Bullring — Love & Racing @ Rillito Park

Historic Rillito Park in Tucson,in the shadow of the Catalinas

At the turn of the last century (that’s 1900), Memphis was home to a lively race track called Montgomery Park.  The little oval was situated on what was then the outskirts of town, with a small but well-used grandstand.  The races were part of the larger Mid-South Fair, which attracted spectators from all walks of life, from all the surrounding states.  The upper-crust people from the “Victorian Village” neighborhood stood shoulder to shoulder with the country folks from Arkansas.   A quick search of the archives (oh mighty Google, what would I do without you?) turned up among the entries and results a story about a gunfight that broke out in the crowd during one afternoon’s races.  The shooting “in the presence of a crowd of five thousand created a sensation.”

(Oh yes, some things never change)

Horse en route to the paddock.

I’ve often wondered what it was like to be there at my hometown’s meet, nothing fancy, just local racing and the cross-section of society having a good time.

Rillito Park is probably the closest I’ll get to the days of the Memphis Jockey Club.

The tiny oval located less than ten minutes from campus is where I’ve spent my weekends since the meet began Jan. 16.  Parking is free, admission to the grandstand is free, programs are cheap, the crowds are friendly and you really can get close-up to the action.

I went opening day with my boyfriend, a native Tucsonan who had never been to the track.  We spent all afternoon running from the paddock to the windows to the rail for the races, with some exciting moments in-between.

At the chain-link paddock fence before the first race, I pointed out details about the horses and explained a little about what the data was all about in the program.  Many of the horses looked like they had come from colder climates and had fuzzy coats but all of them were well-groomed and on their toes.

RTIP classmate Ernesto Avalos leads Divalicious from the paddock to the track at Rillito.

By far, the best-looking horse in the field of 8 was a chestnut named Southern Irish: he was taller, more muscled and had a sleeker coat than any of his rivals.  Boyfriend also being Irish, that sealed the deal.

I made a couple of notes on the program and decided what sort of wager to place, then went up to the window and boyfriend watched in awe as I told the teller my bet.  I assured him he’d be as good at it by the end of the day, and we headed to the rail.

The track is situated in the foothills of the Catalinas, with grandstand views dominated by their jagged peaks.  In the afternoons, the shadows shift and colors change, creating a majestic backdrop for the equine drama on the track.  At the very least, it takes your attention away from the soccer fields in the infield.

Only eight horses make up a full field at Rillito because the oval is so narrow.  To give a little perspective, the Kentucky Derby can have a full field of 20, or 2.5 times wider than Rillito.  Another thing I found delightfully quirky was the 2-turn 6furlong sprint!

6furlongs!  TWO TURNS!  AMAZING!

Horses spring from the gate at Rillito

But that’s Rillito.  Boyfriend and I watched the horses parade to the gate, confident in Southern Irish’s chances: he still looked like a horse among ponies.

The race itself was a 300-yard dash for quarter horse maidens with a purse of a whole $2000.  We stood about halfway between the gate and the finish line, a great spot to experience the thundering hooves.

It was over quicker than the post parade.

Southern Irish sprang from the gate like a jack-in-a-box and never looked back.

Jockey waits for "Riders Up!"

Only a dumb pick for place in the exacta kept me from cashing the ticket.  Back to the paddock we went to observe for the next race.  The jockeys ranged in size from pocket to tall drink of water (well, at least as tall as me, and I ain’t no jockey;-)  and they wore house silks in the post position colors.

As the afternoon wore on, the crowd picked up; I ran into most of my RTIP classmates; boyfriend and I watched races from vantage points all around the stretch, from behind the winner’s circle to the far end of the chute, picked a few winners and had to wait for the schoolbell to ring before I could cash the ticket (hehe!).

Drama before the third race: two horses flipped in the gate as the others were loading, a scary situation that took over 15 minutes to sort out.  Thankfully, both horses were extricated from the gate unharmed.  The tense situation spilled over into the race itself when the inside horse, a first-time starter, dumped her jockey at the break and then jumped over the inside rail!

The jockey walked away with bruised pride, and the horse got to romp around the soccer fields.  I don’t remember which horse won the race!

Proud winners!

