Preview: Turf Paradise on Arizona Highways

Arizona Highways airs each Sunday at 9:30 a.m., 4:30 p.m. and 11:05 p.m. on ABC15-TV

This weekend on Arizona Highways …

One of my favorite musicals is “My Fair Lady.” Even though Henry Higgins does seem a bit chauvinistic now, I remember watching it as a young girl thinking this musical Pygmalion was quite romantic.

To this day, one of my favorite scenes is when Eliza Doolittle, all dressed to the nines goes to the horse races and although she is doing her very best to keep up the proper English lady façade, she gets so caught up with the horse race that she loses all control and yells, “Dover move your Bloomin Ars.”

The few times I’ve been to the horse track, I always think of that scene although these days silence is anything but golden, you are actually encouraged to cheer on your horse and jockey all the way to the finish line.

Given I’ve learned most of my racing jargon such as win, place and show from another well known musical “Guys and Dolls” and I’d probably place a bet based on the horses name or the color jacket of the jockey, I still thought it would be fun to take the Arizona Highways Crew out to Turf Paradise.

I found out that this place has quite the history.

It opened in 1956 and it was the first organized pro sports franchise in Arizona history.  There are plenty of different vantage points to take in a day at the races whether your dining and watching or just a die- hard fan out in the sun in the bleachers. 

As I looked around, you could tell there were a lot of regulars who knew the jockeys, the horses, the track stats and anything else you needed to know to make an informed decision before placing that coveted bet.

They seemed like an insiders club knowing everyone and everything about the place. 

I, being the newbie wanted to walk over to the paddock to get a closer look at the horses and jockeys as they circled around so I could sniff out the winner.

I had no idea what I was doing so when it came down to picking a horse, I reverted back to the only thing I could count on, a cool name and a shocking pink shirt.

Unfortunately, we were so busy filming that when I ran to the counter to place my bet, I heard the announcer say the horses were at the starting gate and the race was about to begin.

So I guess my dreams of having the long shot come from behind as I encouraged him to move his you know what will have to be played out on my next visit to Paradise.

Arizona Highways airs each Sunday at 9:30 a.m., 4:30 p.m. and 11:05 p.m. on ABC15-TV