A Day at the Races

Today I visited Michigan's new racetrack, the optimistically named Pinnacle Race Course, and really enjoyed it. Yes, it's just starting out-it's a beach head for what will come really-with a temporary grandstand and just a fraction of the barn space they will have, but I liked their friendly staff and scrappy startup attitude. To open anything involving gambling takes balls and patience, witness downtown Detroit's casinos which have been fighting with the city for the entire 10 years I've lived in Michigan, so my hat's off to course founder Jerry Campbell who took the mandate given less than a year ago and ran with it. The plant is tiny, the turf course is forthcoming too, and very plain so far (on the up side nothing blocks your view of the races) and it is in the flightpath (Northwest Airlines gets loads of free advertising from all the planes flying overhead) but there's not a bad seat in the place and the clerks at the windows did not need to be told about a triple wheel. Was it a winning day? No, I did not cash (my first pick pitched over backward in the paddock and the rest of the day was much the same) but I was glad to offer my money for the cause, the cause of helping ensure the health of the sport I love and bringing real horsepower back to the Motor City.