American Pharoah Archives - Page 7 of 8

October 29, 2015October 29, 2015

Purple Prelude Passion

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Breeders’ Cup Eve is upon us with today’s event, The Prelude to the Cup! For those lucky enough to make it to Keeneland in Lexington, KY we are in for a special treat. Today, 10/29/15, Keeneland has been draped in rich purple to covert my favorite race course into the grounds for the 2015 Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

I will be present today after the gates open at 11 A.M. EST to witness 9 live races and Breeders’ Cup contenders schooling in the paddock. Race 1 starts at 12:30 P.M. Race 8 posts at 4:24 P.M. and is the feature race, The Lafayette Stakes. Our handicapper friend drew my attention to the 5th race. He says to pay attention to “horse 9, Cheryl D. Trainer, Larry Rivelli, wins a sharp 26% with first timers. This 2 year old daughter of red hot Uncle Mo has a nice set of works and she should be ready to win at first asking. Let’s hope we get close to the 8-1 morning lines.”

Race 5 has a purse of $56,000 and is a maiden special weight. Twelve 2 year old fillies will compete in this 6 and 1/2 furlong race. Cheryl D has had two nice workouts at Keenleand this month and 3 works at Arlington prior. She was bred in Kentucky. Her breeder was John Liviakis. Her jockey will be Jose Valdivia, Jr. He is an experienced rider with multiple graded stakes wins including the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Mile and the 2011 Belmont Stakes. Larry Rivelli has trained horses in over 4 thousand starts. More than 300 of those races took place this year. He has won multiple graded stakes too.

I am pretty excited to have a chance to preview our Breeders’ Cup contenders in the paddock today. I am blown away by the caliper of this year’s participants. There is even a Triple Crown winner for me to see live, wow! All eyes will be on that fantastic champ, American Pharoah but I’m pretty crazy about seeing my buddy, Mr. Z again too. I’m in awe of them all.

If you can’t make it, don’t worry. I will get those pictures for your eyes to feast upon!

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October 27, 2015October 27, 2015

Post Position Party

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A large crowd assembled at the Maker’s Mark Bourbon Lounge last night, 10/26/15. They were all eager to hear the last 2 of the 13 Breeders’ Cup races post positions to be drawn. 2000 tickets were available to the public. Media, staff, employees of Rood and Riddle (the event sponsor), horseman and their connections, and more attended as well. I was fortunate to snag a public ticket!

At 5:30 P.M. EST my friends and I parked on Keeneland’s grounds and made our way into the packed front end of the tent. There is more than enough room inside the Bourbon Lounge to hold a group that size but we all wanted to be in the front. We hoped to hear from Keeneland’s and Breeders’ Cup representatives plus our Lexington Mayor, Jim Gray, and University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball coach, John Calipari. Calipari was selected to draw for the post positions for the BC Distaff and Classic divisions. He began at 6 P.M. and very quickly we finally all knew where our favorite Thoroughbreds would be placed in the gate. The room erupted with applause when Triple Crown winning, American Pharoah, was selected for post 4 in the BC Classic. I have read that Bob Baffert, his trainer and Victor Espinoza, his jockey, are pleased as well. See the photo above for the full listing of these two races.

After the drawing, we were entertained by a live band and treated to hors d’oeuvors. I also appreciated the progress that was made in one day’s time to make the tent more beautiful. I had been there to train the previous day and since then there were several new touches. It should make for a nice Breeders’ Cup experience.

Finally, I enjoyed being part of the event. It is awesome to see so many people come together with such enthusiasm for the horse racing industry. I saw some old friends and met some new people as well. I also ducked outside to see what changes I could find. I found that there is now an infield screen facing the Bourbon Lounge and I could barely spot in the distance that the starting gate was now decorated for Breeders’ Cup rather than Keeneland.

Excitement is mounting. The Breeders’ Cup is sure to be a historical moment that we won’t soon forget. Do you think American Pharoah will get the grand slam?

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October 24, 2015October 25, 2015

Saturday Sendoff

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I’m not at Keeneland today but it is the closing day for the live racing meet so I have to give it a proper sendoff. Keeneland it has been a blast and I hope today is a good time for humans and horses alike.

