Secretariat Archives - Page 3 of 4

January 9, 2016January 14, 2016

A Tepin Time

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With just a few days/steps in time, this year is off to a fantastic start! I had a great response to my post I wrote on New Year’s Eve and there are so many good things going on in the Thoroughbred racing industry. I am so thrilled that today brings the return to racing for California Chrome at Santa Anita. At this same track and this same day, Mrs. Penny Chenery will present the Secretariat Vox Populi Award to the connections of American Pharoah. We have had several new Thoroughbred babies born in the last week. The January Keeneland sale starts Monday and I made it out to the barns to see some of those horses today. Also, the finalist for the Eclipse Awards were announced on January 6th and on the 16th the winners will be announced. Shew, there is just so much to enjoy. Speaking of enjoyment, I’m pretty happy to see that Tepin is up for an Eclipse Award and I hope she wins!

The 45th annual Eclipse Awards will be presented to the winners of 17 horse and human categories including 6 media categories, Horseplayer of the Year and a lifetime achievement/award of merit winner. The awards dinner will be held at Gulfsteam Park. The 6 media winners have been chosen. They are; Jennie Rees, Mary Simon, Tim Sullivan, NBC Sports, Scott Serio and Brad and John Hennegan. The Horseplayer of the Year Award goes to John O’Neill. Leonard Lavin takes the Eclipse Award of Merit. The other 17 categories are up for grabs! Here are the nominees:

Horse of the Year: American Pharoah, Runhappy, Beholder
2 Year Old Filly: Rachel’s Valentina, Songbird, Catch a Glimpse
2 Year Old Male: Airoforce, Nyquist, Mohaymen
3 Year Old Filly: Found, Stellar Wind, I’m a Chatterbox
3 Year Old Male: Dortmund, Runhappy, American Pharoah
Female Sprinter: Lady Shipman, LeVerdad, Wavell Avenue
Male Sprinter: Rockfall, Private Zone, Runhappy
Female Turf Horse: Found, Stephanie’s Kitten, Tepin
Male Turf Horse: The Pizza Man, Big Blue Kitten, Cold Horn
Older Dirt Female: Sheer Drama, Beholder, Stopchargingmaria
Older Dirt Male: Honor Code, Liam’s Map, Tonalist
Steeplechase Horse: Dawalan, Demonstrative, Bob Le Beau
Jockey: Victor Espinoza, Irad Ortiz, Jr., Javier Castellano
Apprentice Jockey: Angel Cruz, Eric Cancel, Tyler Gaffalione
Trainer: Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, Chris Brown
Owner: Zayat Stables, Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc.
Breeder: Zayat Stables, Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, Darley

I can’ t blog on forever so I picked the Female Turf Horse category. I am crazy about all 3 entries, heck I love all these Thoroughbreds. I had the pleasure of watching Tepin, Stephanie’s Kitten and Found on the last day of the Breeders’ Cup this past year. Read on to see the pictures I took and a small bio on each horse.

Found is a lovely Irish filly. She was born in March of 2012. Her sire is Galileo and her dam is Red Evie, both are Irish as well. She won 1st place in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf. This is the first time a 3 year old filly has won this race. She has not raced since but she has had 11 career starts in which she won 4 times, placed 5 times and showed 1 time. Found has over $2 million dollars in earnings and is ranked 9th in earnings for 2015. Her jockey is Ryan L. Moore. Found is trained by Aidan O’ Brien and owned by Michael B. Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith. Her breeders were Roncon, Wynatt and Chelston. She is up for 3 Year Old Filly too! Last I read, she should race again in 2016.