Around the 6th race, boyfriend decided to place a few wagers, one based on a tip we’d gotten from a classmate.  There was an Irish-bred who must have taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque and ended up in Tucson.

We went up to the window & I placed mine first, then he made a shaky first attempt.  I kissed his tickets for luck.  Tickets in hand, we found a great spot near the finish line.  (Boyfriend also said it was sexy that I knew how to place a bet.  Yes, he’s a keeper.)

As the sun slipped lower in the western horizon, the capacity crowd pressed against the rail and watched the sorrel Irish-bred sprint first across the wire.   Our cheers echoed through the grandstand and up into the purple shadows of the mountains.   Rillito may just be a little bullring out in the desert, but at that moment I could have been at Churchill or Oaklawn or even old Montgomery Park, among the electric crowds who love racing.

The end of another great day of racing at Rillito

(Photos taken 1/30/2010 by Candice C. Curtis)

Three Years Later

Fans of Barbaro leave roses at his grave, the magnificent statue at the gates of Churchill Downs.

I was working on proofing transcripts from the Symposium this afternoon when I got a tweet that made me stop and get misty for a minute:

January 29, 2006 Rachel Alexandra born. January 29, 2007 Barbaro dies.

One date, two vastly different stories.

When I think about Barbaro, I feel like a mountain climber who is inches from reaching the summit when a rockslide suddenly causes me to loose my footing and tumble back to the bottom.  Barbaro was a very special horse, perfect in build and temperament and blessed with the speed of the wind.  After his fantastic 6-length score in the Derby, I was shivering with anticipation for the first Triple Crown winner in my lifetime.  I never felt more certain about a horse.  And I wasn’t the only one.  We all know what happened next, so I will spare the gloom.  But out of the fog of tragedy and despair shone a glimmer of hope.  All of those like-minded Fans of Barbaro banded together, determined to make the sport a better place.

Three years later, I am still in awe of the power of Barbaro.  Instead of sliding into the abyss of cultural forgetfulness, Barbaro has remained stuck firm in the minds of the racing world as well as the public at large.  His name is a rallying point for grassroots efforts to save retired racehorses, raise funds for laminitis research and even tighten track safety standards.  When I meet people and tell them why I’m in Arizona, they inevitably mention Barbaro, and I tell them I am glad they remember him.

But the world is cyclical.

Though we remember fondly the formidable Derby winner, we must not ignore those who have risen in his shadow.

Rachel Alexandra had just turned a year old that day in 2007.  She was living on a farm with many other fillies and colts, learning the basics of being a horse.  Still lanky and immature, she’d been pulled from the Keeneland November sale as a weanling by owner/breeder Dolphus Morrison so that she could grow into her frame a little better.  It would be many months before the daughter of Medaglia D’Oro even saw a race track for the first time.  Once she did, it was obvious she had incredible talent and speed to spare.

In the three years since, Rachel Alexandra grew from that lanky yearling to promising juvenile to legendary Classic winner.  Her 20-length score in the Kentucky Oaks was magical, a coronation in pink.  She thumped the best three-year-old males in the Preakness, ran away from them all again in the Haskell, and ended her season with a gritty win against older males at Saratoga.  She even accomplished what Barbaro couldn’t: Champion 3-Year-Old in her division and Horse of the Year.  Now she gallops in Louisiana, and I wait for her return to competition and a meeting with her biggest rival, the undefeated supermare and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, Zenyatta.

I am again climbing the mountain, inches from the summit, and this time, my eyes have caught a glimpse of the other side.

#1 Millennial Moment: The Ultimate Payout

Now for The Infield’s #1 Moment of the Decade:

2009 Symposium on Racing & Gaming

For 10 years, I had only experienced racing as a fan, standing in the infield or as a railbird, or even as a vicious bench-warmer at the paddock.  At the Symposium, I was part of the action: hostess, reporter, photographer, student attendee!  I talked promoting racing to new fans with Churchill Downs’s chief marketing officer, met Mike Smith & got his autograph, worked the registration booth and checked in many of the speakers, had cocktails with exhibitors and fellow students…

The Symposium is really just the climax of a 5-month memorable moment marathon.  The reason I felt like I’d wasted so much time this decade is because I can’t believe it has taken me so long to find the place, the program and the people who care about the sport as much as I do. I have classes on racing regulation!  Exams about track configuration!  Projects on odds calculations!  Field trips to Turf Paradise!  Guest lecturers whom I’ve read about for years in the Blood-Horse!  Professors who own thoroughbreds, have first-hand experience as a racing secretary or have run a state racing commission!  I have learned so much and now feel empowered to make an impact on the world.

