowstorm of January, 2011 and listening to soft music from “Soundscapes” TV cable that takes me back to the last Sunday in August, 2010. That day I climbed into a shiny red Chevy Cobalt car rental and disappeared into the fog bound Maine Turnpike, headed for a week of horse racing at Saratoga Springs, New York. I took the scenic route over the mountains.
The air felt dangerous in an exciting way as heavy rain from New
Hampshire on challenged this solo driver for seven hours. I was a veteran
driver though, having crossed the country by myself from Arizona to Maine
in October, 1994 so figured this would be a piece of cake. However, the
closer I got, the harder it rained. In the summer, the Gulf Stream brings hot,
moist, humid air to the area. Extra tropical storms often affect their weather
and sometimes back door cold fronts move in from the north and bring in
severe thunderstorms…this one hung around for a long time and came down
in torrential sheets. Being in unfamiliar territory, I got briefly lost, twice, in
Vermont, both times, a highway mix up, then the round-about in Brattleboro
when I spied a “99 Restaurant” and decided to have lunch. The hostess put
me back on the road, headed toward Bennington and my destiny was not far
beyond that. It was about a forty minute drive from Brattleboro to
Bennington. The scenery, the green mountains, it was all breath taking even
in the pouring rain. I was going on an adventure at the age of sixty-nine, and
that made me smile.
By the time I arrived in the town of Bennington, I used a half a tank of
gas. I pulled into a gas station and filled the gas tank for twenty bucks, not
bad for what turned out to be a 300-mile journey. A nice man popped out of
his Toyota, about my age, with delicious gray hair, smiled and offered to fill
my car up with gas. He was just back from taking golf lessons, though I
don‟t know where he was that was dry enough to do that, but he did give me
“great” short cut directions to Saratoga and told me I picked a great route,
even in the rain. Forty minutes went by quickly and before I knew it I pulled
into the Hilton Garden Inn driveway on Broadway in Saratoga Springs. I
love their six-thousand dollar mattresses and afternoon fresh-baked
chocolate cookies. The staff is always the best and I was twenty five
minutes walking distance to town and the race track. My vacation was
looking promising. Once in my room I ordered something simple and hot from the menu, took a hot shower and once my head hit the pillow, I was
literally out like a light. I slept like a hibernating bear, something like ten or
twelve hours. The hot shower helped a lot to ease the kinks in my neck and
lower back. One thing you can depend on about New Yorkers is they insist
on hot, steamy water in their hotel bathrooms. I could feel the energy of
Saratoga Springs rock me to sleep…good energy up here.
Another hot shower on Monday morning, a very hearty breakfast, heart
pills and lots of decaf coffee and I was ready for my walk into town. The
Victorian charm of Saratoga Springs embraced me. I fell in love with
Lillian‟s Restaurant, which became my daily ritual for early lunch before
post time. They serve a ten dollar lunch that is equivalent to dinner. Nice,
comfortable town. Picked up a batch of post cards, wrote them out, stamped
and mailed them and my obligations were complete.
Tuesdays is a non-racing day but I had a morning appointment at the
New York Division of Old Friends Farm. Jo Ann Pepper and her
husband run the place and are kind, lovely gentle people. You can see in
their eyes the love they have for these horses which are rescued
thoroughbreds who are brought here (their stories could fill several books)
so they may be safe and retire with dignity and be secure in their old age.
Don‟t be stingy with your donations; it‟s for a very worthy cause. I met a lot
of retired horses, like Thunder Rumble, Will’s Way and everyone‟s
favorite, Zippy Chippy who entered 100 races and lost them all, but he is
lovable. The horses are great, the tour is heart warming. The volunteers and
Jo Ann tell you how the horses arrived at their farm, and some stories bring
tears to your eyes. I can‟t wait to go back during the last week in August,
2011. When you go be sure to bring apples, carrots and your camera!
Feeling the magical tickle of whiskers against my neck, the stimulation of
warm breath across my neck, and a healing rub against my cheek beats a
double heart bypass any day of the week. A horse‟s nose on your shoulder
is better than any medicine on earth. At least that‟s the way it was for me.
Wednesday, August 25, you could call the highlight of my trip. The Hall
of Fame Museum offers a Backstretch tour and that‟s when I first laid eyes
on the beautiful Rachel Alexandra, the ten million dollar horse of the year.
