History Archives - Page 10 of 14

May 27, 2016May 27, 2016

Mounts To Memorialize

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Woo hoo! It’s a long weekend off for many Americans. It’s time for friends, family, the opening of pool season, maybe some picnics and of course, racing! More importantly, this federal holiday, Memorial Day, is a day to remember those that gave there lives so that we may live free. It is the day to honor those whose died while serving in the armed forces.

This morning, I got my “On this Day” reminder, from my personal Facebook page. Nine nice photos from my 5/27/13 trip to Camp Nelson National Cemetery, in Jessamine County, KY, were displayed. The acres of grave markers are beautiful in their own way. I have so much respect for the men and women who have served our country. Often, during the Memorial Day ceremony held at Camp Nelson, a riderless horse is led in by a solider to depict the loss of human life. As a horse writer and lover I respect the animals who have served as well. No horses are buried at Camp Nelson but many have memorials throughout the country.

The Civil War was a time of great loss for our country. About 620,000 people lost their lives during those tragic years of 1861 to1865. The animal lives lost is a far greater number. Factoring in mules along with horses their death toll exceeds one million for the Civil War alone. Horses have been instrumental to our military historically. Unless shot at close range, most of the shot horses endured numerous bullets before bleeding to death. Many horses simply worked to exhaustion, suffered deadly diseases or starved.

War isn’t happy and I like my stories to be positive but I am positively thankful to all of those who have served. I am appreciative of all, humans and animals, that has fought for my freedoms. Be especially thoughtful of those who gave their life in battle. However, remember to enjoy yourself this weekend because veterans have provided you with that privilege. There are a ton of stakes races this weekend and Monday. What race are you most excited about this weekend? Who’s made it to Belmont already?

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March 24, 2016March 24, 2016

Chrome’s Cup Runneth Over

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Chromies, we have been waiting for this! This Saturday we are hoping to seek our redemption when California Chrome goes after the Dubai World Cup (DWC) once again. Chrome took a nice long break after he participated in the DWC on 3/28/15. He lost to Prince Bishop that day. Losing is not something Chrome is accustomed to. His cup runneth over with success. He is a true champ. When he was healed and rested he came back on 1/9/16 to win the Santa Anita San Pasqual Stakes in California, USA and then he won the Trans Gulf Electromechanical Trophy race at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, UAE on 2/25/16. Chrome is ready!

I wrote about the history of the DWC and California Chrome when I did my story about his last race in Dubai here: Chrome Shall Transcend. A brief recap suggests Chrome is set to fill the horseshoes of many great horses that have come before him. The DWC began in 1996 and was won by Cigar that year. It is the “richest day of racing” with a purse of $30 million dollars for nine Group 1 and 2 races at Meydan. $10 million of that is for just the DWC itself. The DWC, sponsored by Emirates Airline, is about 10 furlongs (2,000 meters or about 1 and 1/4 miles) on the dirt. The contenders are world wide Thoroughbreds aged 4 or older if from the Northern Hemisphere or 3 years and up from the Southern Hemisphere. The U.S. leads in previous winners with 9 U.S. owned champions. UAE, France, Japan, Hong Kong and Great Britain also have entries this year. 12 horses will compete represented by California Chrome, Frosted, Hoppertunity, Keen Ice and Mshawish from the United States. The DWC falls on the last Saturday of March annually and this year it will be on 3/26/16 at 1 P.M. EST.

Here is the competition by post-position – name – country where bred – owner and jockey:

Keen Ice – USA – Dale Romans – Ryan Moore
Mshawish – USA – Todd Pletcher – Frankie Dettori
Gun Pit – AUS – Casper Frownes – Joao Moreira
Mubtaahij – IRE – Mike de Kock – Christophe Soumillion
Special Fighter – IRE – Musabah Al Muhairi – Fernando Jara
Candy Boy – USA – Doug Watson – Pat Dobbs
Vadamos – IRE – Andre Fabre – Vincent Cheminaud
Hokko Tarumae – JPN – Katsuichi Nishiura – Hideaki Miyuki
Frosted – USA – Kiaran McLaughlin – William Buick
Hoppertunity – USA – Bob Baffert – Flavian Prat
California Chrome – USA – Art Sherman – Victor Espinoza
Teletext – USA – Sami Al Harabi – Silvestre De Sousa

