Welcome back uncle mo!

Uncle Mo is back!, the 2 year old champion proved he could overcome an illness, and come back to his winning form . During his illness I questioned if I would ever hear " here comes MO!!", I even pondered if I would ever see him again , ever see his jockey in the Repole silks... I had a special connection to this horse, I guess because he was the first horse I picked at the Breeders Cup juvenile to win, and he won by a huge margin. I was unable to watch his race live, but when I watched the replay on youtube I knew he was back to the 2year old Uncle Mo we all know and love. Watching him come down the stretch, I could have sworn Uncle Mo was playing with his competition, you know ? playing the " ohhh, Ill let you guys catch up and try to win,and then speed up and increase the lengths between". For the Breeders Cup, I have a feeling we will see a matchup of Uncle Mo and a filly---- maybe Havre de Grace?
well thats all for now, i have to head to class again!

Im back!

Hey guys, I know its been a while! I have had some illnesses and college related things and have had so little time to write! BUT IM BAAAAACCCCK. This weekend is jam packed with some awesome races, so this post is about my picks. No I will not be gambling, but I will be making pretend bets, and watching the races unfold on my laptop screen. So lets begin...
The Haskell
For my "imaginary exacta box" I put Shackleford, Astrology, and Ruler on Ice. Trifecta : Shackleford , Astrology, Ruler on Ice. I picked Shackleford to win because he is a gutsy little horse with a huge heart, he ran well in the Triple Crown series, and he was given the chance to rest at Winstar Farm. The distance should also suit him.I also like Astrology and Ruler on Ice because they also ran well in the Triple Crown races and should enjoy the pace set by Shackleford. But because the favorite has yet to win a race this year I will also pick another trifecta - Coil, Shackleford, and Ruler on Ice. I like Coil's odds, and his trainer Bob Baffert seems confident he can run well. Coil is a son of Point Given, who upset Smarty Jones, and also includes Thunder Gulch so he should run well if he is anything like his sire and gransire. I also like Pants on Fire, mainly based on his last win. Astrology also is another one to look at because he is out of the sire AP Indy.
so what are my picks?
trifecta 1- 5, 8, 6
Trifecta 2- 1, 5, 6
Longshots- 3, and 4

Do horses really like racing??

Have you ever driven to Kentucky, and stopped to just admire the beautiful blue grass, white fences and horses grazing in the distance ? I have several times and it always makes my trip special, when im in Kentucky to view races. These horses are being horses, but each one of them has a special story-a racing career . People attend races for several reasons: some like gambling for money, some adore the pageantry of the post parade , some just like seeing horses up close and some come with big dreams and aspirations to claim a racehorse . Why do I attend races? I adore the pageantry, I love the post parade ponies that have their hair fixed up, bows in their manes and I love going to the derby and seeing the big hats. Recently there has been debate about whether horse racing is ethical, and if horses really want to run. Well I was stuck in the middle on this but it all changed after watching a youtube video . The video is about a horse who dumped his jockey and even though everyone knew he was disqualified , it was as if the horse wanted to win. He ran his OWN race, and actually 'won" the race but was not counted as winning. Yes, a horse with no rider ran his race, with his own strategy and won. So what point am I making here? Horses love to run... Watch this video, and watch the preakness in which Afleet Alex nearly fell, watch this years Belmont, watch the 2009 derby and you get the point. All of the horses showed heart, and some even overcame amazing obstacles and won.
If you watch a race where it is a head on head, you see that the horses are truly fighting to win... yes the jockey is playing key, but I honestly believe that horses have a natural urge to compete and win...

My trip to visit Monarchos

" And here comes Monarchos! " , I am sure every horse fan recognizes this phrase from Monarchos's derby win! After watching this race on youtube, and reading the book about him " A Horse of A Different Color", I became a HUGE fan of Monarchos and dreamed about meeting him, and feeding him peppermints. Well.... my wish came true in 2010!!! In 2010, while I was in Kentucky for my high school graduation present, I was told I would get to visit Monarchos at his new home, Nuckols Farm located in Lexington KY. I was nervous, but more excited because I was going to meet a derby champion, after all! On the day of my tour, it was pouring rain... I mean POURING!!!! It was also kind of cold, and the weather didnt faze me because I was going to meet him, snow rain sun or in a storm, I was going to meet him no matter what.