Stephanie’s Kitten was foaled in March of 2009. She is the progeny of Kitten’s Joy and Unfold the Rose. Stephanie’s Kitten is now at Northern Farm in Japan. She was formerly Kentucky bred and owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey. She won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in 2015. This horse had Irad Ortiz, Jr, for her jockey and was trained by Chad C. Brown. She was 2nd in the same BC race in 2014 and won the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2011. She ranked 8th in earnings in 2015. She has earned over $4 million dollars. Stephanie’s Kitten has had 25 career starts. She won 11 times, was second 4 times and came in third 4 times. I hope she has a happy life as a broodmare in Japan and perhaps she can someday retire back home in Kentucky.

Tepin was also born in March but in 2011. She is the Kentucky bred daughter of Bernstein and Life Happened. Tepin was owned by Robert E. Masterson when she won the BC Mile in 2015. She is second in earnings for 2015. She has gross earnings of over $2 million dollars. During her career she has 7 wins, placed 3 times and showed once in 15 starts. I saw her win on October 3rd this past year at Keeneland in the Grade 1, First Lady Stakes. She has not raced since the BC win but she had a nice workout at Palm Meadows Training Center yesterday. Julien R. Leparoux is her jockey. Machmer Hall is Tepin’s breeder and she is trained by Mark E. Casse. I’m hoping she has a nice 2016 career and I’d like to see this Eclipse Award granted to her. I thinks it is Tepin’s time! Click the link for Disney’s Mary Poppins song, “Step In Time”.

Step In Time

I like all the choices for Female Turf Horse as well as the other award candidates. I am looking forward to the reveal on the 16th. I hope some of you have a great time live at Santa Anita today and I wish others will join me at the Keeneland Sales starting on 1/11/16 but already bustling in the barns, see below. I will share with you all about the auction. Have a great weekend!

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December 26, 2015December 26, 2015

Equine Illuminations

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I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. Mine was wonderful. I enjoyed a lot of family time which included a trip to the Kentucky Horse Park to experience Southern Lights. Tours will continue until December 31, 2015.

Southern Lights is an annual event at the park with over 4 miles of light displays. I like the horse themed lights the best. Above I included pictures of Keeneland and Churchill Downs. There are all sorts of displays including the Wizard of Oz and the 12 Days of Christmas. Views of the lights are most accessible by driving. Once parked they also have a craft market, gift shop, visit with Santa, train displays, a train ride, camel and pony rides, part of the museum for touring and a petting zoo.

I really enjoyed feeding carrots to all of the animals at the zoo. I am surprised the animals could still eat with so many people eager to feed them. The kangaroos were not eager to eat or allow themselves to be petted. They were ready to snooze.

I believe I was most excited to pet the llamas. A camel tried to eat my brother’s hat and I took a selfie with the happy and hungry camel.

On the grounds near the visitor center the Secretariat statue had a horse light display and the Man O’ War had the Wizard of Oz scene behind it.

I did not recognize any changes in the museum since my last visit in June but I included these pictures for your enjoyment. John Henry, Secretariat, Affirmed, and Seattle Slew were some of the featured Thoroughbred displays.

It was odd being at the Horse Park without getting to see the horses but still a great time. If you ever find yourself in Lexington, KY around Christmas time I would recommend visiting Southern Lights. This is one of those stories that are better told with pictures although photographing light displays is most difficult. I hope you enjoyed my pics and that you might see it in person some day.

For Christmas I was gifted a few new equestrian themed items too. I got boots, some horse shoe art and a horse hair bracelet. Feel free to comment with pictures or details about the horsey gifts you received this year.

Thoroughbred U turns 1 on this coming Friday! Thank you for following along with me. Wishing all of you a happy New Year!

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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 11, 2015December 11, 2015

A Season For Giving

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! For many readers, myself included, we are eagerly awaiting Christmas, only 2 weeks away! Also, we are only 3 weeks shy of a new year. It is time to reflect and give thanks for all that we have received over the year and to give back however we can.