I wish all 12 contenders the best of luck but personally I will be pulling for California Chrome to win! In addition to the 5 horses in the DWC there will be 6 more U.S. horses participating at Meydan the same day. If you are rooting for team USA then look out for a total of 11 U.S. Thoroughbreds this Saturday including by name and race: Lady Shipman (Al Quoz Sprint) , Marking (Godolphin Mile), Flamboyant (Dubai Turf), Frank Conversion (UAE Derby), Confrontation and X Y Jet (both in the Dubai Golden Shaheen). Go Chrome, go USA!

Keep following, commenting, liking, tweeting and sharing and I will have another story next week. Thank you for all of the support!

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March 19, 2016March 19, 2016

Reimagined Red Mile

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Hello to all of my fellow horse fans. I have been enjoying all the great racing for Kentucky Derby prep and otherwise good fun and competition. I was hoping to make it to Turfway Park to see one of my favorite horses race live yesterday but that race proved to be a little too far away and too late. However, I finally made it to the Red Mile to enjoy an evening of historical and simulcast racing.

The Red Mile is a standardbred harness race track in Lexington, KY, my hometown. Harness racing is not my favorite sport but I have been there a few times to see it. The track length is a mile and it is composed of red clay thus the track’s name, Red Mile. The 1st race there was on September 28, 1875, There was no live racing at Red Mile yesterday, 3/18/16, rather the facility was remodeled last September to mark 140 years and to feature “Instant Racing”, simulcasting, dining and entertainment in addition to harness racing. Keeneland went in with Red Mile to make it the fun place it is today.

“Instant Racing” is a lot like slot machines. There are over 900 terminals featuring pari-mutual electronic games. The games show historical racing on a small screen after you have picked 3 horses and made your bet. I thought it was fun to play and I loved seeing all of the different tracks featured.

After, I left the machines, with more money than I had brought with me, I checked out the areas for dining and the space for the live band. The food looked appealing and affordable. The band, Zed’s Dead, was entertaining.

I also ventured up a floor to see all the simulcasting. They had a handicapping contest taking place too. The facility is nice, very clean and spacious with plenty of helpful staffing. I was looking forward to watching a race at Turfway Park, in Florence, KY, set to post at 9:09 P.M. EST.

I have had the good fortune of visiting with two of breeder, Lucy Bassett’s, horses since they first began training. These two 3 year old fillies are Titled and Ma’am. Before they were racing, these two horses lived at The Thoroughbred Center, a Keeneland affiliated farm in Lexington, KY. They stayed and trained in Geoff Mulcahy’s barn. He has been kind enough to let me watch him train them on a few occasions. Now, Ma’am and Titled are training with Kenneth G. McPeek. Ma’am was sired by Colonel John and her dam is Lady Siphonica. Ma’am has Corey S. Nakatani for a jockey and is owned by Lance, Greg and David Gasaway with David Hamby III. Titled has Lily’s Girl for a dam and her sire was Scat Daddy. Titled is still owned by Bassett and she has Sophie Doyle for her jockey. Ma’am has raced 3 times at Oaklawn Park and she broke her maiden the last time out on 2/27/16. Titled had her second career race last night. She also got her start at Oaklawn.

Titled has not broken her maiden yet. It was still very exciting to see her come from the back of the pack to sweep third place last night. I enjoyed wagering on her from the Red Mile and she paid $5.60. I am pleased with both Ma’am and Titled and I’m looking forward to their next races. I would love to see them race live and I’m still hoping to make it to Turfway Park in the near future.

The Red Mile is an excellent place for various entertainment and simulcasting. I imagine I will be back soon and I have my own rewards card now. It was easy to get to, parking was plenty and free. The facility is open year round from 10am to 2 pm Sunday thru Thursday and open 2 additional hours, until 4 am, on Friday and Saturday. If you are planning a trip, check the Red Mile out here: Red Mile Please, comment, like and share. I will post a new story weekly or more often. Thank you for your time!