Our tipster is likely in attendance. He gave us a final pick for the meet. He says’ ” (Check out) race 8, (horse) #6, Sister Blues. (She) ran her guts out last time, opening weekend, at Keeneland and should run very well unless she only liked the muddy track.” Well, this tip is about the best spin on a rainy day I have seen in a while because he made this statement last night and now it is raining!Race 8 goes off at 4:57 P.M. EST today. It is an allowance race with a purse of $58,000. There are 10 entries. The race is 1 and 1/16 miles on the dirt for fillies and mares age 3 or older. Sister Blues is a 3 year old, Kentucky bred and owned by Lucky Seven Table. Her sire is Pioneer of the Nile, just like our Triple Crown hero American Pharoah. Sister Blues finished 2nd at Keeneland on October 3, 2015. She has one win in her 5 career starts. Her jockey today is Drayden Van Dyke. He has an Eclipse Award and has won multiple graded stakes in over a thousand starts. Thomas F. Proctor is her graded stakes winning trainer. He won at the 1994 Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

A final thought for the day. Who is this horse pictured above? I have had the great pleasure of seeing many of the Thoroughbreds that will participate in this year’s Breeders’ Cup while they have been schooling in Keeneland’s paddock this meet. I saw this beauty on October 7th and was struck by the height of this horse. Leave a comment if you know who it is? I do not. Here is an unedited picture below.

Update: Sister Blues finished last. She maintained a middle position for a good portion of the race then she went to the outside and fought her way to third. Unfortunately, right after she made that position she quickly faded to the back. The race was won by Gamblers Rose who held the lead from the break.

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September 28, 2015October 1, 2015

Kentucky Chromasomes

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It is just Monday and I started the week off right with another visit to see California Chrome at Taylor Made Farm. I went to 2 of 3 Fan Days this weekend with the later including a farm tour, in addition to a meet and greet at the stallion complex. Chrome was just as adorable and exciting yesterday as he was when I first met him on Friday. Chrome is one terrific horse and it has been such a pleasure having him here in Kentucky.

His time here is almost over, for now. Yesterday, 9/27/15, Duncan Taylor, President of Taylor Made Farm made a similar presentation to the one I attended on Friday following my chance to meet, photograph and love on several of the resident stallions. I was better able to pay attention this time due to the repetition of material and that I wasn’t so completely baffled by the site of Chrome. I learned that California Chrome is expected to be fully recovered from his bruised cannon bone. Gilberto is pointing the injury out in the picture above. Chrome likely got the injury from standing in stalls too long. The remedy to heal such an injury is to spend 75 days turned out into pasture land. During Chrome’s stay he packed on 160 pounds dining on Kentucky Bluegrass and he should be cleared by his veterinarian October 1st to be shipped back to California. He will probably fly out between October 8th and 15th. His trainer, Art Sherman, wants to race him some more before he begins his stud career at Taylor Made. The rumor is he may race in Dubai. I wish him well. I hope our American Horse of the Year wins some more races and returns to Kentucky safe and sound when he retires from racing. Duncan Taylor noted Chrome may be California bred, but he has Kentucky Chromasomes, thanks to his KY sire, Lucky Pulpit. After I bid Chrome farewell I boarded the tour bus.

Pulling away from the stallion complex in the bus, Alex Payne, the farm manager for the yearlings, was the tour guide. We rode around and made a few stops to walk about the 1100 acres of the 36 year old farm. We saw the barn American Pharoah lived in as a yearling, in the distance. We made our 1st stop at Aaron and Maire Jones barn. They had fields full of mares and babies. It was nice to pet them and admire their beauty. See some of their pretty faces below.

Next we went to see some of the RNAs (reserve not attained) from the Keeneland September Yearling Sale that just finished this past Saturday. See theses precious Thoroughbreds below.