As the calendar flips to 2010 and a new decade begins, I find myself at the cusp of a career in racing, with a full field of new friends and several prospects for internships and future employment.  I’ve finally got an answer to the question my high school guidance counselor asked me 10 years ago:

What Career Track Are You On?

Top 10 Millennial Moments in The Infield

I was reading Slate about a month ago and stumbled on an article fondly recounting the panic surrounding Y2K on its ten-year anniversary.  Confusion swirled in my mind:  **headdesk**  “WHAT?  Y2K was a decade ago?  How’d that happen?!”  Day ruined after realizing how much time I’d wasted over 10 years, I settled down with a bottle of my favorite Woodford Reserve and did the only thing that really makes me feel better in those bourbon-soaked moments: watch horse races on YouTube!

As I relived the 2002 Kentucky Derby, I had to laugh at my initial melancholy.  I hadn’t wasted the ’00s at all.  Heck, I was sitting in an apartment in Tucson, Arizona watching those races, a place 1999 me would never have imagined visiting, let alone making a home.   I thought about all of the great times and amazing people I had met since leaving the ’90s, and the things I’d learned and experienced over all of these years.  The Aughts have been good to The Infield, and here are my personal Top 10 Moments.  I’ve kept a blog of some sort for the entire decade, so I’ve pulled excerpts from them to help flesh out the list.

10. Blood-Horse Magazine Subscription:  Sure, it’s not exactly an “event”, but this magazine changed my life once the first issue came in my mailbox in March 1999.  I had saved my allowance for a month to afford the outrageous subscription price, $52 (it was on a special).  I even remember that first issue: Free House’s Santa Anita Handicap win.  The hard copy edition was supplemented by the online version, which I checked religiously and still do. I have all 10 years of Blood-Horse issues in boxes in my parents’ attic.

9.  2003 Ashford Stud Open House:  A fabulous farm I’d wanted to visit ever since reading about the “Open House” in the Blood-Horse stallion ads.  Convinced parents to make the drive in their brand new Ford Explorer.  It was frigid up in Kentucky.  I remember the snow blowing around like sand on the street.  And the gorgeous horses!

They’ve got Thunder Gulch, the 1995 KY Derby winner & the horse who got me into racing (he’s also the sire of “Power” Point Given, 2001 Horse of the Year, yeee). They’ve got European champion, “Iron Horse” Giant’s Causeway & Johannesburg, a world champion. And (drumroll please)… Fusaichi Pegasus lives at Ashford, too. FuPeg won the KY Derby in 2000. He’s a stunner! God, it was amazing. Ashford’s farm office was bigger than my entire house, made of stone with a slate roof. Heck, it was bigger than most homes in Memphis. And the barns…like castles, with high, pointed roofs and arched doors made of heavy oak and bronze hardware. It was freezing but sunny and bright, and the whole place, I swear, looked like it was smiling.

I met the stallion manager, who asked me if I had some mares. I told him I was simply a fan, and then he asked me if I wanted some pictures. Heck yeah! With the clap of his hands, the grooms scurried to bring the stallions out. I felt like I was visiting the O’Haras at Tara at that moment…

My Dad got the trophy for dumbest question. Y’see, the farm is owned by Irish millionaires, as an affiliate of their Coolmore racing organization. Everybody there was either from Europe or Mexico; heck, even the african-american guys had a little bit of emerald isle to their speech. So as the stallion manager is telling us about a horse, my Dad says: “I detect an accent. Are you Irish?”

*rolls eyes*

8.  Horse Mania 2000 in Lexington:  As a newly-minted high school graduate, I travelled to Lexington for the annual Breyerfest, but ended up going far beyond the Horse Park’s boundaries in search of the life-sized models scattered around town.  I got a map of the 75 artists’ horses and tracked them all down, snagging a picture of each in its ‘natural’ habitat.  These horses were the forerunners of the “Painted Ponies” that you can get in Hallmark stores today.  Even in my pre-digital camera days, I must say I took some niiice pics, and if you know me well you just might have gotten a card with one of them on it.  This trip showed me more of the city known as Horse Heaven, a place I someday hoped to live.  Boy, did things change!

