Celeb Shot: Nick Martinez
A 32-year veteran of the racetrack's Artists' Row, plus: Budweiser's Clydesdales, Fasig-Tipton breaks records, and saying goodbye to a beloved long-time meteorologist.
When I met Saratogian Nick Martinez on a Wednesday afternoon at his art tent at Saratoga Race Course, I didn’t quite know what to expect. I don’t know much about being a painter, and I know even less about being a jockey, which was the Colorado native’s profession prior to diving head on into a career as a full-time painter. One thing that I didn’t expect was for the interview to get emotional, sitting in the middle of the track’s backyard, the sounds of day-at-the-races revelry making it a bit of a challenge to hear the soft-spoken—and evidently soft-hearted—gentleman.
While I figured the two of us wouldn’t have much in common, it was when things got emotional that I was able to connect with Nick. He teared up thinking about a 1981 injury that threatened to end his racing career, which he had poured his whole being into for years. I’m no jockey, and have certainly never had my leg shattered, but I can understand the feeling you get when you’re told that you can no longer do the thing you’re best at, the thing you truly can’t get enough of. More than 40 years later, Nick hasn’t forgotten that feeling, and I could tell that whatever he does, whether it’s racing, fly-fishing or painting—he does it passionately. Hence why, even after having his leg shattered and being literally afraid to be near horses, Nick got back on a horse, if only to prove to himself that he could. For that story and more on the life of Nick Martinez, read on.
When did you know you wanted to be a jockey?
My grandfather always told me “you’re going to be a jockey” when I was little. He’d [cross his legs and] put me on his boot and I’d ride his boot. He took me out on the pony and rode around with me before I could walk. He’d sit me right behind the pommel and I’d hold onto the pommel. I got used to that motion, so when I started riding it was easy. But it was toward the end of high school that I started really thinking about the options of becoming a jockey.
What happened after high school?
My father convinced me to go to college. He said, “Nick, I know you have this dream about being a jockey, but not everybody makes it as a jockey, and so maybe you should consider going to school.” And so I went to school and took nothing but art classes. My advisor said, “You’re not going to graduate if you don’t take these prerequisites.” I had no interest in the prerequisites. All I wanted to do was take art classes. After two-and-a-half years I decided “I’m going to do the jockey thing, because I’m young, I’m strong—it’s time.” And that’s what I did.
Where’d you get your start?
I ended up in Fort Collins, Colorado working for a guy by the name of Elmer Keen, who’s the father of [trainer] Dallas Keen. When I started riding in 1976, it was at Centennial Race Track down in Littleton, Colorado, which is just south of Denver. I had a really good start because I was getting a lot of nice horses and I won quite a few races. An agent that was up in Ak-Sar-Ben in Nebraska asked me if I wanted to go to California, so I did. I loaded up and went to Del Mar and I won my first race there on a horse called Geothermal. From that point forward I started getting a lot of mounts.
How’d you transition from racing to painting?
I went to Santa Anita and eventually lost my apprenticeship. It was really tough, so I went north and rode up in Northern California. Eventually I said, “I’m gonna head back to the Midwest.” I spent the rest of my career in the area of Nebraska and Phoenix, Arizona and eventually I ended up in Kentucky at Churchill and Keeneland. I was just riding spotty and wasn’t riding the best horses so I said, “You know, maybe its time for me to change.” I stopped riding races in 1991 and continued exercising horses for 10 years while the art career took off.
Now what does your life look like?
This is my 32nd year doing the show here. It’s the only show I do…It’s the only show I have to do, and I’m lucky for that. My passion now is fly fishing. I travel everywhere for that: New Zealand, Iceland, Patagonia, Wyoming, Nova Scotia.
That’s quite an odd trio of passions—racing horses, painting and fly fishing.
If you look at it the way I look at it—say I’m fishing the salmon. I’ve got a double-headed fly rod and I’m out there and I’m waiting and I’m waiting. Now think: I’m sitting in the starting gate. And I’m waiting for them to say “horse back.” As soon as they say “horse back,” within a split second that gate opens. It’s the same thing that happens when you’re fly fishing. When that hits, if you don’t set the hook that instant, the fish is gone. Pah! In the gate: Pah! So there is some correlation. I don’t know—maybe it is a weird trio, but that’s what I do now.
How would you describe your racing-themed paintings?
I know I’m going to have good business here because I specifically do Saratoga and the Saratoga flavor. Over the 32 years, I’ve observed that people want a memento—they want something of Saratoga, or if they’re from Saratoga, many people have a Saratoga room. When you think about Saratoga—the races, SPAC—you think about the really wonderful things that are going on here. So that’s what I focus on. I focus on the racetrack and all the ambiance of this beautiful, beautiful facility. For me it’s like Disneyland. I look forward to the meet every year and seeing the people and the happy faces. That’s how I paint—I paint in a joyous way with bright colors and excitement. That’s the kind of feeling that I want to put into my work.
How do you get such defined lines with oil paint?
I use really small brushes, to the point where they’re sharper than a pin—to be able to put earrings on her. [Nick easily points out a tiny woman in red from among the sea of spectators in his 2021 painting.]
What goes on behind the scenes during the meet?
I get up between 4 and 4:30. I usually stretch anywhere from five to 15 canvases and there’s a whole process—you spray a protectant on them, take them downstairs, stretch them. Some need to go in frames, some are out of the frames. Whatever we sell today I have to have restocked by tomorrow. The dark days are even busier because there’s packaging and shipping. I ship out anywhere from 10 to 25 pieces on Monday and Tuesday. Keeping up with the boxes, tubes— inventory constantly, constantly, constantly. You have to really keep your head together.
Where is your preferred race day after-party? Kings? Siro’s?
