Racing's Miss America

You know you're having a good run when Ray Kerrison of the the NY Post calls you "racing's Miss America" and you've got a photo spread in the August issue of Vogue and Entertainment Weekly is blogging about you.

This morning there were a few colts with bruised egos thanks to an incredible filly. As Joe Drape pointed out, she didn't so much compete with the boys as allow them on the track with her. (His full piece is here.) I've watched the race replays a few more times and am still a bit in awe of the move she made coming into the stretch. After running the entire race three wide, it was as if she just decided she'd given the rest of the field enough of her time and was going to move on. She was toying with them like a cat toys with a mouse before he goes in for the kill. Her jockey Calvin Borel said he gave her a few taps to keep her attention, it seems she liked the crowd who was vigorously cheering her on. As Barry Fitzgerald's character says in The Quiet Man (after seeing the broken bed in the John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara's room and leaping to the wrong conclusion)...Homeric.

Rachel has her choice of future dance cards, or race cards, as the case may be. Her condition and how she feels in the coming days will of course dictate what's next, but it's looking more and more like The Woodward on September 5 at Saratoga. Even though the race is typically for older males, it has been won by no less than three-year old like Easy Goer and Holy Bull. Four-year-old Curlin won it last year. When you've been much the best in meetings with your own age group, you have to start casting the net a little wider for competition. I'm solidly in the Woodward camp, it would seem to be the most likely scenario. But Jess Jackson likes to surprise us, so stay tuned.

As if her Haskell victory wasn't enough, the win completed a splendid trifecta for trainer Steve Asmussen. He won the $750,000 West Virginia Derby on Saturday with 23-1 longshot Soul Warrior and the $500,000 Jim Dandy at Saratoga with Kensei (also co-owned by Jess Jackson and Stonestreet Stables and the likely entrant into The Travers if Rachel is pointed toward The Woodward.) Kensei is quite talented in his own right and seems a more likely fit for a Travers entry. Time will tell, but it's awfully good fun to speculate!

A fun Rachel & Calvin photo gallery from yesterday's Haskell triumph on Bloodhorse.com is HERE, and Entertainment Weekly writer Michael Slezak's full post is HERE.

Rachel settles in at The Spa

(ABOVE: A couple more photos from Belmont on Saturday. Calvin Borel up on one of his other mounts, Z Fortune, a lovely gray, as they head from the paddock to the track. Other photo is of Sam the bugler as he heads out to sound the call to the post for Rachel's big race.)

So a little to catch up on from the weekend. Like people who head upstate for cooler climes, Rachel Alexandra has decided to summer at The Spa. According to the article on Bloodhorse.com, she's in Curlin's old stall and is happily ensconced among Steve Asmussen's other horses at Saratoga. She deserves nice cool morning workouts after all she's done this season so up North is the place for her to be. If you didn't see her triumph in The Mother Goose Stakes (G1)...watch this.

While there's a lot of speculation on what her next race will be, it seems her connections are really focused on making sure she's a happy and healthy horse. Cheers to Mr. Jackson and all the co-owners for their genuine care about her welfare. We've seen that this is not always the case in horse racing, sadly, making it more impressive when the connections do things right.

As a small aside, if you've never been to Belmont or any of the NY tracks to hear Tom Durkin call the races live, he alone is worth the trip. You've no doubt heard him do the Kentucky Derby or any of the Triple Crown races, but even on a regular stakes day he is great to listen to. The guy loves horses, loves bettors and really gets into the races. He also has a great sense of humor. He was equally as excited as the other nearly 14,000 in attendance at Belmont on Saturday when Rachel romped to victory. He's a classic and I love hearing his voice come over the Tannoy at the racetrack.

Now all the way on the other side of the country, Zenyatta had her own big day, winning The Vanity Handicap (G1) for the second year in a row. Again, if you haven't seen her win...watch here.

And because it was all about the girls on Saturday, this post wouldn't be complete without some footage of the great Ruffian, from the Mother Goose Stakes in 1975. Interestingly, it was then held at Aqueduct not Belmont. Notice how Ann's Commander, the 7 horse, shakes her jockey almost immediately after exiting the gate. So scary...but the outrider does a courageous job of steering the horse away from the rest of the field. The move that Ruffian makes as she rounds the turn into the homestretch is gorgeous. She's pretty well with the pack for a good portion of the race, but once she hits that straightaway, she's gone. A great victory for one of the great racehorses--male or female.