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January 19, 2016January 19, 2016

Phavorite Pharoah

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Congratulations are in order again as American Pharoah sweeps in one award after another. My last post was on the morning of January 16th. That evening we had the Eclipse Award Ceremony and today we received news of the Longines Awards. American Pharoah won at each event.

The 45th annual Eclipse Awards were held at Gulfstream Park in Florida this past weekend. Winners were chosen in 17 horse and human categories. The finalist were announced on January 6th. All the nominees can be seen in my prior story.

A Tepin Time

Here are the winners:

Horse of the Year: American Pharoah
2 Year Old Filly: Songbird
2 Year Old Male: Nyquist
3 Year old Filly: Stellar Wind
3 Year old Male: American Pharoah
Female Sprinter: La Veridad
Male Sprinter: Runhappy
Female Turf Horse: Tepin
Male Turf Horse: Big Blue Kitten
Older Dirt Female: Beholder
Older Dirt Male: Honor Code
Steeplechase Horse: Dawalan
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Apprentice Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Owner: Zayat Stables
Breeder: Zayat Stables

As you can see, American Pharoah and his connections won Horse of the Year, 3 year Old Male, Trainer, Owner and Breeder. Pretty impressive but there is more…

American Pharoah has long been acknowledged as a national champion but today he was recognized internationally! On 1/19/16 American Pharoah was named Longines World’s Best Racehorse 2015 at the Claridge’s Hotel in London, England.

Longines is a Swiss watchmaking company. They have historically been associated with sporting events including world equestrian sports. They made their 1st chronograph (a stopwatch) engraved with a mounted jockey in 1878. 3 years later, those chronographs were in use at tracks everywhere to time performance measures. Longines is the official partner and watch of the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities (IFHA).

The IHFA had it’s earliest beginning in 1961 when horse racing authorities from the United States, Ireland, Great Britain and France came together to form standards to select the best horses. They held the 1st annual International Conference in Paris, France in 1967 with representation of world wide racing authorities. By 1977 the International Classifications were published. In the 1990s North and South America, South Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand came together with racing officials and handicappers to develop the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings, which in 2012 became the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. The best horse that is 3 years old and up from participating countries, where it was raced or trained, is selected annually. The season runs from 1/1 thru 12/31. The top Grade/Group 1 international races are rated. These ratings are not the same ratings used in many other horse ranking systems. American Pharoah won with an 134 rating. He is followed by Golden Horn (130), Shared Belief (126), Treve (126), Able Friend (125) and Solow (125). Best race and best jockey are selected as well. The Longines World’s Best Horse Race 2015 is the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France followed by the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Further race categories are chosen by surface and distance. The top jockey is Lanfranco Dettori of Great Britain followed by our Victor Espinoza and 5th for Javier Castellano, which is quite different from the Eclipse Award results. To enjoy some of the excitement, see the great new YouTube below.

Congrats again to American Pharoah, Victor Espinoza, Bob Baffert and Zayat Stables for all the amazing races and accolades. American Pharoah is not racing anymore but he has an exciting new career as a stallion. I am looking forward to his progeny. I love seeing everyone’s #APandMe photos on Twitter and Facebook. Please, keep sharing and hopefully I will go meet the champ soon!

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December 19, 2015January 7, 2018

Home For The Holidays

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There is no place like home for the holidays! It’s been another fantastic week since my last post. I got to spend some time in Gatlinburg, TN and had a blast as usual. I love the mountains and the shops there. I had some fun in my own town this week as well. This time of year Lexington, KY has an outdoor ice rink located downtown. Right in the middle of Triangle Park, you can pay to rent skates and spend almost 2 hours surrounded by the city. Lexington won’t fail to remind you, it is no ordinary city. It is the horse capital of the world!

From where I was skating I could see the store front to the Lexington Visitors Center and the clock for the 2015 Breeders’ Cup we hosted. Nearby, signs are posted to direct foot traffic to the many interesting places downtown. One of the most unique and best places for horse lovers is naturally, Thoroughbred Park. The park is situated on 2.5 acres of land in downtown Lexington. There are 13 full sized horse sculptures and 42 plaques containing the images and history for important persons in the Thoroughbred industry.