Many of these horses were still tired from their sale experience. Some had been purchased since the sale at a RNA party the farm hosted. Others may still be available. There is a good chance I met some future big time winners while at the farm. Unfortunately, at this part, I had to ditch the tour to make it to my day job. I wish i could have stayed all day. I had such a great time and I can not wait to go back. Thankfully, Taylor Made is one of the farms that is part of Horse Country Breeders’ Cup Festival Week Horse Farm Tours and they plan on touring after the BC too. Here is a link to get your own tour: Horse Country

Finally, I leave you with my other favorite animal, cats! I met two barn cats and they were a delight. Have a great week everyone and I have hundreds to thousands or more pictures too so leave me a comment if there is something more you want to see. Thank you in advance!

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September 15, 2015September 15, 2015

Yesterday’s Yearlings!

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Yesterday was day 1 of the September Yearling Sale at Keeneland which takes place through September 26, 2015. It was a beautiful day with striking horses everywhere I turned. I met up with some old friends and made some new ones. I can not wait to go back and I will today!

Day 1 featured hips 1 thru 241 and 150 yearlings were sold. Several bids were RNA, reserve not attained, meaning the bid did not meet the owner’s minimal sale price. The big money makers were fillies by War Front. Hip #99 sold for $1 million and #116 sold for $1.45 million! Overall the sale grossed more than $44.6 million. This was an increase of over 34.6% versus last year’s Yearling Sale at Keeneland. More horses were sold this year and the average and mean price increase was up over 7 and 8% respectively.

I encountered several new Thoroughbreds but also some new people. It was a pleasure to meet David Clay of D & D Drennon Creek Farm in Eminence, KY. He told me about his wife, Debbie, and their military careers and dreams to have a Thoroughbred Farm. They went about it in the best way possible. Staying true to their strong Christian values and desire to adopt and rescue horses, they have been caring for rescued Thoroughbreds and breeding new generations of racers. Their mare Highest Ground raced and bred prior to her rescue. She foaled both I’am Toorific and Cactus Kris. Both of her foals have nice racing careers. They currently have several babies at the farm. One is a half sister to Cactus Kris, Blue Moon Diamond (Baby Egg), sired by Tale of Ekati. Tale of Ekati had a great racing career. He participated in graded stakes such as the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont stakes, the Travers Stakes, the Jim Dandy stakes and more.

I took so many pictures I want to share some with all of you. Above are a few pavilion and entry shots. It is a good chance to see the horses without having to peer thru the stall door screens.

Additionally, I like to walk around the barns to spot horses but also to see how the barns advertise and decorate. Some are rather plain while others bring their own flowers and more. Above is some of the signage.

Finally, if you get a chance to follow today’s sale, be on the lookout for hip #261. He has American Pharoah connections in the family. I went to his barn to get a peek but all I could see here is some tail and ankles. Better luck on catching a peak at him today!

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September 14, 2015

Dancing With The Stars

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Good morning! It is a very busy day for this blogger. I am up early and about to head to Keeneland for a full day of sales. First, I wanted to make sure everyone was ready to root for Victor Espinoza off the track and onto the dance floor!

Dancing With The Stars is the name of a television series that covers different groups of dancers in competition in various versions in several countries. In the United States, season 21 airs beginning tonight, 9/14/15. ABC launched the American version in 2005. Professional dancers are paired with celebrities and then ranked by a panel of judges and at home viewers to determine eliminations. The final couple, at the season’s end, wins and is presented with The Mirror Ball Trophy. My parents and my favorite restaurant owner love the show. I do not watch a lot of television myself but this season of DWTS, I am going to have a big reason to tune in. This is the first time ever, in America, that one of the celebrities is a jockey. This extra special jockey is Victor Espinoza. Victor has been paired with professional dancer, Karina Smirnoff. Karina won in season 13. They are one of 13 couples who will dance this season.

Espinoza has a multitude of awards and trophies. He has won over three thousand races. He has the ESPY Award for Best Jockey in 2002, 2014 and 2015. He won the Kentucky Derby, and the Preakness Stakes riding War Emblem in 2002 and California Chrome in 2014. This year he won those two races and the Belmont stakes riding American Pharoah to win the Triple Crown. He also was the jockey for Take Charge Brandi when she got honored with the title, American Champion Two Year Old Filly, in 2014. Victor is 43 years old and he is quite charitable. He donates a lot of money to City of Hope, an organization that tackles pediatric cancer.