One other small update from the weekend, Mine That Bird had a nice half-mile breeze at Churchill Downs this morning. With Calvin Borel up for the breeze it seems that MTB is pointed toward the West Virginia Derby (G2) on August 1. I was never really on the MTB bandwagon, but I think Calvin Borel deserves much success, so I'm happy to see he and the little gelding getting on so well together.

Big racing across the pond, too. The Irish Derby (sponsored somewhat oddly, I thought, by Dubai Duty Free) was one by Fame and Glory, and in style, too. His main rival, winner of the English Derby, Sea the Stars scratched from the race thus giving F&G a slightly easier go. He did face some competition from Golden Sword, but Fame and Glory garnered more of both, fame and glory. There seems to be a much more festive atmosphere at the meetings in the UK and Ireland than at US tracks. I'm not sure what that means attendance wise, but it looks like these race meetings are really festivals and fetes as much as horse races. Something here for US racing to learn from?

Take me out to the racetrack...

There's been a lot of talk (maybe too much talk as Bono would say) the last few days about many aspects of the horse racing industry. I'm educating myself as I go here, trying to see all sides and understand why the opponents oppose, etc.

As I've said, I'm not ever going to be the one going to a racetrack to play video poker, or the slot machines. I'm there for the horses, the people, the characters, the atmosphere. I do, however, understand the need to add slot machines or other gaming devices to help make tracks more profitable. The "Racino" as I've seen these called isn't an inherently bad idea. I'm not a prude when it comes to wagering, obviously, and I regularly wager with my boyfriend on just about anything, so clearly I'm not the choir that the anti-slot/Racino lot is preaching to. It seems in many states, Minnesota and Kentucky are the ones I've read most about, it is a partisan issue as opposed to an economic issue. I've got to dig a little deeper to see what the horse industry brings in cash flow-wise, but at some point don't you want to keep this industry and it's workers employed? Don't you want to keep breeders breeding, trainers training, etc? How is this not just as important as keeping studios or other industries in your state? There are seemingly endless tax incentives for other industries (coal, tobacco, film, big-pharma) to stay afloat in their states, why is it different for the horse and racing industry?

Certainly part of the issue is that America has changed and going to the races isn't a part of many people's lives. Where I grew up there were no racetracks to visit, in fact, my first actual race was at a harness track in Montreal (by the way, I won enough on my wagers to buy an adorable stuffed squirrel that I still have...) when I was about 9 years old. Granted, I'd already been utterly infected by horses at that point, but still to be at the racetrack and watch it all happen was wonderful.

I didn't attend any horse races again until I was in my early thirties. I'd just moved to New York City and my boyfriend had scored tickets to the Belmont Stakes. We arrived at Belmont Park and it was magic. Even with the sea of people and the less than perfect weather, it was a great day. After that I often took the Belmont Special out to Jamaica and frequented Suffolk Downs in Boston. Racing had become part of my life again.

It amazed me the first time I went to Belmont Park on a slow day with no big stakes races to see how few people were there. Sure, it was nice not to have a line for the restroom, but it was a rude awakening. How then, to get more people out to the races?

I wish I knew. I think exciting horses and compelling stories like Mine That Bird or Rachel Alexandra certainly help. It's human nature to cheer for underdogs and those who have humble roots like our own, perhaps. We need and want heroes and distractions, as I've said before. I'm not a marketing guru (obviously) but I have to think that there are viable ways to get people out to the track, and I'm hoping I'll see a good crowd out at Belmont on Saturday. The NYRA has stepped up their marketing for the (G1) Mother Goose Stakes and we'll see if it pays off. And night racing at Churchill Downs had a successful first effort, so maybe that's a good option.

I'd welcome comments or a guest blogger to share their thoughts, too, as to how we can make horse racing more viable and more vital in the US. Or if you are one of the opponents of "Racinos" drop me a line and we can have a point/counterpoint discussion. I think good things can come from any productive discussions and ideas cost nothing, right?

In the meantime, I'm headed to NYRA's website to look at the undercard races for Saturday so I can start to plan my little wagers. (And I do mean little...)

Watch here for Rachel's arrival at Big Sandy...

And here for a transcript of Thursday's press conference with Jess Jackson and Calvin Borel. (Is there a better grin anywhere than that of Calvin Borel??? I think not!)