Category Archives: Horses

You all know how I love the First Saturday in May.  But this year, I keep on forgetting that the First Saturday in May is.May.1st.  I just don’t feel as if we’re quite there yet.  It may also have to do with the fact that Chris is in Rochester/Winona right now (despite the fact that he took a job down there, I consider this to be a temporary state of being) and thus I have been robbed of one of my favorite Derby watching partners.  My other being P’s boyfriend, John (but he totally abandoned us last summer, so it’s different).

So, let’s talk about the Kentucky Derby.  I am a most firm believer that if you run in the Derby, you should try for the Triple Crown.  More importantly, I think that in order to win it all and take your place in history you need a name that fits in with the other Triple Crown winners.  My pick this year?  Devil May Care.  After watching Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta rock the racing world last season, I think it’s time for a filly and I think it’s time to go big.

If you’re planning a Derby party of your own and need some last-minute inspiration or find NBC to be especially vague about what it is that one actually eats in Kentucky, check out Epicurious’ Derby Section.

And, because blogs are all about the over-share, you should know that I always tear up during the singing of My Old Kentucky Home.

If you haven’t noticed this by now, I am not only impressed by but am in awe of Rachel Alexandra.

Rachel Alexandra Beats Boys Again in Haskell

That girl is a monster and what horse racing is truly about. She likely won’t race in the Breeder’s Cup because of poly-track, which would be the best of all possible worlds (I would so <3 to see her run the Classic and beat the boys once and for all). But, c'est la vie.

According to Superfecta, Birdstone, the winner of the 2004 Belmont stakes, only had a $10,000 stud fee. Until now, as he is the sire of Mine that Bird, the Kentucky Derby winner, place in the Preakness and show in the Belmont; in addition to being the sire of Summer Bird, who won the Belmont.

Ironically, Birdstone’s sire is Grindstone, who is the first horse I can remember winning the Kentucky Derby. Grindstone’s sire is Unbridled.

I’m not a horse racing or stud-farm genious, but I’m pretty sure that Birdstone AND Grindstone’s stud fees just became astronomical. Personally, I’m just thankful that all of the horses have remained sound through this first bit of the season.

Tomorrow the gates will open for the Preakness Stakes.

Personally, I am hoping and praying that Calvin “Borail” Borel is the jockey that wins the Triple Crown on two separate horses.

Why? Rachel Alexandra is the kind of thoroughbred that makes people talk, in a good way. They don’t wonder if she’s secretly being drugged, or if she’s being run for show. She is a monster of a horse.

The real pity is that we don’t have a set of races for fillies to run that holds the same prestige as the Triple Crown. There is the “Triple Tiara,” but that’s comprised of three seemingly random-as-hell races. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t run the fillies in the Oaks, the Black Eyed Susan Stakes and the Acorn Stakes.

So tomorrow, I want to watch her run, and to see her win the Preakness like she did the Oaks. It would be an incredible race to see.

I know this post is far-too-late in coming, but this week can best be described as a “shit storm.” I promise I’ll come up with something more clever for later on in the week.

Derby day was fun. We didn’t festively dress up, but this year Huston, Marcus and I mastered the art of the julep. Perhaps next year we shall freeze the cups ahead of time so they get that nice Derby Day-ice crust around them.

The race itself was ridiculous. Calvin Borel gave Mine That Bird a most memorable ride, making a move from the back of the middle of the pack, dodging and weaving his way in-between horses and the rail, until finally Mine That Bird literally shot out in front of the rest of the field.

That ride makes Borel the first jockey since 1993 to complete the Oaks-Derby double, meaning that he is the jockey that rode the filly that won the Kentucky Oaks (Rachel Alexandra) and the colt that won the Kentucky Derby (Mine That Bird).

I always get really tickled when Billy talks to me about racing since he’s not particularly “into” horses. But he gets especially miffed when the winner of the Derby is a gelding, which is to mean, a neutered horse. Why? Because if a gelding were to win the Triple Crown (the Derby, Preakness and Belmont), he would not be able to pass on his genes to offspring and as the last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978, you can see why it would be nicer to have a stallion than a gelding in the long-term.

After Eight Belles’ death last year, I just don’t have the heart to say that Rachel Alexandra should be in the Derby instead of the Oaks. Because to lose another, literally beautiful filly would be heartbreaking.

But she does look like the kind of horse that wins the Triple Crown.

Rachel Alexandra…Better Than the Boys?

Alternately, because it is Triple Crown season, the NYT has put their racing blog, “The Rail” back up.

UPDATE: Rachel Alexandra took the lillies, finishing 20.25 lengths ahead of the rest of the field. Insane.