Girl Power

What can I say? A filly won the Preakness Stakes! It was the first time since 1924 when a filly named Nellie Morse won.

I was somewhat disappointed Mine That Bird didn't come in first because I was looking for a Triple Crown winner. But the fact he was beat by a girl tickled me pink.

Rachel Alexandra is probably one of the most powerful fillys I've seen in years. The "girls" usually break down during a race because they can't keep up with the power and stamina of the stallions. But Rachel is a powerhouse.

A filly's heart and indominable spirit is what keeps her going. She gives 150% until she can't go on. That's why I have a special place in my heart for mares. They embrace you with their spirit once they learn to trust you. It takes time to earn that trust.

What is really interesting about this Preakness; a filly won the race and a gelding came in second. So much for testoserone.

Who Woulda Thought

Never in a million years, did I ever think a 50-1 shot would win the Kentucky Derby! Mine That Bird proved most people wrong with a stunning upset in the "Run for the Roses".

Calvin Borel's love for the horses and brilliant riding proved you need a good jockey with a can-do horse under you to make it the perfect run. Congratulations to both horse and rider in one of the best horse races I've ever seen.

Most important, I'm glad the field of 20 horses and jockeys made it around the mile and a quarter, clean with no injuries. My prayers are answered.

Now for the Preakness on May 16th! I'd love to see a Triple Crown winner. The world needs a hero.

Run for the Roses

Tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby. In 1904 the red rose became the official flower of the Kentucky Derby, dubbed the "Run for the Roses" by sports columnist Bill Corum in 1925, who later became president of Churchill Downs.

Each year 400 red roses are sewn into a satin backing to be draped over the shoulders of the horse who wins this pretigious race.

Each garland is also adorned with a "Crown" of roses, green fern and ribbon. The "Crown," a single rose pointing upward in the center of the garland, symbolizes the struggle and heart necessary to reach the winners' circle.

My two thoroughbred mares, Silver Lining, and Silver City Sadie will be hand galloped tomorrow, not on a track, but over fields of lush green grass, which they will later graze on.

On Derby Day I have my own tradition. Each of my horses gets one long stemmed red rose in a plastic vial attached to their stall door. They're both winners in my book, but for different yet similar reasons. They each have an indomitable spirit and a big heart.

My "girls" have carried me over all sorts of terrain, and protected me from barn prowlers, fire pits, and coyotes. They each get only one rose, but they also get a five pound bag of carrots apiece and two boxes of sugar cubes...and a bubble bath if the weather is warm. I'm not sure the Kentucky Derby winner gets that.

Saturday is Derby Day

It's the time of year when breeders, owners, trainers, and arm chair jockeys are anxiously waiting to see who the next triple crown hopeful will be. Tradition, glamour, and big bucks starts with the Kentucky Derby.

Kentucky Derby Day is the first Saturday in May, which happens to be this Saturday, May 2nd. The Run for the Roses is the first $2 million jewel in the triple crown of horse racing held at Churchill Downs in Lexington, Kentucky. The second race is the $1 million Preakness at Pimlico Park in Baltimore, Maryland on May 16th. And the final jewel and most grueling race is the $1 million Belmont at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York on June 6th.

Kentucky Derby distance: 1 and 1/4 miles. Blanket of roses draped over winner.

Preakness distance: 1 and 3/16 miles. Blanket of black-eyed susans.

Belmont distance: 1 and 1/2 miles. Blanket of white carnations.

I always pray that both horses and their jockeys get around the race course safely. Then I can celebrate.

My bet is on the current longshot, General Quarters, trained by retired biology teacher, 75 year old Tom McCarthy. Tom deserves to win, with his only horse ever making it to the Derby. May the sun and the stars shine on you Saturday, Tom, so you will know the thrill of winning the Kentucky Derby.

I think it'll happen for many reasons too deep to mention here.

Tin Cup Chalice

My heart is aching.

Tin Cup Chalice, who on Monday was named the 2008 New York-bred champion 3-year-old male, was killed Friday, April 17th in "a freak accident" during training hours at Finger Lakes, according to trainer and part-owner Michael Lecesse.

Lecesse said that Tin Cup Chalice was jogging clockwise on the Finger Lakes main track when a horse who was breezing counterclockwise blew the turn coming into the stretch, bolted to the outside fence, and crashed right into Tin Cup Chalice. A television report out of Rochester, N.Y., identified the other horse as Zany, who also was euthanized.

