My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
Scratch the match race with Zenyatta. 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra was retired yesterday after several disappointing starts as a 4-year old. Since she never returned to her top form, owner Jess Jackson should be commended for retiring her now, without injury, and letting her move on to the next stage of her […]
Read MoreMore hilarious race calls are surfacing. The commentator really had fun with this one! ARRRRR was supposedly named in honor of Cap’n Jack Sparrow.
Read MoreToday’s Travers Stakes in Saratoga Springs provided down to the wire excitement with a finish so close that it was impossible to call. In the end, Afleet Express just barely managed to hang on to his lead over Fly Down, but it was mostly a question of which horse came down with his head stretched […]
Read MoreZenyatta sure is on a roll. On Saturday she made her 18th win look easy, with a romp home in the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar. It was a hand ride for Mike Smith and Zenyatta looked like she had a few more gears that didn’t get called into play. This is […]
Read MoreIn Australia, being a jockey is considered to be the highest risk land-based job. Other lists I’ve read don’t put riding racehorses in the top 10 and this surprises me. After all, crouching over the neck of a 1,000 pound horse running at 35 mph right on the heels of several other horses, carries with […]
Read MoreThe track was so sloppy that as the horses came around the final turn into the home stretch it was impossible to identify any one of them: they were all brown and muddy. Many horses don’t like to run in the mud, especially if they spend most of the race with mud hitting their faces. […]
Read MoreNo surprises in the Apple Blossom stakes. Zenyatta made a text book run, starting at the back of the field then surging around the horses as they made the final turn. Watching this mare start to accelerate is beautiful. What a stride! As she started her run the announcer said, “is it a bird? Is […]
Read MoreThe much talked about match up between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta will not happen at the Apple Blossom. Although both were entered, Rachel Alexandra has been scratched after her second place finish last weekend in the New Orleans Ladies Stakes. Owner Jess Jackson has stated that Rachel Alexandra is not yet in top form and […]
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