Be sure to watch Espinoza dance live tonight at 8 P.M. EST for the two hour season premier. There are no eliminations week one but this season Victor will need your votes so have your phone or internet handy. Until it’s TV time I am off to the Keeneland September Sale starting at 11 A.M. EST today. I will have photos and information to share with you following my trip. I hope you have a great week and that you have some horse time in your schedule too!

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September 5, 2015September 6, 2015

Horsey Homeschool

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Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone! What will all of you be doing with your time off? I will be spending some of my time in Horsey Homeschool. I thank each of you who is following me along my journey to educate myself on the Thoroughbred industry. I enjoy my live learning best but the rest of the time I read and read some more. I have accumulated so many papers, journals, forms, books etc. that I feel like a pack rat at times. I am real happy that September, for me, brings more local opportunity to learn.

Currently, the racing action is taking place a little bit too far away from me. I am developing quite the bucket list of tracks that I consider a must see. Saratoga Race Course has had a wonderful meet this summer. Last week we witnessed American Pharoah’s disappointing second place finish at the “Graveyard of Champions”. Saratoga got that nickname after Upset beat out Man O’ War in 1913 and Jim Dandy beat Gallant Fox in 1929. Both of those races were considered surprising losses. Saratoga will wrap up its summer meet this Monday, September 7th with one final Grade I stakes race, the Hopeful, won by Secretariat in 1972. Today, September 5, 2015 Saratoga has two Grade I stakes, the Woodward and the Spinaway. This is the 62nd running of the Woodward, to be held at 5:47 P.M. EST and televised by NBC. The race was named in memory of Belair Stud owner, William Woodward, Sr. He was chairman of the Jockey Club from 1930 to 1950. His Belair Stud is responsible for great horses such as Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox and Omaha. He had Thoroughbreds in every major stakes race in America. The Woodward began at Belmont Park in 1954. It has been held at Aquaduct too but is now a Saratoga race course. Today the purse, for this race, is $600,000. The dirt race of 9 furlongs, 1 and 1/8 miles, is for horses, 3 years old and up. This race has featured many of the greatest Thoroughbreds. Secretariat lost to Prove Out in 1973, which was also huge upset. There are plenty of big named winners of this race as well. The champs are 3 time winner Kelso, 4 time winner Forego, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Alysheba, Holly Bull, 2 time winner Cigar, Curlin, Rachel Alexandra and more. Who will win today? By post position we have…

Wicked Strong
Liam’s Map
Commanding Curve
Bay Of Plenty
Mylute
Coach Inge
Effinex
Protonico

Todd Pletcher is the trainer for posts 2, 5, 6 and 8. He won this race in 2007 and 2010. James Jerkins trains posts 1 and 7. Wicked Strong is a speed horse and the 3rd favorite at this moment. He has not won a race in 2015 but he won the Jim Dandy Grade II last year and he was 4th in the 2014 Kentucky Derby as he was in the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga less than a month ago. Liam’s Map, another speed horse, is today’s favorite. His jockey, Javier Castellano, won the Travers last week. In 6 career entries Liam’s Map has always placed first or 2nd and was 2nd in the Whitney this year. Commanding Curve is trained by Dallas Stewart. This horse has had 12 starts with his last win happening at Churchill Downs in May. He raced in the KY Derby there too in 2014. Last month he was 7th in the West Virginia Governor’s Stakes. Bay of Plenty is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, who won the Woodward in 2013. This speed horse was 1st place at Saratoga this August in the Alydar Stakes. Mylute is the oldest horse in this race. This 2013 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes runner has 20 career starts including a second place finish in last month’s Alydar Stakes. Coach Inge has been in two Grade II stakes this year finishing 1st and 3rd both at Belmont. He is Kentucky bred but has never raced at home. Effinex is the 2nd favorite today. He last won in July at Belmont. He is a New York horse with Saratoga experience. Finally, Protonico has raced lately in my neck of the woods. He won 1st at Grade III and II races at Keeneland and Churchill this year. Good luck and good health to all of today’s horses and jockeys.

