Transcription of Document FFDoc-1344.pdf

July 10, 1988

Dear Ron & Roy,

This letter is being sent to you and other relatives who have expressed an interest in visiting us at Ashley Drive during the 1988 flat-track racing season at Saratoga. We figure you need to know the racing season's race days and other incidental information before you can decide if and when you'll come here to try to beat the nags.

First off, the racing begins on Wednesday, august 3 and continues every day, rain or shine except Tuesdays, through August 29 (a Monday). Most of the reserved grandstand seats have already been sold for this season, but general admission tickets to the bleacher areas in front of the grandstand are always available for each day's races. This means sitting out in the sun and/or rain, or, alternatively, under the grandstand if you bring your own folding chair. As there are television monitors all over the place, this isn't all that bad, since you can follow each race on the TV's. The track always reserves about 1000 grandstand seats for each racing day, however, which are down in the last sections farthest from the finish line; these are to oblige the folks who can't manage to get in on the normal reserved seat sales which begin in January on  the first working day and are sellouts in two or three days. These daily special reserved seats go on sale at 7AM on each race day, so if our visitors want a grandstand seat they will have to be early risers. Post time for the first race is 1:30 PM, and the last race is around 5:30-6:00 PM. While every race day has its special race, the largest purses and best-known handicap races are on Saturdays, with the purses getting even bigger toward the end of the race season. Of course, that's also when the track is most crowded. So plan accordingly, and BRING MONEY! (Actually, you can bet as low as one dollar on a given race, and many do.)

While I will probably be available for any given race day, Anna will not likely be on vacation in August, so could go to the races only on weekends.

We expect Anna's daughter (Mary) and son-in-law and two youngsters to come to the races on one of the weekends of Aug. 13/14 or 27/28, as yet undecided. While we can accept other guests at the same time, the place isn't likely to be as quiet as usual at the time of their visit. So you again may want to plan accordingly. If you want to know when others marked for this letter may be coming, so you can be here at the same time or otherwise, let us know.

I think the above info fills your immediate needs. If you have other items you want to clarify, let us know. And if you do decide to come up to make your fortune at the races by trying out a new scheme to handicap the fillies and colts and geldings, let us know ASAP. Remember, our rates are reasonable!

Love, Frank and Anna.

cc: Roy & Roy, Dot P., Joe & Marilyn, Vee & Jack