Drivers hitting the intersection of Nelson and York avenues in Saratoga Springs this week are being directed to stop … in the name of Tiz the Law.
Swept up in the popularity and interest in the Belmont Stakes-winning colt, Bob Giordano, whose house is on the northeast corner of the intersection, took it upon himself to attach an addendum to the four stop signs.
Under each one and its accompanying “All way” reminder, Giordano bolted a small rectangular sign in the matching red color with white border that reads “Tiz the Law” in parentheses.
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A 75-year-old Saratoga Springs resident since 1968 and a racing fan his entire life, Giordano came up with the idea to honor a horse who promises to be one of the stars of the Saratoga Race Course meet that opens on Thursday.
Tiz the Law is a New York-bred owned by the Saratoga Springs-based Sackatoga Stable, which took a run at the 2003 Triple Crown with Funny Cide.
Based on his name, the colt also had potential to lend some cheeky assistance to traffic enforcement.
So Giordano went to Fastsigns sign shop in Saratoga Springs and ordered up four additions for the stop signs. Photos of the signs circulated quickly on social media.
“I put that thing up, and within 10 minutes, a woman down the street in the Air BnB came down and said, ‘Do you know who put those up?’ I said, ‘Yeah,’ the beaming Giordano said from his porch on Wednesday morning.
“I sent it [photo] to another guy, and it blew up like crazy. It turns out it was a good idea, and it’s put a lot of smiles on a lot of people’s faces.”
Giordano said the city’s Dept. of Public Works was aware of the new signs, and the Gazette called the department to confirm this.
He was more concerned about thieving Tiz the Law fans taking them down than he was the city, and actually removed them Tuesday night before he went to bed before re-installing them Wednesday morning.
Like many in Saratoga, he remembers well the Triple Crown run the Barclay Tagg-trained Funny Cide made for Sackatoga, whose operations manager, Jack Knowlton, is a city resident. Tagg also trains Tiz the Law.
“It was in the middle of the night, and I was just thinking about things, thinking about Barclay’s horse, and Jack’s, and it just came to me,” Giordano said. “I thought, ‘Why not?’ It was one of these brainstorms that I had.
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“I sent one [photo] to Jack as soon as I got it up. They’re great for the town, they’re great for racing, and to have this whole buzz with them getting a second shot at it is great.
“This town is so great. You don’t always need to get something for what you’re doing. I tell people, it’s 38,000 people, and it’s small enough where anybody can get involved in anything they want to. And a lot of people want to.”
Reach Mike MacAdam at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @Mike_MacAdam.
Categories: -Sports-, Saratoga County
