Fair time is race time

Some hit the track to win money, while others just like to soak up the atmosphere and watch the horses run.

Published online on Wednesday, Oct. 07, 2009

Every October, the lure of horse racing attracts people to The Big Fresno Fair like moths to a bright back porch light.

They stand or sit shoulder to shoulder on the rail, in the grandstands, the box seats and by the betting machines -- studying their race programs, placing bets, sipping cold ones then whooping it up as the horses thunder down the stretch.

The reasons they turned out Wednesday to the track on opening day of this annual two-week show were as varied as their ages, color of skin and occupations.

Susana Jauregui of Fresno, an unemployed care provider relaxing in a beach chair on the apron near the rail, got hooked on the races here two years ago in one of the strangest ways.

"The first time I came, I looked up at the [video screen over the tote board] and saw a horse poop. So I bet on it," she said, laughing at the memory. "I figured it was feeling good, had an empty stomach and was ready to go."

Jauregui bet $1, her horse went off at 99-1 odds, she said, and it won her more than $100.

"Been coming back every since, but I wish I had more days like that."

Longtime Fresno horse owner Michael Der Manouel Sr. did have one of those days with Michael's Kiss, a 3-year-old filly he owns with wife Andrea, in the seventh race.

Jorge Ayarza rode Michael's Kiss to her maiden victory in 10 starts in a battle of Valley thoroughbreds. Michael's Kiss broke out of a pack in the stretch and held off Showstogoya, owned by renowned local breeder John Harris.

"I've always had confidence in her, but on grass," said Der Manouel, whose brother Ardie is the chairman of the Big Fresno Fair racing committee. "I asked the rider to lay off the pace, and he did everything right."

Ayarza won twice in his bid to capture the thoroughbred jockey title outright after tying Ricky Frazier last year. The closest Frazier came to a victory on three mounts was runner-up on Markay Creek in the sixth race.

"I'm hoping to get lucky again," said Frazier, the leading rider in 2007 who broke his leg the first week last year but built a huge lead on Ayarza.

Ayarza and Frazier, who often ride favorites, tend to influence the odds and how people wager, the primary lure of the racetrack. Betting horses is like the lottery, only with better odds since only seven or eight horses run each race.

"I come to win. It's a way to add to my income," Gena Rhodes said before bolting for the ticket windows to collect $21 after her horse, Swiss Marci, won the third race.

But not everybody comes to try and make a few extra bucks. Many seek the excitement of live action, a respite from watching satellite racing. Others hob-nob with friends or network with business partners, all while soaking in the sun.

"There ain't nothing like watching them live, to see those big, beautiful animals runs," said Fresnan Kevin Thur, a 52-year-old hotel maintenance man with his arms draped over the rail. "I take my vacation every year at this time."

*Australian jockey Kayla Stra -- featured in the Animal Planet show "Jockeys" -- made her Fresno debut on Stop the Way in the fifth race and finished fifth. The filly shot to a 5-length lead but was caught on the final turn and faded to fifth, as Ayarza guided Luv'n Paradise to a narrow victory over favorite Adelicate Miss.

*Fresno fair racing, the host track for Northern California, got a boost on the first day with Golden Gate Fields closed. Racing director Dan White said attendance of 4,870 was up 11% compared to opening day 2008, and the on-track handle of $270,542 wagered was a 17% increase from last year.