Dentist Thomas Pray and staff members Joy Soriano, Taylor Joyce, Mel Curry, Bre McCoy and Susie Joyce couldn’t resist horsing around near the tail end of a portrait session with Donna Martin at Village Photo in Ballston Spa, NY. Vickie Yanagihara subsequently captured the action when National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Hall trainer Nick Zito and equine artist R.C. Ewell found themselves at the receiving end of pony ears courtesy of Ann Hauprich, Jamie Stevens and Barbara Ewell. You’ll be reading much more about Jamie (YUP! That’s also her hamming it up below with Nick and Vickie) and her famed Thoroughbred-loving family on this site in the near future.
Horsing around
behind-the-scenes is
"jest" part of Saratoga racing season fun
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for PDF of this article.What were the odds the 2019 Kentucky Derby’s Win-Place-Show trainers (Country Horse, FIRST; William “Bill” Mott; Code of Honor, SECOND, trainer Shug McGaughey; Tacitus, THIRD, again Mott) would share the same dentist in a small upstate New York village?
Too easy? Okay, then. Let’s kick it up a notch with more Thoroughbred racing trivia about what some have nicknamed Saratoga County’s Trifecta Dental Spa. What were the odds that in addition to Mott and McGaughey, the Ballston Spa practice of Doctor of Dental Surgery Thomas Pray would also include much celebrated Kentucky Derby winning trainers Barclay Tagg (Funny Cide, 2003) and Nick Zito (Strike the Gold, 1991 and Go for Gin, 1994)?
While it’s a sure bet we at Legacies Unlimited don’t yet have definitive answers to these questions, we hope reading the above will spark unbridled enthusiasm in seeking out complimentary copies of the exquisite July-August 2019 edition of Simply Saratoga magazine. Among the articles found within the current 196-page issue of the glossy periodical is one by Legacies Unlimited co-founder Ann Hauprich titled “Horsing around with Saratoga’s unofficial track dentist Tom Pray.”
The richly illustrated feature documents how the ingenuity and integrity which Pray demonstrated along the backstretch three decades ago led his practice (then still cutting its baby teeth) to become a dental home turf for hundreds of patients linked to Saratoga’s thoroughbred racing industry, including world renowned jockeys, trainers, owners and NYRA officials.
Among those interviewed by Hauprich were National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame trainers Mott and Zito -- who caught their first sunrise glimpses of the “Doc” delivering bales of organic hay from his old Chevy farm pick-up truck to the Oklahoma Training Track in the early 1990s. Fascinating facts included in the piece: Zito considers one of the highlights of each Saratoga Racing Season to be competing in Galloping Gourmet cooking contests in Pray’s Charlton, NY kitchen. Mott, meanwhile, marvels at Pray’s high energy level. “You wonder if the guy ever sleeps. He’s always up for an adventure, be it climbing, running . . . you name it. He’s someone you want along for the ride!”
To learn more about the keepsake-quality summer edition Creative Director/Managing Editor Chris Vallone Bushee succeeded in making a winner from Editorial Starting Gate to Finish Line, kindly CLICK HERE.
Since the issue in question rolled off the presses, Hauprich has had the honor of interviewing Zito about a second extraordinary Saratoga County resident: 88-year-old equine artist R.C. Ewell. (CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT EWELL’S AUGUST ART EXHIBIT.)
The Legacies Unlimited Q & A with Zito, which took place in the home where the octogenarian painter and his wife Barbara have mastered the fine art of Saratoga backstretch living. A related Bonus Feature will be added to this site later in the racing season.
But that ain’t all she wrote. Come August, please look for a Bonus Feature involving a very special CIGAR box owned by Pray that’s linked to the inaugural 1996 World Cup in Dubai. But in the meantime, we couldn’t resist giving you a Sneak Peek at some of the “horsing around” that went on behind-the-scenes that day. That will be followed by our September Home Page with an extra special tribute to Legacies Unlimited co-founder and Webmaster Mary Hauprich-Reilly, seen (in bottom image) horsing around in 2010 with now late Ballston Spa History Consultant Maurice "Christopher" Morley.
Nick Zito with equine artist R.C. "Bob" Ewell, whose painting of the Hall of Fame Thoroughbred trainer and owner Marylou Whitney watching an early morning Birdstone workout on the backstretch will be among 40 works showcased in an August exhibit. Top photo by Vickie Yanagihara; portraits of artist at work in his studio courtesy of Barbara Ewell.
August equine art
exhibit in Spa City to showcase
40 watercolors by self-taught octogenarian painter
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for PDF of this article (page 2).By Ann Hauprich
One might think an 88-year-old equine artist whose portfolio credits include nearly 2,000 titles would have run out of subject matter by now. Well, hold your horses and think again!
Among the 40 masterpieces by R.C. Ewell being showcased in an August exhibit at the Saratoga Springs Heritage Area Visitor Center are many freshly created watercolors that promise to astonish racing fans who thought they’d seen it all.
Titled At the Barns, Mostly, the month-long show at 297 Broadway will officially open Friday, August 2 with a 5:30 to 8 p.m. reception during which Ewell and Barbara, his wife of nearly seven decades, will be on hand to socialize.
Rising before dawn, the self-taught artist draws inspiration from “the infinite variations in contrast, color and depth of the early morning light” as life gently unfolds along the Oklahoma training track that straddles his backyard. The resulting brush strokes exquisitely detail everything from the beauty and temperament of the thoroughbreds to the folks responsible for their training and care.
Inspirations for new works at the 2019 exhibit run the gamut from hot walkers to early morning fog. “Hot walking,” reflects Ewell, “is an omnipresent occupation -- virtually every horse, every day. Even so, after many years of seeing this activity, I am still attracted to it. One image in this year’s show stemmed from the high contrast of early morning sun on the quiet scene. Fog, on the other hand, is a frequent morning visitor to the track. The silhouette of horses with their riders as they emerge or fade into the fog also provided treasured scenes. One such image catches riders taking their charges through the gap onto the track for morning workout.”
Additional works depict scenes that occurred at 4 or 5 o’clock in the afternoon rather than at 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning. Others were inspired by the artist’s childhood memories of peering through the fences on The Spa City’s east side to catch a peek at the ponies during their morning workout rituals.
The exhibit also includes some familiar faces as they were captured on canvas during earlier Saratoga racing seasons. Personal favorites include watercolors of a casually attired Marylou Whitney, who will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on August 2, at the rail with world-renowned Thoroughbred trainer Nick Zito. Another painting depicts Hall of Fame trainer William “Bill” Mott patting the neck of one of his rider’s horses several years before winning the 2019 Kentucky Derby
To learn more, please call 518-584-4572.
Painting captures day when Mott rescued a runaway on Oklahoma Training Track
R.C. Ewell was inspired to create the masterpiece below after witnessing Bill Mott’s “excellent horsemanship” as the trainer rescued a runaway on the backstretch several years ago. While this action-packed watercolor won’t be in the 2019 show (Mott’s staff gifted him with the original), we’re happy to report the enchanting image below of the Hall of Famer gently patting the neck of one of his rider’s horses will be on display throughout August at the Saratoga Springs visitor center.
