One week ago today I got a little older. So what does a Thoroughbred blogger do to celebrate her birthday? She spends her time with the horses! I had a great time at The Thoroughbred Center, Churchill Downs, and again at Churchill, to visit the backside.
The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, KY is owned by the Keeneland Association. This property is the home for up to 1,000 horses. The facility has 32 barns and 10 paddocks. I went out early Saturday morning to meet power couple, Mr. and Mrs. V. They took me to meet with their friend’s horses and trainer Geoff Mulcahy. Mulcahy Equine has been in operation in Lexington for 10 years and is a premier equine operation. Mulcahy Stables has a barn on the property. There I met 2 year olds Ma’am and Tidal as well as several other beautiful horses and a barn cat. Ma’am and Tidal went onto the track and got their 2nd ever turn to run. I watched the exercise riders work the horses on the track. It was a great time and I plan to return. The Thoroughbred Center offers tours as well. Tours
That same evening, I got dressed up and headed to Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY, home of the Kentucky Derby. My friends and I sat in a nice box to watch the Night Racing and by great fortune we were sandwiched between the famous trainer, D. Wayne Lukas and his exercise rider, Jessica Sheffield. Sheffield was excited that my friends and I were spending my birthday following the Thoroughbreds so she invited us back to the Lukas barn on the backside in the morning. We took in all 11 races that night including race 8 where Skyring ran for Lukas. When that race concluded Lukas left promptly. He awakens daily at 3:30 a.m. and heads to his barn, which is located on Churchill’s property.
Somehow, my group and I struggled but after three and a half hours of sleep we woke at 4:45 a.m. to get to the backside by 5:30 a.m. These horse people start their days way too early. It was pitch black outside but Churchill’s backside was busy with horses, horsemen, and barn cats everywhere. My weary but excited group seemed to be the only tourist that morning. We were taken by Sheffield directly to be introduced to Lukas. He was very welcoming as his busy barn had the horses up and training. D. Wayne Lukas is a top trainer. He is a Hall of Famer and an Eclipse Outstanding Trainer. He has trained 26 world champions, 20 Breeders’ Cup champions, 4 Kentucky Derby winners, 6 Preakness winners, 4 Belmont winners, has 14 world champion training titles and has had 3 horse of the year champions. In his barn we met Take Charge Brandi, Hillbilly Style, Mr. Z. and more. We watched the horses be exercised in the barn and on the track. The track kitchen has direct track side views as well as biscuits and gravy. We walked all over the backside and it was a very good time. Hillbilly Style will race today, July 3rd 2015, at Ellis Park and he looked great to me Sunday morning.
My birthday weekend was wonderful and I am glad I got to share my experience with all of you as well. If given the chance you should check out The Thoroughbred Center and Churchill Downs. I hope you all get to watch some good racing this weekend and enjoy all the 4th of July festivities!
I am horsing around today for sure. I got an early start this morning at the Thoroughbred Center watching the horses breeze and petting them and a barn cat. Tonight, I am attending Downs After Dark at Churchill Downs for some live racing, including some graded stakes. In between, I am watching the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park. It is a busy day for this blogger and I will share some trip photos and stories later but now let’s focus on the Mother Goose Stakes.
The Mother Goose Stakes started in 1957 and was named for Mother Goose, herself. She had the distinction of being the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Futurity in 1924. The Grade 1 stakes race is 1 and 1/16 miles on dirt. It is currently held at Belmont Park in New York, where we recently saw American Pharoah win the Triple Crown. The Mother Goose is for 3 year old fillies. The purse is $300,000. At different periods, in our nation’s history, this race has been considered part of the filly triple crown or triple tiara. The other legs were usually the Acorn and the Coaching Club American Oaks. Those two races and the Alabama Stakes are currently considered the New York Triple Tiara. The fastest and largest margin to win the Mother Goose was Rachel Alexandra. She also won the Kentucky Oaks and the Preakness. She holds the record for the largest win at the Kentucky Oaks too. She was the first filly to win the Preakness in 85 years. She has the record for speed at the Mother Goose and was less than a second from Secretariat’s speed record. Tonight at 5:28 pm, the Mother Goose Stakes will be race 9 at Belmont. The Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks won’t take place until late July and August. It has only been 3 weeks since the Acorn. Curalina won the Acorn Stakes and she will not be participating in the Mother Goose. In fact, only one horse in this stakes race was entered at the Acorn. The 10 featured horses are:
Embellish the Lace
Include Betty
Hot City Girl
Munasara
Chide
Pleasant Tales
Money’soncharlotte
Danessa Deluxe
Eskenformoney
Wondergal