With Saratoga’s season wrapping up we are just about to enter Louisville, Kentucky’s racing season. Churchill Downs will begin live racing on September 11th that will continue thru the 27th. I will be attending their Downs After Dark racing on the 19th. I am very excited about that. I’m also thrilled that American Pharoah may live and train there again, hopefully in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup. In fact, several contenders may do the same. I may have to make another visit to Churchill. The first Lukas Classic will be held there on 9/26 and it has been rumored that possibly American Pharoah could run in that race.

Also this month, the sales return to Keeneland. September 14 thru the 26th will feature the Yearling Sale. I will be going often. Buyers from around the globe will be there to buy the babies that will be the next Thoroughbred greats. I am very excited to get back on Keeneland’s beautiful grounds and see how the preparations for the live racing October meet and the Breeders’ Cup are coming along.

Finally, September brought back the return of Night School, the Thoroughbred racing industry’s official on-line program for fan education. Started in 2011, this semester began on 9/1/15 at 8:30 P.M. EST. This program is streamed live on-line and on SiriusXM for 90 minutes. This is the 27th of 40 weeks for 2015. The downloadable materials are available on-line as well. So if you can’t watch or listen live you can make it up later. This week they covered trainer, D. Wayne Lukas. He turned 80 this week and has quite the Thoroughbred history. He is who the Lukas Classic is named for. Pletcher, McLaughlin and Stewart, training for today’s Woodward, were all his assistants. Lukas still trains many of the best horses. Next week, they will cover Speed Figures and Sheets Angles. This is free and perfect for anyone, like myself, looking to learn about the industry. Night School

Welcome, September! I am looking forward to sharing my own photos and experiences with you soon. Please, feel free to share your news and pics with me too. Have a great holiday weekend.

Update: Liam’s Map won, he was followed by Coach Inge, in 2nd place and Wicked Strong showed in third.

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August 28, 2015August 30, 2015

Phollowing Pharoah

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I have not had the opportunity to make any recent trips but my mom went up to New Jersey for a week recently. She was kind enough to do a little drive by photography of Monmouth Park during her travels. This was the site of American Pharoah’s last race.

American Pharoah won the 48th William Hill Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey on August 2, 2015. There was a huge crowd of 60,983 fans in the stands that day. There was a large crowd there in 2007, as well, when Monmouth hosted the Breeders’ Cup. When my mother was on the property, this past Saturday, she said there was a good crowd, despite the negatively slanted media’s opinion. The fans were there to watch a full race card and the Grade III Monmouth Oaks. This race first took place in 1871 and is the oldest active Oaks race in America. This year the race was 1 and 1/16 miles long for 3 year olds with purse money of $100,000. Paco Lopez won riding Delightful Joy. She is a Tapit filly and this was her first graded stakes win. She beat out Eskenformoney who ran in the Kentucky Oaks and the Mother Goose Stakes, which I have previous stories about each of those races on my website. White Clover owned by Calumet Farms showed 3rd in that race.

Having Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah participate in the Haskell was great for the track and the community. Ahmed Zayat, American Pharoah’s owner lives in New Jersey. The NJ State Senate was so pleased with the excellence in which Monmouth Park handled the Haskell that they honored the track for its success in doing so. The track has been managed out of three buildings since 1870 with occasional closures. It is my hope that this track has many years to go and to host some wonderful races.

Mom quickly spotted her home city posted on a truck at Monmouth Park. The Horse Capital of the World, Lexington, KY is the headquarters for Sallee Horse Vans. They have a hub at Monmouth Park. It is estimated that over 50,000 horses this year will travel by Sallee. They have over 200 routes that cover over 4 million miles. This family owned business has been in place since 1963. In Lexington they even have a nice 16 stall barn.

Monmouth Park was where American Pharoah’s last raced and I have been waiting all this time to see his next race. Tomorrow, August 29th he will finally run again. This race is the Travers Stakes, to take place in Pharoahtoga… well Saratoga, NY. I had a nice story earlier in the month about Saratoga race track. Check it out on my website. Secretariat also chose to race at Saratoga following his Triple Crown win. He ran in the Whitney Stakes. The Travers, named for William R. Travers, one of the tracks founders, began in 1864. Some call it Saratoga’s Midsummer Derby. It is the most popular day of Saratoga’s summer race meet. The race is Grade I for 3 years olds with a purse of $1,600,000. The distance is 1 and 1/4 miles on the dirt. Post time is 5:46 p.m. EST. It will be covered live on NBC. Should American Pharoah win he will be awarded the Man O’ War Cup by Tiffany and Co. and he will be blanketed with carnations.

