Help requested- Wildlife at the track

[The Giss]

Guys, I am working on a story for a National (non-racing) mag about wildlife at racetracks and am seeking stories and anecdotes about interesting or unusual encounters. Feel free to post 'em, but I would prefer a PM, with your contact info so I can flesh them out. Thanks.

[Joani]

The wildlife I see wouldn't be allowed for publication 

[pope of vegas]

  When Balmoral had the 5/8s inside the mile track,there were nights when you could do some jogging or warming up on the mile track. The lighting came from the inside track making it pretty dark in spots.
  I would get a couple of miles jogging in,then when the race ended,proceed onto the 5/8s for my last trip.
   One night I'm jogging in the poorly lit backside,when suddenly my horse takes a sharp right turn.I look to see why and it turns out that a deer had just run out from the bushes across the track.
  I was lucky I didn't fall out of the bike !!!!!


  When I raced at Quad City downs,there was an older guy named Earl(Stevens).THis guy would feed the ducks and the swans that were on the infield. You would hear  people in the grandstands before the races saying,"Aw,look at the old man feeding the ducks. How Nice"..   When The ducks started disappearing,one of the drivers asked Earl How come there aren't as many ducks now as compared to when the meet started. Earl replied,"A man's got to eat doesn't he???"

[Wilderness]

Some years back they found an alligator or crocodile in one of the bathrooms at Pompano.

Thought I had both the picture and the article saved however could not locate.

[Wilderness]

How about those geese at WEB?
That's on video somewhere.

 Believe there's also some video of racoons during a race.

[AmyHollar]

We've had some cats mysteriously disappear around Northfield........and a few coyotes which looked plumper. 

[LVGaryD]

We've had some cats mysteriously disappear around Northfield........and a few coyotes which looked plumper. 

[javelina]

Had some deer on the track at Vernon who ended up stuck and scared in the infield.

Howie Okusko took his horse thru the infield and got the deer safely off the track and across the Highway.

[LVGaryD]

I was training a horse at Northfield years ago on an off-track. Not too muddy, just slightly tacky.

Anyway I zinged him home the last eighth pretty good and some mud flew up on my face...just about the time a flock of pigeons flew over the track.

Yes, I walked around for quite a while after training the horse when Bob Mason (a guard) came up to me and said "Gary, you have bird shit all over your nose."  I thought he was lying, so I went into the bathroom beside the track kitchen to look. Sure enough, at least one of those flying rats had shit on my nose....and I have a large nose.

I washed it off and immediately started puking into the urinal. 

Nothing much bothers me. I can do dirty diapers, pick up horse turds barehanded and throw them, I've slid into a cowpile while wearing shorts when we were using it as a base while playing baseball-it was dry on top only. But bird shit makes me puke every time.

 

[careless hal]

My cat wants to catch a bird, squeeze the shit out of it and rub it on your nose.

[AmyHollar]

 

[Maniac]

I was in the shute at Seminole one night and the judges called me to say a snake was on the track at the finish line, had come up from the pond in the infield, took the gate down and had to run over him in front of the crowd

[LVGaryD]

My cat wants to catch a bird, squeeze the shit out of it and rub it on your nose.

Have your cat meet me at Northfield in September. 

[AmyHollar]

I was in the shute at Seminole one night and the judges called me to say a snake was on the track at the finish line, had come up from the pond in the infield, took the gate down and had to run over him in front of the crowd

[The Giss]

Amy
Were there Peregrine falcons (not Tony Peregrins) on the Nfld backstretch a few years back,, eating the pigeons?