THE PREAKNESS & RACHEL ALEXANDRA

Well, here goes the second leg of the Triple Crown and up steps the filly, Rachel Alexandra.

With all her prior dominance, the inevitable comparisons to Ruffian and Secretariat have been put on the table. No pressure at all--comparison to arguably the best filly and the best colt of all time. Good thing the horse can't read the papers.

I just pray that if she does compare favorably it ends up being to Secretariat.

She is clearly superior to anything the distaff side can throw at her as illustrated by her 20-length demolition of the Kentucky Oaks field. Jockey Calvin Borel has stated that he hasn't had to go to the whip to motivate her to win. Against a field of colts, that may no longer be the case.

Racing aficionados still debate whether fillies should even run against colts. That they are not strong enough or capable enough. When this racing mind-set has opportunity to manifest itself, inevitably human emotions run high. It's easy to pit feminist against neanderthal-man in an effort to promote the race or match.

I remember the quote of Foolish Pleasure's handlers after their horse emerged victorious against Ruffian. As Ruffian was carted off in the veterinarian's wagon, FP's handlers gloated in the winners circle.

FROM THE BOOK Ruffian : Burning From the Start by Jane Schwartz

"His father, however, was exultant. Two years ago Moody Jolley had picked out this son of What a Pleasure for $20,000 up at Saratoga, and now he could not refrain from gloating. When asked what he thought of the turn of events, the senior Jolley grinned. Away from the television microphones, but loud enough for those around him to hear, he exclaimed, "First time they threw some speed at her, and the bitch comes unbuckled!" Reporters who thought they had heard everything were shocked. A great racehorse had just broken down. They didn't expect Moody to be gracious, but they didn't expect such ugliness either."

One of the most classless, insensitive quotes in the history of sports. But this was the way of the world in 1975. A woman dared not ply her trade in a man's world. It was unthinkable. Title IX was law, but it really hadn't taken hold the way we see it today. Billie Jean King beat Bobbie Riggs in a "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match, but that was dismissed as a joke.

The times they are a changin', right man? Maybe not as much as we think sometimes. Interestingly enough some of the pre-race drama centered around "the boys" and their handlers conspiring to keep "the girl" out of the race entirely. As if they were afraid of her. Now that's CHANGE.

And so, with the pre-race melodrama and the memories of Ruffian, Barbaro and Eight Belles as an unfortunate backdrop, Rachel Alexandra attempts to run her way into history.

My hope is she runs with the champions heart of Ruffian and the strength and determination of Secretariat. And that she finishes. On four healthy legs. VICTORIOUS.

As race fans, we can only bear to see records broken here, not our hearts. Not again.

Godspeed Rachel Alexandra. GODSPEED!!

RUFFIAN AT THE ACORN STAKES:


"She had done what no horse had ever done and was buried where no horse was ever buried. The great wings were folded about her and Pegasus flew no more" - Gene Smith

The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports

Truly one of the greatest sporting events takes place this Saturday with the 133rd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The Sport of Kings.

A generation of sports fans have missed the amazing beauty and pageantry of this event, maybe due to the proliferation of Off Track Betting and the lottery. My Dad and Grandfather used to go with my Uncle Charlie to Aqueduct racetrack in New York and I used to love reading the program and hearing the stories of the great horses they used to see up there, like the great Kelso and my favorite, the aesthetically perfect, Buckpasser.

It was fascinating to hear them discuss some of the strategies they used to decide on which horse to place their $2 bets. It's been called the "poor mans stock market" and certainly the challenge of wagering a few dollars is part of the charm, but if you appreciate the beauty and power of these great thoroughbreds, these great athletic animals, there's a lot more to love outside the allure of gambling.

The charm and pageantry of the event and the great pride that Kentuckians have in putting on this annual event is so evident when the horses are called to the gate, during the post parade, when the state song, "My Old Kentucky Home" is sung by the crowd, accompanied by the University of Louisville Band. If you don't at least get goose bumps, well, you just may not have what most human beings refer to as feelings.

The Kentucky Derby begins with the rendition of this song. I don't know if there is any sporting event that allows an entire state to display it's pride more than this one, you can feel it when this song is played.