The post positions are:

Upstart
American Pharoah
Mid Ocean
Texas Red
Frammento
Frosted
Keen Ice
Tale of Verve
King of New York
Smart Transition

As good as American Pharoah is, this is still a tough race. Any of these horses could win. Frosted and Texas Red have the next best current odds. American Pharoah was able to bring his favorite traveling partner along with him to this race, despite a minor injury prior. Smokey The Pony will not only be there but Donna Brothers, former jockey and current Thoroughbred racehorse reporter, will ride him while doing race coverage for NBC. Smokey flew with American Pharoah to Lexington,KY where they picked up Funny Cide and then flew on to Albany. I wish the airport had a fan lot like they sometimes do for the University of Kentucky Basketball team. I really wanted to see the 3 equines. I just spent time with Funny Cide at the Kentucky Horse Park recently. I posted that story to my website the last day of July. Funny Cide is a Saratoga bred horse who raced there twice and has won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. He was on view in Saratoga’s paddock on August 27th.

Keep on following American Pharoah, where I hope he wins the Travers and then the Breeders’ Cup. I wish everyone a safe and lucky weekend! Don’t forget, we can watch American Pharoah’s jockey, Victor Espinoza, on the new season of Dancing With the Stars starting 9/14/15. To see more stories and those I mentioned during this post, follow my page on Facebook or Twitter and you can always go straight to my website, as well.

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Update: Frosted was third, American Pharaoh was second and congratulations to Keen Ice, the winner of the 2015 Travers! I am so happy that no jockey or horse was inured during the race and I look forward to all the participants exciting futures.

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August 15, 2015August 15, 2015

Jockumentary John

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From the dirt on the tracks to the red carpet, our super star jockeys are about to appear in a Triple Crown jockumentary. I am one lucky girl and I was real excited that I had the accidental pleasure of meeting John Rousseau, producer, writer and director of “Heart, Hope & Glory-Masters of the Triple Crown”.

Earlier this week, I was hanging out and enjoying an evening off from work when I spotted a man in a Saratoga shirt. I couldn’t help myself, I had to ask him when he was there last. It was pretty recently and then he showed me his nice bridle style Seattle Slew bracelet, a gift from Jean Cruguet himself. Wow! I had to hear his story so I whipped out my Thoroughbred U business card and started grilling the man. As it turns out, this man is working on an amazing film on the last 3 living Triple Crown winning jockeys, prior to this year’s big win by Victor Espinoza with American Pharoah. Even nicer, part of the proceeds will got to fund the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.

The movie will feature Ron Turcotte, Jean Cruguet and Steve Cauthen. This is the first time that these famous jockeys have gathered together to tell their stories on camera. The film is set to be released in Lexington, KY this September prior to the Keeneland September Sale. The studio is GoldMark Media Ventures managed by GoldMark Farm owner Paul Bulmahn. There is already a movie trailer, a Facebook page, a Twitter account and a website. Heart, Hope & Glory

The PDJF was founded in 2006. It is a nonprofit public charity that benefits jockeys that have suffered debilitating on-track injuries. Currently, about 60 jockeys are being helped by this fund. Here is the link to read about the charity and/or donate to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund

Ron Turcotte is the amazing retired jockey for many horses including the 1973 Triple Crown Winner, Secretariat. Turcotte was born in Canada in 1941. He is featured in another documentary, “Secretariat’s Jockey, Ron Turcotte”, that had its world premier in Louisville, KY during the Kentucky Derby festivities in 2013. That film was directed by Phil Comeau. Turcotte was the 1st jockey to win 5 out of 6 consecutive Triple Crown races. He was the only one to do this until just this year when Espinoza matched him. Mr. Turcotte has been inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame and he received the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. Secretariat was born in 1970 and grabbed the Triple Crown in 1973, after a 25 year drought of no Triple Crown victories. He was just our 9th Triple Crown champ ever. Secretariat has an amazing fan following and he earned it, collecting wins and awards in abundance. He is ranked 2nd on the list of top 100 U.S. Race Horses of the 20th Century. Man O War is ranked 1st. Secretariat made records in all legs of the Triple Crown and holds the fastest times to this day. In his retirement, he became the Leading Broodmare Sire in North America. He died in 1989 and was buried at Claiborne Farm in Paris, KY.