I have decked the halls and put out my 15 nativity scenes. I love to take in a live nativity this time of year and pet all of the animals. Llamas are so cute. Also, I am excited about my siblings visiting and going with them and my parents to see The Southern Lights at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Southern Lights is an event with over 4 miles of light attractions, an exotic petting zoo, crafts, trains, Santa and more! The same grounds that contain some of the world’s best horse museums, an equine theme park and the home of Da Hoss, Funny Cide and Go For Gin will again host this holiday event. For over 20 years Southern Lights has been a part of the holiday season in Kentucky and they expect to entertain over 120,000 guests this season. Additionally, I find this is a good time of year to focus on the spiritual meaning of the season and to be extra mindful to give thanks by donations and works of charity.

There are so many fantastic charities that could use more help. Even a large number of Thoroughbred racing related groups are available and in need of our time and money. To make it easier for you, if you were thinking of assisting with one, here is a small list:

The Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund : This organization provides funds to more than 60 jockeys that have been severely injured while racing. Ron Turcotte, Triple Crown Jockey, won with Secretariat in 1973. In 1978 Turcotte became paraplegic after falling from Flag of Leyte Gulf at Blemont Park. He is an advocate for the PDJF. Donate here: PDJF donate
Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm: This group accepts donations to save champion Thoroughbreds and allow them to retire at 3 locations that are available by tour, for the public, to visit some of racing’s best. War Emblem, Silver Charm and Gulch are a few of the more than 150 horses that live at these farms. I visited the Georgetown, KY location in September and wrote a full blog about them then.

Old Friends

You can donate to Old Friends at this link: Old Friends
One Last Race: This is a charity to benefit former Thoroughbred race horses. American Pharoah along with his trainer Bob Baffert joined the race shortly after his Triple Crown victory to help raise funds. One Last Race takes in donations and organizes events to raise money for After The Finish Line and CANTER Illinois. The 1st group funds rescue organizations that can re-purpose or care for retired race horses. The later group rehomes former race horses or, if suitable, finds horses a new career. Donate here: One Last Race
Thoroughbred Charities of America: This group has worked for over 25 years to provide funds for over 200 Thoroughbred related charities. In 2015 alone they gave over five hundred thousand dollars to 67 groups. Much of their mission is involved in retirement and rehoming. I have the pleasure of knowing the group that will receive their Allaire duPont Leadership award this year for their dedication to Thoroughbred aftercare. The award goes to Bourbon Lane Stable. Browse TCA’s website to find many individual charities or donate directly here: TCA

I am blessed to have food, shelter, adequate healthcare and most of all love. It is my wish for Christmas that more people and animals alike can have these same basic needs met. I hope that you all have a wonderful season and, if you can, make some time to give to others. Maybe you can make a jockey, a backstretch employee or a Thoroughbred’s life just a little bit, or a whole lot better. I bet it might even make you feel better too for knowing that you helped. Happy Holidays! I will keep in touch with a few more posts before my 1 year anniversary for this blog. Take care!

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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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September 10, 2015September 10, 2015

Old Friends

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Old Friends, a retirement home for Thoroughbreds, was founded by Michael Blowen, former movie critic and current Thoroughbred racing fan, in 2003. These farms operate at Dream Chase Farm in Georgetown, KY, Old Friends at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, KY and Cabin Creek Farm in Greenfield Center, NY. I was fortunate to tour the largest of the 3 farms, Dream Chase, yesterday afternoon, 9/9/15.

I first met Blowen at the Noor lecture I attended and blogged about earlier this year. www.thoroughbredu.com/a-night-for-noor The work he does is amazing. After the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner, Ferdinand, was slaughtered in Japan in 2002, Blowen wanted to prevent further tragedies. He began to rescue Thoroughbreds who were no longer racing and breeding and brought them to his farm. His is the only farm who rescues stallions and he has many mares too. Currently, over 100 horses live on the 3 properties. 103 alone are at Dream Chase. They are currently raising funds to bring home 2002 KY Derby and Preakness winner, War Emblem. They hope to get Charismatic one day as well.

