Keeneland Archives - Page 14 of 14

April 14, 2015April 15, 2015

It’s Hump Day

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So betting on a camel in America probably won’t help you. Maybe, betting on a horse will…

Look to Keeneland’s fifth race (April 15, 2015) to pick a winner, #1 Cavu.
This 4 year old gelding, trained by Al Stall, Jr. should show solid improvement in his second race after a year layoff, per my handicapper. In his only other 2015 race he placed 2nd.
Remember, my blog is foremost educational. What I have learned is that Cavu was gelded days before his most recent start. He has only had 5 starts prior and has won 1st, 2nd, and third previously. His dam is Sharp Eyes and his sire Zensational. His sire is the only horse to ever win 3 consecutive Grade I Sprint events.

His trainer is Albert M. Stall Jr. He has won multiple stakes including the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2010 and last year the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Race in 2014. He is listed as a top 50 earning trainer of 2014. Stall has had 22 horses run first this year thus far.

The jockey is Joe M. Johnson. He also is a multiple stakes winner. He has had 7 horses win 1st place in 2015.

Update: Cavu tired badly, looking like a winner at the 1/8 pole he could not keep up his pace and did not perform well in this race.

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March 30, 2015March 30, 2015

Celebrate Spring!

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March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. At least, that is how the English proverb goes. That expression of weather lore is about as undependable as the previous month’s groundhog forecasting. Despite all the crazy predictions Spring officially arrived on the 20th this month and I am so happy to see it. On these final days of March, there is still a rapidly interchanging coolness to the air but today the sun and flowers are out. Since I last blogged, I have enjoyed all of the joy that March brings, St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness, and a quick getaway to the Great Smoky Mountains. Now just days away from April I am so excited for Keeneland’s Spring Meet!

My favorite holiday is St. Patrick’s Day. I am a marshal annually in the local parade. This year’s Grand Marshal was Tom Hammond. He was born in Lexington, KY and he is a sportscaster on the national level. He has a degree in animal science, specializing in equine genetics. He has done the broadcasting for the Kentucky Derby and many times for the Breeders’ Cup, for which he won an Emmy. He has other Emmys as well and was a former play-by-play announcer for Southeastern Conference basketball. Him and his wife, Sheilagh were very nice. I talked to the about my blog and they even posed for some pictures. Also, making a repeat performance this year as St. Patrick himself was, Sean McLaughlin. He was nice enough to snap a selfie with me. Sean is the brother of Thoroughbred trainer, Kiaran McLaughlin. Kiaran has trained some big winners, including the Breeders’ Cup, Dubai World Cup, the Kentucky Derby, and the Belmont Stakes. Horses he worked with have won many awards including the number 1 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Ranking and U.S. Horse of the Year. Currently, he is training Kentucky Derby contender, Frosted, owned by Godolphin. This horse in ranked lucky 13 for May 2015’s Run for the Roses.

That brings us to March Madness. My University of Kentucky Wildcats are on fire. The men’s basketball team has won the SEC tournament and made it to the Final Four, in the NCAA tournament, with an undefeated season (38-0). Go CATS!

Basketball has the best fans and since we can’t all pack into the same stadiums I like to travel during the tournaments. I have found Las Vegas, NV does a fantastic job of highlighting the tourney. I also feel that Gatlinburg, TN has that little Vegas feel. I had a great time meeting new fans, representing my CATS, and taking in all the games among the endless variety of restaurants that fun town has to offer. No racetrack though.

That was OK because now it is about time for the Spring meet! New dress and jewelry bought (check), got my hair done today (woot woot), and my raincoat and umbrella will match (ugh, rains a lot this time of the year), means I am ready to roll. Keeneland racetrack in Lexington, KY will start live racing at 1:05 p.m. on Friday, April 3rd, 2015. Don’t be late, McLaughlin is the trainer for Dickinson, listed in the very first race of the day. This is a Maiden Special Weight race. The 3 year old horse however did stumble at Aqueduct on 3/22/15 while racing and did not finish so I am unsure if she is race day ready. I have a lot of work to do handicapping and so do you.

Happy Easter to all and I hope you have a great time at the track! If you have any great tips, please share. Thank you.

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March 3, 2015March 3, 2015

Racing Renaissance

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The Breeders’ Cup trophy was delivered to the grounds of Keeneland race course in Lexington, KY today. On October 30th and 31st the Breeders’ Cup races will be held at Keeneland for the first time ever. Tickets go on sale at noon, Eastern Standard Time, tomorrow. Follow Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Facebook or @BreedersCup on Twitter for this picture and more up to date information. For now, let’s talk about this statue!

The Breeders’ Cup is a 2 day race that began in 1984 to showcase the best in Thoroughbred racing worldwide. This event marks the end of the racing season. Various race tracks in the United States, and once in Canada, have hosted the annual races. To run in the Breeders’ Cup, a Thoroughbred must win a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Qualifying race or, earn enough points in qualifying graded races or, be selected by a panel of experts. Each of the races has a maximum of 14 horses, except only 12 for the Dirt Mile. Seven horses come from the panel and 7 from those winners or, high point scoring horses from the qualifying races. Countries including the United States, France, Australia, England, Argentina, South Africa, Japan, Ireland, Canada and Germany have all had entries. Such a world renown event deserves a special trophy.

The trophy is an ecorche horse. Ecorche is a term, from the French, to describe a figure depicted without its skin to show the appearance of the muscles. This particular ecorche horse is a reproduction of the bronze statue made by Giovanni de Bologna during the Renaissance era, in the late 1580s. It is thought that it may have been created as a study for the Duke Cosimo statue that was made and displayed in 1591 in Florence Italy at the Piazza della Signoria, where it remains even today. When the Breeders’ Cup began they asked Irene French, of Dorset, England, to sculpt an 11 inch replica statue, to be cast in bronze by Morris Singer Bronze Foundry in Basingstoke, England. These trophies are presented to the owners, breeders, trainers and jockeys of the winners in each race. The larger statue pictured above is circulated to each venue that is hosting the current year’s races. The original Statue is at The Museum of Fine Arts at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. They received the statue, with a large art collection, from Sir James Erskine of Torrie in 1836. Sometimes it is referred to as the Torrie Horse. He obtained the statue from Villa Mattei in Rome in 1803 where it had been since the 17th and 18th centuries. The trophies were made in bronze from the very start until 2008 when they made them in silver for just one year. After the return to bronze they switched to Lalique crystal, made in France, in 2012 and that continues even in 2015.

In addition to the statue, the winning horses get blanketed in yellow and purple flowers. The blanket includes asters, cremons, orchids and chrysanthemums. Since 1988 Kroger’s has made the 96 inch long blankets at their Floral Design Center in Louisville, KY.

I’m hoping for some warm weather soon. I have to get out and see this statue myself!

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