Jean Cruguet was born in France in 1939. He won the Triple Crown in 1977 riding Seattle Slew. Cruguet got his start in Europe but he moved to the United States in 1965 and only briefly raced in Europe again in 1972. He has a long list of achievements and honors. He has retired a few times since 1980 and is currently living in Kentucky. Back in June he rode American Pharoah around the barn area at Churchill Downs. This is probably the only time a Triple Crown winning horse has been mounted by two Triple Crown winning jockeys. Seattle Slew was born in 1974 and he is the only horse to ever win the Triple Crown undefeated in all races of his prior career. He went on to win the Belmont too and retired winning 14 of 17 career starts. He was our 10th Triple Crown horse and is ranked 9th of the Top 100 U.S. Race Horses. He had a nice stud career at Spendthrift Farm and Three Chimneys Farm and was buried at Hill N Dale Farm in 2002. He was a Leading Sire in North America as well as a Leading North American Broodmare Sire.

Right here, in Kentucky, in 1960, Steve Cauthen was born. He rode Affirmed in the 1978 Triple Crown sweep. Cauthen raced in the United Kingdom for many years and has racked up big wins in not only the United States but Great Britain, France, Germany, Ireland and Italy. He is a National Museum Racing Hall of Famer. So was his horse Affirmed. This Thoroughbred was inducted in 1980. He won our 11th Triple Crown and is ranked 12th on the Top 100 Race Horses. Affirmed later raced against Seattle Slew twice and was beat both times. These are the only times two Triple Crown winners have competed against one another. He was the sire to many stakes winners and champions. Affirmed earned many awards and titles and was buried at Jonabell Farm in 2001.

It was a pleasure to meet John Rousseau and to hear his stories and see the pictures on his phone. I love the passion he has for Thoroughbred horse racing and his special perspective on the human athletes of the industry. I can’t wait to see his jockumentary. I hope this makes him very successful and raises a lot of money for the PDJF. I think this will be a very special project to shed some light on many great racing stories of the past while the jockeys are still here to share those tales themselves. I love racing and all the interesting characters involved. Have a great weekend everyone and keep your eyes and ears peeled. You never know what opportunity knocks next! Oh, and my lovely dirt pics above are from my surprise backside invite to Churchill Downs for early morning breezing. That’s some nice dirt!

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August 5, 2015

Saratoga’s Sweet Summer

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Saratoga is having a big summer! I won’t be able to make it there myself, but our regularly contributing handicapper friend did. He spent the end of the week and last weekend visiting and got us some great pictures. Saratoga is the place to be for Thoroughbred racing right now.

Saratoga Race Course was established in 1864 in Saratoga Springs, New York. It had its first race over 150 years ago. Today, 8/5, the city of Saratoga Springs will celebrate its Centennial. The city was founded in 1915. The Saratoga Sales, put on at Fasig-Tipton, will take place in Saratoga Springs on August 10th and 11th. This Saratoga race course meet started on July 24th, with live racing, and will remain open through September 7th. Above we see a welcoming sign and the backyard where Saratoga’s sweet summer is savoured. The race course motto is, “Health, history and horses”. The racetrack is located on 350 acres of land. The main track is 1 and 1/8th mile. The turf track is 1 mile in length. Other smaller courses are located throughout. In the many stables, there are over 1,800 stalls. The facility can hold about 70 thousand fans but the record attendance has exceeded that. The largest one day handle was over 10 million dollars. That was on Travers Day in 2003 which brings us to yesterday’s big news. American Pharoah’s next race will be the grade 1 Travers Stakes on August 29th!