We arrived at the farm and I was instantly greeted by wide open pastures, white fences with horses grazing in the downpour. We arrived at the main house, and was greeted by our tour guide , the owner of Nuckols Farm. He was very friendly, and led us to where Monarchos was currently residing- his barn. He stood there staring at us, ears erect as to say " Hi , nice to meet you". The old man entered his stall and attached a lead rope and brought him out into the rain so we could see him up close. I was amazed by his beauty, size and his attitude. He didnt act like stallion, in fact he acted like a puppy dog, sweet and well behaved. The old man then gave us a bag of peppermints, and asked if we wanted to feed him. I approached him , peppermint in hand and he gingerly licked the mint off my hand, being careful to not bite my hand or smother my hand with his tongue. I put my hand on his mane and stroked it gently, taking in the feeling and smell of hay . I had never been this close to a stallion and it felt amazing to be touching a derby winner. I even layed my head on his neck and gave him a kiss, he didnt flinch at all. I took my camera out ( or my camera on my phone) and began snapping pictures and he bagan to pose and at one point he even smiled. Before he was returned to his stall, the old man went behind Monarchos and snipped a piece of his hair for us, and I still have it in a safe place , because it is very special. I actually sniffed the hair and it smelled like him, it smelled like freshly cut hay and it was very wirey. I left that day feeling special, happy and I hope I will get to meet him again, because he really is sweet and beautiful.

The pictures, or some of them are posted at the very top!

Old friends retirement- where horses learn to be a horse and become "free"

In 2009 I had a wonderful opportunity to not only visit Big Brown but I also had the chance to visit "Old Friends", a retirement facility located in Georgetown Ky by Lexington. It is not a stud farm or a place where the owners make profit off these animals but a place where "old" horses can go and relax, eat all the grass they wish, roll the mud, and be a horse.


It was a rainy day when I went, I was sick but my love for horses kept me going. If you drive to the place, you will notice nothing but spacious green fields , white fences , and horses grazing in the distance.




First let me share a few of my pics before I go onto a discussion about the farm .

This horse lost an eye in a stud farm accident






























When you arrive at the farm , you enter the main building and there is a gift shop of little horse nick nacks and pictures of the horses that you can buy with a donation. Your donation includes the picture of the horse you loved, and you get to "own" a piece of that horse. Now let me talk about the farm and the horses who call this place home

Old Friends Retirement Home is a nonprofit retirement home for retired and pensioned racehorses, that was established in 2000.

There are a variety of horses who reside at this farm- some of them have disabilities , some are movie stars ( seabiscuit star) and some are gelded retired racehorses who have no other place to go. As we were guided out to paddocks, I heard neighing in the distance, and was overcome with emotion as we passed by Ferdinands grave. Ferdinand was a derby winner who resided in Japan as a stud, and was later slaughtered. Old Friends was developed in honor of him, and they had wanted to bring him to their farm , but it was too late. Every horse has his own paddock, with a barrel for food, and mud to roll in. The horse with one eye lost his eye as a stud, the tour guide told us, but he was a sweetie. He loved carrots, and he enjoyed being rubbed by the tour guide. The movie star of Seabiscuit was named Popcorn Delites and he was a handsome boy.

The thing that strikes me most about this farm is the happiness of the horses there. Every horse there seems to be well taken care of and enjoying their days. It is kind of sad to visit this farm, because most of these horses are very old, but the owner of the farm is a sweet old man, who loves and gives each one attention.
I am amazed by the love that is given to each horse, and the dream that the owner has - to save every retired racehorse from slaughter or worse. I encourage everyone to go and visit this farm, you can visit it for free, but they like donations!

Spotlight on retired racehorses we grew to love pt 1- Smarty Jones

In 2004 , the nation flocked to Belmont Park to witness a colt attempt to win the 3rd and final lef of the Triple Crown- his name was Smarty Jones. Smarty Jones was foaled on February 28 2001 in Fairthorne Farm, located in Chester City Pennsylvania. In 2003 he was shipped to trainer John Servis for training, and that is when is winning career began. A near tragedy occured on July 27, 2003 when Smarty Jones spooked in the starting gate while schooling, hit his head and went unconscious with blood spilling out of his nostrils. Luckily the colt regained consciousness and was treated for the bleeding and injuries. On July 28, 2003 Smarty Jones recieved xrays for his injuries and it was found he had a fractured skull. Vets were so concerned with the broken bones around one of his eyes, they believed they would have to remove the eye. On may 1, 2004, Smarty Jones became the first horse to win the Kentucky derby since Seattle Slew in 1977 and remain unbeaten, and he continued this streak until placing 2nd in the Belmont Stakes. He was retired on August 2, 2004 because of bruising on his ankle bones and finished his career with 8 wins and 1 place.

Pedigree

His sire was Elusive Quality ( out of Gone West) : Elusive Quality was known as a good miler horse, who set two records : One at 7 furlong distance at Gulfstream and a world record for a mile turf race at Belmont Park. Grandsire was Gone West: Gone West's dam was Seccretame ( Secretariat, Mr Prospector). Greatgreat grandsire was Raise a Native ( Native Dancer) Whos grandsire was Polynesian.

Now if you remeber my previous blog post, you will see why I bolded certain names. Most of the bolded sires, grandsires were sires /gransires of former Triple Crown winners. So you can say Smarty Jones was bred to run in the Triple Crown.