Gwen Reardon is the local and famed equine artist who created these amazing bronze structures. The jockeys featured on the horses above are depictions of actual people. Pat Day, Bill Shoemaker, Randy Romero, Don Brumfield, Jerry Bailey, Craig Perrot and Chris McCarron are immortalized for this perfect ride! Even the silks were replicated to represent particular owners. In front there is a nice structure of Lexington, a fine race horse and stallion who lived from 1850 to 1875.

The park opened in April of 1991 and it is lovely. On the grassy hill above there are several playful and grazing Thoroughbred structures. It’s like a little piece of pasture right downtown.

All around the park are these nice plaques. Each of these contains the name, lifespan and some information pertaining to how the featured person contributed to the Thoroughbred racing industry. Above we see England’s Queen Elizabeth II. She has visited Lexington for races at Keeneland and to visit horse farms. She has kept her own Thoroughbreds in Kentucky. Robert Kleberg, Jr. owned Triple Crown winner, Assault and King Ranch. A.B. Hancock, Sr. created Claiborne Farm in Paris, KY. Claiborne has been a very influential breeding farm and is the final resting place for many great Thoroughbreds including, Gallant Fox, Secretariat, Riva Ridge and Pulpit. William Woodward, Sr. boarded his mares at Claiborne. He owned Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox who sired the also Triple Crown winning Omaha. Finally, Samuel Riddle was the owner of the wonderful, Man O’ War. Man O’ War won 20 of 21 races and he retired to stud near Lexington. Many things in my town are named for this great horse. It is rare that I can get to anything by car without driving on Man O’ War Boulevard for a while.

I have photos of all 42 plaques and would be happy to share further if anyone has a particular interest in the who’s who of the industry as depicted at Thoroughbred Park. Please, drop me a comment on my page or Facebook and Twitter. Thank you for your time. I’ll be in touch after I see the Southern Lights at the Kentucky Horse Park next week.

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December 3, 2015December 3, 2015

Jotting For Juba

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Greetings racing fans! It is good to be home but there has not been much action for me since I returned other than Thanksgiving and lots of shopping. Yesterday, I had some down time and I started to think about what I wanted to check out and what I wanted to write about. My favorite horse, Juba, had a race that day and that was where my mind was set.

Juba is “Twitter’s favorite race horse” and since my first “tweet” this past February he has quickly become my favorite horse too. Twitter is one of the more popular social media networks. It was created in the summer of 2006 and by this summer it had over 500 million users. I joined to have an outlet to share my blog with. I found out fast that Twitter is the best way for me to get the latest information on current events in the Thoroughbred racing industry. I am happy to have over 200 followers on Twitter. Juba has over 2,200 followers. He is found on Twitter here @Jubacolt . Juba (the Gray), can not do his own tweets, since he is a horse, so an anonymous person handles that for him. He has created hash tags such as #GoJubaGo for his races and #haikujuba to write poetry and inspire others to do the same. Juba, the horse, still strikes the best poses and lights up for the cutest videos.

The real Juba is a 4 year old colt. He is gray with a black mane. He is so fair he looks white on photos and television. He is the Kentucky bred son of Tapit and Adoradancer. He grew up on Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, KY after his birth on 5/25/2011. He was sold to Centennial Farms at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale in 2012. He lives at Belmont Park in New York now. Juba has had 11 starts with 2 wins, 3 second place finishes and 3 times at 3rd. He has raced at 4 tracks: Aqueduct, Gulfstream Park, Saratoga and Belmont. Juba’s jockey is Jose L. Ortiz. He is trained by Jimmy Jerkins. Yesterday he ran at Aqueduct again. It was a nasty day. The track was muddy and the fog was thick. Centennial Farm tweeted #GreyColtsBlendIntoGreyFog. He was in the 8th race. The 9th race was cancelled because weather conditions were so bad. Juba finished 7th in a field of 11 horses. He was doing well at second place early in the race. It was an odd race to watch because the fog was so dense. Sometimes fog can be exciting like on the top of Mount Humphreys, seen at the top, when I took that climb but in yesterday’s race it looked dangerous. It is very hard to even see. Click watch video here Race 8 Aqueduct 12/2/15

