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SANTA ROSA, CA – The great events in
horse racing all share at least one thing:
there is life in the building; you feel like
you're somewhere where something special
is going on. A Thursday at your run-of-the-
mill racetrack, not so.
Atmosphere and excitement is easy to
find on the day of a Triple Crown race or at
the Breeders' Cup, on most days at Keene-
land, Saratoga and Del Mar. But where else?
That's one of the sport's most vexing prob-
lems. The vast majority of days at a racetrack
are filled with emptiness, empty stands and
vacant stares from the handful of patrons
more inclined to bet on three-inch horses
on the simulcast screens than live racing
But mine the glutted racing calendar and
you will find there is at least one more race-
track that offers everything that made most
of us fans of the sport in the first place. It
may, though, be one of the last place you
expected.