7. Oaklawn Park 4-Exacta Weekend:  In March 2008, I took a weekend trip to Hot Springs with a friend from work who really needed a break.  The track was unusually empty due to a snowstorm that coated the mountains in a beautiful, icy powder.  My luck ran blinding hot, though!

You can just call me a cashier, because I’m the Lady they had to Pay today at Oaklawn!   I hit 4 Exactas, beginning in the 3rd race and a share of the $68 payout!  Malengi/Air Corredor was the play of the day, but not the last.  Before the 5th race, I eavesdropped on a man sitting behind me talking on his cell phone & asking the person on the other end what number horse he/she liked. The man said, “Six?  Ok, I’ll bet $2 on six for you.  He’s got a good jockey.”  SO I looked and saw that yes, 6, Run For Shelter, had a great jockey in Calvin Borel.  So I used Run For Shelter & a proven off-track horse, Star of the Day in my box.  It was a thrilling run, as those 2 dueled in the stretch.  I won $12.50 on that one.  In the 6th race, I repeated with another exacta, this time with the hunch bet of the year.  I picked Smarty Matt Jones, not only because of the similarity to the famous Derby winner, but because of a nice gent I work with named Mott.  Smarty Matt won, my 2nd choice Pitton’s Road was 2nd, and I won ANOTHER exacta!  that was 2-in-a-row!  I couldn’t believe it, and still don’t even now.  A lull in the action, a couple of close calls later, and then the 10th and final race.  In a thrilling stretch run, Riproarious held off Port Hueneme to clinch my 4th exacta ticket of the day.  It was the shortest-priced ticket and so only paid $7.50.

6. John Henry Memorial 2007:  Saying goodbye to the most accomplished, legendary horse I’d ever met that October afternoon was like going to the funeral of an old friend.  John Henry welcomed me with a snort the first time I visited the Horse Park and was an enduring presence for all the years I made the pilgrimage.  A bagpiper played the mournful strains of “My Old Kentucky Home” as the wind picked up and bent back the floral arrangements standing around the horse’s final resting place.  All of the people he’d touched throughout his long racing career and the many workers at the Hall of Champions who’d dodged his teeth during his retirement stood and remembered the big heart in the small, brown gelding who persevered against all odds.

John Henry was an icon of the bluegrass, and I will miss seeing him.  He was the greatest horse I ever laid eyes on, including perhaps Seattle Slew.  As the speakers regaled us with their tales of John on the track, I looked up at the brilliant blue sky and those fantastic, cottony clouds, and imagined the old horse cantering over them, finally challenging the other greats – Secretariat, Slew, Affirmed, Forego– to the race he always dreamed of winning in life

5. Kentucky Derby 2007/2008:  I group these together because they are so hard to separate in terms of excitement and wagering luck.  2007 was Street Sense and the Queen, ‘08 Big Brown and Eight Belles.  The year Street Sense won, I was camped out along the backstretch fence under a big, blue tarp tent, praying that it wouldn’t rain.

I stood pressed against the fence, facing the backstretch, craning my neck to see the horses. I heard them first – the thunder of their hooves drowned out the roar of the raucous drunks all around me.   Suddenly, I saw them.  From my post I could just see their muscled necks and the tips of their ears, and the brilliant colors of the jockey’s silks all in a blur.  The field of 20 whipped past, and my heart skipped a beat when I recognized the yellow and blue colors of Street Sense at the back of the pack — and he was ON THE RAIL!  I pumped my fist in the air and screamed, “Go!  Go!  Go!  He’s on the RAIL!  He’s on the RAIL!  STREET SENSE!”

Big Brown’s Derby was the best ticket-building year, as I had Big Brown, Eight Belles and Denis of Cork in my Exacta box.  I am still kicking myself for not making it a straight-up tri, but alas, I still chased out ahead.  Eight Belles’s tragic death turned cold what had been a jubilant day, and I was very torn up over it.