I have never seen Juba live. Centennial broke my heart this past October when it was decided at the last moment that he would not be racing at Keeneland shortly before the Breeders’ Cup. That put Juba and myself in a huff. I hope that I can pet his pretty face someday but it is a long trip from Kentucky to New York. I called Gainesway Farm in Lexington, KY yesterday to see if I could tour, meet his sire Tapit and see 8 other stallions but they responded that they are not currently doing public tours. Too bad, I hope they change that soon. Tapit is gray too. He has been the leading sire in the United States for 3 years now. He has the highest stud fee at $300,000. In 2015 he was bred to 135 mares. This year 5 of his off-spring have won Grade 1 stakes races: Frosted, Tonalist, Untapable, Ring Weekend and Constitution. He is the leading sire of G1 winners. Juba’s dam, Adoradancer, had 19 starts at 8 tracks including Keeneland, my home track. She raced there twice in 1997 so perhaps I have seen her.

Despite yesterday’s race I still wanted to do some jotting for Juba. I wanted to share that even horses that don’t win every race are still ever so wonderful. Penny Chenery, owner of the great Secretariat, is wise to stress this truth and award accordingly. She created the Secretariat Vox Populi award in 2010. Vox Populi is a latin term meaning the voice of the people. The winners from the 1st year to 2014 have been: Zenyatta, Rapid Redux, Paynter, Mucho Macho Man and California Chrome, respectively. She noted that while most awards for Thoroughbreds are based on statistics and performance measures she thought some horses should be honored for being a favorite of the public and an ambassador for the sport. Thru an on-line poll, done by the public, votes are collected. You can vote here now Vox Populi Award . Voting is open until 12/6/15 then the votes are reviewed by Ms. Chenery and a panel of 8 experts. On 1/9/16 the recipient will be announced at Santa Anita Park. American Pharoah, Beholder and Rachel’s Valentina are the horses on the ballot but write-ins are accepted. The horses listed are all lovely and deserving choices but Juba is “Twitter’s favorite horse” and I think that is quite a distinction in the popularity department.

Who will you vote for? Give Juba a thought or share who means the most to you. I will be blogging again before next week’s end and I will share the people’s choice with you in January as well. Please, keep following and sharing. Thank you!

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November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

This Side of Paradise

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A week ago today, while I was still on vacation, I finally put my track quest into action. I have been to Keeneland and Churchill Downs in Kentucky many times and I will be there a whole lot more but I want to see all of the U.S. tracks eventually. On 11/16/15 I made it to Turf Paradise in Phoenix, AZ!

Turf Paradise opened on January 7, 1956. It was built in the desert on 1,400 acres of land by Walter Cluer who owned the track for around 25 years. It was the first professional sports establishment in Arizona and is still the third largest sports attraction in the state to date. Ownership has changed hands five times since and there have been remodels but the track is still up and running. Currently, it is in the possession of Jerry Simms.

There are two tracks at this course. One is a 1 mile dirt track and the other is a 7 furlong turf track. Over 2,000 horses live and train on the backside. The track has live racing for 7 months, one of the longest live racing calendars in the country. The 2015-2016 meet runs 10/17/15 thru 5/8/16 on 136 scheduled days. There are seats for 7,500 guests. More than 14,600 fans have been in attendance at one time. The grandstand is 3 stories high and there are seats in the Clubhouse and Turf Club as well. The paddock is connected from the track and is easy to see from most viewpoints. The track is elevated to about eye level from a standing position in the area in front of the grandstand. There is a lovely infield pond with geese and ducks. Palm trees all around and mountains in the background make the atmosphere really beautiful. I had nice views of the horses in the paddock and while racing. I was there to see the 1st 6 races of 8 that day.

I mostly stayed in the clubhouse which is available for no extra charge on Mondays. Each of the little booths had a television for off track betting and a nice track view for all. A waiter came to the table to take our order and serve us lunch. My Arizona brother went for the taco salad, he can not get enough tacos. I had a nice reuben. Other than burgoo and hot dogs that is my go to track food of choice.