What made him special?

He was not only undefeated, but he was a gorgeous , big colt to look at. I got to meet him when I went to his former home ( Three Chimmneys) and I was amazed by his beauty and grace. He was sleepy the day I met him but he had the eye of a champion. The public also fell in love with his story and he became a huge hit in Pennsylvania and became the nation's horse. He looked like he could win the crown, and it was heartbreaking to see him fall 2nd to Birdstone in the 2004 Belmont Stakes.

33 years too long......

Its been 33 years since we heard the famous phrase " and ( insert horse) is the Triple Crown winner", 33 years too long I say. The last horse to accomplish this feat was Affirmed in 1978, beating his rival Alydar by a nose. Why has it been so long? Why does it seem nearly impossible? One reason that I recently found could be a cause is bloodlines and sires . I found that some or most of the triple crown winners had triple crown winner sires or english triple crown sires.

1) Affirmed- 1978 triple crown winner.. Had a huge rivalry with champion Alydar, and both horses competed against one another in all three crown races. Big, beautiful chestnut colt, he had excellent confirmation. As a 2 year old , he won 7 of 9 starts and went on to have a very successful 3 year old campaign. Now heres the interesting part: the bloodline. He was the grandson of triple crown winner War Admiral, great-great-great grandson of Man O War ( won 2 of the triple crown races). If you look into his pedigree you will notice he also has Gallant Fox ( triple crown winner) and other notable horses such as Mahmoud( English derby winner) , Native Dancer ( won Preakness and Belmont Stakes) Polynesian ( winner of Preakness Stakes).

2) Secretariat- 1973- most celebrated triple crown winner, won Belmont by an impressive 31 lengths. He was 16.2 hands, chestnut and owned by Penny Chenery. Once again, look at his pedigree! He was the son of Bold Ruler ( winner of Preakness Stakes), Grandson of Nasrullah ( sired triple crown winner Seattle Slew), Somethingroyal ( raced 1 time, unplaced but produced many winners ) Grandson of Princequillo ( won Jockey gold cup , Saratoga Handicap, Saratoga Handicap). If you look way way way back you will notice he has Fair Play ( he was also included in seabiscuit's pedigree).

3) Seattle Slew - 1977- Only triple crown winner to be undefeated- Son of Boldreasoning ( Boldnesian, Bold Ruler) Great great grandsire is Nasrullah ( Polynesian) Dam is My Charmer ( has Nashrulla and Princequillo)

4) Omaha - 1935 - son of triple crown winner Gallant Fox ,

Now these are just 4 of the triple crown winners, but you can see a pattern in bloodlines right?. For example- Omaha was the SON of a triple crown winner ( Gallant Fox) , who is also included in Affirmed's pedigree. You will notice that Secretariat and Seattle Slew both include Polynesian, Bold Ruler and Princequillo. If you go and research every triple crown winner, you will notice that the majority of these horses share a successful common ancestor , and several horses that won major G1 races or triple crown races. Back when triple crown winners became common, the horses were bred for distance, speed , stamina and health. Steroids were not used AS MUCH, or not at all and the horses who stood at stud were healthy, and had great stamina. These horses were bred for these races.

So why do we not have another triple crown?- let me break it down

* Horses today are not bred to run races at such short intervals, and are not bred to run the Belmont Stakes ( mile and half). Today horses are bred more for speed and less on distance

* Steroid use- Steroid use has made oridnary horses who usually are not made for speed , run faster and seem more muscular than they really are. Steroid use often covers up physical flaws and when horses are retired to stud, these physical problems come alive.

* Trainers are entering fresher horses into the last 2 legs of the Triple Crown- after the derby is won, the horse usually faces new competition in the last two legs, and they are usually horses that have not run for a while, and did not run in the derby. Example- Belmont Stakes 2011- Ruler on Ice won , he had not run for a while. Preakness 2011- we had several new shooters such as Isnt he Perfect, Flashpoint, Mr Commons. Entering fresh horses makes it harder in the Triple Crown because not only are they better rested, but they may be superb horses whose owners wish to become a spoiler. We have had alot of spoilers lately- EX).Big Brown losing to Da Tara . If trainers would not try to become spoilers, maybe we would have a triple crown winner.

But I believe the 1st and 3rd point are the reasons for no Triple Crown... if we didnt have more fresher horses entered into the last two legs, we would find it easier for a triple crown winner to emerge... I believe if we bred horses to go longer distances, we would also have a winner. We have alot of sprint/short distance horses, but not many distance horses. I was watching a race in Europe that was 2 miles long, and was seriously thinking- would an American horse run that far and come back healthy? . The answer is no, and we seriously need to change this. Longer distance bred horses= healthier, faster horses who can win the triple crown