Saturday Memory

February 22, 2025

My dad was a bookie. One of the high points of this when I was a kid was that I got to know the jockeys at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita Race Track. Johnny Longdon, Billie Shoemaker, Edie Arcaro and many others. They all called me “Red” because I had red hair at the time. The time that stands out as most important was on July 14,1951. We were at Hollywood Park and we were excited to see Citation run in the Gold Cup. Citation was our favorite horse. My dad bet a large amount on Citation, promising me a 10% cut.

Citation did win, and winning this purse made him the first million dollar horse in history.

We were overjoyed and we grabbed each other and danced around in celebration. As we did this I began to realize that this was a bittersweet moment, as I started to experience the “end of childhood.” I never danced with my father again.

The “end of childhood” gained more steam a bit later in the summer when I read Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. The effect on me was profound.