Embellish the Line won both of her 2 starts this year. This will be her 1st stakes race. Include Betty came in 8th at the Kentucky Oaks and 2nd in the Black-Eyed Susan stakes. She is the horse with the experience to win this, having 9 career starts including 4 graded stakes, 1 of which she won. Hot City Girl is one of only 2 New York bred horses in this race, the rest are from Kentucky. She has 7 starts but just 1 win, back in January, and none of her races have been graded stakes. Munasara is my favorite. She is undefeated but she has had just 2 entries. The last win was at Belmont Park. I like her tainer Kiaran McLaughlin and her jockey John Velazquez. Her jockey won the Mother Goose last year on American Champion 3 Year Old, Untapable. Chide has won 2 of her 3 starts. Her last two races were at Churchill Downs. Pleasant Tales has been in a total of 4 races at Churchill, of her 8 starts, and she won her last race there. Moneysoncharlotte came in lucky 13 in the Kentucky Oaks. That was her last race of 7 career starts. Danessa Deluxe was 4th in the Black-Eyed Susan when she had John Velazquez for a jockey. Tonight, Manuel Franco will ride her. She has not won in 2015 but she has 7 lifetime starts, with the last 3 being graded stakes. Eskenformoney came in 10th in the Kentucky Oaks. She has had 10 starts with 3 of them being graded. In those graded stakes she was third and then 2nd before her Kentucky Oaks race. Finally, Wondergal is considered the favorite. She is the other New York filly. She was 3rd in the Acorn as well as the 14 Hands Winery Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies race. 5 of her 6 starts were graded stakes.
Thoroughbred blogging takes an incredible amount of research time. I have not read so much in years. One of my more enjoyable reads was “Madam Belle: Sex, Money and Influence in a Southern Brothel” by Maryjean Wall. I had been tipped off that this biographical book, about a madam, is actually a wonderful account of horse racing in Lexington, Kentucky, as it was in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Harlots and horses!
Belle Brezing was a madam known internationally in her times and historically. She was born in Lexington on June 16th of 1860 as Mary Belle Cox to an unwed mother who later married a man with the last name Brezing. Belle had a sad childhood and became a mother herself in her mid-teens to a daughter with poor mental function. During her daughters early years her own mother died. Belle gave her daughter away and the child spent her life mostly institutionalized. Belle than began her career on Christmas Eve as a prostitute. She found work at a brothel owned by Jenny Hill. This brothel was once the family home of Mary Todd Lincoln before she married the United States’ 16th President. Belle was quite popular and influential as a prostitute. The profession was much more acceptable and normal during the Victorian Era. Lexington once had more than 150 brothels in operation. Belle met the right people and she made enough money through her work and real estate investments that she was able to open her own brothel, establishing herself as a madam. She eventually owned the best brothel in Lexington. Her visitors came from all over the U.S. and her name was known as far as Argentina. Belle is assumed to be the influence for Margaret Mitchell’s book, turned classic film, “Gone with the Wind” character Belle Watling. Other books have been written on Brezing as well. Additionally, many horses have been named for her as well. One of these horse name connections was also named Belle Watling, the dam of War Story, who came in 16th in the 2015 Kentucky Derby but did better, just days ago, with a 4th place finish in the Ohio Derby. Belle Brezing had a fascinating life and ran her brothel until 1917. On 8/11/1940 Belle died, in her home, of uterine cancer.
In Belle’s hay day Lexington was, as it is, the horse capital of the world. Downtown Lexington there was a racetrack, the Kentucky Association Track. It was built in the 1830s. The 1 mile dirt track was, of course, on Race Street. During the Victorian Era anybody who was anyone in Lexington and even the school children spoke horse talk. Pedigrees were rattled off from memory. People came to Lexington to breed, buy, race and sell horses. Other than the track the best places to discuss Thoroughbreds was either the Phoenix Hotel or Madam Brezing’s brothel. Brezing, having access to speak to all of the right people was an expert on horses. She loved to attend races at the KY Association as well as Louisville, Cincinnati or maybe even Saratoga. She traveled to New York often to obtain her high fashion wardrobe. The KY Association track was a big deal in its day and is a huge part of Thoroughbred racing history. The amazing horse, Man O’ War ran his last race here on 1/28/1921. It is where the Grade 3 Phoenix Stakes began as the Phoenix Hotel Handicap in 1831. This race is the oldest stakes race in the United States. It took place at the KY Association Track until 1930. The track’s wooden grandstand caught fire in 1933 and burned the place down. Keeneland race track took the race over starting in 1937. It will take place this coming October and is part of the “Road to the Breeders’ Cup Classic” both to be held at Keeneland this year. Other important races got their start at the KY Association Track too. The Grade 1 Ashland Stakes ran at Keeneland, this past April and since 1936, was 1st the Ashland Oaks. The Breeders’ Cup Futurity Stakes began at The KY Assoc. in 1910 until 1930 and moved to Keeneland in 1938. It is a Grade 1 race that is also a qualifying race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. In 1911 the KY Assoc. initiated the Blue Grass Stakes, another Grade 1 race that was moved to Keeneland in 1937. Also, the Ben Ali Stakes originated at the KY Association Track. This Grade 3 race began in 1917 and moved to Keeneland in 1937.
