Sam the Bobble-headed Bugler

By Thomas Dimopoulos

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- They have waited in line by the thousands these
past three years, for Jerry Bailey, Edgar Prado and John Velazquez.
Outside the gates of Saratoga Race Course, now they stand in line
for the man they call Sam.

'It's unreal,' said Sam, the focus of everybody's attention. 'I'm very nervous.
How would you feel if you looked up to see people holding up 30,000 dolls
with your head on them?'

For 40 years, he has gone by the name Sam Grossman.
Racing fans have come to know him as Sam the Bugler. From trackside 'spinners'
to eBay sellers, Sam the bobblehead doll will be on everybody's mind as the
image of the NYRA bugler becomes the fourth in a series of annual promotions
at Saratoga Race Course.

It's been a long journey for the Long Island native, who grew up having
his heart broken during those long years of futility for his beloved Yankees
in the early 1970s. Those were also formative years for the young man, who
began playing the trumpet when he was 6 years old. In 1993, he auditioned
for an unexpected job opening as the bugler at Aqueduct.

'That was just luck. The bugler who was there had won the Pick 6 and quit.
So, I auditioned. I said, 'I'm your guy. Give me the gig.' I had never gone to a
horse race in my whole life, but somehow, I knew I would get the job,' he said.

Married with two children and now in his 13th year of bugling for NYRA,
he lives near enough to Belmont and Aqueduct to make the nightly commute
home when playing at those tracks. The distance to Saratoga may cut down
on family time, but he said the season is a special one.

'This one is our most precious,' he said.
'I'm here for six weeks a year to entertain over a million people who are charming
and polite and quite refreshing. It's like going to a different planet.'

With his red jacket, black hat and long, red horn, he walks a path across
the racecourse several times a day, introducing each race with the call to the post.

The short walk would take about one minute, but the popular bugler gives himself
five times as long for all of the hand shaking, back slapping and picture taking that
goes on during his walk to the winners' circle. Once inside, he turns to face the crowd,
tilts his head back and unleashes the piercing salute that announces the next race.

Standout memories in his 13 years of racecourse bugling include Fusaichi Pegasus
winning the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in 2000, and Jerry Bailey riding Cigar.
Now, there is a third, as he is forever immortalized in bobblehead form.

There are 30,000 of them, each standing 7-inches tall.

'Hey, at least the nose and the gut are smaller,' he said. He didn't seem to mind.


Published in The Saratogian