I brought my Canon to the track, and one of my favorite lens, the 35 mm, lately my very favorite. I wondered all the way to the track how I might capture such a rich, diverse, raucous and historic place. I decided to not take a single photograph of a horse, so many photographers have taken so many beautiful photos of horses, I have nothing to add to that. What I might add is my own perspective, my own sense of the place, and towards the end of the day, when Maria and I were placing our last bets, I looked up and saw this thoughtful young man, a summer job at the track I suspect, guarding the Clubhouse steps, lost in thought, the historic old gables of the track looming over him, surrounded by the very casually dressed and intense people in the crowd.

And this, I thought, is what Saratoga Raceway is to me.