Yes, as the Beatles might have sung, if Lennon and McCartney were fans of our great sport,
“It was 35 years ago today…”: on this date (August 7), in 1981, Gary Contessa posed with a winning horse, Irish Waters. Gary was Assistant Trainer to Trainer to Jimmy Picou at that time.
Irish Waters (Norcliffe out of Banner Waves – National mare) won a 6F race right here in Saratoga. The two-year-old colt was owned by Marcia Whitney Schott. (Her Willow Hour beat Pleasant Colony in the Travers that same year.)
There were many winners’ circle pictures in Gary’s collection by the time this photo was taken, but this one from 1981 gives us the sense that Gary (The Tall One, with curly locks) truly had discovered his vocation, and his heart was full of joy in this moment.
The rest, as they say, is horse racing history. As many of you know, Gary’s journey began at Roosevelt Raceway–moved quickly and successfully toward August 7th, 1981–and continues today. Horse racing is a better place because Gary Contessa is a player in the sport. And horses, well, we all know that horses have a guardian in Gary Contessa.
o, thank you, Gary, for these 35 years since this picture was taken, and thank you for contributing not only to the sport, but also to the welfare of horses.
This IS The Sport of Kings, if the proverbial kings are all people of Gary Contessa’s caliber.
Rock and roll, ’80s style, Gary. Rock and roll.
