I went to the Big A for Wood day on Saturday. I met Marc at the race track and we had about as good a time as you could have given what that place has become since it turned into a racino. Chalk prevailed in the big Derby prep races here and elsewhere but we had fun ducking between the track apron and the monitors inside to watch all the big events in quick succession.

Knowing in advance you can’t buy a reasonably-priced beer at Aqueduct any more, we both sipped on hard stuff brought in from the outside.

Frosted won the Wood in visually non-impressive fashion. The grayish 3-year-old son of Tapit beat a mediocre field at odds of 2.2 to 1 and likely won’t be among the top six or seven betting choices in the Kentucky Derby should he remain healthy enough to make the starting gate.

Marc got me pumped up to see The Big Beast, a 4-year-old colt bred in Maryland with a physique that fully justifies the name he was given. The Big Beast ran in the grade 1 Carter (one race after the Wood) and finished fourth. He was charging hard late after getting bottled up entering the final turn. We both expect The Big Beast to run a big and beastly effort next time out wherever that may be.

The Aqueduct results chart does not disclose an attendance number but Dave Grening of DRF reported the figure was 11,213. That number is not based on turnstile clicks since people walk in for free from the outside with nobody counting who enters. The on track handle was two and a half million bucks for the 12 race card which continues the Wood Day trend of lower and lower on-site wagering.

It’s a shame NYRA allows an event with such a rich history and fantastic quality of race fields to play out in such an unnecessarily wretched fan environment. There is not a lick of effort by the folks operating Aqueduct to provide even modest avenues of sporting venue amenities even though it has the time, space, money and understanding to execute. This year, NYRA invited a few food trucks to sell creatively-prepared food on the apron just beyond the finish line. This is a good idea but I felt bad for the obvious first-time attendees who appeared stunned at the difficulty of buying a beer – not to mention the struggle to locate a clean place to sit down.

I worked on Easter Sunday but was off Monday. The Mets opened up their ballpark to fans wanting to watch the team’s season opener in Washington. It was free. And it was fun. The new big screen video board carried the SNY signal and I’d say 5000 or so fans showed up. Most sat on the sunny side of the box seats along the first base line. Mr. Met was there. It was a great game. There were times you felt the same fan energy you’d feel at a real game. Many of the concession stands on the lower level were open which provided a sneak peak into what Met fans can expect this upcoming season. As a beer drinker, I’m always curious about price, size and type. The Mets “Watch Party” revealed those details. For me, the 25-ounce Bud served in a can for $11.50 will be the way I go during the 2015 season. You try not to think about the fact that same can is sold at my corner bodega for $1.85 – rather – you view it as the best deal you can find at the ballpark on a cost per ounce basis.