Lecesse said he thinks Tin Cup Chalice died because of injuries to his spinal cord, but that an autopsy would be performed on the gelding. Lecesse, who owns Tin Cup Chalice along with Scott Van Laer, said the horse was insured.

"He was sort of paralyzed behind," Lecesse said. "He didn't have any movement in his back legs. We couldn't get him up. We worked on him for an hour, hour and a half."

Lecesse said that jockey Pedro Rodriguez, who was on Tin Cup Chalice at the time, was examined at a local hospital for neck pain, but was released. Gennie Cook, who was on Zany, also escaped injury.

Lecesse said he had entered Tin Cup Chalice in a race for Friday's opening-day card at Finger Lakes, but the racing office didn't use the race because it only had five horses.

"If he would have been in today, he wouldn't have been on the track this morning," said Lecesse, who added, "it's nobody's fault."

Tin Cup Chalice, a son of Crusader Sword, won the first seven starts of his career. That included a sweep of the Big Apple Triple, which included the Mike Lee at Belmont, the New York Derby at Finger Lakes and the Albany at Saratoga. In becoming the first horse to sweep the three-race series, Tin Cup Chalice earned his connections a $250,000 bonus.

After suffering his first defeat, by a neck in the Step Nicely Stakes at Belmont last Sept. 14, Tin Cup Chalice won the Grade 2 Indiana Derby at Hoosier Park. Tin Cup Chalice earned an invitation to the Japan Cup Dirt, a race in which he finished 13th.

Lecesse said Tin Cup Chalice had been training "like a superstar."

"I was looking forward to having a great year with him," Lecesse said. "He's the best horse I ever trained."

I'm sorry, Mike. It's tough losing a horse like that, especially one who held so much promise.

Tin Cup Chalice was cremated. His ashes will be spread on Finger Lakes Race Track infield.

Another equine hero gone.

main article by David Grening
Daily Racing Form

Tribute to a Champion

When Barbaro was finally euthanized last year, most people were sympathetic to the stallion's fate.

However, there were a few ignorant cretins who actually said, "Who cares about a horse with a gimpy leg? It's only a horse." If that's your thought and you're within reach of me, you better run. I've worked with horses most of my life, and there is no nobler creature on earth than the thoroughbred.

Bobby" (Barbaro's stable name) epitomized what we, as humans, can only dream to achieve. He was strong, brave and honest; a champion of champions. He gave 150% of his very being, doing whatever was asked of him. All he asked for in return were regular feedings of hay and grain with a possible carrot or two at the end of the day.

Just a gimpy horse; I don't think so! What he gave to his owners, and trainer, was immeasurable; hope for a bright future in the horse racing industry, with earnings of $2,302,200, in a short but eventful career. He gave the rest of world a chance to believe in a hero.

Barbaro never lost a race, being first place in the six races he entered. The seventh race, the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Park, was his final race. Due to a shattered right hind leg, he was unable to finish the 1 and 3/16 mile race.

I watched the tragedy unfold, my heart in my throat, and didn't think the big bay colt would make it from Maryland to New Bolton Veterinary Clinic. But he did. He put up a valiant fight for his life. Eight months later he was humanely euthanized on Monday, January 29, 2007. Barbaro fought to live until the end when his injuries overcame his body not his spirit.

Barbaro will be especially missed by those of us who love and work with equines. He was a hero with no agenda. His courage was something to hang on to in a world of political chaos, violence, corruption, and general malaise. The world needs a hero.

Mine is gone.

Fio Rito Equine Hero

I have a picture of Fio Rito in my office. He was Finger Lakes Race Track horse of the year in 1979, 1980, and 1981. There was a moment today when I looked up from my writing and had a flashback to the '80s.

It was a time when thoroughbred racing was at its peak in upstate New York. I feel privileged to have been able to watch Fio Rito run. In 1996, at age 21, Fio Rito was euthanized. He's buried at the track infield.

Finger Lakes Race Track isn't the same anymore. A casino has been added. The quiet grace of the horse has been replaced by the deafening "ca-ching, ca-ching" of the slot machines. It makes me sad. There is one consolation. When I go to the track now, and look toward the infield, I know a great hero is buried there.