Turf Paradise 29 January 2024

A day many horse racing fans in Arizona didn't think would come.   I thought horse racing at Turf Paradise was finished once last years season ended in May of 2023. 

So it was a happy surprise when the ownership decided to have a shortened season starting 29 January 2024.    

Who knows if Turf Paradise will have an operating track next year.  But for now, horse racing will live on at least until May of 2024.

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

For images from my visit, click HERE 

4 Final Visits to Turf Paradise in 2022 and 2023

Many of us had suspected for some time that the owner of Turf Paradise in Phoenix wanted to sell.  News of that broke by September of 2023.  At this point, nobody is sure if there will be a buyer as one deal fell through.   Nor will we know if any new buyer will want to continue horse racing, which began here in 1956.   That also means an end to the off track betting they had in well over 30 locations.  

Horse racing in Prescott Valley at Arizona Downs also cancelled their summer season.   

A darn shame.   Rillito Park
in Tucson, however, says they will continue. I do remember they had meets around the county fair in Cochise County.   So we'll see what happens with that.

I loved photographing the race horses.  I grew up near a sulky track in Michigan so I was familiar with horse racing.   

But it looks like horse racing might be finished in Phoenix.  

*UPDATE!  It now appears new owners are going to take Turf Paradise!   Read more here:  https://www.horseracingnation.com/news/Additional_details_emerge_on_would_be_Turf_Paradise_buyers_123

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Images from 11 March 2023 HERE

Images from 30 January 2023 HERE

Images from 4 November 2022 HERE

Images from 16 March 2022 HERE

Arizona Downs Horse Racing in Prescott Arizona

I've photographed horse racing mostly at Turf Paradise in Phoenix.   I've also captured images at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky.   But I never photographed at Arizona Downs until Wednesday 21 July 2021.

First things first.   Arizona Downs is beautiful.   Very modern building.   Not the best days for racing.  Their schedule this year only has racing Tuesday and Wednesday.   Imagine the crowds if they were racing on Saturday and Sunday.

Message to Turf Paradise: Look at how beautiful Arizona Downs is.   

I hope to come back and spend more time.   One thing I'd do differently is bring my 24-70mm lens.   I had the Tamron 100-400mm lens and I didn't need that kind of reach.   You are very close to the action at Arizona Downs.   

I capture images on a Canon EOS R6 and on this day used the Tamron 100-400.  Post processing in Lightroom mostly.   I also used PureRAW, Topaz, and Luminar.

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Click the photo below for all of my images from Arizona Downs!

Turf Paradise 4 March 2020

I've photographed action at Turf Paradise many times.   This time, I wanted to use my Tamron 70-200mm lens to see how that would work out.

I stayed through three races this day.   Got a beer and two hot dogs out of the visit, too.  

The Tamron lens was on a Canon EOS R.   Post processing done with Lightroom and a few I also used Luminar 4 and Simplify 4 for a painterly look.   Sometimes I use Simplify 4 on photos that might be a wee bit out of focus.   I kind of like the end result.

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Here's a slideshow of all of my photos.... ENJOY!

Another season of horse racing has started at Turf Paradise in Phoenix.


Although I could not  attend the opening day of 12 October 2019, I did make it to the Monday 14 October meet.  



Temperatures in the upper 80s and blue skies welcomed several hundred fans.

I captured images with a Canon EOS R and Tamron 100-400mm lens.  Post processing in Lightroom and Luminar 4.



Special hello to head of security Dan Adams who came out to greet me.  He had recognized me from other times I visited.  I want to plan a photowalk to Turf Paradise soon!

Until My Next Adventure,

See You On Down the Road,

Jim Patterson

Here's more of my photos.... ENJOY!

Turf Paradise End of Season Racing 5 May 2019

5 May 2019, or Cinco de Mayo, was the last race day of the season at Turf Paradise in Phoenix.  

I thought I'd stop by and take in a few races.  

Unless you have permission to get inside the track to photograph, it is very difficult to get a good angle at track level.  The track is actually a few feet higher than where fans can stand, so that means having to shoot through rails.  

Over the years, I found the best place to capture racing images is from the top deck of the stadium, looking down.  

I used a Canon 70-200mm lens on a Canon EOS R camera body.  NOT the best lens for this kind of photography!  I have a Tamron 100-400mm lens, similar to the Canon lens I used at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky last week.  

My entire photography portfolio is on SmugMug.  And, here's my Instagram feed.

Until My Next Adventure,

See You On Down the Road,

Jim Patterson

Here's a slideshow of all of my photos.... ENJOY!


I took four of the photos and applied some selective colorization...

Kentucky Horses and Bourbon and More

Manchester Farm Sunrise in Lexington Kentucky

In April of 2019, I visited in and around Lexington, Kentucky to photograph horses and two stops on the Bourbon Trail.  I was with a group from Canon, even though I saw one photographer carrying a Nikon!  I capture images with the new mirrorless Canon EOS R.  On this trip, I brought the EF 17-40mm and the RF 25-105mm lenses.  At the racetrack, I borrowed the Canon 100mm-400mm lens.  