THE FILLY — Of course I wasn’t going to go through this entire blog without saying something about EIGHT BELLES.  I wore her button all day long & touted her as I waited in the betting lines.  I was ecstatic with her performance after the Derby.  She had come in 2nd to Big Brown, beating all of those other colts & looking fabulous.  She’d also given me $141!  But my mood plummeted as I heard on my radio that she’d gone down.  I stopped singing and listened, hoping they’d got it wrong, that she was OK, that it was another horse & that it wasn’t bad.  I searched the jumbotron with my binocs, looking for some glimpse of news or shot of her waking off the track.  But it was futile.  She was gone.  I had to leave the track right then.  I couldn’t stay any longer with the filly’s brave effort still flashing in my mind.  I had to go be quiet for a while.  I felt bad for Big Brown, too, as his Derby will always be marred by the loss of Eight Belles.  She was one of the best of her class, both colt or filly.  Later that night, I went out to Cracker Barrel with Jim & Mary, and I saw Larry Jones, Eight Belles’s trainer, with his group.  It was a somber table.  They talked quietly and I could see the pain in their faces.  I wanted to go up & say something to them, as I still had on my Eight Belles button, but I thought it may be too intrusive, too soon.  They left shortly after, but I know it was a long, hard night for them all, and a sad, empty stall for them to wake up to this morning.

4. Breeders’ Cup 2006:  My first Breeders’ Cup and the first event I attended with Jim & Mary Gaffney.  I took over a bench near the paddock rail and took pictures of every horse that stepped into it.  It was cold, kind of damp, very crowded but I loved every minute of it!

By far the best race of the day was Ouija Board in the Filly & Mare Turf.  She is the first horse to win that race twice, and one of only 5 horses who have won 2 BC races.  The English filly, owned by Lord Derby, and ridden by the hot Italian Frankie Dettori was simply, honestly, brilliant.  She made her entrance in the paddock to ooos and ahhhs and with an entourage that would rival some rock stars (though nothing like Bernardini’s would be later, more on that).  She made several laps of the saddling ring with a quiet confidence, a rock in stormy seas.  I tried my best to get pics of her, but mainly I simply took her in.  The race was won for me right there, but on the turf she turned in a dazzling performance.  Ouija Board stalked the pace and then rushed by the leaders to win going away, ears pricked, jock mostly still.  The 5 year-old mare goes out a winner in the best season of her career.

3. Secretariat Bronze Installation 2006:  After nearly 10 years of fundraising, the Secretariat Bronze was installed in April 2006.  I was there, front-row, for the dedication, because I had purchased a paver with mine & my horse’s names on it.  I also met someone who I am still friends with today, and who encouraged me to follow my dream of being in racing, Jim Gaffney:

The Sec Foundation people were still setting up the tables.  Lots of nice schwag: photos, prints, magazine covers, posters, bronze sculptures, tees and hoodies, Ron Turcotte bobblehead that bares a striking resemblance to the guy in the wheelchair over by the Coke machines…oh wait!  It IS Ron Turcotte by the Coke machines! A smiling gentleman asks if Mom & I are sisters…it’s Jim Gaffney, who was Secretariat’s main exercise rider!  He liked us, and took pictures with us and even gave me an autographed photo.  Awesomeness.  I promised to write him and then gave him an Elvis Week pin I carried along just for such occasions.

2. Kentucky Derby 2005:  The first time I camped out in the infield.  The first time I had a mint julep.  The first time I got lunch meat thrown on me while watching a race…My First Kentucky Derby!  I started counting down before my departure:

I can’t believe I’m leaving in 3 days! My heart rate is up way past what is healthy, I can’t sleep, am easily distracted, and have a permanent case of hoofbeat tinitis…I’m counting down the hours! At 9AM Thursday I leave for Louisville!!!!!! Whaaaaa-hoooooo! … It’s Cinco de Mayo, and my-oh-my am I stoked! I am leaving in about 10 minutes for DERBY CITY!!! YESSS!!!

And then, after Giacomo’s 50-1 shocker:

I had a blast!

