A day to celebrate the best horses and a day to remember the greatest athlete that ever lived - Secretariat!!!
Run Horsies - Run!!!
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What a memorable Derby. One reporter said "great triumph followed by great tragedy".
The second place finisher (a filly) broke both ankles as soon as the race finished and had to be put down immediately. I've never seen anything like that - very sad.
The second place finisher (a filly) broke both ankles as soon as the race finished and had to be put down immediately. I've never seen anything like that - very sad.
Speaking of Secretariat, am I not alone in noticing the race Big Brown ran was VERY similar to both of the first two races in the Triple Crown that Secretariat ran. In my mind, Big Brown is the closest horse I've seen since.
quote:A day to celebrate the best horses and a day to remember the greatest athlete that ever lived - Secretariat!!!
You Better Know It, For sure??
The Greatest that ever lived.
EH
I thought Ali was the Greatest
quote:I thought Ali was the Greatest
Self promotion by Ali.
The Horse Couldn't talk for himself.
EH
Secretariat was awesome. The footage of the Belmont that is just unbelievable.
18 years ago (and about that many pounds ago, maybe a couple more
) I was one of two exercise riders for one of his grandsons, 1990 Preakness winner Summer Squall. Northern Dancer was the paternal grandsire - royalty for sure. He is small (15.2 hands) but truly had the heart of his granddad.
It's hard to convey how magnificent these animals are, and how courageous. I feel very privileged to have had five great years as a rider of the sons and daughters of some of the great ones (Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Nijinsky, etc.) - best job I ever had - and am heartbroken for the folks associated with Eight Belles. The sport is as cruel as it is beautiful.
18 years ago (and about that many pounds ago, maybe a couple more
) I was one of two exercise riders for one of his grandsons, 1990 Preakness winner Summer Squall. Northern Dancer was the paternal grandsire - royalty for sure. He is small (15.2 hands) but truly had the heart of his granddad.It's hard to convey how magnificent these animals are, and how courageous. I feel very privileged to have had five great years as a rider of the sons and daughters of some of the great ones (Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Nijinsky, etc.) - best job I ever had - and am heartbroken for the folks associated with Eight Belles. The sport is as cruel as it is beautiful.
2Bmom,
What do you think of Big Brown.
I didn't see the race yet.
So I don't have an opinion on how good he is.
I thought Barboro had a chance, It is a sad part of Horse Racing.
EH
What do you think of Big Brown.
I didn't see the race yet.
So I don't have an opinion on how good he is.
I thought Barboro had a chance, It is a sad part of Horse Racing.
EH
What dusturbs me is the PETA group who have no idea regarding which end is up
Did any of you hear their leader on Mike Tirico (ESPN) yesterday ? She could not answer questions--Tirico even told her that it is OK to say " I don't know the answer"---totally symbolic of todays "do good" culture---the do gooders scream and protest but know nothing of what they are screaming and protesting about. And they want the jockey suspended? You have to be kidding--those little guys treat the horse they ride better than their kids
My wife worked with horses, flats and pacers, for many years and she has made me somewhat intelligent as to the nature of the game.
Horse racing has been around for many moons and to watch those beasts do their thing never ceases to amaze me---they are bred to race--that is their job
PETA is just another example of what is wrong with our country but then this is what we get with free speech
Did any of you hear their leader on Mike Tirico (ESPN) yesterday ? She could not answer questions--Tirico even told her that it is OK to say " I don't know the answer"---totally symbolic of todays "do good" culture---the do gooders scream and protest but know nothing of what they are screaming and protesting about. And they want the jockey suspended? You have to be kidding--those little guys treat the horse they ride better than their kids
My wife worked with horses, flats and pacers, for many years and she has made me somewhat intelligent as to the nature of the game.
Horse racing has been around for many moons and to watch those beasts do their thing never ceases to amaze me---they are bred to race--that is their job
PETA is just another example of what is wrong with our country but then this is what we get with free speech
TR - PETA is here in Lexington today meeting with horse racing officials. Their claims or accusations against the jockey are just astounding as well as ignorant. If the horse had any fractures before the race, she wouldn't have been able to race. Also, jockies take great pride in their animals and have tremendous respect for them - just as the trainers and all involved with a thoroughbred do. It's crazy stuff. I imagine that jockey is devastated and now has to unfairly deal with people make the most ignorant of claims.
Jockeys understand their animals and they know if the horse isn't "right". If the horse is not right, they will stop, like Barbaro's jockey did last year.
This animal ran the race well...something happened after that is tragic, but no one's fault.
We can't we just have occasional accidents without assigning blame and going headhunting...it's not like this happens every year.
This animal ran the race well...something happened after that is tragic, but no one's fault.
We can't we just have occasional accidents without assigning blame and going headhunting...it's not like this happens every year.
EH - Big Brown is magnificent! He made it look easy. I can't wait to see him in the Preakness and hopefully the Belmont.
I definitely agree with the rest of you regarding jockeys and their respect and "feel" for their mounts, and PETA's ignorance. Anyone who saw the photo of the expression on Barbaro's jockey's face when he broke down surely has an idea of how much these riders care for their horses. They want them to race another day. The filly had her ears up going across the finish line. The jockey did nothing wrong. I'm sure he's devastated, too. I liked the way the owner and trainer had his back.
I definitely agree with the rest of you regarding jockeys and their respect and "feel" for their mounts, and PETA's ignorance. Anyone who saw the photo of the expression on Barbaro's jockey's face when he broke down surely has an idea of how much these riders care for their horses. They want them to race another day. The filly had her ears up going across the finish line. The jockey did nothing wrong. I'm sure he's devastated, too. I liked the way the owner and trainer had his back.
I thought PETA stood for People Eating Tasty Animals 