Belmont and WWE/ECW show make for a wild time

                    

	Clearly, some people took their pre-Belmont preparations very seriously. Ryan Jackson
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SI.com's Arash Markazi was in New York this weekend and took in some racing and wrestling, attending the Belmont Stakes on Saturday and ECW One Night Stand on Sunday. Here's his diary of the weekend.

Belmont Stakes (Saturday, June 10)

• As I stepped onto a Trailways coach bus that would be traveling from Alphabet City to Belmont Park, I knew this would not be your normal day at the races. Then again, I should have known that when SI's Adam Duerson invited me to join him for his third annual "Helmont" road trip. The daylong event has grown from a group of 12 to 20 to 56 (with a wait list this year), which caused Duerson to rent the bus. When I wondered why so many people would want to go to the Belmont with neither the winner of the Kentucky Derby nor the Preakness in the field and no hope for a Triple Crown winner, Duerson's roommate James McIntyre IV immediately set me straight. "Less notable horses makes it more fun," he said. "This isn't for serious horse racing fans. Save that for the Derby."

• McIntyre was right, as most of the people on the bus, ranging in age from 21 to 29, were either going to their first race, didn't know who was in the field or, to be honest, didn't care. After all, with about 50 cases of beer on board along with sub sandwiches, bagels, chips and a beer-pong table, the race was already a side attraction for most.

• Last year the NYRA stopped allowing patrons to bring alcohol into Belmont because of "increasing concerns about the safety and security of all our fans." But that didn't stop Belmont from selling an endless supply of booze every 10 feet, and it certainly didn't stop fans from sneaking in their own drinks.

• The only item we couldn't sneak in was the beer-pong table, but a friendly exchange between Mike "Gerard" Gerard and a young officer changed all that. "No way that's coming," said the officer looking at the large piece of plywood being carried by three guys. "It's just a table," said Gerard. "It would make for a pretty good beer-pong table," said the officer. "I guess it could," said a surprised Gerard. "Go around back," said the officer. "You'll get it in there."

• The Belmont Stakes quickly became one of my favorite sporting events when I found out that admission was only $5. I soaked in the gorgeous backyard park complete with picnic areas, a playground and a duck pond. Around noon, we set up shop next to a five-piece soft-rock band that was playing for the backyard crowd. The location combined with our beer-pong table quickly made us an attractive table for strangers.

• After taking in a couple of games of beer pong, I headed inside Belmont's beautiful ivy-covered grandstand and did something I never thought I'd do. I went to the old-school barbershop, saddled into one of the chairs, threw down 10 bucks and told the barber to cut my luscious locks. I guess a couple of Milwaukee's Best can do that to you. As Sal, who's been cutting hair at Belmont for years, chopped away at my hair, he threw me one-liner after one-liner as I shot back "Hey oh!" after each one. After being one of Joan Rivers' joke writers about two face-lifts ago, he was telling me about the good old days of comedy -- "back when you could have a good set without cursing every other word." While Sal was a riot, his cut was no joke. I'll probably go back to him in another year for my annual cut.

• When I tried to walk into the Garden Terrace Restaurant and check out the box seats, I was stopped, not because I didn't have a ticket but because of the dress code -- suits or sports jackets are required, jeans or shorts are not allowed. While I can respect the dress code, why do people need to get dressed up to watch horses run around? Sure, it's hyped as "The Sport of Kings" among its faithful, but come on, folks, get over yourselves already.

• It's funny to watch fans who have traveled to the Belmont and then stand about 100 yards away from the track with their backs to the action and watch the race on television. Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose? I can't really say anything since I was watching with them, but still.

• For some reason I decided to bet on the ponies even though I know nothing about racing. It was pretty dumb, picking horses based on my favorite name and number. It reminded me of the time my girlfriend used to pick teams based on which mascot would win in a fight. "Who would win if a Cowboy faced a Buccaneer?" she once asked. "I don't know -- I guess the Cowboy if he had a gun and the Buccaneer only had a sword," I said. "I disagree; the Buc would find a way to win," she said. But she won her office football pool that year, so I guess it can work.

• After losing about $100, I bought a glass of "Belmont Breeze," a fruity concoction of Jack Daniels and various other liquors, and ordered a spicy plate of fine West Indian food from the Island Page Restaurant inside Belmont's grandstand. I passed on the oxtail, curried goat and cod fish cakes and settled on the brown stewed chicken and plantains, which hit the spot even if none of my picks did.

• When it was finally time for the Stakes, we gathered our belongings and found a pretty nice spot near the finish line. I passed on betting on the Stakes even though Jazil was probably my favorite name in the field. Go figure.

• After the race we got back on the bus, and while our five-disk Belmont mix played everything from 2-Pac to Chicago to Depeche Mode, everyone jumped up and down and danced in the aisle and threw back what was left of our drinks. Everyone on board agreed that it was one of the best Belmont Stakes ever, even if they couldn't remember who had won by the time they got back home.