Seven of us guys met up at Aqueduct’s decrepit outdoor second floor clubhouse Saturday afternoon for the annual running of the Wood Memorial.

Dried, splattered gull waste dotted a good number of seats and splotched the steps leading up to the enclosed indoor portion of the structure. There was no evidence of a spruce-up job in advance of the meet’s biggest racing day.

Worse, you couldn’t get a cold one. There were no beer stands on either the second or third floor clubhouse levels. The second floor bar that has long been a reliable source of drink was an impossibly chaotic zoo. Two bartenders couldn’t keep up with demand. Late in the day, hundreds of empty beer bottles overflowed from garbage cans behind the bar and there was palpable tension between thirsty and impatient patrons and exasperated staff.

One track regular speculated the lack of beer in the racing portion of the facility was a deliberate attempt to pull people into the adjoining casino. A fancy sports bar is nestled among the slots parlor. It’s a bit of a chore to get to and the bartenders there were similarly unable to meet demand.

I find it inexcusable that the New York Racing Association would go all-out with a week-long advertising blitz to pull in a crowd for their most prestigious race of the year at Aqueduct but then do nothing to prepare the facility for the 12,514 who showed up. It’s embarrassing. NYRA boss Charlie Hayward gets a lot of undue credit for being a reformer and fresh-eyed friend of the New York racing fan. But if you were at Aqueduct on Saturday, you couldn’t help but wonder where Hayward was for this event. He must’ve just opened the doors and hoped for the best.

Those who tried to enter with beer were stopped and prohibited from bringing it in. That’s fine. But then set up some stands to make it available. Clean the place up a little. Roll out the power-washer to rinse off a year’s worth of bird dung from what few seats are left at this place.

I understand the new slots cash infusion has boosted race purses and will continue to do so. Most of the new money going into NYRA’s capital projects fund will get steered to Saratoga and that makes sense. But the Wood Memorial is a million-dollar grade one race that has been run for 88 years. The history and tradition of Wood day and the fans that support it should be respected in the form of basic amenities and organization from the host. This was a total mess. Hayward blew this one big time and you just hope those who have his ear alert him to this fact.

Let’s assume Aqueduct’s horse racing business shuts down in a few years to allow for the inevitable expansion of the casino. Knowing this perhaps, Heyward probably just thinks he can let the Big A rot. But when you bombard the New York airwaves with ads aimed at bringing in the casual fan, it comes with a responsibility to make minimal effort to show those folks a good time. This isn’t just about Hayward ’s business. It’s about the sport of horse racing. Anybody who showed up at Aqueduct for a horse race for the first time Saturday could not have left with a good impression.

Despite it all, the crowd roared when the Wood field turned for home. Gemologist barely held off Alpha to win (pictured above). Both will go to the Kentucky Derby. Short-priced favorites won three of the four legs of the all-stakes pick four. The bet paid just 90 bucks on a one-dollar play.

Gemologist is owned by WinStar, the Kentucky farm that helped get trainer Todd Pletcher his first Derby win two years ago with Super Saver. Gemologist will likely be Pletcher’s only shot in the Derby this year.

Alpha’s second place finish in the Wood will be viewed favorably by handicappers since the son of Bernardini wasn’t able to run free in this race. Alpha bumped a rival coming out of the gate and had to put on the brakes around the first turn. His powerful late move down the lane despite his early troubles may translate well on the first Saturday in May.

-Not that Jim Nantz is retiring anytime soon, but the obvious choice to replace him at the main Masters mike when that time comes is ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt. The array of broadcast responsibilities Van Pelt has handled with great success at Augusta in recent years has made the 40-something anchor wise beyond his years. Van Pelt appreciates Masters history and the meticulous nature of how the event is staged but conveys it without allowing the perception he’s entirely in the back pockets of the Augusta cronies who tightly control broadcast coverage. Tom Rinaldi also does a fine job but like Van Pelt, he’s confined to the event’s first two days of live coverage and relegated to sideline status when CBS takes over on Saturday and Sunday. You’d hope both guys get full shots at Masters weekend at some point in their careers.

-The blunder that will surely haunt Louis Oosthuizen is the errant final round tee shot he made with a 3-wood on the second playoff hole. After watching Bubba blast one way off course into the woods, all Looie needed was something safe. He left the driver in the bag but still botched the shot. Watson’s level of play on the PGA tour is such that his first green jacket is in no way a fluke. He’s a popular player for the types of rips he took on that second playoff hole and the intense reaction he displayed when it was all over. But I do feel sympathy for Oosthuizen given the opportunity he so badly squandered in the playoff.