4 Days in Louisville, 2 whole days at the track, plus the museum, and the Tour de Louisville, the Cracker Barrels, the Detroit kids, the Super Hero Kill-a-Thon, the tunnel of death, the furlong hike, the hats, the beer, the hellish nightmare porta-potties, the longshot, the show bets, the brownie woman, ‘Big Pedro’, the juleps, the bluegrass, the paddock so crowded with people you couldn’t stir ‘em with a stick, the Pecan Divinities, the most outrageous, unforgettable, amazing, incomparable, unbeatable experience I SURVIVED KY DERBY 131!!!!!!

So, what’s #1?  Tune in later for my best racing moment in the decade!

From the Infield to the Boardroom

So it’s been a while, blogland.  Nearly 5 months since my last post?  For shame.  Especially since I was churning out such enlightening posts.  Expert commentary. (whatever, chief) 

What have I been up to, you ask? 

Being the glutton for punishment I am, I’ve gone back to school.  But there is so much more to it than that.  In August, I quit my job (the one I had loved for 5 years!) and picked up and moved 1500 miles away to Tucson, Arizona, to attend The University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program (RTIP). 

I’m moving up in the world.

Every single day, I learn something new and interesting about racing – stuff I never even thought about before in the areas of regulation and track management.  I’ve learned more about quarter horse racing, too, and harness racing.  Greyhounds are still fuzzy. 

My professors are awesome.  They come from the industry, have seen the way things work first-hand, have dealt with the problems and lived to tell about them.  They’re always sharing their stories with students, and I’ve heard some doozies in the past few months. 

The guest speakers this semester have been amazing, too: Rob Terry, of RGS, Inc.; Roxy Roxborough, the legendary linesmaker from Vegas and Lou Raffetto, CEO of the National Steeplechase Association.  I’ve met the man in charge of bringing foreign horses to the BC, Nick Clarke, who did a great presentation on international racing.  Every day, every class, is like a dream.  I have exams about horses! 

I also work for the program.  I’ve been updating the RTIP Facebook & Twitter pages, as well as writing and editing press releases and working on the program’s newsletter, the Update.  I’m trying to learn everyone’s name and have made some great friends already.  The students come from all over the country, and have as varied experiences in the industry as one could imagine.  There are total civillians like me, who came into the sport as fans and horse lovers, and then there are students who grew up on the farms I’ve toured and who have been around racing, hands-on, all their lives.

The main event for the fall is the Symposium on Racing and Gaming, which will be Dec. 7-10.  The list of attendees grows by day, and it is shaping up to be a great event.  There will be many panels on marketing and promotion of racing.  That is where I hope to find my place.  I think racing is the greatest sport on the planet and have some ideas to help convince others that I’m right.  After all, if they can keep Elvis popular for 32 years after his death, then surely a sport that renews itself each spring can grab some attention.

So that is what I’ve been up to since June.  I’m moving up, from the Infield, where it’s been fun, to the Boardroom, where it’ll be real.

Hiatus

Last month I was in a car wreck. I am fine, but my car was totalled. Also, the busy season has started at work with a vengeance. One thing’s for sure, ELvis is recession-proof! I am so sorry, all 3 of you loyal readers, for leaving you hanging. I will have some cool stuff up soon. Stay tuned.

PHREAKNESS

The Filly will face The Derby Winner in The Preakness

The Preakness must suffer from the “middle child syndrome” — there can be no other reason why this otherwise unremarkable race has offered fans such rich drama and curious occurances over its 134 runnings. 

It’s the only Triple Crown race to have ever been run in two divisions, resulting in 2 different winners in 1918.  The clubhouse has been struck by lightning (1909) and even burned down (1966).  The race was homeless for several years in the late 1800s, when five runnings were held at Belmont Park. 

In more recent history, the Preakness has suffered a track-wide power outage (1998); a drunken (and suicidal) infielder ran out onto the track and punched at horses racing in the 1999 sprint race on the Preakness undercard.  Afleet ALex clipped heels with Scrappy T and stumbled to his knees, but his athletic jockey stayed on and the colt galloped home by daylight in 2005.  Of course, there has been plenty said about Barbaro in 2006.

This year’s drama has so far happened off the track: Rachel Alexandra was sold to Jess Jackson for the sole purpose of competing in the Preakness.  Ahmed Zayat then threatened on TVG that he’d stuff the gate with his own runners so that the filly couldn’t get in.  Marylou Whitney was even wrapped up in the controversy.  By Monday, all of the craziness was over, Zayat recanted and Rachel was in. 

