Hey, that's no Thoroughbred! Wayward moose crashes Saratoga racetrack

A wayward moose created quite a stir -- and spawned numerous ill-conceived jokes -- when it made its way onto the grounds of the Saratoga Race Course in New York.

The moose, a female believed to be about 1 1/2 years old, was spotted meandering through the town of Saratoga Springs shortly before 4 a.m.  After a few hours of apparently aimless wandering, she finally wound up near the famed racetrack where the likes of Secretariat and Man o' War once ran, local newspaper the Saratogian reported. The track's security staff opened one of the main gates and herded  the moose into a fenced area between the gates and admission turnstiles, figuring the spot would make a good makeshift corral.

Word of the moose sighting quickly spread, and soon dozens of spectators arrived on the scene.  "My girlfriend lives in Vermont," local resident Lucas DeFiores told the Saratogian. "I literally told her two days ago I wanted to see a moose. So here I am at the track. I kind of want to see it race." 

Within a few hours, necessary moose-removal supplies -- such as special tranquilizers and a moose-sized trailer -- had been brought in from nearby towns.  It took two tranquilizer darts to fell the 500-pound animal and 12 people to get the sleeping giant into the trailer.  Eventually, the moose was trucked off to a patch of state land where wildlife authorities say about a dozen moose already live. 

The racetrack's six-week season opens in late July, according to the Associated Press.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Associated Press