The time for partying is after the meet is over. That’s when I party. My party is going to be in the middle of a trout stream or up in Nova Scotia. And maybe a little bourbon once in a while.
What do you love most about Saratoga?
I like the fact that Saratoga hosts some of the finest horses in the world. In the world. And I see them walk right by me. I also get to see some of the most talented riders in the world do their thing. It’s amazing some of the races that these jocks pull off. I know what it takes to thread the needle—you’re in dead last going into the last turn and you come out in front. How that happens is instantaneous quick reaction. So I like to see that talent out there. And I love the people—people come here and they’re excited to see Saratoga, and so I always dress for the occasion.
So that’s your story?
That’s the way it happened. I left out all the spills and thrills, because I hate to be reminded of them because I got pretty busted up.
I meant to ask about your accident. What made you want to get back on a horse?
Heart. It’s true: You challenge yourself when you ride races, and when you’re hurt you have to overcome your fears. And I got hurt really bad. In 1981 I shattered my leg and was literally afraid to be near a horse. But after a year and a half I got up one day and said, “I’m gonna get on the pony.” I told my wife—my son Michael’s mother. She says, “OK, it’s about time.” She was kind of tough. She puts me on the pony and she hands me Michael, because she says there’s something wrong with the headstall. I said, “Well make sure the headstall’s on right.” So I’m holding Michael and she says, “You’ve got ahold of the reins?” I said, “Yeah.” She said, “Are your feet in the stirrups?” I said, “Of course they are.” She turned around and she slapped that pony on the butt. He went running. It kept running and running and there’s my little baby sitting in my arms looking up at me. Finally, the pony slowed down and I said, “That crazy woman!” I went out to the desert—this is in Arizona—and I said, “You know what? I’m gonna get back on it.” She shocked me into getting my heart back. When I came back she says, “Did you find your heart out there in the desert?” And I said, “Yeah.”
So you started racing again.
I had the second best year at the time in my career. I had to prove to myself that I still had that heart. What makes these riders who they are is the heart. They all have it. Every one of them. They couldn’t be here if they didn’t.
—Natalie
Quote of the Week
“Ugh, none of these people are even buying horses!”
—An exasperated woman trying to make her way through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd at Fasig-Tipton’s Saratoga Sale
Move Over, Thoroughbreds
For a few days this week, Saratoga Race Course’s Thoroughbreds had to share the spotlight with a team of equally famous equines. The Budweiser Clydesdales made their first appearance at the track in more than 15 years on Wednesday before heading downtown on Thursday for a parade down Broadway. “Overall, people really enjoyed it,” said Kate VanHerp, who lives downtown. “Some of the older people were stressing because the horses were late. But lots of little kids were excited—I overheard one tell his mom that it was worth the wait.”
The delay helped some little fans as well—one sweating mom chased her son on his scooter as they raced to the fire department where they learned they’d just missed ‘em—but there was indeed a “reverse” trot down Broadway and they caught them there. On their way back, the mom tried out a neighbor’s adult scooter and learned that not only could she keep up with her kid on it, but that you can’t even get a DUI on the thing. Note to self.
On Friday, the horses returned to the track for fan photo ops and a parade on the main track. “These horses have me running all over the place,” laughed one exhausted NYRA employee. On the patios of the luxe 1863 Club, posh track-goers craned for a glimpse (“these guys aren’t as fast as the Thoroughbreds!” laughed one as the horses sloooowly headed their way). Alas, the beautiful creatures U-turned before reaching the swank end of the track, causing a big, almost comical groan. Never a dull moment!
Record Year
If Wednesday, Thursday and Friday saw a slew of equine stars descend on Saratoga, Monday and Tuesday were dedicated to stars-in-the-making. Fasig-Tipton held its 101st annual Saratoga Sale, which broke records for gross sales ($66.955 million) and average sale price ($468,217), and saw 14 yearlings go for $1 million or more. And that’s not even the half of it—at least one horse, part of Omaha Beach’s first-year sire crop, was purchased in a private sale after not being sold in the formal auction. The buyers, who own Pike Racing, plan to take the horse to Fasig-Tipton’s two-year-old sales in Maryland.
On Tuesday after the sales, the well-heeled crowd of mostly out-of-towners made their way to Siro’s, where the party continued late into the night; three horsemen took a taxi directly from the restaurant to the Albany airport to catch a 5am flight.
End of an Era
After more than 40 years at NewChannel 13, Chief Meteorologist Bob Kovachick, who thousands of Capital Regionites grew up watching on TV, announced that he’ll be retiring this October. Watch the emotional clip above in which the news team discusses what working with Bob has been like, and catch the local icon’s final weather forecasts on air over the next seven weeks.
Fresh Air
Speaking of the weather, after a seemingly endless heatwave causing chatter about the safety of both horses and humans, many residents found themselves downright chilly overnight last night. It’ll be another crisp one tonight, perfect for sleeping with open windows. Temps will creep back up later this week, so enjoy this beautiful, mild stretch. Get outside today, Saratoga!
Age of Aquarius
This week was a big one for astrology fans—the last supermoon of the year. Thursday’s full moon in Aquarius, known as the Sturgeon Supermoon, was absolutely stunning. So whether you were working out frustrations by studying Aquarian individuality and logic—or maybe you simply struggled to sleep and didn’t know why—the bright, beautiful moon was a sight to see. Thanks to our friend Steve Caporizzo of Channel 10 for collecting some of these stunning moon and rainbow pics from Mother Nature’s grand flex this week.
This Week in Saratoga Living After Hours
On Monday, we got in the Saratoga Sale spirit with trivia about the past 100 years of Fasig-Tipton’s local yearling sale.
And on Tuesday, we asked Saratogians what Saratoga needs more of during track season (we all agree—less people!).