A “Goose” That Has Caught Horse Racing Attention

For more than a decade, attorneys Wesley Lawrence and Elizabeth Kruska have entertained horse racing fans and others in the industry with a parody Twitter account based on the late Saratoga infield goose, which has also gotten them involved as owners and aftercare.

There are many social media parody accounts that personalize dogs, cats, and even horses.

However, there is one Twitter account that has been migrating around the horse racing community for more than a decade: the Spa Infield Goose.

The parody account, which now has over 7,000 followers, was created by Vermont attorneys Wesley Lawrence and Elizabeth Kruska 12 years ago when they were at Saratoga Race Course.

While watching the Olympics in between races from their clubhouse seats, both of them were captivated by an unusual goose, named “Lippy” for having part of a missing beak, meandering around the infield and the pond that is the host for the Travers canoe.

That’s when they had some ideas flying through their mind.

“We thought this goose has seen a lot of things,” Lawrence said. “It would be funny if [we had something] from the perspective of the goose with the ongoings of the track.”

It was an opportunity since also animal-related accounts emerged during that time: The Bronx Zoo Cobra, Rafalca Romney (the dressage horse for U.S. Senator Mitt Romney), Gator Kitten, and Juba (the Gray) who raced at Saratoga.

“It was the peak of animal parody accounts at the time,” Kruska said. “At first, we didn’t know what to expect. We sometimes do joke that many people talk to a goose. At the same time, we work at it. It’s fun, and it’s a lot of observational stuff. You have to keep it up.”

Not only does the Spa Infield Goose account continue to attract followers, it has also brought Lawrence and Kruska further into the sport as fans, owners, and even aftercare.

“It is surprising on the connections that we have made and people who we have met by virtue of it,” Lawrence said. “It has helped us professionally and being observant and analytical to the details by walking around here.”

Prior to handling the parody Twitter account, Lawrence and Kruska had some interest and background as horse racing fans.

Growing up in New Jersey and central Long Island, Lawrence came from a family who enjoyed horse racing that included his father, who often attended the Kentucky Derby while attending the University of Louisville, as well as his grandparents who started bringing Lawrence to Monmouth Park when he was seven years old.

By 18, Lawrence occasionally went to the Meadowlands while attending the University of Delaware before going to Vermont Law School where he later met Kruska.

Both of them started going to the racetrack together in 2008 for races that included Big Brown’s Triple Crown campaign, then that followed with Rachel Alexandra’s 3-year-old season with the Preakness and Woodward Stakes.

During the first couple of years as the Spa Infield Goose on Twitter, Lawrence and Kruska interacted with many horse racing fans, as well as those in the industry. By 2015, that interaction guided them into becoming an owner of the Thoroughbred horses through Zilla Racing Stables based in Guilderland.

Their first horse, Benevolence, graduated from the maiden ranks at Saratoga in July 2016, then the New York-bred gelding was claimed nearly two years later. From there, Lawrence and Kruska bought into more horses that included their favorite horse English Soul.

Starting her career with a second-place finish at Saratoga near the end of August 2017, then following that a victory in the East View Stakes, English Soul came back to Saratoga a year later to beat Take Charge Aubrey by a nose in the Fleet Indian Stakes.

At the Keeneland Breeding Stock Sales in November 2019, Calumet Farm bought English Soul for $170,000 and raced just four more times before starting a career as a broodmare.

However, after unsuccessful attempts at breeding and little interest in racing, English Soul’s future was a little uncertain. That was until Lawrence and Kruska visited Calumet Farm during the Kentucky Derby weekend in 2021.

“They raced her and they were going to breed her,” Lawrence said. “She couldn’t be bred and didn’t want to race anymore. When we visited her, they knew the connection and asked if we wanted her. So, then decided to take back the mare.”

The thought of Thoroughbred aftercare was not a new concept for both Lawrence and Kruska. Along with their interactions through Twitter, they became familiar in aftercare after visiting an information table while attending the Mass Cap at Suffolk Downs in 2008 – the last edition of the race which was won by Commentator, who has been long retired at Old Friends at Cabin Creek in Greenfield Center.

Lawrence and Kruska still had a challenge: finding a home where English Soul could have a new life as a possible riding horse. Though, they learned the New York-bred mare had physical limitations after her examination at Tufts University.

“It became apparent that there was something physically wrong with her,” Kruska said. “It was pretty clear that it wasn’t going to work in retraining her. So, we moved her to another farm.”

Today, English Soul is living on a family farm in Hartford, Vt. with another retired Thoroughbred: At the Bell, who once raced against Funny Cide as a two-year-old maiden. Kruska said both horses have the life as “beautiful lawnmowers.”

However, English Soul is not the only horse who they have admired. Out of Trouble, one of the early daughters of Into Mischief, was also part of their partnership with Zilla Racing.

After winning six races, including two here at Saratoga, the mare was retired and sent to Wynnstay Farm in Winchester, Ky. where she was bred to Volatile, winner of the 2020 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap. That combination produced Haleakala, who finished third in her debut at Ellis Park on Saturday.

While those horses continue to have a post-racing life, Lawrence and Kruska continue to be part of the Zilla Racing partnership with their recent winner at Saratoga: Tongue Twister.

Unlike many geese who will start migrating to the south after the Saratoga meet comes to an end, Lawrence and Kruska plan to stay in the region with their primary home in Woodstock, Vt.

However, after purchasing a Saratoga Springs “nest” in earlier this year, they plan to make a longer stay in the area, especially on the weekends.

“This is a very nice town,” Kruska said. “Obviously, we are here for the racing. However, I expect to be here quite a lot over the rest of the year. There is a lot going around here.”