AmericanPharoah just won his 8th straight graded Stakes race while at Monmouth Park in New Jersey this past weekend. He easily beat out Keen Ice in the grade 1 William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes on Sunday, 8/2. Keen Ice riden by Kent Desormeoux and trained by Dale Romans put in a great effort. Keen Ice was 7th in the KY Derby and 3rd in the Belmont is showing improvement. That race gave the park a record crowd of over 60 thousand fans. Meanwhile, over 3 million viewers tuned in to television to watch the live race on NBC. The plan is to race American Pharoah in the Breeders Cup in October at Keeneland in Lexington, KY. We are all waiting on pins and needles to see where he goes next, in the meantime. For now, we know he made it safely back to Del Mar in California and he will make his Saratoga debut later this month in the Travers.

Back in Saratoga last week, Thursday was a bit wet and the live racing that day included the John Morrissey won by Moonlight Song with Jose Ortiz riding. Friday Saturday and Sunday featured some big races too but those weren’t limited to just the horses. There were several activities to raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund and one of those events was a jockey foot race. Above, see a photo of the gates being loaded for a soggy Thursday race and a shot of the jockeys running.

When the fans weren’t watching PDJF events or Thoroughbred racing they could check the Walk of Fame. Above we see a display for Angel Cordero, Jr. and D. Wayne Lukas. Cordero was born May 8, 1942 in Puerto Rico. He had over 7 thousand career wins as a jockey. He won 3 Kentucky Derby races, 2 Preakness Stakes, 1 Belmont Stakes and 4 Breeders’ Cup races in addition to many other graded stakes. He has 3 Eclipse Awards, he is a member of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame, he was the leading rider at Saratoga for 13 years and he was the jockey for Triple Crown winning Seattle Slew when Cordero had his best ride ever in the 1978 Marlboro Cup Handicap. I have had a lot of good things to say about D. Wayne Lukas before and I met him in June and covered that in my post Birthday, Breezing, Betting and Backside. I also met several of his horses that day too. One was Hillbilly Style who ran 2nd in a claiming race at Saratoga this weekend. Lukas also took the stage in the finale of the jockey karaoke fundraiser for the PDJF this weekend. He will have another entry in at Saratoga on 8/7 in a maiden special weight allowance optional claiming race. Lukas is a top trainer and top class in my book.

So, what about those big races at Saratoga last weekend? Well, Texas Red beat out Frosted in the grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes seen in the two pics above. Texas Red was riden by Kent Desormeaux and trained by the jockey’s brother. He is looking like a fine runner and has placed in multiple graded stakes including a win in the Sentient Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2014 and ranked 16th in earnings that year. Frosted, sired by Tapit, a descendant of Secretariat, riden by Joel Rosario and trained by Kiaren McLaughlin has a fine racing history as well with a win in the grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes, 4th in the KY Derby and 2nd in the Belmont Stakes. Not pictured, but I must mention, Rachel’s Valentina’s win in the Maiden Special Weight at Saratoga too. I am excited about this Todd Pletcher trained and Joel Velazquez riden daughter of Rachel Alexandra. Rachel Alexandra won the Kentucky Oaks, Mother Goose and Haskell in 2009. She was an amazing runner in her day. I hope her little girl does as well. Her sire, Bernardini swept the Preakness, Jim Dandy and Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2006 with a 2nd place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic that year too. Another big filly win at Saratoga this past weekend went to Stopchargingmaria over Untapable in the grade 3 Shuvee Handicap. Stopchargingmaria won the Black-Eyed Susan, Alabama Stakes and the Coaching Club of American Oaks last year. Untapable has an Eclipse Award and a win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff as well as a win in the Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose. That was quite a showdown of great fillies.

I wish to extend thanks to our friend and tipster with the photos. I hope someone wants to share some info on the Saratoga Sale and other fine races ahead. Tapit has yearlings for sale with hips 24, 34, 51, 70, 160, 177, and 182. The Tapit filly at Fasig-Tipton’s July Sale brought in the most money. I hope you all enjoyed this peek at Saratoga as much as I did. Have a great week!

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