Notable races held here include the Turf Paradise Handicap, the Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile, the Arizona Oaks and the Luke Kruybosch. One of the more famous horses to run here was Da Hoss. Da Hoss lives at the Kentucky Horse Park now. He moved there in 2000. I met him this past June and he was lovely. He is known for his kisses. He ran and won the 1st three races of his career at Turf Paradise. Da Hoss went on to win many graded stakes including the Breeders’ Cup Mile twice, once in 1996 and again in 1998!

My time at Turf Paradise was fantastic. I would recommend spending a day there to any race fan. I have been told so many times how nice I have it at my home tracks in Kentucky and I agree but going to Turf Paradise makes me very excited to see all the other tracks this country has to offer. I am real glad I was able to attend this track for it’s 60th season.

Thank you for reading my stories and I hoped you learned something new or appreciated my review. Please, keep sharing and commenting and I will have another post for you no later than next week. Happy Thanksgiving!

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November 19, 2015November 19, 2015

Canyon Connections

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Ah, vacation! This past weekend I took a long overdue trip to Arizona. When I’m not chasing horses I enjoy time with friends, family and nature. For the second time in my life I made it out to see the third of Seven Natural Wonders of the World, The Grand Canyon. I have snorkeled the 4th wonder, The Great Barrier Reef in Australia. So many wonders, so little time. I saw birds, chipmunks, elk, deer and a tarantula. I didn’t see any horses, though you can ride the trails on mules and I saw some of them in a corral. The Grand Canyon truly is amazing and so was a Thoroughbred by the same name.

Grand Canyon, the natural wonder, was cut by the Colorado river over 17 million years ago. Grand Canyon, the Thoroughbred race horse, was born February 14, 1987. He was a special horse and he looked the part, very advanced for his age. Grand Canyon was trainer D. Wayne Lukas’ favorite horses, revealed in a 2012 interview. He was bred in Florida by Lin-Drake Farm. He was owned by both Lukas and W.T. Young of Overbrook Farm in Lexington, KY. Grand Canyon had 8 career starts in which he made over a million dollars in lifetime earnings. He won his 3rd maiden race after running twice at Hollywood Park and then at Del Mar. In his 1st race he came in 4th but from then on he was always second or first to finish. Every race, following his maiden, was a stakes race. He placed at Santa Anita in the Sunny Slopes Stakes, then won the Norfolk Stakes (Grade 1) at that same track. In his next race he was 2nd in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Gulfstream (G1) then won both the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G3) and the Hollywood Futurity (G1) at Churchill then Hollywood Park respectively. He was the runner up for the Eclipse Award for 2 Year Old Champion. Unfortunately, Grand Canyon’s career ended at the same track in the same year it began, 1989. He achieved a speed record riden by Angel Cordero, Jr. in the Hollywood Futurity. He had so much potential but he suffered a leg injury from which he never recovered. He was euthanized in July 1990. Grand Canyon was the 1st horse to be buried at Overbrook Farm.

Grand Canyon was only 3 when he died. He has no progeny but members of his pedigree did go on to produce more great horses. Grand Canyon’s dam was Champagne Ginny. His sire was Fappiano. Fappiano is the great great grandsire of American Pharoah! Fappiano’s son was Unbridled, who sired Empire Maker, the father of Pioneer of the Nile. Pioneer of the Nile is American Pharoah’s sire and both are registered stallions currently in Kentucky. Unbridled won the Kentucky Derby in 1990. Empire Maker was 2nd in the KY Derby in 2003. Pioneer of the Nile was 2nd the KY Derby in 2009. American Pharoah won the KY Derby in 2015. What a line of superior Thoroughbreds!