I was captured by her sheer size and beauty and yes, I took many pictures of
her. She‟s a half a ton of sunshine!
Rachel Alexandra was born on January 29, 2006…her Sun is in 8-degrees
Aquarius, a fixed, stubborn sign, ruled by the quirky unpredictable planet,
Uranus.
Aquarius is an air sign and masculine. Rachel is not dependent upon her
environment for security. I have always maintained after thirty-six years
as an astrologer that “Aquarians” are just visiting the planet Earth to observe
how we humans behave and go through their daily lives. Paul Newman was an Aquarian; those blue eyes would get a gal every time. Rachel is no
exception, her eyes told you the mood she was in, and I‟m sure when she
didn‟t want to go somewhere, she simply stood her ground. She thrives
living in a herd of mares. She worked tenaciously for her jockey, Scorpio
Sun, Calvin Borel. His riding skills had to be unusual and unorthodox
because in a word she is “unpredictable.” Life is never boring with this filly.
She has a mind of her own which will include the breeding shed, so I wish
her handlers the best of luck in mating her with Aries Sun, Curlin born
March 24, 2004, and has his Mars (rules sex) in 1-degree Gemini which
squares his Uranus in 4-degrees Pisces. With transit Neptune moving into
the sign of Pisces April 5 to August 5, 2011 in the first cycle, this will square
his Mars and it‟s likely he will be “shooting blanks.” Hopefully, he‟s not on
any medication, as that would complicate things even more.
As for Rachel, her Venus is in 16-degrees Capricorn, Retrograde and at
the moment as I write this, transit Saturn , the planet of limitations now in
Libra is in square to her Venus since December 7, 2010 until March 5, 2011
and returns for another cycle August 31, 2011 to September 25, 2011. All
this means getting “this big girl” into foal won‟t be a piece of cake. I wish
everyone involved the best of luck because they‟re going to need it.
For now---let‟s return to the backstretch activity and what goes on behind
the scenes that brings all these magnificent thoroughbreds to the starting
gate. After taking about what seemed like a zillion pictures of Rachel (who
could resist?) I saw trainer Nick Zito (born February 6, 1948, also an
Aquarian Sun, NYC, NY) under his favorite umbrella. He was inducted
into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2005. There‟s something sexy about his
raspy voice and New York accent that sends pleasant shivers through this
writer‟s old bones. He came up through the ranks as a hot walker, then a
groom, to an assistant trainer and finally trainer. Nick has had over 1,500
career wins, such as Birdstone. I never forgave him for beating Smarty
Jones at Belmont in 2004. He and his wife, Kim are to be respected and
appreciated as active spokespersons for the just treatment of horses, and both
give tirelessly both their time and money to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. Nick‟s Mercury (all communication) and Venus in Pisces gives
him a sweet, gentle and kind nature. He should have a great 2011 season;
especially in April and May (maybe another Derby win) as Transit Jupiter in
Aries will trine both his Saturn in Leo and Jupiter in Sagittarius during that
time.
The backstretch is a dizzying place of activity where six weeks of horse
racing starts from the end of July through Labor Day and finds mostly men
from a Hispanic culture managing to wrangle 1,800 horses in 91 barns.
You‟ve got to respect that. The work out track is where I first heard
sounds of thundering hooves coming around the bend which sent chills
down my spine no matter how many times I‟ve heard them. Did I forget to
mention our tour guide, Bill? He was delightful. He gave everyone
marvelous memories to take home. The man is very knowledgeable, funny
and always counting his sheep (us) and being constantly alert and aware of
horses coming and going to avoid traffic jams that could easily spook the
horses. The man is a certified “Teddy Bear.”
Thursday, August 26…three days before Rachel‟s big race, I went to
Saratoga Race Course for the first time. The three dollar admission bought
me a front row seat on the bench near the finish line. I met a funny, typical
New Yorker, Carol and her daughter, Nicky from Brooklyn. We saw Rachel
parading around the Paddock and of course I took more pictures. Lovely,
treasured moments.