Keeneland racetrack opened in 1936, three years after the fall of the Kentucky Association track. In addition to adopting all of the races listed above Keeneland also obtained some unburnt bleachers from the destroyed track. I was most shocked to find that the posts seen throughout Keeneland at the entrance, finish line, and perhaps elsewhere are actually also from the KY Association track. Currently, Keeneland uses aluminum replicas that came from the mold of an original post. The real posts were placed at Keeneland but destroyed by repeated car wrecks. The KA symbol seen in my above picture collage doesn’t stand for Keeneland Association after all. It really is the original symbol for the Kentucky Association. I am so shocked!
Belle Breezing did her part to entertain and maintain the Thoroughbred racing industry and its people. Judge her profession, or not, she is an important part of racing history. If you have the time read up on Belle and the industry’s exciting past.
Before American Pharoah took home the much anticipated Triple Crown in 2015, there was another California horse that tried his best to do so last year. The 2014 Horse of the Year, California Chrome, came in 1st in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes only to find disappointment in the Belmont Stakes, when he ran 4th place. His loyal fans, lovingly called the California Chromies, didn’t lose faith. California Chrome continues to race very well and he was going to run in the Royal Ascot’s Prince of Wales Stakes tomorrow, Wednesday, June 17th, 2015 until a foot bruise that showed up on Monday resulted in an abscess. The Royal Ascot was started by the British monarchy and continues to be attended by the Royal Family annually. Queen Elizabeth II is said to be a Chromie herself. It is a shame that now we won’t know if California Chrome has what it takes to win a royal race and he will miss this crowning moment.
California Chrome is a 4 year old chestnut colt, with white markings, bred and born in California. He came into this world on February 18, 2011 as the foal of Lucky Pulpit, his sire and Love the Chase, his dam. His sire, from Kentucky, placed in multiple graded stakes. His dam came from Maryland and only had 1 win in 6 lifetime starts. Both parents had reported breathing issues. People made fun of breeders and owners Perry Martin and Steve Coburn for this breeding choice and the men turned the bullying around choosing to name themselves DAP for Dumb A## Partners and appropriately putting those initials and a donkey on their purple silks. The white markings on a horse can be called chrome. That gave rise to the horses name. He ran his 1st race in April of 2013 at Hollywood Park where he placed second with Alberto Delgado as his jockey. California Chrome had an amazing career in 2014. He won the 1st two legs of the Triple Crown but getting stepped on, at the Belmont Stakes, he injured his heel and that may have been what cost him the race. That did not stop him though. He went on to run 6th in the Pennsylvania Derby, then 3rd in the Breeder’s Cup Classic, followed by a win in the Hollywood Derby. That year he ranked 2nd in earnings and 46th in wins. He ran with the now Triple Crown winning jockey, Victor Espinoza in most of 2014 and early 2015. In addition to the Eclipse American Horse of the Year title he also won American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse. The Kentucky Derby win was called the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Moment of the Year. He also obtained the Secretariat Vox Populi Award. This year he has ran 2nd in both the San Antonio Stakes and the prestigious Dubai World Cup. After the missed Royal Ascot race he will return to the United States to race more and try for contention in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup. He has a few more races to get in before 2015 wraps when he is expected to retire to stud in Kentucky.
The Royal Ascot was founded by Queen Anne in 1711. It takes place in Ascot, at a race course of the same name, located in Berkshire, England just a few miles from Windsor Castle. The event lasts 5 days, Tuesday (today) thru Saturday. Over 300,000 visitors are expected to attend. The Prince of Wales Stakes , created in 1862 for King Edward VII, is a Group 1 turf race of 1 mile and 2 furlongs. There will be 30 races in all. California Chrome was to be the most anticipated horse. The overall purse for the event is 5.5 million pounds.
It is rumored that Perry Martin, being the 70% owner of California Chrome, had pushed to enter this race. Trainers Art and Alan Sherman, a father and son team, were not fans of this choice. California Chrome has only ran 1 turf race prior, he did win that race but also the surface is a lot choppier at Ascot.
If California Chrome had raced in England he would have used jockey William Buick. Buick won the Prince of Wales Stakes last year riding The Fugue. Jockey, Buick, has had major wins in 7 countries including the United States where he won the Arlington Million with Debussy in 2010.
