It was late July in 1980, and Pam and I had just completed a move from Miami, Florida to Saratoga Springs, New York. The move to Saratoga Springs was inspired by a desire to leave Miami, which at that time was struggling with major drug wars that were posing a very real threat to our children’s safety and start anew in a town we had fallen in love with.

I sold my shares in a small financial center that I had codeveloped to finance the move and launch a new career for myself, which was to open a movie theatre specializing in foreign films. For her part in this new life we embarked on, Pam wanted to pursue a career in sculpture. Both career pursuits were major departures from mine as an executive in the automotive service industry, and Pam’s as a breeder and trainer of thoroughbred show jumpers and racehorses. It’s not that Pam had no experience as a sculptor. She had been creating art since childhood, but namely drawings for herself until she received a commission from Jon Voight to create a sculpture. She had met Jon on the set of The Champ, a movie he was starring alongside Fay Dunaway and Ricky Schroeder. The movie, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, was filmed at Hialeah Racetrack where Pam had been hired to decorate the horses used in filming the movie. The sculpture was of a racehorse with Ricky Schroeder astride being led by Jon Voight. Other small commissions soon followed, and Pam began to start thinking of a career in sculpture seriously.

There are several great reasons to fall in love with Saratoga. First among them was that Saratoga was a safe place with a first-rate public school system making it a great place for kids to grow up. Also ranking high among the reasons that we chose Saratoga was our love of thoroughbred racing and that Saratoga is considered the mecca of thoroughbred racing throughout the world. Other notable reasons to love Saratoga is SPAC (The Saratoga Performing Arts Center) which is the summer home to the New York City Ballet and The Philadelphia Philharmonic as well as a venue for performances by major pop stars. It wasn’t long after settling in in our new home before we found ourselves enjoying every aspect of our new life in Saratoga, especially when trackside early mornings at the Oklahoma training track to watch all those majestic thoroughbreds working out in preparation for the upcoming race meet.

Coinciding with the opening day of the race meet at Saratoga was the annual Saratoga Yearling Sale which was held at a facility next to the Saratoga Racecourse. It was here that some of the best-bred thoroughbred yearlings in the World would be sold at Auction over a period of four days. Noticing the activity at the sales grounds, I stopped by one afternoon to check it out and see what was going on before the auction began. The facility, owned and operated by Fasig Tipton Company, had a beautiful sales pavilion surrounded by a well-manicured lawn. Alongside the lawn there were numerous barns to house and show off the yearlings being sold, as well as an administrative building and a bar/restaurant.

I quickly noticed a couple of artists had set up on the lawn to show their paintings, which, not surprisingly, were depictions of horses and horse racing scenes. I spoke with one of the artists, mentioning that Pam had done a couple of sculptures of horses, and asked him how I might be able to get permission for her to show her art alongside the other artists. He was kind enough to encourage me to visit the administration building and speak with Mr. Charlie Mann. It was our good fortune that Mr. Mann was present, and after a short discussion, consented to allow Pam to show her art at the upcoming sale. He pointed out a location where we could set up a small table and begin showing Pam’s art that very evening.

All that remained for me to do was convince Pam that she should take this opportunity to show her work in a venue that attracted the crème dela crème of the racing industry. It wasn’t easy, as despite her achievements she was convinced she wasn’t ready for prime time. She argued that she had nothing to show except for a few photos of her prior equestrian sculptures and several pictures of a clay model of a steeple chase sculpture she was currently working on. It took my very best sales (pleading) pitch along with a mighty effort to pry her from the doorway of our home and get back to the sales company in time to set up for the evening.

As the sun was retreating behind the barns an elegant lady appeared at our table. She studied the pictures of Pam’s work spread out on the table for a time, before inquiring as to whether she might place an order for the steeplechase sculpture Pam was currently working on. The lady told Pam she was totally captivated by how the sculpture captured the danger and excitement of steeplechase racing. We explained to the woman that the clay sculpture model depicted in the photographs would be cast in bronze when complete and be available in early in the coming year.

This was a sizable sculpture and casting large sculptures in bronze is an expensive proposition, but this lovely lady was not deterred, insisting that the sculpture would be hers. So it was that Pam had sold this lady her very first bronze sculpture, a sculpture that didn’t yet exist, and at a price that seemed unimaginable at the time.

The bronze sculpture was completed early in 1981, titled Point to Point. This sculpture, Pam’s very first bronze, soon captured the attention of the art and racing press, which soon had people calling Pam Foss the “Remington of the Racetrack”. Here is a picture of Point to Point

Pam and I didn’t know it at the time, but we had just been handed the finest location in the World to sell racing related art. And that spectacular location came free of charge. My plan to open a movie theatre was put on a shelf, while a new calling as Pam’s agent moved to the forefront. The new start we were looking for had arrived and forty-five years later, we’ve never looked back and thrilled that we’re still living a version of that life.