It’s good that Rachel ALexandra will get to face colts.  She is a big, sturdy filly and should have no problems keeping up with the boys.  She’s already faster than most of them.  Borel is sticking with her over his Derby winner, which speaks volumes to her talent.  Borel will also do everything he can to protect her should the race prove to be too much for her.  I’m not worried about her physical condition or of her getting injured.  Rags To Riches ran in the Belmont, for goodness sakes.  So did Silverbulletday, my #1 favorite filly of all time.  Rachel will be fine.

She will also win.  As much as I’d love for Pioneerof The Nile to turn the tables on Mine That Bird, or even for Mine That Bird to continue the impossible dream, I believe Rachel has the speed and strength to win this race.  The pace will be much faster here than the Derby, with Big Drama and Take The Points in the gate.  But she can sit just off the leaders.  She also has a better tactical turn of foot than most of the colts.  Borel can put her anywhere he wants. 

If it rains, Mine That Bird will be dangerous.

If Frank Caliendo was a race caller…

Watch this vid. This is Frank Miramahdi, caller at Turf Paradise, in the 2009 Hasta La Vista Handicap. The race is a 1 7/8 mile “marathon”…needless to say, there’s not a lot of lead changes over that span…see how many “celebrity guests” you recognize!

…and God Bless the soul of Luke Krytbosch!

Mine That Bird : The Susan Boyle of Horse Racing

Could it all be just a dream? Calvin Borel celebrates atop 135th Derby winner Mine That Bird, a 50-1 shot. Photo by AP.

He stepped onto the stage, a plain, brown gelding, small in stature, and all but invisible among the flashy stars of the Triple Crown trail.  Handicappers, racing fans, industry insiders, racing commentators, all of them rolled their eyes when reading his name in the post parade: Mine That Bird. 

Steven Levitt, economist and racing fan, wrote in his Freakonomics blog, “If I had to pick a last-place finisher…it would be Mine That Bird.”  In the 3-strikes formula employed by Jon White, Mine That Bird had 5.  Message board commenters joked about him crossing the wire next week.  His speed figures weren’t good enough, he wasn’t fast enough, he’d only won on synthetic surfaces, these same colts had beaten him at the Breeders’ Cup, where he’d come in last — there really wasn’t a good reason for him to be there.

The brown horse knew nothing of this criticism.  He went to post #8 with jockey Calvin Borel in the irons, a veteran who’d ridden a Derby winner in 2007.  He was in good hands.  All that was left was for him to perform. 

When the gates opened, he started out so far back, it was as if he’d been left at the gate.   The track was sloppy, and he was hit in the face with the slick mud off the other horses’ hooves.  As the field flew through the backstretch, Mine That Bird began to move up, passing horses swiftly along the rail.  Turning for home, the pacesetters traded the lead in a thrilling duel.  The race caller’s attention was focused on the drama at the front of the pack, but what he didn’t see was the small, brown gelding closing furiously on the rail just behind them.  In a dramatic burst, the muddy gelding slipped through a slot the size of a needle’s eye on that golden rail.  He was in the lead!  He was drawing away by 3!  4!  6 on the wire! 

The people at Churchill Downs — the ladies in the soggy hats and the Infielders as muddy as the horses– stared in shock.  Mine That Bird had done the impossible, at 50-1 odds! 

I love the Kentucky Derby.  No other sports event can compare with its propensity for surprise winners.  All of the experts, this one included, totally ignored him.  But he took flight on the muddy Churchill Down strip and prevailed by 6 3/4 lengths, surpassing even Barbaro in his dominance.  The only thing I can think of that even comes close to the surprise and delight in this horse’s performance is Susan Boyle.

He took the stage a small, plain, brown gelding.  He entered the Winners’ Circle covered in mud and roses, humming “I Dream A Dream.”

MINE THAT BIRD — Laughingstock to Legend!

50-1 longshot Mine That Bird just won the Kentucky Derby by 6! Calvin Borel rode the colt to victory with his signature rail-skimming ride. With his win on Rachel Alexandra yesterday, he joins an elite group of Derby-Oaks double winning jockeys, the last one being Jerry Bailey in 1993.
Mine That Bird — Derby winner