I have been preparing for this post for over a week and it is a shame it has now taken such a different direction. I was very excited, hoping to see California Chrome compete on an international level. Most importantly, I pray the wound heals quickly and we can get our beloved champ home to race a little bit longer and win a few more big races. I would love to see him run in the Breeders’ Cup in Lexington, KY this October and then have him stick around for his retirement thereafter. This Chromie won’t give up on hope!
It took 37 years but yesterday we finally got another Triple Crown winner! American Pharoah proved he is a champion Thoroughbred winning the Belmont Stakes in just 2:26.65. I watched from the simulcast televisions at Keeneland race track as happy tears streamed down my face. 90,000 fans attended the Belmont. It was exactly what I had been wanting to see but I was just so surprised that it finally happened.
American Pharoah held back for just a second when the gates opened but injust 2 jumps, coming from post #5, he took the lead and kept it. He won this race by 5 and 1/2 lengths. This is the 4th largest margin ever.
The bay colt, Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont stakes winner was born on Groundhog’s day, 2/2/2012 at Stockplace Farm in Kentucky. His sire was Pioneer of theNile and his dam was Littleprincessemma by Yankee Gentleman. Pioneer of theNile was 2nd in the 2009 KY Derby. American Pharoah has ran just 8 times and won the last 7 in a row. He was the 2014 Eclipse Award Champion 2 Year Old Colt. He will likely continue to run this year and compete in the Breeders’ Cup but is expected to retire to stud at the end of 2015. His stud rights have already been sold to Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
American Pharoah’s trainer is Robert A. Baffert born 1/13/1953. He was born and raised in Arizona. He became a jockey at a young age. Baffert received a B.S. from University of Arizona’s Track Industry Program. He has trained 4 KY Derby winners, 6 Preakness winners, 2 Belmont winners, 2 KY Oaks winners, 10 Breeders Cup winners and 2 Dubai Cup winners. He won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 1997, 1998 and 1999. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2009.
Victor Espinoza was the jockey. He was born 5/23/72 in Mexico. He became a jockey there and then in California. He has won the KY Derby 3 times and the Preakness 3 times. He was the 1st jockey ever to have a third chance at the Triple Crown and this time it worked out well for him. He is also the 1st Latino jockey to win all 3 legs and at 43 he is the oldest to do so as well.
Ahmed Zayat of Zayat Stables, LCC. is the breeder and owner of American Pharoah. He was born in Cairo, Egypt 8/31/62. He now lives in New Jersey. He has been racing Thoroughbreds since 2005 and has many graded stakes winner and has frequently lead in earnings.
I am hoping that American Pharoah continues to race some more and that I get a chance to see him in the Breeders’ Cup!
I am six months in on blogging now and I must say this is the most excited I have been for a race thus far. It is time for The Test Of The Champion, The Run For The Carnations, The Triple Crown, The Belmont Stakes! I’m literally waiting on pins and needles to see if we finally have a Triple Crown winner.
The field of 8 horses is strong but I really just want to see American Pharoah win. Not since Affirmed won it all in 1978, have we had a new champ to add to the list of only 11 horses to win all three parts of the triple crown; The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes and The Belmont Stakes. The horses who have won it all include Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. Secretariat holds the record at 2:24.
The Belmont Stakes race is the 147th running for 3 year olds of 1 and 1/2 miles on dirt. It is a Grade 1 race with a purse of 1.5 million dollars. The race is named for 19th century banker and 1st president of The Jockey Club, August Belmont Sr. The Belmont was 1st held in 1867 making it the oldest leg of the Triple Crown. The location of the race has varied but there is a 200 year old white pine in the paddock, at Belmont Park, that marks the original location and it is now held annually at this track in Elmont, New York. The race will take place at 6:50 P.M. EST today, June 6, 2015. The event is a to p attended Thoroughbred race in North America and holds high television viewing as well. It can be seen live on NBC.
In terms of traditions this race too has a song, a drink, a blanket, and a trophy. The song has been changed a few times over the years. Some think all the changes have brought on bad luck but currently they play the theme from “New York, New York”.
The drink has changed too. It used to be the White Carnation, then the Belmont Breeze and now it is the Belmont Jewel. Get the recipe here: Belmont Jewel. The blanket is the same. It is made of 700 white carnations glued to 7 yards of green velvet. The flower represents luck and love. It takes 5 hours to construct this blanket. Personally, I think there should be a real crown too. Perhaps, made of carnations, for the horse, if it is a Triple Crown winner. The trophy is the August Belmont Memorial Cup made by Tiffany and Co. The winning owner gets to keep it for a year. It is silver with a representation of 1869 winner Fenian on top. On the bottom are Herod, Eclipse and Matchem, the grandsons of the original Thoroughbreds; The Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Barb. The owner, jockey and trainer of the winner get to each keep a mini version too.
