American Pharoah & Haskell Day in Photos
Have you ever been so tired that your eyeballs hurt? I didn’t think that was possible…at least until today.
When the decision was announced to the world that American Pharoah would be running the Haskell Invitational, I immediately knew I wanted to go. I got approval from family on the condition that I be as efficient as possible in my trip to maximize family time on the Saturday before the race and not use vacation days from work after the race.
This means I had to get creative. When the final itinerary was settled, I would be taking a red eye from San Francisco to Newark International Airport on Saturday night, go straight to Monmouth Park, and then get the earliest flight possible on Monday morning using the 3 hour time change to my advantage. This would result in a helluva day to get the chance to see the best racehorse of my lifetime, but hey, I’m the father of 19 month old twins, so I haven’t slept in the last 19 months anyways.
Upon discussing my trip with Horse Racing Nation’s managing editor, Brian Zipse, I also found out that I would be granted a press credential as a photographer! To say I was excited was an understatement. Of course when planning a trip on paper, you forget some of the subtle details like North Eastern summer humidity, local transportation, and the chaos that comes with attending a race day with 60,000+ race fans. So without further adieu, I’d like to recap one of the best 36-hour experiences of my life.
All times in Eastern Standard Time
11:45pm: I departed my home in San Jose to SFO for my 1:53am flight. Step one was deciding where I wanted to park at the airport. Knowing I left a few minutes late, and still needing to gas up the car for the drive the airport, I settled on hourly parking to ensure I didn't end my trip before I even left.
1:55am: Flight departs on time, much to my relief, because I wanted every spare minute possible once I was across the country. Unfortunately, I don’t sleep well on airplanes. Couple that with the building excitement of race day, and all I got was about 2 to 3 hours of butt-numbing sleep mixed in with lots of disgruntled shifting in my narrow airplane seat.
6:45am: My flight arrived 20 minutes early! This was great news considering the traffic warnings I was given of driving to the Jersey Shore.
7:15am: Deliberating thought of my next move, I opted for Uber to get me to the track. This was great, because there was no wait, and the estimated fare was way cheaper than a taxi or rental car.
7:45am: We’re flying. My driver is great and we’re really making fantastic time. He asks if I’m hungry and my only thought, being on the east coast, is Dunkin’ Donuts. Well, unfortunately for us, we would learn both Uber and Apple maps don’t know where one is in New Jersey. I know they exist, but the two we tried to “find” with our smartphones were old run down buildings.
8:30am: After 45 frustrating minutes trying to satisfy a poor choice, I opt to just forget it and resume my journey to the track.
8:45am: I made it! I quickly call Brian Zipse and Matt Shifman to meet me at the gate (huge lines already outside the general admin gates).
9am-11:00am: Tour of the grounds from my two awesome colleagues, and a visit to the barns to try to get a glimpse of American Pharoah. No such luck with the Triple Crown winner, but we did get to meet Competitive Edge and Protonico, which was great.
11:15am: Returning from the barns, I go to get my gear sorted for the day. All of the photographers were stationed in the basement of the park, and after picking a nice seat out of the way of the professionals earlier in the morning, I find that the whole DRF photography team had made camp at my table. These are some of the best photographers in the business, and here I was, an amateur, out of place, and now incredibly intimidated. After a brief introduction, my nerves were quickly calmed. Those folks are hilarious. A few raunchy jokes and goofy stories later was I getting to share a table with some of my favorite professional photographers on terms that no longer felt daunting, but inspiring.
11:30am-5:00pm: Racing. Sweating. Pictures. Hydrating. Running around. Meeting friends. More sweating. More racing. More friends. More pictures. More hydrating. More racing.
5:45pm: Game time. All day of preparation had led up to this moment. Jockeying for position (pun intended), the photographers all entered what I like to call “Piranha feeding frenzy mode.” While everyone had mutual respect for each other, at the first sight of a space to stand, squeeze, or wedge, they were there to mark their territory for their shots of Pharoah.
5:52pm: The single most incredible moment I have experienced at a racetrack. There’s no amount of superlatives to explain the experience of watching American Pharoah win the Haskell. This is how I experienced it: the deafening roar of the crowd, the adrenaline coursing through my veins, the spine tingling excitement of watching him glide over the track, and the intensity of focus to keep the camera centered on equine perfection.
6:15pm: Chaos in the winner’s circle. Booing of Chris Christie. After the race was over, and Pharoah was headed back to the barn, I decided to chase him. The calming of the back stretch was quite relaxing after the anarchy we all just went through on the track.
7:00pm: Sent Pharoah a well-deserved farewell as I watched him get his post race bath and be led into his stall.
7:30pm: TRAFFIC. Lots of car time with my wonderful Horse Racing Nation friends who offered to give me a ride to my hotel for the night.
8:45pm: I arrived at my hotel and immediately chugged 2 bottles of water.
10:00pm: Sleep. Finally.
4:00am: An early alarm to get out of bed and head to the airport for my return journey
6:00am: Wheels up on flight to the rising sun over the Big Apple.
12:00pm: Landing in SFO (9am local time) I paid my absurdly high parking fee before driving into the office to resume my “normal life.”
I am beyond thankful for the generosity of everyone at the track. It was great to meet many friends who until yesterday only existed in social media. Thank you to my family at Horse Racing Nation for allowing me to join them at this historical moment. Thank you to my wife and sons who let me go play in my playground without having to be home in time for bedtime. And most of all, thank you American Pharoah for giving me an experience I will never forget.
If If races If races were won on looks, Just Call Kenny would have a perfect record. He is stunning, and unfortunately finished last.
Heart to Heart
Hard to argue with 8 wins in the Haskell
The horse that needs no introduction
Trying to capture chaos
The picture I traveled 3000 miles for.
Sunset at Monmouth. What a day.
Sunrise on an airplane. Farewell, Jersey!