Record crowd turns out for Fair Grounds opener

TIMES PICAYUNE
'Once it gets you, that's it'
The Fair Grounds remains the centerpiece in the lives of many people who make their living in the sport of horse racing
Thursday, November 23, 2006
By Jeff Duncan


Ron Adames was one of seven Fair Grounds employees who hunkered down and rode out Hurricane Katrina at the facility.

The storm blew the roof off the grandstand and caused water damage inside the facility, but none of the seven-member storm team was harmed.

"I can't say that we were terrified for our lives, but there was deep concern," Adames said. "We did a lot of praying."

Churchill Downs, Inc., management chartered a helicopter to airlift the team from the facility five days later. Adames spent the 2005-2006 racing season in Lafayette, waiting and wondering when the Fair Grounds would re-open.

Adames, 61, is in his third year at the Fair Grounds. Before joining the staff, he was a regular at the track. He's lived in the neighborhood since 1976 and can see the track from the living room of his home across the street.

"I can't tell you the good, positive feeling I had when I saw live horses at the track again," Adames said.

"There's something about the track. It's a big part of this community and there's no place like it. It's phenomenal how you can miss something so much when it's gone."

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