At the farm, I first met Lisa, my tour guide and she promptly took the group to see Gulch. He is the oldest horse they have. He is 31 years old and he takes his carrots, shredded. He is the oldest living horse to have participated in all 3 legs of the Triple Crown. Sired by the great, Mr. Prospector, Gulch had an excellent racing career. He won the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and also received the American Champion Sprint Horse award that same year. He had an outstanding stud career at Lane’s End Farm in KY. His progeny have earned over $90 million. His son Wallenda lives at Old Friends too.

Then I met Sarava, he likes to bite but he missed out today. I didn’t give him any carrots but fortunately Lisa did, he has bit her before. Sarava spoiled War Emblem’s chance of winning the 2002 Triple Crown when he beat him in the last leg of the series, the Belmont Stakes.

Across the dirt path lives Game On Dude and Starspangled Heat. Game On Dude, born in 2007, had 34 career starts. He won 16 of those and he placed and showed in 8 more of his races. He earned nearly $6.5 million racing and he is the only horse to ever win the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap 3 times. Starspangled Heat is new to the farm, having just participated in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf. He was born in 2008 and had 39 career starts. The orange tag on StarSpangled Heat is helpful to ward off flies. Lisa said that Game On Dude has the least trouble with flies.

Next up, I met Rail Trip. He is a real sweetie. I fed him a lot of carrots and got my picture taken with him. He won the Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup in 2009 and many other graded stakes races. He was second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in 2011.

The tour proceeded on to see, Catlaunch. That is a name I would have surely bet on. I love all the cat and kitten named horses. He is the tallest horse at the farm. At 14 years old now, he has had an amazing 108 career starts. He was still racing and winning at 12 years old. He is a big winner, and in 2006 he was the 17th best ranked horse in the nation.

One field further, I met Rapid Redux and Amazombie. Rapid Redux is seen unmasked in the photo above. The horses at Old Friends take turns rotating who wears the fly masks. Rapid Redux has beaten both Zenyatta, Citation and Pepper’s Pride records of 19 wins with an amazing 22 consecutive wins. In 2011 he was honored with The Secretariat Vox Populi Award and the Eclipse Special Award. Penny Chenery first created the Vox Populi award in 2010 as the peoples choice award for race horses. Amazombie won an Eclipse Award in 2011 as well. He has won many graded stakes races. He won the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and in 2012 that same sprint was his final race.

Then, the sky opened up and it began to pour rain. Some horses loved it and they soaked it up or rolled in the mud. Other horses tucked into their shelters. The tour group headed into a barn. There I could barely see, behind the screens, Afternoon Deelites, Mixed Pleasure and Wallenda. Afternoon Deelites was owned by Burt Bacharach and Angie Dickinson. He had several graded stakes wins in 12 starts and then he went to stud and he sired some great horses including Popcorn Deelites. Mixed Pleasure has Seabiscuit in his pedigree. He had 22 career starts with some graded stakes winning success and he sired some winners as well. Wallenda loved his carrots and he was fed them by Michael Blowen himself. He is named for the high wire celebrity family, the Flying Wallendas, who have been to see him at the farm. He had a nice racing career, earning over $1 million in 33 starts with many graded stakes wins. He has very delicate hooves and special shoes.

It was still raining when Popcorn Deelites and his buddy hid from us. Popcorn Deelites is best known for playing Seabiscuit in the movie by that same name. I would have liked to had a better look at these two.

Fortunately, Silver Charm loved the rain. He was content to stand there throughout the brief downpour. He won both the 1997 KY Derby and Preakness. In 1998 he won the Dubai World Cup. He doesn’t like his meals to be late.

Finally, the rain stopped as we went on to see Genuine Reward and Star Plus. Genuine Reward is a foal of KY Derby winner Genuine Risk. Genuine Reward had a good stud career and in addition to race horses he sired polo horses too. Star Plus raced in graded stakes in Argentina and the United States. He was still racing at 8 years old. He was a winner at my favorite track, Keeneland.

