Celeb Shot: Track Shoeshiner Bobby Wilson
The track's resident shoeshiner is doing what he loves after 50 years away. PLUS: Croquet on the Green, the Saratoga Hospital Gala, and Cody's Wish takes on the Whitney.
When I ran into Saratogian Barry Potoker at the track last month, it didn’t take long for him to come up with an idea for a story. “You have to meet Bobby,” he said, already on the move. And if I’ve learned anything in my time at Saratoga Living, it’s that when Barry Potoker has an idea—especially related to the track—you follow him.
Barry, whom we once dubbed “The Homecoming King” in our story about Saratoga Race Course super-fans, brought me to the side of a large betting terminal building where a man about his age (actually, exactly his age, I’d find out) was sitting on a black stool. Barry introduced him as Bobby “The Shiner” Wilson, a fellow member of the Saratoga Springs High School class of 1973 and the track’s resident shoeshiner.
The fact that the track still has a shoeshiner was enough to convince me to write a story, but it was icing on the cake when Bobby produced a selfie of himself with former New York Giants coach Bill Parcells, who’d gotten a shine earlier that day (and given Bobby a crisp $100 bill in exchange). I returned to Bobby’s post a couple of weeks later to hear about his other celebrity customers, stories from his shoe-shining days in the early ’70s, and the nicest pair of shoes he’s ever shined. But before I could ask my first question, Bobby began:
BW: I was born in 1954 and raised in Saratoga. My brothers shined before me. My brothers Harry and Floyd: That’s very important. Harry started shining around 1964 and did it until he went into the service at 19. Then Floyd took over and I had to watch him shine so I could learn. Floyd stopped in 1969, and I shined from 1969 to 1973. And then I went into the United States Air Force for 20 years. I’m a Gulf War veteran. I served in Desert Storm. I retired in 1993, and in about 2001 I came back to the track and shined shoes in the Grandstand. I stuck it out, but I didn’t make any money that year, so I didn’t return the following year.
SLAH: So why are you here now?
BW: Two years ago when I came to the track, I saw that the stand was empty, so I called the NYRA office secretary and asked her if they were looking for a shoeshiner. And they said, “Of course, we'd love to have you.”
SLAH: So that would make this your third summer back?
BW: Yeah. And I see celebrities.
SLAH: Right, like Bill Parcells. What can you tell me about him?
BW: He’s very generous. When I had him on the stand, a guy from Boston came up to him and he says, “Are you gonna go in the New England Hall of Fame?” And he says, “No, I don't care to be.” He says, “I'm in the best hall of fame—the NFL. And I'm happy.”
SLAH: OK, who else? Bobby Flay?
BW: Last year I did Bobby. I saw him yesterday—he’s here—but I haven’t done his shoes yet this year. Hopefully he’ll return. Do you like basketball? Do you know who Rick Pitino is? He had a horse in the first race today. Great coach. He just bought Iona to the NCAA tournament last year, and he just got promoted to St. John’s, so watch out for St. John’s. I do Chad Brown’s. Haven’t done Todd Pletcher’s.
SLAH: What’s the most expensive pair of shoes you’ve ever shined?
BW: Boots. I did Maggie Morley’s riding boots on Travers Day last year. She’s married to Tom Morley, who won two races today. They’d go over my knee. That’s how big they are.
SLAH: What’s different about shining shoes now versus when you were a kid?
BW: Back then it was 40 cents a shine. And I would make $100 [a day]. It was a lot of shoes back then. Today I made about $60.
SLAH: How many shines was that?
BW: Three shines today. It’s $10 and they give me tips because they look like new when I’m done. Last year on Travers I maybe did 15.
SLAH: So is the difference that fewer people are wearing shine-able shoes to the track these days?
BW: Absolutely. The shoes are in the clubhouse. But I like it out here because I feel part of the NYRA family.
SLAH: Are there any customers whose shoes you shined way back when who still come around today?
BW: Oh, yes, sure. Nick Zito. Nick was young back then. He trained for Marylou. He was hot. He was a kid from New York. They loved him.
SLAH: Do you have any memorable stories from back then?