The road to the Kentucky Derby is well underway. On May 7, 2016 we will have our next Run for the Roses. The 142nd KY Derby, at Churchill Downs, will feature 20 horses that qualify from earning points in 35 select races. We have already completed 6 of these races. The next race is this Saturday, 11/21/15. That race is the Delta Downs Jackpot at Delta Downs in Louisiana. There are currently 10 entries for this grade 3 race of 1 and 1/16 miles for a $1 million dollar purse. Post time is 4:15 P.M. CST. Ocho Ocho Ocho won last year and went on to compete in the KY Derby. I will be tuned in to watch as I am excited to see all of our up and coming 2 year olds. As always, thanks for sharing and following along on my educational adventures in horse racing. I hope you enjoy my scenic pictures from my trip. Soon, I want to tell you about my first visit to Turf Paradise race track in Phoenix, AZ while I was visiting out West.

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November 3, 2015November 4, 2015

Ceremony for Cigar

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A week ago tonight, on 10/27/15, among all the preparation and anticipation for this year’s Breeders’ Cup, a gathering of people assembled at the grave of Cigar to honor him with a new memorial statue. Gone but not forgotten, Cigar won the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 1995. This Sunday I paid my respects to his grave site once again.

Being the lucky Lexingtonian that I am, I have had the treat of making multiple trips to the Kentucky Horse Park, in Lexington, KY, over the course of my life. I have had the pleasure of meeting Cigar as well. He lived at the Horse Park from 1999 until his death October 7, 2014. I saw his grave at the KY Horse Park Memorial Walk of Champions this past July. Last week, Kentucky artist and former horse trainer, Douwe Blumberg, revealed his statue depicting Cigar’s Breeders’ Cup race. Cigar’s trainer, Bill Mott, and his jockey, Jerry Bailey attended the unveiling of the new statue. Many kind words were spoken and memories shared at the presentation. Cigar is remembered as charismatic and an ambassador with spirit and determination.

History remembers Cigar as the Thoroughbred who won 16 straight races in a row. Only Citation and Zenyatta have done as well. He was sired by Palace Music and his dam was Solar Slew by Seattle Slew, 1977 Triple Crown winner. He was a late bloomer. He didn’t race at all until he was 3 years old and he didn’t stop racing until he was 6. Cigar was born April 18th in 1990 in Maryland and owned by Allen Paulson. By 1995 he won the BC Classic going 1 and 1/4 miles in 1:59.58, a record. He went on to be Horse of the Year and American Champion Older Male Horse each in 1995 and again in 1996. He also won the internationally famed Dubai World Cup. He retired as the leading Thoroughbred in earnings at over $9 million dollars. Cigar is the American Horse of the Decade for the 1990s. In 2002 he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Blood-Horse ranked him 18th in the U.S. Thoroughbred Champions of the 20th Century. There is a life sized statue of Cigar at Gulfstream Park in Florida where he won the Donn Handicap. The Cigar Mile at Aquaduct Race Track in New York is named for him.

When he retired to stud he went to Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky. This is the same place American Pharoah moved to yesterday. Unfortunately, Cigar proved to be sterile. He retired again to the KY Horse Park Hall of Champions where he lived out his days. He developed osteoarthritis and at 24 he needed surgery. Following surgery he died in recovery from a vertebral fracture. At the KY Horse Park he is buried near Alysheba, Forego, Bold Forbes, Kona Gold and John Henry.

Near his grave healthy and happy lives go on for the other champion Thoroughbreds, barn cats and visitors but no one can forget our great, Cigar. As his statue and stone state, Cigar is incomparable, unconquerable, invincible and unbeatable. Please, share and read along about all of my Thoroughbred posts and look for a Keeneland November Sale story coming soon!

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November 2, 2015November 2, 2015

Firsts, Favorites, Famous and Fun

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Breeders’ Cup 2015 was held for the 1st time ever in Lexington, KY at Keeneland this past week. The track featured a Prelude to the Cup on Thursday with 9 live races followed with 2 more days of graded stakes races with 4 Breeders’ Cup races on Friday and 9 BC races on Saturday. The dates spanned October 29th thru 31st of 2015. I was present for all 3 days. The events were wonderful!

For the Prelude to the Cup the weather was gorgeous. I walked the grounds and marveled at the sea of purple that had taken over and all of the new and temporary structures. It was a quiet event and a good day for mingling with my friends, old and new. All the photos above except for the program and lanyard collection were taken that day.

