Dick Van Patten Quotes

I have been going from one racetrack to another for years, since I was 14.

I've never watched a race live from Ascot. I used to make sure I didn't miss Black Caviar run, but that wasn't at Ascot.

The only sport I'm not interested in is horse racing. That's because I don't know the horses personally.

I went out to the Derby on Wednesday and think it is the most interesting thing I ever saw over here.

I'm a pro-horserace guy.

I'm a racehorse fanatic rather than a football fanatic.

Horse racing is animated roulette.

When I was young, I would go to the races and it was an unbelievable feeling when you'd watch them race.

Somehow when I am at the racetrack, I don't really realise what is happening and I just focus on the job.

Horse racing is waning in popularity.

I still gamble, but it's all legal. I own horses, and I go to watch my horse. I don't go daily.

I say a little prayer every time I see a race. I say a little prayer that the riders and the horses will be okay.

San Anita is a beautiful track. It's not too far from my house in L.A., and it's a beautiful place to go and watch the horses run.

My father is a huge horse racing fan, so I was introduced to the sport long before 'Seabiscuit.' But the role made me an even bigger fan. Horse racing is one of my favorite sports.

You can't win the Kentucky Derby unless you're on a thoroughbred.

The behavior of the crowd at Churchill Downs is like 100,000 vicious Hyenas going berserk all at once in a space about the size of a 777 jet or the White House lawn.

When I was in high school, my uncle, who went to the races quite a bit, got me interested. Then when I went to college at Southern Illinois University, just a few hours from Louisville, we used to go to the Kentucky Derby, and I got to see Secretariat and Riva Ridge win.

There are other things that I could do, but there's really nothing that I love as much as horse racing.

We're at the top echelon of motorsports, and we've got guys who have never won Late Model races running on the racetrack. It's pathetic. They don't know where to go.

Anyone that has been lucky enough to go to the races and witness the magnificent spectacle of a competitive race will know how people like me can instantly fall in love with the power and beauty of race horses in full gallop.

I've worked for some great trainers around the world, including Aidan O'Brien, Luca Cumani, Gai Waterhouse and Peter Moody.

I grew up going to race rings, and I really enjoyed it.

I have never been to Ladies' Day at the Grand National. I've never been to any day there, truth be told, and unless they introduce a Scruffy People Who Believe Horse Racing to Be Deeply Cruel Day and pay me to attend I can't see that changing.

When someone tells me they've never been to a race, I tell them that the first one they should go to is Bristol, Tennesee. The shape of the track, the energy, and excitement under the lights is similar to what you might get at a stick-and-ball game in college football or the NFL.

It's true that driving an F1 car in testing is helpful, it's not that you learn everything.