Les Bois Park is a small but popular track in Boise, Idaho. (Photos courtesy of Julie June Stewart)

The tall, handsome cowboy tilts his head towards the azure blue sky and laughs. The woman by his side leans in and puts her hand on his chest and stands on her toes to whisper something in his ear. Their belts sparkle in the sunlight. His belt buckle is sterling silver, while hers is tooled leather and generously decorated with bling. The cowboy smiles at her as he scuffs his boot on the ground as they both turn their attention to the track to watch two horses dueling down the stretch. It’s Ladies’ Night at Les Bois Park and there is a happy vibe among the crowd as they enjoy racing on this warm summer evening.    

Tan legs, shorts, bejeweled sandals and sunglasses are tonight’s fashion statements for the ladies. As soon as the race ends, the crowd meanders towards the paddock to check out the horses for the next race. It is neat, clean and freshly painted. It features a triangular walking ring watched over by two red-jacketed lawn jockeys. Geraniums, petunias, marigolds and salvia are thriving in the flower beds. Little boys in cowboy hats hang out at the gate and step aside to let the men they know walk through as they politely address each one as “mister.”

PADDOCK LAWN JOCKEYS

Apprentice trainer David Kiser leans against the fence and says hello. He opens his program to show his mom’s photo and explains that the sixth race tonight is in her memory. Ginger Welch was a well-known jockey who won Idaho’s 1990 Centennial Cup, Idaho’s first $100,000 race. He proudly wears his dad’s 1994 “Les Bois Park Leading Trainer” silver belt buckle. 

There are a few of the horses who are excited and on their toes. One prefers to go around the walking ring sideways. Another kicks the fence in the saddling area and snorts. Others make the walk with a professional coolness and survey the crowd placidly. The conversation around the paddock is about the next race. “The two is the best horse but the three has the best jockey!” and everyone laughs.  If you don’t have a cowboy hat, you use your program as a visor to avoid the sun in your eyes. As the sun lowers in the sky, the shadows of the horses lengthen and their long legs dance around the ring. 

PADDOCK CROWD

Some of the ponies who escort the race horses to the track are decorated with paint. There are lightning bolts, hearts and hand prints on their haunches along with circles around their eyes. Several of the ponies are flashy pintos. It gives you a wonderful Wild West feeling. Advertisements extolling beef are in the program and hanging on banners in the grandstands. Men abound in Wrangler jeans, cowboy hats and Lucchese boots. The outside patio is sold out and the grandstands are full. Families have set up in festive clusters of lawn chairs on the apron.

PAINTED PONY HORSE

Les Bois Park is located in Boise, Idaho. It features a ¾-mile dirt track for both Thoroughbred and quarter horse racing from May to August. On the night I attended there were eight races, including two stakes races. Forty-eight horses were on the race card and it was a wonderful assortment of horses from Arizona, Utah, Florida, New Mexico, Washington, Louisiana, Illinois, Texas (quarter horses) and Idaho. The majority of the horses were bred in California and Kentucky with sires such as Scat Daddy, First Samurai, Point Given, Giant’s Causeway, Unusual Heat, Candy Ride and Lucky Pulpit (sire of California Chrome)!

One horse that caught my eye was the 8-year-old Playing for Keeps trained by James Hansen. He has raced the last five years at Los Alamitos. A handsome dark bay, he won handily and it was fun to see his connections meet him in the winner’s circle. A pony tailed little girl in an orange T-shirt beamed as she held onto the corner of the blanket awarded to the connections. Proud jockey Eddie Aceves turned his head and gave her a great big smile before dismounting.

PINTO PONY HORSES

As the setting sun glistened on the homes in the hills, the day ended and it was time to call it a night. But I witnessed a fascinating phenomenon. No one seemed to be ready to go home. People on the apron remained gathered in groups chatting and laughing as friends joined them from the grandstands.  It was like a neighborhood party where everyone knew each other and there was no hurry to go anywhere. 

I wandered up to the Turf Club above their casino and was surprised when they offered to seat me for dinner. They are open until 1 a.m. with tables offering a lovely view of the entire track. There is a small lake in the infield which seems to be the home of a large flock of Canada Geese. I found the ice tea and air conditioning refreshing. There are three pieces of art hung prominently. One is a stylistic depiction of the beloved orange-and-blue broncos from Boise State University. Behind the cash register is a large depiction of Secretariat in his iconic blue-and-white checkered blinkers. And finally, next to the elevator is a large portrait of a young, handsome Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens.  Stevens grew up in nearby Caldwell, Idaho, and at age 17, won his first Thoroughbred race on Lil Star for his dad in 1979 at Les Bois Park.

RACING AT LES BOIS PARK

The racing patrons started to filter out as the track workers filtered in. Table after table filled with trainers, jockeys and connections that sat and carefully studied the race replays. Comments like “Look! Right there! See what happened!” and “Here is where I won it” drifted throughout the restaurant. Trainers nodded sagely as barn workers wandered in for dinner after tending to their horses back at the barns.

Live racing continues at Les Bois Park through August 9. There is an exciting race scheduled on July 29 which will feature the first running of the Historical Racing Stakes for 3-year-olds and up. This is advertised as a “seven furlong showcase of Northwest’s premier Thoroughbreds with $40,000 added purse money.” It is very evident that Idahoans love their race track and support it. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend making a visit to Les Bois Park to check out the racing. It’s one of the friendliest tracks and I have no doubt that you will see some great racing and make some new friends!