BW: Lenny Goodman was a jockey agent—a very high-class, classy man. I did his shoes in the morning, in the afternoon, and then he would come out and sit on the stand around the eighth race for the last two races. One day I had a guy next to my stand running bets. I said to [Lenny], '“Do you want to bet something?” And he says, “Sure, kid. Here.” He gives me $3. He says, “And you put $3 in. Why don’t you go bet 1, 3, 10 triple box—it costs $6.” So the kid ran it in. We won, and it paid out about $1,000, but after the race, we’re waiting and waiting. Guy never showed up. He was running bets for me all day, but this one? He booked. Year after year, Lenny would show up and he’d say, “Did you find the guy yet?” And I’d say, “No, sir, I’m so sorry. I feel so bad.” He said, “Ah, don’t worry about it, kid. I wanted you to be happy.”
SLAH: Oh my gosh.
BW: Oh, another one. When I was a kid I hustled pink sheets. I used to go to the West Side—Beekman Street. Back then DeRossi’s was there and Cala Maria’s Restaurant on Ash Street. It’s not there anymore—it’s a house. I used to go in the side door. Fred Capossela, who was the announcer then, would go in just about every night. Well, this was his birthday night. I’m there selling papers. They were only a dollar. And I would walk through the dining room and people gave me $2 and told me to keep the paper. Well, there was a microphone as you walk in the door. Fred Capossela would say, “It is now post time.” That's how he sounded. I can do it very good. So anyway, [I’d say it into the mic and] people would say, who is that? And [Fred] would be sitting in the dining room getting a kick out of it. And I’d announce a race. The people in the dining room are cheering for me and everything. I'm only like 12 years old, you know.
SLAH: Why do you still like shining shoes more than 50 years later?
BW: It’s an art. I did 20 years in the military. My shoes were always shined. And, I don’t know. I mean, you’re making me cry. That’s how much it means to me. It’s my home. I’m reliving the dream.
—Natalie
Taking AIM
On Tuesday, AIM Services held its annual Croquet on the Green fundraiser, which saw teams of two battle it out in the lawn game for the ultimate title. After being beat the past two years by the Phinney Design Group team, father-son duo Brett Armstrong and Brett Armstrong Jr. emerged as the afternoon’s victors. The Saratoga Living team? Well, we got out in the first round. “The people we played against had a strategy,” said croquet contender and SL Director of Sales Annette Quarrier. “When one of them was close to the wicket, the other one would start aiming for the next wicket. Two of the guys made their own mallets. People take it really seriously.”
The event ended up raising $76,000—$6,000 more than last year’s tournament—which will be used to support AIM’s community habilitation and summer programming for children, teens and young adults. “We are so grateful to the people who come out each year to support this unique fundraiser," said AIM’s Bo Goliber. “The families we support in this program have opportunities that would not otherwise be possible without the funds raised from this event.”
Cody’s In the House
It’s Whitney Day! And as track-goers don their favorite pink outfits to head to the Race Course, most of them are chattering about one horse: Cody’s Wish.
That’s because the Breeders’ Cup champion has never lost a race when his namesake, Cody Dorman, is in the house. And Cody has indeed traveled to Saratoga for the Whitney.
Cody, a Kentucky teenager with a rare genetic disorder, first met the Thoroughbred several years ago at Godolphin’s Gainsborough Farm as part of a collaboration between Keeneland and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. From the instant the two met, they had an immediate bond.
Keep an eye out for this incredible kid! The Whitney will go off today at 5:42pm.
Luau for a Cause
The rain took a break Wednesday night so the brightly dressed crowd at The Gala could accessorize their luau-themed outfits with a pair of shades. The 41st annual fundraiser for the Saratoga Community Health Center was as packed as it always is, the crowd forming intimidatingly long lines at the bar. “You want two drinks, right?” the bartenders offered anyone who at last made it to the front, which created a sea of double-fisting party guests. Among the attendees raising money in the name of providing health care to every single local, regardless of income: Gary Dake, John Witt, Mike Munter, Jacky Ross, Paul Hennessey, and Saratoga Living super-fan Christina Abele with her husband, Frank. Charity MVPs Kim and Leigh McConchie, who told us in the current issue of the magazine that they like to coordinate their outfits, outdid themselves by finding a tie for Leigh with the exact same print as the bright orange dress Kim had picked out for the event. “I searched Amazon for ‘Hawaiian tie,’” Kim said. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw this one with the exact same print!”
From saratogaliving.com
Check out two new stories: One on The Sembrich, a historic cultural destination in Bolton Landing, and the other a photo gallery by Tom Killips of scenes from morning workouts at Saratoga Race Course this season.