Curious Horses Wondering Why I Was Up so Early!

The first stop was the Manchester Farm of Lexington, Kentucky for some sunrise photos.  This was about a ten minute drive from our host hotel but it still meant a very early morning wake-up call.  The iconic white fences you see at these farms I found out cost something like $14 a foot, so DON’T TOUCH THE FENCES.  If I visit again, I’m going to contact Manchester for a tour.  By the way, the dogwoods were in bloom.  I don't see that often in Phoenix, so I had to photograph.  

Racing Action at Keeneland in Lexington

Right next door was Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington.  I had time to wander around and walked outside the horse stalls, talking to workers as I went along.  Horse people, I’ve found, are the friendliest people around!  They welcomed me as I peeked around taking photographs.  

In the Stalls at Keeneland

Post Time at Keeneland was 1pm, so our group walked over to the 3rd and 4th turn on the grass to get action photos.  I’m used to this because I’ve photographed Turf Paradise in Phoenix.  To capture action, I had to make sure my shutter speed was at least 1/1000 of a second.  I was secretly hoping for rain this day so I could capture mudder horses.  That opportunity just doesn’t happen in Phoenix.  But it was dry.  Not a problem!  

Dogwoods in Bloom

High Dynamic Range Capture in the Cask Room at Buffalo Trace

Next up was a visit to Buffalo Trace Bourbon Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, part of the Bourbon Trail.  Hanna the intern helped get the group around to capture great images in the cask room and elsewhere on the grounds.  

Shaker Village Scene

Another stop was at Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill. In the early 1800s, there was a religious order that was celibate so they died out.  But they left behind interesting buildings.

Maker's Mark Bourbon Waiting to be Bottled

Our final stop back on the Bourbon Trail was Maker’s Mark of Loretto, Kentucky.  It’s OUT THERE.  Lots of driving on very narrow roads, what I call “Irish Freeways.”  Then, up pops a distillery.  After early morning photos, Christopher our tour guide showed us around, ending at the cask room and tasting room.  Here I found out to be considered bourbon, it needs at least 51% corn.  What an education.  And what great bourbon.  

Special Mint Julep Bourbon and it was GOOD!

My entire photography portfolio is on SmugMug.  And, here's my Instagram feed.

Until My Next Adventure,

See You On Down the Road!

Jim Patterson

Here's a slideshow of all of my photos.... ENJOY!

A Lazy Day at the Races

I spent part of Monday, the 12th of March, as the race track.  In Phoenix, that means Turf Paradise.  It was a warm day in the 80s andI had a camera.

I ran into a nice fellow who told me how scientific he bets.  I told him I look for a name, a sort of commandment from God, as a guide.  For instance, if a horse is named “Wildcat Jim” then he gets $2 to win.   The other method I use is to look at the last serial number on a dollar bill.  On this day, it was 2.  So I put $2 on the 2 horse.  Guess what?  The two horse won!  I got $16.80, enough to pay for a beer and a few hot dogs.  

I used a Canon 5d Mark IV and Tamron’s wonderful 28-300mm lens on my short visit.

Until My Next Adventure,

(Cave Creek Rodeo!)

See You On Down the Road!

Jim Patterson

… and all the photos!

Turf Paradise 11 March 2017

I spent another lovely Phoenix, Arizona afternoon at Turf Paradise.  This time the attraction for families was wiener dog races.  The special events always brings a crowd and it was no different on this day.  

To the left, it looks like a parade of wiener dog handlers going through the throng of people.  Wiener dogs for ME meant a sale on hot dogs and I had a few while visiting!








Although it was the 11th of March, it was nearly 90 degrees.  What made the visit fun for me was I had a chance to talk to people visiting from Wisconsin and Illinois.  They looked confused so I shared some tips on where to sit, for instance.  I like it up on the top deck... best view for photography, I think.  And I gave some betting tips.  Like:  take out a dollar bill, what is the last serial number?  Bet THAT horse!  

Until My Next Adventure, 

See You On Down the Road!

Jim Patterson

Photos from Flickr ... and, here are all the keeper photos!

A Day at the Turf Paradise Races

I’ve photographed at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Arizona many times.  So nothing new there.  What WAS new was my second camera, the Canon G3X.  It is smaller and lighter than my main camera, the Canon 5D Mark IV, and cost a lot less.  My thinking was to take this camera and force myself to use it!  It’s the only way to learn a new piece of technology.

This camera can shoot in raw, which is nice for post processing (I use Lightroom primarily).  One question I wanted answered was can I shoot in burst mode.  The answer is yes you can… I did have to put the elector in the sports mode category to do that and then it only saved in jpg format. 

All-in-all, the camera performed well as a second camera.  It doesn’t make me want to give up my 5D Mark IV, that’s for sure.  But now I know I can carry this little beauty with me if I don’t want to haul the heavier 5D Mark IV and the heavier lenses. 

  

Until My Next Adventure, 

See You On Down the Road!

Jim Patterson

Photos from Flickr ...and, here are all the keeper photos!