Friday, August 27 was a rest day for me before the big week-end Travers
and Personal Ensign races. I also had to make some journal entries for this
article. Somewhere in those eight days at Saratoga Springs I ended up with
a serious sunburn. Found some aloe soothing gel and suntan crème and I
was good to go in preparation for the big week-end. Early lunches at
Lillian‟s became late afternoons, my spirits were high and browsing through
Border‟s Book Store with latte‟ in hand, I took in the food-focused Putnam‟s
Market where their to go sandwich menu will knock your socks off. Talk
about luscious!
The last week of summer was an unbounded scene of easy, mellow,
carefree time in my life, and I was looking forward to the adrenalin rush of
seeing Rachel race on August 29 before fall pulled me closer to the autumn
season, like a current I felt quickening with the approach of September and a
return of organization, the rigors of schedules and days about to be filled
with more writing duties and astrology charts. The sweetness of this time
will forever live in my soul.
The first early morning at Saratoga Race Course was both eventful and
unforgettable. Federico Tesio said: “A horse gallops with his lungs,
perseveres with his heart, and wins with his character.” Mr. Tesio was a
Capricorn Sun, born January 17, 1869. An Italian statesman and one of the
most important breeders of Thoroughbreds in the history of horse racing. If
you‟ve never been to a horse race, you‟re missing the true meaning of
Tesio‟s words.
When Saratoga Race Course opened on August 3, 1863, a month to the day the Civil War moved up to Gettysburg and was fought July 1, 2 and 3, 1863 in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania the blood on the battlefields was barely dry and cannon fire still echoed in the hills, a sobering reminder of a conflict that seared and scarred a piece of the American landscape. The battle had the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, and is often described as the war's turning point. Perhaps the Saratoga Springs opening of the race course was the first step to healing the country.
Saratoga Race Course has its Sun and Mercury in Leo. I used the post
time of 11:30 AM which gives the chart, 26-degrees Libra Rising and of
course a l-degree Leo tenth house where one‟s career sits in the top of the
chart. Their Moon is in 7-degrees Aries. Once transit Jupiter enters the sign
of Aries on January 23, 2011 to June 4, 2011 it will conjunct the SRC Moon
from February 22 to March 2, 2011…expect something wonderful and
positive to come out of this cycle. Jupiter trines the 1-degree Leo tenth
house January 23 to February 2, 2011 and trines their Sun 10-degrees Leo
also in the tenth and affect the racetrack most of March 2011. Then transit
Uranus enters Aries on March 13, 2011 where it will be until early March
2019 highlighting SRC‟s Moon by conjunction in 2012… April, May, June,
July, August…. Transit Uranus in Aries will trine their Sun-Mercury in
April through October in 2013 which could bring „a longer season‟ in racing
to Saratoga Springs into the fall. There is a sense of uniqueness and
importance about the place during the next three years. It‟s my best
educated astrological prediction that the SRC will have authority over a
large number of people. With the Sun in Leo, in their tenth house promises
honor, success, and prestige between now and 2013. Not to worry, the SRC
has a purpose in the scheme of things, a moral heredity and they are going to
acquire the favor of many persons in power to assist them in their ascent.
What I am seeing for the horse industry in Saratoga Springs is the picture of
Optimism and it‟s hopeful that some of their excesses will work out for the
best in the long run. The SRC chart is a generous, kind, sympathetic,
benevolent one and a delight to behold.
Can you imagine what it was like when Secretariat won his first stakes race at Saratoga the summer of 1972, a year before he won the Triple Crown? Saratoga has seen the finest thoroughbreds in the world cross the finish line at Saratoga Race Course: Man „O War, Kelso, Secretariat, Affirmed and can we ever forget the much loved Funny Cide?
The mornings at dawn are my favorite, breakfast at the track about 7 AM
and a chance to watch the thoroughbred‟s breeze through their workouts in
the morning mist is sheer, utter heaven. The smell of bacon and eggs is so
very American, against a backdrop of these magnificent animals. The sun I
believe shines more brightly in Saratoga Springs, yes the rain falls harder,
the racing is the best I‟ve ever seen, the crowds bigger and the NY world
comes alive with the sound of horses hooves. Though the season now is
brief, it is well defined.
Rachel came in second, in the Personal Ensign but no big deal…I got to
see her in her last race and that‟s what counts. I am glad beyond belief that
she is getting a much needed rest.