Once a horse comes to Old Friends, they will stay there until it is time to cross the Rainbow Bridge. Other great horses, like Noor, come here after death as a final resting place. There are numerous memorials and grave markers for the mostly cremated deceased horses on the property.

The farm is simply gorgeous, right down to the barn quilt, pendants of the quilt are for sale at the gift shop. If you can make it to Georgetown you should take the tour. My Grandmother would have loved the long paths. I loved the well fed kitties and of course, the horses. I greatly appreciate what Old Friends has been able to accomplish for so many great horses. Thank you Old Friends! To donate or tour visit the website: Old Friends

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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 22, 2015August 23, 2015

Thoroughbred Tour Time

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It was a perfect morning here in The Horse Capital of the World, Lexington Kentucky! The weather is beautiful and I got to be in the 1st group ever to participate in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Tour at Keeneland. We assembled at the South Grandstand entrance of Keeneland right after we turned in our sold out tickets at the ticket window. The tour began promptly at 8:30 a.m. on 8/22/15.

Rick, our skilled tour guide, walked us thru Keeneland’s entry and took us under the grandstand where we watched a short video. The film went over Keeneland’s creation in 1936 and Lexingtonian, John Gaines’, plan to develop the Breeders’ Cup, which was held 1st in 1984. Horses sold at Keeneland have won in 19 Kentucky Derbys, 21 Preakness Stakes, 18 Belmont Stakes and 83 Breeders’ Cup races. That is why having the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland for this 1st time ever, is like a home coming for the sales graduates and the founder. The Breeders’ Cup races will be held on October 30th and 31st this year.

After the movie, Rick took us to the rail to watch the morning workout for some of the horses living at the track. They have 57 barns that house about 2 thousand horses. I was hoping to get a glimpse of Wise Dan but he didn’t make it to the track today. Wise Dan lives at Keeneland and he won the Breeders’ Cup Mile in 2012 and 2013. Those same 2 years he also won, each year, American Horse of the Year, American Champion Older Male Horse, and American Champion Male Turf Horse. He has earned 3 consecutive Eclipse Awards as well. Secretariat sired Askmysecretary, who is the dam to Lisa Danielle. Lisa Danielle is Wise Dan’s dam.

Rick also pointed out the trainers watching and clocking the horses up in the stands. He talked about the tons of construction taking place to prepare for the enormous crowd that the Breeders’ Cup races will bring. They are putting in roughly 10 thousand more seats to hold a crowd of about 50 thousand people. Despite the track bringing in all the visitors and business, Rick said Keeneland makes most of its money on the 3 annual horse sales. The next sale is the Yearling sale to be held at Keeneland September 14th thru 26th of this year. I will attend several days and follow up with all of you.

Our next stop was in the Winners Circle. Keeneland usually presents winners with a Tiffany and Co. sterling silver Julep Cup. The Breeders’ Cup has a special trophy. In the circle we got to pose holding the trophy. Those aren’t my hands, I am a little camera shy but I got one to show to my friends and family anyhow. This trophy is a mini replica of the larger ecorche horse. We went thru the tunnel to see the full size version in the Paddock area, where they are putting down new concrete and sod.

My hour long tour ended there. For participating I received a wealth of knowledge, a sticker, a lapel pin and 15% off in the gift shop. The tour is the best $8 I’ve spent. Go to the website to sign up to take this tour yourself. Kids under 12 are free. The tours are select Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from now and until October 28, 2015. The maximum group size is 30 so don’t wait until it sells out.

Breeders’ Cup Tours

The tour does not take you to the barns but I had an equestrian friend visiting one, so I went to see more horses. It was bath time, which is fun to watch. I also took advantage of petting a chatty barn cat. During the Breeders’ Cup I won’t have access to the barns on Rice Road at all. The National Guard will be there to protect racing’s finest horses.

I hope all of you enjoyed my summary. Have a great weekend!

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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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