Racetrack

Hipódromo de la Zarzuela, Madrid, Spain. 1994

Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky. 1996

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York. 1994

Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York. 1996

Hipódromo de Maroñas, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1991

Montpelier Hunt Races, Montpelier Station, Virginia. 1994

Hipódromo de Maroñas, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1991

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York. 1994

Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York. 1994

Hipódromo la Zarzuela, Madrid, Spain. 1994

Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky. 1996

Hipódromo de Maroñas, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1991

Hipódromo de Maroñas, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1995

Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York. 1996

Hipódromo de Maroñas, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1991

Hipódromo la Zarzuela, Madrid, Spain. 1994

Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York. 1996

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York. 1994

Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York. 1996

Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky. 1996

Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York. 1996

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York. 1994

Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York. 1996

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York. 1994

Hipódromo de Maroñas, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1995

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York. 1994

Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky. 1996

Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York. 1996

Montpelier Hunt Races, Montpelier Station, Virginia. 1994

Hipódromo de Maroñas, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1991

Hipódromo la Zarzuela, Madrid, Spain. 1994

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York. 1978

Hipódromo de Maroñas, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1976

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York. 1978

Moments of unusual revelation seem to occur in public space within the comforting anonymity of a crowd. The two to three minutes of a thoroughbred horse race provide a dramatic arc, particularly given that money is a stake. Each race generates a certain intensity that’s preceded by anticipation and followed by a reckoning. Although I was initially drawn to the subject by its sheer spectacle, what immediately interested me far more were the visible manifestations of absorption, revealing much about each individual.

The project began as a series of 35mm images at racetracks, first in 1976 in Montevideo, Uruguay and subsequently in 1978 and ‘79 in the New York metropolitan area at Aqueduct and Belmont racetracks. I worked in earnest on the project throughout the 1990s, shooting exclusively in medium format as I made portraits at racetracks throughout the U.S. and overseas.