The Great Solar Eclipse of April 8 is over, but the impact lingers, especially in the vast expanse of the United States below the path of totality, where the moon existed most completely ahead. sun. More than 30 million Americans already reside along that path, which gives those of us in the more remote reaches of the eclipse ample opportunity to evaluate the phenomenon by proxy. Once the bands of darkness had dissipated, this moon-born dreamer made several calls to locations along the path including:
Dallas, where Linda and Michael Stinson invited friends to their suburban home to see the backyard around 1:40 p.m. local time. The Stinsons are veteran horse owners and breeders who were members of the campaign group Chrome California through his second Horse of the Year season in 2016. You would think, after watching Chrome shine in the 2016 Dubai World Cup (G1) and Pacific Classic Stakes (G1), staring at the sun might be a disappointment.
“Maybe it’s the artist in me, but I’m just stupid about things like that,” says Linda Stinson, a talented sculptor. “I had a visceral reaction while it was happening.
“The most special thing is the quality of light,” Stinson said. “A photographer will tell you that you will never see that kind of light anywhere. It is an unusual phenomenon that only a total solar eclipse can create. Strange. Beautiful.”
Stinson noted that about 400,000 tourists came to the Dallas area to see the eclipse, filling local hotels.
“There were many people watching from the rooftop near us,” she said. “When the eclipse was total, we could hear them screaming. We screamed back. It was crazy. It was amazing.”
Next up is Hot Springs, Ark., where Oaklawn Park the management organized a party in the courtyard for the eclipse pilgrims with bands, magicians and loads of food. Over on Hamilton Lake, Oaklawn racetrack announcer Matt Dinerman returned to the dock with friends and donned their eclipse glasses to enjoy a special four minutes of total solar eclipse.
“It was inspiring,” Dinerman said. “There was a gentle breeze on the lake during the early parts of the eclipse. But then when the sun was obscured, the wind disappeared. It got darker and it felt like a deep sunset. The temperature could drop to 5- 7 degrees.
“As far as how it sounded,” Dinerman said, “with the birds and everything, as soon as it reached totality and we took the glasses off, the people in the house across the street started playing the national anthem. . They are ready.”
Talk about the last rays of sunset.
Indianapolis horseshoe is in Shelbyville, Ind., smack in the master’s path. Normally, Monday would be a dark day, with or without a total solar eclipse. Racing there was supposed to start on April 16. But to commemorate the eclipse, management organized a special eight-race race between Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses that afternoon, pause after the sixth race to commemorate the celestial event.
Racers watch the eclipse at Horseshoe Indianapolis
“It’s really not my thing, or at least I don’t think so,” said Eric Halstrom, vice president and general manager of Horseshoe’s racing division. “But watching everyone else from the apron, those four minutes when the sun was completely obscured was really cool.”
Horseshoe turned race day into a party with a giveaway of a lawn chair and popular local band Endless Summer, featuring vocals from Faith Marie and Brian Marshall Goodwin.
“The prophets scared many people with predictions of 12-hour traffic jams in the area,” Halstrom said. “You can shoot a cannon into our casino, but it’s a good day at the track. That band draws from 500 to a thousand people wherever they go.”
For those of us watching indirectly, the Horseshoe simulcast offered breathtaking views of a grandstand ablaze with artificial light, then abruptly returned to daylight.
“It was exciting that even with 98% of the sun blocked out, there was still enough light so we could still race,” Halstrom added. “Then it was like someone hit a light switch and it went completely black.”
Ohio has a healthy overall record, including track racing Hollywood Games at Mahoning Valley Raceway near Cleveland, where Ferrin Peterson and her jockey friends gathered in the paddock to watch the sky during their share of the total.
“It was a team-bonding experience, passing around telescopes as the eclipse unfolded,” Peterson said. “We were very lucky with the weather because we could clearly see the halo around the sun. There were also ponies in the paddock, but they didn’t really react. As for them, I guess it’s more like a cloud passing over the sun.” .”
Eclipse, the undefeated racehorse and stallion, was born on the afternoon of April 1, 1764, during a solar eclipse whose path of totality touched the southeastern corner of England. Mares usually give birth at night.
“I think there is a lot of opinion that circadian rhythms play a role and the fact that horses are predators and darkness brings protection during birth”. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a foal delivered to a farm somewhere in Ohio or Indiana.”
Then there’s Norwalk, Ohio, (pop. 17,069) located in the heart of the total path, as well as the hometown of retired jockey Frankie Lovato Jr., winner of 1,686 races and, one appropriately, the Eclipse Award was awarded to the outstanding apprentice jockey in 1980. Lovato is also the inventor of the Equicizer, the popular equestrian simulator.
Frankie Lovato Jr. and his personal Eclipse
“In addition to being a once-in-300-year experience, it was amazing to witness it with my youngest son, Timmy,” Lovato said. “He’s a technological wizard, and he calculated everything down to the second it would happen. He launched a drone with a camera and parked it about a thousand feet, so we have video of the effect on the ground. He also brought me the viewfinder, which I had forgotten about.
“The day couldn’t have been more perfect,” Lovato continued. “The sky was blue, 70 degrees. We watched from the back deck. I drank a few beers. It started to turn gray, you could feel whatever wind was blowing, then it became colder. When it gets dark, all the lights turn on the solar sensor.” turn on. It was a four-minute night. From afar, we could hear people setting off fireworks. Definitely great.
“Then we invited our families over for a party,” Lovato added. “But for the eclipse it was just me and Timmy, which was okay. It was probably one of the best days I’ve had with my son.”