The BC Juvenile Turf was the 6th race on the 30th but the 1st BC race of the series. Hit It a Bomb, #14, won the race. He is seen above as is the 7th place finisher, Manhattan Dan, in his coat.

Race 7 was the Las Vegas BC Dirt Mile. Liam’s Map shown in the top picture above won. Two of my personal favorites ran this race as well. Mr. Z, #4, I met and petted following my birthday, earlier this year. I shouted out my love to him from the rail pre-race and I got his attention. #8, wearing pink, is 4th place finisher Wicked Strong. He was the barn friend of Twitter’s favorite horse, Juba. Wicked Strong has now retired to stud at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, KY.

Catch a Glimpse, #4 above, won the 8th race. This was the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf. Last year’s winner was Take Charge Brandi. I petted her too this past summer at D. Wayne Lukas’ barn at Churchill Downs. She is for sale at the Keeneland November Sale that starts today. I hope she has a long happy life as a broodmare.

Friday’s BC races wrapped with race 9, the Longines BC Distaff. Stopchargingmaria won. She is wearing #4 in the picture above. She is trained by Todd Pletcher and has had an amazing year winning multiple grades stakes. This was her third Grade 1 stakes win in a career of 16 starts. There was one more stakes race that day as the sunset.

On the final day of the BC the 1st BC race was race 3, the 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies race. This race was won by Songbird, #10 above. I fell in love with Rachel’s Valentina, # 9 in the above photo, who placed 2nd in this race, when she won both of her only other races at Saratoga this summer.

Race 4 was the Twin Spires BC Turf Sprint. This race was won by Mongolian Saturday. The rail made it hard to see him wearing #14 in the photo above. His connections were dressed out and seated in the loge box behind me during the BC Classic. They were having fun with a selfie stick in the middle photo. Lady Shipman placed 2nd. She was a pretty girl as seen from the Enclosure, a temporary spot near the walking ring.

Wavell Avenue wearing orange #7 managed to fight her way up from middle of the pack, as seen above at the turn, to 1st place. She was ridden by Joel Rosario. Race 5 was the TwinSpires Filly and Mare Sprint.

In the 6th race, the BC Filly and Mare Turf, a local favorite won. #11 Stephanie’s Kitten is owned by Sarah and Ken Ramsey, Keeneland’s leading owner award winners. This is the third BC win for Stephanie’s Kitten. She is seen in the paddock area and winning her race above.

A new track record was set by Runhappy when he won the TwinSpires BC Sprint. This was race 7. He is shown about to cross the finish in the green #5 above. Runhappy won a graded stakes race at Keeneland the same month for opening weekend of the Fall meet.

Tepin was a fast filly that beat out the males to win the BC Mile. She is seen taking the title above, in race 8. She won a grade 1 stakes race at Keeneland on the opening weekend of this last Fall meet at Keeneland too!

Nyquist, #13, barely beat Swipe, #12, to win the the 9th race. This race was the Sentient Jet BC Juvenile. Neither horse had the lead from the start, in fact they were plenty behind but Nyquist held out his nose to win. Look how close they are in the photo above!

Found is the beautiful Irish filly that beat her male counterparts to win the Longines BC Turf. She is definitely an international champion. Race 10 had a $3 million dollar purse. She is one lucky and talented filly. See her two paddock pics above.

Then, in Race 10, the BC Mile, I’m pretty sure we all know who our star is, above. That is American Pharoah. I gave him his very own BC story in my post Grand Slam? Yes, Ma’am!

Plenty of celebrities were on hand to witness history in the making as well. I got photos of Jean Cruguet (top right), Seattle Slew’s Triple Crown jockey, and Ritchie Sambora (middle left), the rocker from Bon Jovi. I also saw Bobby Flay, famed chef and caught word that Kate Upton, a model, was there too. My parents recognized Kenny Mayne, from Dancing with the Stars (top left).

Finally, I just want all of you to know that there were no break downs and all the horses, their connections and the fans really had a lot of fun at the Breeders’ Cup. I will always remember my time at BC 2015. I have literally thousands of pictures and so much to share but this is a blog post, not a novel. Keep following for an upcoming post on my Kentucky Horse Park visit from yesterday.

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