Only 8 horses are racing to win the Belmont Stakes. Just American Pharoah can compete for the Triple Crown based on his past 2 wins. See what we knew about these horses going into each leg here Derby Dreaming and Preakness Planning. This is our field now:
Mubtaahij
Tale of Verve
Madefromlucky
Frammento
American Pharoah
Frosted
Keen Ice
Materiality
Mubtaahij won the United Arab Emirates Derby which is huge but then he just ran 8th in the Kentucky Derby and skipped the Preakness altogether. Supposedly, the surface at the Belmont will be more his preference than at Churchill. He has got in 6 workouts at Belmont and had more time to adjust to the environment at that track. His best hope is probably that he has Irad Ortiz for his jockey. Ortiz was 2014 leading New York rider. His odds are right about middle 5th off the best end, 4th off the worst. Tale of Verve did not qualify for the KY Derby but popped into the Preakness as the long shot and fetched 2nd place. He only has one win to his name which he got at Keeneland. It might have been the muddy field that helped him out at the Preakness. His current odds have him tied for 2nd to being the long shot once again. Madefromlucky is one of two Todd Pletcher owned horses in this race. He did not participate in either of the 1st two legs of the crown. He did, however, just win at Belmont in the G2 Peter Pan Stakes less than a month ago. His odds are slightly better than Mubtaahij. Frammento ran 11th in the KY Derby, he did not run in the Preakness. He has not raced since the KY Derby and has not won a race this year. He is the long shot for this race. He has only won one time ever and that was at Keeneland last October. American Pharoah…what needs to be said? He won the KY Derby by a length and the Preakness by 7 lengths. In 6 of 7 races he has ran at speeds of 100 or better. The talk is that he appears to be gaining weight and showed no signs of wearing out in his 2 workouts since his Preakness win. He drew a good post position too. My fingers are crossed that he will be our Triple Crown winner. Frosted is the biggest threat. He has the 2nd best odds and I fear he is the major challenger. He had throat surgery that really seemed to help him out. Competing against American Pharoah is about speed and this guy has it. In the G1 Wood Memorial Frosted came in first with a speed of 103. He came in 4th in the KY Derby, clocked at 100. He did not run the Preakness. He has placed at Belmont before. Keen Ice has only one win in 8 starts. He is tied 2nd for worse odds. He came in 7th at the KY Derby and then skipped the Preakness. One advantage, not to discount, is he does have Curlin for his sire. Last but not least, Materiality is ranked with the 3rd best odds. This is our other big threat. He is another Pletcher horse. He ran 6th in the KY Derby and skipped the Preakness. He is a speed horse. Materiality won all 3 off his other races. 2 at speeds of 102 and the G1 Florida Derby at 110.
So what will it take to stop American Pharoah from winning? 13 horses since Affirmed have come into the Belmont with wins in the first 2 legs to lose in the Belmont. The reasons ranged from a safety pin in the foot, a few losses by a nose, a couple of un-explainables, one didn’t take his Lasix, a couple of leg injuries, tumbling at the start, a sloppy track, too much congestion, fatigue, distance and one jockey flat out stopped a horse whom the vets said had no injuries. Anything can happen!
It is all luck and talent from here. Good luck American Pharoah, I hope you get your crown!
Update: My dreams came true. American Pharoah won the Belmont stakes and thus is our 1st Triple Crown winner in 37 years. Frosted placed 2nd, followed by Keen Ice at 3rd and finally Mubtaahij at 4th.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the same enthusiasm for this race as I do for the Belmont Stakes since we won’t have a Triple Crown winner in this race but I’m still really excited! We do have an amazing group of horses running and this is a very important G1 stakes race, so I am still anxious to see who wins. Also, while this is the final race of the Filly Triple Crown, it is the 1st race of the U.S Triple Tiara.
The Filly Triple Crown consists of the Kentucky Oaks, The Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and the Acorn Stakes. See the stories of the former two races here: Get Stoked For The Oaks and Filly Friday.
The American Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing consists of the Acorn Stakes, ran at Belmont Park, The Coaching Club of American Oaks, ran at Saratoga race track, and the Alabama Stakes also held at Saratoga. All 3 parts of the Tiara are for 3 year old fillies and they all take place in New York. Historically, on occasion, the Mother Goose has replaced either the Acorn or Alabama stakes, in other configurations.