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY - MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME

My Old Kentucky Home
Words and Music by: Stephen C. Foster

The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home
'Tis summer, the people are gay;
The corn top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom,
While the birds make music all the day;
The young folks roll on the little cabin floor,
All merry, all happy, and bright,
By'n by hard times comes a-knocking at the door,
Then my old Kentucky home, good night!

Chorus

Weep no more, my lady,
Oh weep no more today!
We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home,
For the old Kentucky home far away.

They hunt no more for the 'possum and the coon,
On meadow, the hill and the shore,
They sing no more by the glimmer of the moon,
On the bench by that old cabin door;
The day goes by like a shadow o'er the heart,
With sorrow where all was delight;
The time has come when the people have to part,
Then my old Kentucky home, good night!

Chorus

The head must bow and the back will have to bend,
Wherever the people may go;
A few more days and the trouble all will end
In the field where sugar-canes may grow;
A few more days for to tote the weary load,
No matter, 'twill never be light,
A few more days till we totter on the road,
Then my old Kentucky home, good night!

Chorus



If you've not witnessed this event in the past, I recommend it highly. It is on my list of events to witness live at least once before I die, a must see event.

Below I've added videos of a couple of past races that are high on my list of all-time favorite horse races:

1973 Kentucky Derby - Secretariat beats Sham (both set Derby records, Secretariat's
record still stands today)

1973 Belmont Stakes - Secretariat completes THE MOST AWESOME PERFORMANCE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN AN ATHLETIC EVENT. EVER!!! BY ANY ATHLETE. COMPLETE AND UTTER DOMINATION OF THE FIELD.

1978 Kentucky Derby - Affirmed and Alydar duel it out,as they would in the Preakness and again in a classic Belmont Stakes race.

1978 Belmont Stakes - Affirmed completes the last leg of the Triple Crown. Still the last horse to win it.

1975 Belmont Park - Ruffian vs. Foolish Pleasure: The Great Match Race
Have to include Ruffian in any discussion of great all-time horses. One of the greatest tragedies in sports history.


SECRETARIAT - 1973 KENTUCKY DERBY

SECRETARIAT - 1973 BELMONT STAKES

AFFIRMED - 1978 KENTUCKY DERBY

AFFIRMED 1978 BELMONT STAKES

RUFFIAN BREAKS DOWN - JULY 6,1975 BELMONT PARK

To this day, it's hard for me to watch this and not break down myself.

The buildup for this race was monumental. A filly racing a colt, Are you kidding me?
But Ruffian appeared to be taking an early lead as the tragedy unfolded.

From the book RUFFIAN: BURNING FROM THE START by Jane Schwartz

Ruffian was half a length in front and everyone was on their feet, screaming. The noise in the stands was deafening, but it reached the riders only a distant hum. What they heard was the thundering of hooves, the sharp and steady intake of breath, the ancient and unchanging rhythm of the running horse.

Then both riders heard something else. A quick, bright sound, like the snapping of a twig. Suddenly Foolish Pleasure was a length in front, then two-three-four!- and Dave Johnson was crying out into the microphone, his own voice tinged with disbelief: "Ruffian has broken down! Ruffian has broken down!"

Fifty thousand people stopped screaming. On the television broadcast, Chic Anderson had called out the same words, in the same stricken voice, to eighteen million more people sitting in homes all across the country. Stunned, they watched the nightmare unfolding on their screens.

Ruffian kept on running.
Jacinto knew instantly what had happened, he had heard the crack of bone, he tried to pull the filly up as quickly as possible but the filly was having none of it. She wanted to run. She was in the race of her life; she was pulling away from the colt and she couldn't understand the sudden pain, the way her balance shifted as she went from four legs to three. She did not want the other horse in front, she would not let this happen, she was determined to regain the lead. Let me run! she shrieked at Jacinto,as silent, as unmistakable as ever, her only demand, fighting the bit, clearer than words, Let me run! And Jacinto pulled with all his might, tears stinging the back of his eyes, desperate to hold her up because, at least, oh God, there was a chance if she did not go down! But she was so strong and so determined that she kept on running, and Jacinto had to beg her, beg her to stop, stop! Because if she kept on running on three legs she would go down on the track, and then he knew she would never get back up.
But the filly wouldn't stop. She ignored Vasquez, ignored the bit tearing at her mouth, ignored the pain. She went on running, pulverizing the sesamoids, ripping the skin of her fetlock as the bones burst through, driving open the wound into the stinging sand of the Belmont track, tearing her ligaments, until her hoof was flopping uselessly, bent up like the tip of a ski, as she pounded down the track on the exposed bone, running on and on-it seemed to Jacinto like forever-until finally he managed to pull the valiant, mutilated filly to a halt.