This is the 85th running of the Acorn Stakes. It is a mile race on dirt. The winning purse is $750,000. It will take place in the 7th race, about 3:15 P.M. EST on Saturday June 6th, 2015, the same day and place as the Belmont Stakes. Some years this race was held at Aqueduct. This year will feature 12 fillies:
Oceanwave
Wonder Gal
By the Moon
Calamity Kate
Bar of Gold
Curalina
Condo Commando
Shook Up
Promise Me Silver
Light The City
Miss Ella
Danzatrice
We have seen Oceanwave before in the KY Oaks where she finished 7th. Her other past performances had her coming in at 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Her current odds place her about middle. Wonder Gal has the same odds presently. She is trained by last years winning trainer, Leah Gyarmati, who won this race in 2014 with Sweet Reason with a time of 1:34.98. By the Moon has worse odds. She is very unpredictable having often ran 1st and 2nd but also once coming in 5th and 8th each in past performances. Calamity Kate is the longest shot of this race. She did come in second to the favorite for this race, last November, in the Demoiselle Stakes at Aqueduct. She also won the only race she entered this year, at Monmouth Park, last month. Bar of Gold does not have good odds at this time. This is somewhat surprising since she is undefeated. However, she has only ran three races, once in August of last year and again this past March and April . Curalina has better, about mid range odds but also just has the experience of 3 races total. She came in 2nd and then 1st the past 2 races. Her biggest advantage might be that she has the excellent trainer, Todd Pletcher and her sire is Curlin . Curlin won the Preakness Stakes, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and Horse of the Year in 2007. In 2008 he was Horse of the Year again, which it is very rare to win twice, and he won the Dubai World Cup. Also, she has jockey Jorge Velazquez. He is tied for the jockey with the 2nd most wins in the Acorn. Eddie Arcaro has him beat with 5 wins but has not won the Acorn since 1961. Condo Commando ran ninth in the KY Oaks. However, she looks to be the favorite for this race. That was her seventh race. Previously, she has always ran 1st except for once when she came in fourth. Shook Up placed in the KY Oaks. She is favored second to win this race. In her former 6 races she has always been second except for 1 win and 1 time in fifth place. Promise Me Silver has the third best odds. She is undefeated in all 8 of her races. Due to the experience she has over the other horses and her winning streak she is my favorite. This is an opinion and not a tip. Only her last race was graded. It was the G3 Eight Bells Stakes at Churchill Downs. She has jockey Mike E. Smith. He is tied for 2nd as the jockey with the most wins in the Acorn at 4 wins. Light the City has jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. who rode last years winner. She has 7 starts in which she has ran 1st twice, 2nd twice, 3rd once and 5th once. Her last race she was pulled up to score last at 7th or in other words, she did not finish. Miss Ella has very good odds. She is also undefeated but she has only ran twice. Her last race was on 4/12/15 at Keeneland in the G2 Adena Springs Beaumont Stakes. Finally, Danzatrice has unfavorable odds but she has been 1st in all 4 of her previous races except for once, placing second last October. Also, she is getting faster. The speed record for the Acorn was made by You in 2002, at 1:34.05.
Not a single horse from The Black-Eyed Susan stakes is participating in the Acorn. Only 2 of these horses ran in the KY Oaks. Hopefully, we will see more continuity into all parts of the Triple Tiara. I am putting this out a little early because I have to get in my Belmont story soon too. So much racing so little time for blogging. Have a great weekend!
Update: Curalina took 1st place, By the Moon was 2nd, Wonder Gal came in 3rd and Danzatrice was 4th.
In the midst of preparing for the upcoming Belmont Stakes it was fortunate timing that I took a stay-cation from my day job and I had time to attend the latest presentation in the Keeneland Library Lecture Series. It was refreshing to take my mind off all of the anxieties of what may occur in this weekends stake races and pay attention to a little less known horsey history. Last night I learned a lot about Noor.
Author, Milton C. Toby spoke about his 5th book on horses in the presentation that I attended. His latest book is, “Noor: A Champion Thoroughbred’s Unlikely Journey from California to Kentucky.” Noor was, according to Toby, perhaps “the best horse no one remembers.” This Thoroughbred was born in England in 1945 and died in California November 16, 1974. He had a great pedigree. His sire was the 5 time leading sire, Nasrullah, and his dam was Queen of Bagdad, by the 1935 English Triple Crown winner, Bahram. Noor had a good racing career in England and even showed in the Epsom Derby there but he really started to prove his worth when Charles S. Howard bought him and brought him to California. Howard had owned the amazing Seabiscuit, who passed away in May of 1947. Howard was looking for another special horse, and he found that in Noor. Unfortunately, Howard died in June of 1950, before he could witness all of Noor‘s successes.
In his racing days, Noor, set 3 world records and 3 track records. He beat U.S Triple crown winner Citation in 4 of 5 races. He also beat U.S Triple Crown winner Assault twice. This makes him the 1st of only 2 horses to ever win against 2 Triple Crown winners. Does anyone know who the name of the other horse that can claim this feat?Noor, also beat out the 1950 Horse of the Year, Hill Prince, and the 1949 Kentucky Derby winner, Ponder, passing both of them in the 1950 Hollywood Cup. Noor was named the 1950 U.S. Champion Handicap Male Horse and in 2002 was inducted into the U.S. National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
There are some reasons Noor flew under the radar. His owner’s declining health and death kept him from being well publicized. The Korean War began in 1950 as well, which shifted the focus off racing somewhat. Noor had been sent by train to the East Coast to race but had not done well and that kept his wide spread notoriety down. He retired to stud in 1950 creating 139 winners from 256 foals. Thirteen of his foals were stakes winners including Noor’s Image who produced 1968 Kentucky Derby winner, Dancer’s Image, who later lost the title to a drug scandal that was fought for a hard 5 years.
Noor had a second chance at recognition after his death. In 2011 he was exhumed and moved 2,300 miles from California to Old Friends Hall of Fame cemetery in Georgetown, Kentucky. Old Friends has properties in KY and New York for retired Thoroughbreds. I had the pleasure of meeting owner Micheal Blowen and volunteer and tour guide John Bradley at the lecture. I am looking forward to taking a field trip there soon. If you want to assist them in helping Thoroughbreds click here Old Friends.
I hope some of you got the question right, Does anyone know who the name of the other horse that can claim this feat? It was Exceller! Exceller beat Triple Crown winners Affirmed and Seattle Slew in the same race, The Jockey Club Gold Cup and Belmont Park in 1978. Now back to Belmont Stakes prep.
On June 6th I am hoping to see the jockey in blue and gold with a Z come in 1st! I am awfully excited about our chances of getting a Triple Crown Winner this year. I touched on jockey silks a bit in The Emperor’s New Clothes but that post addressed the uniform of the jockey and the tack for the horse. The silk is actually a representation of the owner.
Owners have been registering their silks since medieval times. In New York, owners register their colours thru The Jockey Club, established in 1894. Owners from other states may register thru New York as well. The Belmont Stakes, the final piece of the Triple Crown, is a New York race. Owners may choose from 38 jacket designs with 19 sleeve designs. The design may only be registered in 1 person’s name. The front and back must be identical. The Jockey Club offers a maximum of 4 colors per silk, with a max of 2 colors on the jacket and 2 on the sleeves, but they will not offer navy blue because it looks a lot like black. They allow a tasteful emblem or up to 3 initials on 4 of the jacket designs and just 1 initial on 1 of the other jacket designs. Despite being called silks they are usually made with lycra or polyester now. They are lightweight and fitted to be aerodynamic. My favorite jacket design is the shamrock pattern. Silks Illustration
Owners can be very superstitious about the colors they choose. Some colors seem to be luckier than others. Another superstition leads the jockeys to toss their silks on the floor and stomp on them when they are new so the garment hits the ground in hopes they won’t fall and hit the ground themselves while wearing it.
In the top photo we see jockey Jerry D. Bailey wearing green and pink silks. These are the colours of Prince Khalid Ibn Abdullah, owner of Juddmonte Farms. Bailey is most famous for riding the great Cigar. Bailey won 7 Eclipse Awards before he retired in 2006 but he went on to be a horse racing commentator and analyst. Juddmonte Farms has earned many awards including 10 Eclipse Awards. Cigar was National Museum of Racing Hall of Famer and American Horse of the Decade for the 1990s. Sadly, he died last October.
11 horses have won the Triple Crown. These were; Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, SeattleSlew, and Affirmed. The prettiest silks of these horses owners were those of Meadow Farms owner Penny Chenery, who owned Secretariat. These silks were a blue and white checkered jacket with blue and white striped sleeves. Both Whirlaway and Citation jockeys wore Calumet Farm’s red jacket with a blue collar and blue hat and 2 blue stripes on each sleeve. The jockeys of 2 more on this list wore white jackets with red polka dots. The horses they rode were Gallant Fox and Omaha. These silks belonged to Belair Stud in Maryland that raced from 1923 to 1953.
American Pharoah’s jockey wears the colours of Zayat Stables,LCC. owned by Ahmed Zayat and located in Hackensack, Maryland. The jockey silk is blue with 3 gold balls in a sash formation and a gold Z on one shoulder and on the hat cover. Zayat has been racing since 2005. He has had 19 Breeders’ Cup contenders, 13 GI winners, and 6 Eclipse Award winners.
35 horses have won the 1st two jewels of the Triple Crown with 23 stopping there and 11 winning it all. Will American Pharoah be next?