TRIBUTE TO RUFFIAN:

A beautiful tribute to a wonderful champion, Ruffian.

The greatest filly of alltime. Unbeaten in her ten starts up to the Match Race with Foolish Pleasure. Never anywhere other than the lead at any time in any of her races. She amazed race fans with her beauty and speed. In my mind, the filly equivalent of Secretariat. A brilliant champion.

And finally, a tribute to another streaking comet, who teased the imagination of horse racing fans that we might possibly witness another Triple Crown winner with his blistering run through the Kentucky Derby. Another sad tragic ending. But what a champion. Almost a sad, surreal blending of the stories of Secretariat and Ruffian.

BARBARO MEMORIAL VIDEO

Song: Iris
Artist: Goo Goo Dolls

For the 133rd running hopefully we will see nothing but the beauty and magnificence of these horses on display. With mint julep in hand, I like, in no particular order (come on, if I could do that, I wouldn't be writing a blog, I'd be cashing TRIFECTAS baby ):

Street Sense
Scat Daddy
Great Hunter

Godspeed Barbaro: NPR's Scott Simon's Tribute

You might find this final tribute to a champion a poignant eulogy, very eloquently stating why many of us DID place significant importance on the trials and triumphs this beautiful champion.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7146854

Then again, judging by some of the complaints I've heard of the coverage, a significant number of sports fans feel that too much is being made of and "too much being done for a mere horse".

If the media coverage of this sports tragedy is somewhat overdone, I think in part at least, it may be due to the fact that many sports reporters, at least the ones that are around my age, remember vividly the match race between Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure in 1976. That race resulted in Ruffian having to be put down after a night or two of hoping for a vetinary miracle that would save her. This was the famous "battle of the sexes" race between the best colt and the best filly of the day.

This was an era where women were just making there way into the workplace in significant numbers (imagine that). Billie Jean-King had just vanquished Bobbie Riggs in the tennis version of the "battle of the sexes" that seemed designed to send women back to their rightful place (the kitchen, I presume).

Ruffian not only was unbeaten, but at the time, had never been anywhere but in the lead at any significant, measured point in any of her races. A true champion and a true tragedy when she broke down. I'm not sure the popularity of horseracing as a spectator sport has ever recovered. As Scott Simon says about Barbaro "something precious burst in front of us". I agree, and we all hoped and prayed that the vets could work some sort of equine magic and put her back together, just as we hoped for the same for Babrbaro. Maybe the greatest victory Babrbaro can give us is that the advances and knowledge of what works and what doesn't work when these powerful yet fragile athletes do break down will ultimately save horses in the future.

As Simon says, "it's useless to complain about what makes us..fall in love" and beauty is in the eye of the beholder I suppose, but the essence of what makes us grieve in these cases is what makes all of us love sports in the first place and that is that "champions carry the hopes of others". We dream that someday, in some way we can all achieve the greatness of champions.

The paradox is that we know too well that "greatness walks hand in hand with grief...greatness by it's nature is ephemeral. Part of the experience of witnessing it is ultimately watching it come to an end. It's this fleeting nature that makes it so wonderful to find and so difficult to lose".

Part of the initial attraction of Barbaro is that he may have been the fastest racehorse since the great Secretariat. Secretariat's 31 length victory in the Belmont Stakes to secure the Triple Crown is truly one of the most jaw-droppingly awesome feats I have ever witnessed in sports in my lifetime, so when comparisons are made to him, it is bound to get those who witnessed Secretariat to hope that maybe, just maybe, we might witness a second coming of sorts and be lifted as high as Secretariat lifted us all with his performance.

A BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE AND A WORTHWHILE LISTEN!!! I agree with Mr. Simon that it seems impossible for any feeling person to watch this champion face his physical struggles with the same grace and grit and determination he displayed on the racetrack.
I feel for those who don't have that type of compassion in their heart. I wonder if they will ever experience the heights reached by true champions.