Here we are, its 5/16/15, time for the 140th running of the Grade I Preakness Stakes! In the lucky 13th Pimlico race of the day, at 6:18 p.m. EST, the 1.5 million dollar purse race will begin. Just 8 of 14 possible horses, the smallest field since 2000, are competing in this race and only one of them could someday be a Triple Crown winner!
The Preakness Stakes takes place at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Just like the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes it shares the same dirt track, flower, and drink. See yesterdays post Filly Friday. They also eat crabcakes, yuk! To make the Black-Eyed Susan flower blanket, for the winning horse, since 1940, they painted the centers of about 4 thousand daisies black, now they use Viking Poms. I fudged a little on my own flower pic above too and darkened up the middle. The race is called “The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans.” The reason they use the wrong flower is because the Black Eyed Susan blooms in June in Maryland and it is only May so daisies are in season. I just need to take more flower pictures, myself. The winning owner gets a silver trophy replica of The Woodlawn Vase, made in 1860 and valued at 1 million dollars. This copy is sterling valued at $30,000. They also paint the jockey silks on the weather vane on top of the Old Clubhouse to match the winning owner’s colors after the race is won. The song of the day is “Maryland, My Maryland.” It reminds me of “O Christmas Tree.”
The first race occurred in 1873. By 1932 it was the second leg of the Triple Crown series. Secretariat ran the speed record at 1:53. Smarty Jones won by the most lengths at 11 and 1/2.
Let’s check out the contenders, listed in post position…
American Pharoah
Dortmund
Mr. Z
Danzig Moon
Tale of Verve
Bodhisattva
Divining Rod
Firing Line
I want a Triple Crown winner. We have not seen one since 1978 with Affirmed. Thus, I’m pulling for the favorite, American Pharoah. The KY Derby was his 5th win straight of 6 starts. 4 of those wins were Grade I stakes. He won an Eclipse Award at 2 years old. This horse won the KY Derby by a length. He is a California horse just like last years winner, California Chrome. Right next to American Pharoah on the rail is Dortmund, these two horses have the same trainer Bob Baffert. All 3 of his previous KY Derby winners have gone on to win the Preakness. Baffert has trained 5 Preakness winners total. Dortmond lost his first race ever at the KY Derby but still managed to come in 3rd, 3 lengths behind the winner. Mr. Z was just involved in a quick sale. He was owned by Zayat Stables when he came in 13th in a field of 18 at the KY Derby. Just days ago, Calumet Farm in Lexington, KY bought him and decided to give him the chance Zayat was not. Zayat still has American Pharoah in the race and he was going to give Mr. Z a break to build confidence. The trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, remained throughout and he thinks the horse is ready now. The fun thing about studying horse racing is the learning. I would have figured horses hated the transportation part but his trainer says the scenic van ride from Kentucky to Maryland was very good for the horse. Calumet Farms has the most wins of any owner in the Preakness. Lukas has the 2nd most wins of any trainer in the Preakness. Danzig Moon also ran in the KY Derby. He came in 5th place running from the 5th pole position. This Thoroughbred is close to the same post now. He lost by more than 6 lengths. Of the 8 horses running the Preakness, 5 ran in the KY Derby and he was the 2nd to last of these. Jockey Julien Leparoux did prefer this horse to ride over Divining Rod. Tale of the Verve wanted to run in the KY Derby but he didn’t make the cut. He has won a Gr. I stakes of the same length as the Preakness. He won his maiden race at Keeneland. Tale of the Verve is probably your biggest long shot of the day. Bodhisattva was not a KY Derby horse. He is however, the only horse in the race with a win at Pimlico. Divining Rod did not run in the KY Derby either. He is probably the best of the 3 without KY Derby experience. This horse did win the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland and he has Javier Castellano for a jockey. He just won the 2015 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at this same track yesterday! Last but not least, Firing Line, was 2nd place by a length in the KY Derby. Thus we have the top 3 KY Derby horses running in the Preakness. That has happened 7 times in the prior 20 years and never have they come in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in repeat order.
My handicapper says, “Historically, horses that win the derby from on or near the pace do extremely well in the Preakness. Derby winners that come from far back have struggled in the Preakness. Since the top three finishers in the KY Derby were all very close to the lead, I expect all three of them to run very well in Baltimore. I will be boxing American Pharoah, Firing Line, and Dortmund in the exacta and I’ll add Danzig Moon in a trifecta and superfecta box.”
My tipster also inspired me to consider the strong possibility of rain. Looks like the favorite American Pharoah loves mud. 34 horses have won the KY Derby and the Preakness. Fingers crossed, I want the chance at the Triple Crown!
Update: A record crowd of 131,680 attended the Preakness to see American Pharoah win. This was the 14th time since 1978’s Triple Crown that a horse has won both the KY Derby at the Preakness. Finish order was:
