Dear Mr. Horse Racing

In a exclusive interview with The Brock Talk, Mr. Horse Racing discusses the highlights of 2010 and the prospects of the industry in 2011.

Dear Mr. Horse Racing: What was the best about 2010?

Mr. Horse Racing: Zenyatta was by far the star of the year, if not the star of the decade here in North America. Watching her streak grow to 19 undefeated wins was a great thrill and brought recognition to the sport from such influential media as Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine and 60 Minutes on CBS. Even in defeat, her Breeders’ Cup Classic loss to Blame is one of the greatest races of our generation.

I also think people underestimate the year Quality Road had. He began the year in a starting gate rehab program after his Jerry Springer/Maury Povich performance in which he tried to eat the Santa Anita starting gate and it’s crew before the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Quality Road returns to begin the year with three graded races and has the biggest image change since Tom Hanks left Bussom Buddies.

Dear Mr. Horse Racing: What were the biggest disappointments of 2010?

Mr. Horse Racing: Other than the obvious being Zenyatta’s defeat in the aforementioned Breeders’ Cup Classic, there were four big disappointments in 2010. The other notable disappointment was Rachel Alexandra suffering defeats at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, Churchill Downs, Saratoga and thus retiring before the Breeders’ Cup. Number two: We have now gone two years without a Kentucky Derby champion winning a race after the Run For The Roses. Neither Super Saver nor Mine That Bird managed an appearance in the winner’s circle after winning the Derby. Number Three: Zenyatta losing her final race. Some would make this the biggest disappointment of the year, but at least she made it to the big stage with the streak and notched her place in horse racing history among those that brought horse racing to the general public. Difficult to say that her ultimate star power was a disappointment. And finally, number Four: There was no race between Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra. We had two chances this year. Thanks to Oaklawn Park president Charles Cella and his offer to write a big check if both appeared in the grade 1 Apple Blossom, there was a chance in April. The other missed opportunity came when Zenyatta’s connections decided not to ship to Saratoga for the grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes in August. A decision that cost her a slam dunk as Horse of the Year.

Dear Mr. Horse Racing: Will we have a Triple Crown winner this year?

Mr. Horse Racing: Without hope and optimism, there is no horse racing. But I can say two things about the Triple Crown. We have a good group that will represent the class of 2011 including Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Uncle Mo, Boys of Toscanova and To Honor and Serve. There are also some 20 others that are on watch lists throughout the industry. From what I’ve heard talking to Santa Claus and others, there were a lot of owners and trainers that had injury-free on the Christmas, Hanaka, and Festivus lists this year.

Dear Mr. Horse Racing: We need another female jockey star in the sport. Any chances?

Mr. Horse Racing: First, let's recognize the progress women have made in recent years. Linda Rice won the training title at Saratoga in 2009 and was second to Todd Pletcher in 2010. Among the North America’s leading consignors at thoroughbred auctions are Murray Smith and Meg Levy. Women are becoming more prominent as owners as seen by Jenny Craig, Gretchen Jackson and Maggi Moss. Chantal Sutherland definitely has some star power as a jockey as does Inez Karlsson, a top ten rider at Arlington Park; and Rosemary B. Homeister, Jr., third in the jockey standings during the Churchill Downs winter meeting and a veteran making a courageous comeback after some personal challenges.

Dear Mr. Horse Racing: Will thoroughbred racing see a sharp decline in interest after the departure of Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra, Lookin At Lucky, Blame, Quality Road and the likes?

Mr. Horse Racing: Simply put – No. Horse racing had some the best stars in recent memory carry it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation’s history. Last year the Kentucky Derby had one of its biggest television ratings with Lookin at Lucky coming off a losing Spring campaign and Super Saver as a marginal favorite. Big crowds and large handles resulted in the New Jersey experiment at Monmouth Park and Churchill is now running on successful Friday night model still popular at Hollywood Park and many other tracks around the country. If the economy shows any hint of rebound, horse racing now has a base to benefit.

Dear Mr. Horse Racing: What were the worst decisions in 2010 that will have an impact on 2011?

Mr. Horse Racing: The decision of the Churchill Downs stewards not to scratch Life at Ten from the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic may have cost horse racing thousands of marginal fans. Jockey John Velasquez said on national television that he was not comfortable with the way she was warming up – an important pre-race note most likely missed by casual and novice racing fans. I hate to think of the number of sports book players waiting for their pre-empted college football game on ESPN, with open online wagering accounts, who bet on the favorite as a “why not wager”, only to see her break last and not run a jump. Say goodbye to a great number of those proflic gamblers.

I also have to say that retiring 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird was a blunder. He may not have won the 2011 Santa Anita Handicap or Jockey Club Gold Cup, but he is a Kentucky Derby winning gelding that could have created much excitement with a marginal career. I would have given him 30 days vacation in Roswell to relax and hone his flying saucer dodging skills then sent him to one of the most prolific horsemen in the Southwest over the last 40 years, Keith Asmussen in Laredo, for the winter. If the folks at the Asmussen Training Center, known for buying and producing millionaires from California to France, see a sparkle in Mine That Bird, then off to Ron McAnally in California. McAnally has a long history with the Asmussen operation and of course trained one of the greatest geldings of our generation in John Henry. McAnally also trains in Southern California where the new track at Santa Anita is natural dirt and not the synthetic nemesis Mine That Bird so disliked. If McAnally decides that the Santa Anita Handicap is not in the plans, then consider a tour of the nation in popular grade 3 races such as the Razorback in Arkansas, the Lone Star Park Handicap in Texas, the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker in Iowa, the Longacres Mile in Washington, or the Monmouth Cup in New Jersey. Fans in these regional markets would clammer to see a Kentucky Derby winner if marketed properly and if Mine That Bird has a spark left, McAnally and the Asmussens would find it.

Dear Santa

For sake of disclosure, please be aware that you are just being copied on this list. The original has long been sent for consideration to Santa at his North Pole address.


Dear Santa,

I hate to ask for much this year because you delivered so many items from my horse racing Christmas list last year. Zenyatta stayed in racing all year and remained undefeated going into the Breeders’ Cup Classic and gave us a race for the ages in defeat. Quality Road and Musket Man represented the Triple Crown class of ’09 well in the older horse ranks and you surprised us with Blame. We also appreciate how Lookin at Lucky rebounded after having so much bad luck early in the year. There’s so much more for which to say thanks for last year, but I know you’re busy this time of year, so I’ll get right to my list.

1. Triple Crown winner - I hate to keep bugging you Santa. I know I’ve been asking for this every year since we got Affirmed in 1978 and I know they are difficult. But I don’t really care who wins the Triple Crown – I just would really like another Triple Crown winner. I don’t care if it’s Uncle Mo, To Honor and Serve, Comma To The Top or some 2-year-old most of us don’t even know exists today. And it’s just not for me Santa. Think about how much a Triple Crown winner would mean to all of the fans in Maryland who have endured so many difficult times over the years during daily cards at Pimlico and Laurel. And the fans in New York, Santa. They have made the nice list so many times coming out on Belmont Day in droves looking for that next Triple Crown winner only to be betrayed by the likes of Coastal, Summing, Bet Twice, Easy Goer, Touch Gold, Victory Gallop, Lemon Drop Kid, Empire Maker and Birdstone – not to mention the flops by War Emblem and Big Brown.

2. Speaking of New York Santa, I also ask that you do what you can to help open New York Off Track Betting Again. I know that sounds a bit crass to ask this – especially for a company that has been so woefully mismanaged for so long, but it represents 1,000 employees of NYOTB that are probably having a pretty tough Christmas this year. They also handle about a billion dollars a year, that this economy and racing industry very much need to churn.

3. I know we won’t get another Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra, Quality Road or Summer Bird returning to the older horse ranks, but I’m sure you have another Blame in that sack of yours. Heck, this time last year Blame was coming off of two grade 2 stakes win at Churchill Downs and was looking in on the national spotlight shining on others. You have some tools to work with in Albertus Maximus, winner of the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and 2009 Donn Handicap, making a possible comeback. Last year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Haynesfield, Cigar Mile winner Jersey Town or the Bob Baffert-trained Alcindor, who has been turning heads in Southern California.

4. Hollywood Park Remain Open – I have to admit that I’ve already seen this present (at least as much as I can hope for.) Thanks Santa.

5. Success of New Santa Anita Surface – I know Santa, that I have been a proponent of artificial racing surfaces for sake of safety if nothing else. But I have to admit that I’m kind of excited about not having to solve the riddle of California 3-year-olds coming off of PolyTrack to try to win the Kentucky Derby. As you fly over Santa Anita, if you have a handful of marginal magical dust that you want to get rid of, feel free to sprinkle a little over the Great Race Place as you pass.

6. Slot Machines In Texas – Let me be clear Santa. I’m not asking for a five-time-pay hit on a on a dollar progressive slot machine if they get here in Texas. I’m just asking that you consider what it would mean a lot to see Lone Star Park regain its formidable place in racing with the potential to raise the bar toward original hopes for horse racing in Texas. Sam Houston Race Park has always shown promise and Retama Park has survived under the current dire economic racing climate in Texas.

7. Don’t let anybody in horse racing get busted with a foot fetish YouTube video unless they are a licensed farrier.

8. Three-Year-Old Filly Star – I know you have delivered on this the last two years in a very big way with Rachel Alexandra two years ago and Blind Luck and Evening Jewel this year. But horse racing always needs another female star and the Kentucky Oaks seems to be creating its own niche as a major event in the sport. Female stars bring more ladies and girls of all ages to the sport, and that is always good because women control a lot more than we men would like to admit. I’m sure Mrs. Claus would agree with me on this.

9. Keep jockey Calvin Borel from retirement – I’ve heard that there have been some ultimate cage fighting associations that are making a run at him.

10. And finally Santa, keep all of the jockeys, exercise riders, trainers, stable hands and of course the horses, safe throughout the year.

Sincerely,

Brock Sheridan

Young CashCall Has Rich History

Relative to many other grade 1 races in the country, the 29-year-old CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park Saturday is a relatively young event. After all, the Belmont Futurity is nearly 100 years older than the CashCall, having first been run in 1888. The CashCall, originally called the Hollywood Futurity, was first run in 1981.

Ten promising 2-year-olds have entered the 2010 CashCall Futurity at a 1-1/16 miles over Hollywood Park’s cushion track and the winner will likely join Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Uncle Mo, Remsen winner To Honor and Serve and host of others on the early part of the trail to the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands May 7.

They are also hoping to find themselves on the significant list of previous winners of the CashCall Futurity, the last grade 1 race of the year for 2-year-old colts and geldings.

Snow Chief was the first winner of this race to go on to Triple Crown prominence winning the 1986 Preakness after capturing the 1985 Hollywood Futurity. A.P. Indy was next, winning this race in 1981 before taking the Belmont Stakes the next year. Trainer Bob Baffert also would use a late season victories in the CashCall for future stars of the Triple Crown. Baffert won this race with Real Quiet in 1997, Point Given (photo above) in 2000 and Lookin at Lucky last year.

Real Quiet went on to win both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Point Given also won two legs of the Triple Crown winning the Preakness and Belmont, while Lookin at Lucky won the Preakness. Baffert also won the CashCall Futurity with future stars Captain Steve 1999 and Pioneerofthe Nile in 2008. Unfortunately Baffert will not have a chance to win three consecutive CashCall Futurities as he has no representatives this year.

Other popular winners of CashCall/Hollywood Futurity were Best Pal in 1990, Afternoon Deelites in 1994 and Brother Derek in 2005. So the list of future stars who have won this race is a long one indeed in just 29 years.

There may not be a Lookin at Lucky or a Point Given in this rendition of the CashCall Futurity, but remember, Real Quiet was far under the radar at this point in his career. Going into this race, Real Quiet had only a maiden victory to his credit from eight previous starts with third place finishes in the grade 3 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes and the $250,000 Indian Nations Futurity Cup at Sante Fe Downs making up his only stakes appearances.

Although Pioneerofthe Nile was the 7-5 favorite when he won his CashCall Futurity two years ago, he too had only a maiden victory to his credit and was coming off of a fifth-place finish as a 30-1 longshot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

There are three non-winners of two races in Saturday’s CashCall, and every one has some intrigue. Ronin Dax makes his first start on a cushion track after finishing a troubled fifth in the grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs in October. He also encountered some traffic problems in the grade 3 Summer Stakes on the Woodbine turf in September which also resulted in a fifth place.

Riveting Reason broke his maiden in his last race but finished third in both the Norfolk and Del Mar Futurity, both grade 1 races before running eighth in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill.

Industry Leader makes just his third start for trainer Kristin Mulhall and jockey Rafael Bejarano. After breaking his maiden he was second in the grade 3 Hollywood Prevue Stakes over the Hollywood track during the Oak Tree meeting.

On the other side, the CashCall Futurity this year also features three graded stakes winners led by J.P.’s Gusto with three graded wins on his ledger. Ridden by Joe Talamo and trained by David Hoffmans, the ridgling son of Successful Appeal, defeated Riveting Reason when second in the Norfolk and again while winning the Del Mar Futurity. J.P.’s Gusto also won the grade 2 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar and the Hollywood Juvenile (gr. 3) this summer.

One of the more interesting entries is Gourmet Dinner, who arrives at Hollywood Park from trainer Steve Standbridge’s base at Calder Race Course in Florida. It won’t be the first traveling experience for the team that also includes jockey Sebastien Madrid. Last month Gourmet Dinner took the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot (gr. 3) at odds of 20-1. Although it was third stakes win in the young career of Gourmet Dinner, the other two came in restricted Florida-bred stakes at six and seven furlongs in August.

Sure to get his share of betting support is Comma to the Top, a winner of four consecutive including the grade 3 Generous Stakes on the Hollywood Park turf in his last start. He also won the $100,000 Real Quiet Stakes by six lengths at Hollywood Park, so the synthetic cushion track should be of little concern for jockey Corey Nakatani and trainer Peter Miller.

There are no apparent standouts in the CashCall Futurity browsing through the past performances. But there are plenty of entrants with some potential. It won’t be until after the race Saturday until we know if the winner will be mentioned with Uncle Mo, Boys of Toscanova, To Honor and Serve or selected other impressive 2-year-olds being pointed to the Kentucky Derby next year. And it will be far later when we can grade this year’s winner along with some of the stars that have won this race in the past.

But the CashCall Futurity has established itself as producing such types and there’s a good chance it will again this year.

Derby Notice Served

Just as everyone became comfortable with Breeders’ Cup top two finishers Uncle Mo and Boys of Toscanova being the standouts from this 2-year-old crop, To Honor and Serve wins the grade 2 Remsen Stakes and is at least making room for himself on the Derby trail. While To Honor and Serves' the two-length margin of victory over runner-up Mucho Macho Man in the grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct Saturday may not have been eye-popping, the ease at which the son of Bernardini raced wire-to-wire and the 1:50.3 time has turned some heads. It was the fastest time for the 1-1/8 mile Remsen since Java Gold’s 1:49.60 in 1986 and was more than 2.80 seconds faster than Dixie City's grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes win a race earlier. Believe It set the Remsen Stakes record in 1977 with his time of 1:47.80.

There is also the tradition of the Remsen as a producer of Derby winners and runners among the top of the sophomore class. Although it has been since Go For Gin in 1994 and Thunder Gulch in 1995 since a Remsen winner also took the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands, Remsen winners also include 1992 Preakness (gr. 1) winner Pine Bluff, 2006 Haskell Invitational (gr. 1) winner Bluegrass Cat and 2007 Wood Memorial (gr. 1) winner Nobiz Like Shobiz more recently. Kentucky Derby winners Pleasant Colony (1980), Northern Dancer (1964), Carry Back (1960) and Johnstown (1938) also won the Remsen Stakes as 2-year-olds.

Trainer Bill Mott said after the Remsen that To Honor and Serve will be pointing toward the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs and will soon travel to the Hall of Fame trainer’s barn at the Palm Meadows training center in Florida for a Winter base.

Along with his victory in the grade 3 Nashua at Aqueduct, it is likely To Honor and Serve will be weighted within 10 pounds of the top weighted 2-year-old male in the 2010 Experimental Free Handicap, with the likely high weight being assigned to Uncle Mo. To Honor and Serve has a nice low dosage index of 2.38, so he is likely going to be a dual qualifier for those that take note of such things.

To Honor and Serve is regally bred, by young sire Bernardini, currently the second leading freshman sire in the country with more than $1.2 million in progeny earnings. Bernardini is by sire of sires A.P. Indy and as a runner, became the first horse since Damascus in 1967 to win the Preakness, Travers (gr. 1) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. 1) in the same year before finishing second to Invasor in the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

To Honor and Serve is equally classy on the bottom side of the pedigree with both first dam Pilfer, by Deputy Minister; and Misty Hour, by Miswaki, stakes winners. He also has plenty of Buckpasser, Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector throughout both the top and bottom lines of his family so distance does not appear to be a genetic challenge for To Honor and Serve. He has had promise from a very young age apparently as he sold for $250,000 at the 2008 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and then $575,000 as a Keeneland September yearling.

Be cautious that it remains very early to be touting the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner. After all, the 2010 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park remains as the final grade 1 race for 2-year-olds open to colts and geldings on the calendar.

But To Honor and Serve has certainly stepped up on the medal stands among his divisional leaders and looks to be the contenders when the Triple Crown trail resumes early next year.

Uncle Mo And His Derby Trail Momentum

More than a week after what many consider the best Breeders’ Cup in the 27-year history of the event, it’s final criteria for judgment is still more than five months away. The final question to be asked: Will Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Uncle Mo, go on to victory in the Kentucky Derby?

In the previous 26 editions for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, only one winner has gone on to take the Kentucky Derby. Street Sense became the only horse to win both races when he won the 2006 Juvenile and 2007 Kentucky Derby. Similar to Uncle Mo, Street Sense won his Juvenile at Churchill Downs by a record 10-length margin in 2006, almost doubling the record margin set by eventual Horse of the Year Favorite Trick who won the Juvenile by 5-1/2 lengths. Arazi in 1991 and Brocco two years later, both won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile by five lengths.

Uncle Mo won by only 4-1/2 lengths as the favorite over second choice Boys of Tosconova, who was a full six lengths ahead of third place finisher Roque Romance. So the final margin in the Juvenile is a bit misleading for Uncle Mo, who seemed to have an easy time winning that day.

And while Uncle Mo ran the second fastest Beyer Speed Figure in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at 108, his time of 1:42.60 was just above the middle of the pack as the tenth fastest of 24 Breeders’ Cup Juveniles run at the distance of 1-1/16th miles. (Three times the race has been run at a mile [1984-'85, '87]. Also, Capote covered 1-1/4 miles winning the 1986 Juvenile at Santa Anita and in 2002, Vindication had to cover 1-1/8 miles to win the Juvenile at Arlington Park.) Midshipman ran the fastest Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2008 over Santa Anita’s PolyTrack, covering the 1-1/16 miles in 1:40.94. Interestingly, ranking just above Uncle Mo is Street Sense, who ran over Churchill Downs as a juvenile just 1/100th of a second faster than Uncle Mo, winning in 1:59.66.

Although, Street Sense is the only winner of the Juvenile to come back and take the Derby next Spring, four other Juvenile starters have returned to take the Run for the Roses including Spend A Buck, third in the 1984 Juvenile, Alysheba (3rd, 1986) Sea Hero (7th, 1992) and Mine That Bird (13th, 2008).

Among the most popular and simple handicapping angles for those in search of a Kentucky Derby winner is the old “dual qualifier” angle. In order to be qualified, a horse must have been weighted within ten pounds of the high weighted 2-year-old in the Experimental Free Handicap and have a dosage index of 4.00 or less. Although the Experimental Free Handicap is not published until January, Uncle Mo is very likely to be named as the high weighted 2-year-old colt in 2010 by the panel of racing secretaries consisting of Ben Huffman of Churchill Downs, P.J. Campo of the New York Racing Association and Thomas S. Robbins of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

Developed by the late Daily Racing Form columnist and pedigree expert Leon Rasmussen, the system held up well until the late 1990s when Silver Charm won the Derby as a dual qualifier in 1997. Since then, only two dual qualifiers have won the Kentucky Derby including Super Saver last year and Street Sense in 2007. With the expected high ranking in the Experimental Free Handicap and a Dosage Index of 2.20, Uncle Mo has the credentials.

This week trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole said they have shipped Uncle Mo to Jimmy Crupi’s New Castle Farm in Ocala. Fla. for a month vacation with daily walks and some relaxing paddock time. Connections said Uncle Mo will return to training with Pletcher at the Palm Meadows training center around Dec. 1 and that his road to the Kentucky Derby is likely include two races. Because Repole is a New Yorker, the planned final Derby preparation for Uncle Mo is the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Race Track.

Since 1937, only 10 horses have won the Kentucky Derby with only two races as 3-year-old to prepare, but the list includes Street Sense, Big Brown, Mine That Bird and Super Saver, the winner’s of the last four.

Should Uncle Mo remain in the Pletcher barn and jockey John Velazquez keep the mount until the first Saturday in May, Uncle Mo will also share two other statistics with Street Sense. He will go to the post after being saddled by a one-time Derby winning trainer and a jockey looking for his first trip to the illustrious Derby winners’ circle. Street Sense was trained by Carl Nafzger, who had previously won the Derby with Unbridled in 1990 and was ridden by Kentucky Derby maiden jockey Calvin Borel. Pletcher won his first Kentucky Derby with Super Saver last year and Velazquez is still searching for his.

There are of course, many other questions and challenges Uncle Mo must overcome before he can realistically be expected to contend in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 – not the least of which is his sire Indian Charlie. Standing at Airdrie Farm in Kentucky for a healthy $70,000 per breeding, Indian Charlie has had little success at producing runners that can get the classic 10 furlong distance of the Derby. On the track, Indian Charlie won the 1998 Santa Anita Derby at 1-1/8 miles but was third in the 10 furlong Kentucky Derby behind Real Quiet.

As a sire, Indian Charlie had Conveyance on the Triple Crown trail last year under trainer Bob Baffert. Conveyance won the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park and San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita, both graded races at eight furlongs. Although Conveyance had plenty of speed to lead the 2010 Kentucky Derby field for nearly a mile, he slowed quickly in the final two furlongs and finished 15th. Among his current top performers, only the 4-year-old gelding Indian Dance and 4-year-old filly Moon Charmer are stakes winners further than 8 furlongs. Moon Charmer won the $50,000 Farer Belle Handicap at 8-1/2 furlongs and Indian Dance won the $62,000 Harry E. Johnson Memorial Stakes at 9 furlongs.

There is much that can happen in the 165 days between now and the Kentucky Derby. Soundness, health, maturity and racing luck will also be keys to the success of Uncle Mo next year and while they are high in importance, they are perhaps the least over which Pletcher has control.

But with the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in his pocket and a Champion 2-Year-Old Male Eclipse Award surely on the way, Uncle Mo has plenty of credentials to carry the spotlight into his sophomore year.

Friday Funnies

Just in case you are finding the Horse of the Year debate tiresome or aggravating or perhaps this week has not been the best for you at work. I thought I would bring you some laughs about horse racing that I have found on the ol' internet during the last week.

If you are not a tweeter yet, perhaps this will be the catalyst prompting you to give it a try. Twitter offers a feature called hashtags in which a topic is preceded by the "#" sign. For example the Breeders' Cup hashtag is #BC10. Every tweet that includes that hashtag is also available for reading by anybody on Twitter, regardless of whether you follow them or they follow you or not. There are hashtags for nearly every topic imaginable from #america to #Zodiac and everything in between.

One Twitter hashtag that caught my attention this week was #popsonghorses. Following are just a few of the hundreds of tweets over the last two days and still going.


@AndyScoggin: Secretariat Agent Man
@Andy Scoggin: Seabiscuit of Love
@markahorn: Me and Smarty Jones
@tencentcielo: Rock Hard Ten Me Amadeus
@skipaway2000: The Lion Heart Sleeps Tonight
@adyady14: Denman in the Mirror
@markahorn: I've been searching for a heart of Goldikova
@youhet: The Theme From Mineshaft
@skipaway2000: Pour Some Shergar On Me
@AndyScoggin: Grindstone Cowboy
@superfecta: All That Jazil
@TheBrockTalk: Brick Housebuster
@superfecta: Danzig Queen
@BklynBckstretch: Seattle Smooth Operator
@markahorn: It's raining Menifee
@davismedpr: Behkabad Company
@liamdelaney1: Sound Of Sunday Silence

The other horse racing funny that caught my eye this week is a YouTube remake of a satirical dubbing of a Adolph Hitler movie last year following a NFL Dallas Cowboy game. The video has been adopted to satire Zenyatta losing the Breeders' Cup.

Life At Ten, Players, Fans Deserve Respect From Breeders' Cup and Kentucky Officials

The setting is just before the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic last Friday. While conducting an interview with ESPN’s Jerry Bailey while warming up second favorite Life At Ten, jockey John Velazquez told Bailey and a national television audience that she was not warming up well. According to ESPN and The Paulick Report, ESPN producer Amy Zimmerman contacted the Churchill Downs stewards by telephone before the race and notified them of the troubling conversation between Velazquez and Bailey. But no action was taken before the race by the stewards or Kentucky Horse Racing Commission veterinarian Dr. Bryce Peckham to follow-up on the information from ESPN regarding the physical condition of the Life At Ten.

Life at Ten, normally a filly who likes to race to the lead, broke last, was never competitive in the least and was eventually eased to the wire by Velazquez. It can be argued the 5-year-old mare’s safety was compromised. There is no doubt that those who wagered on Life At Ten were not represented properly and lost money when they should not have. And that is saying it nicely.

In an explanation published by The Paulick Report, KHRC spokesman Dick Brown explained the matter by by saying there was no consideration given to scratch Life at Ten as there was “no dialogue with the track veterinarians or the stewards from the outrider, Velasquez or Pletcher indicating a problem with the horse that would have led to her possibly being scratched.”

Wednesday, chief state steward John Veitch told the Louisville Courier-Journal’s Jennie Rees that it was unfortunate, but “there's nothing we can do for [the bettors].” In a prepared statement, the KHRC said “The KHRC takes seriously the safety of horses and jockeys – before, during and after each race. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission firmly believes its veterinarians and racing stewards acted properly in all instances regarding this race.” They did not mention of how seriously they take the interests of the wagering public or the fans.

The KHRC also said in that prepared statement, “From the time Life at Ten was brought to the paddock, saddled, led to the track for the post parade, warmed up and loaded into the starting gate, neither trainer Todd Pletcher nor jockey Johnny Velasquez voiced any concerns they may have had regarding Life at Ten to any racing officials, veterinarians or the outriders prior to the running of the Ladies Classic.”

Despite the fact that neither Pletcher from his location in the grandstand far from Life at Ten, nor Velazquez aboard her, formerly requested the state veterinarian to examine Life At Ten before the race, seems inconsequential and sophomoric as a explanation. It is sure to be helpful to the official veterinarians to have a questionable horse brought to their attention, but by no means should they pass the blame on the person who's job it is to ride the horse - not diagnose it.

Veitch, a former trainer now in the Hall of Fame, the two other stewards, the KHRC and the state veterinarian are attempting to explain this away by saying they didn’t know about her condition because the communication with ESPN was not part of racetrack protocol.

Equally ludicrous is the explanation of veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage that Life At Ten was simply not acting well before the race, creating a gray area that made it difficult for the state veterinarian to make a diagnosis sufficient for recommending a scratch. Bramlage represents the American Association of Equine Practitioners on many national horse racing telecasts explaining to viewers the implications and complications of equine injuries that may occur while on the air and is a prominent equine surgeon in Kentucky.

A former race track and current equine veterinarian told The Brock Talk that Life At Ten was in distress galloping out of the post parade and was cramping to point of causing apparent lameness. Anybody who has had cramps whether from athletic exertion, late night ziti or anything in between knows effortless running is often not an option. That condition changed little before Life At Ten got to the starting gate and should have been recognized by Dr. Bryce as lameness with no need to diagnose the cause as tying up.

To add insult to this situation is the possible prohibition of pre-race, on-track interviews of jockeys by television. Telling the Courier-Journal that “From the time a horse leaves the paddock until the time he starts, nobody (other than officials) should have communication with that jockey one way or the other,” Veitch also said that jockeys should not be distracted. Not only is that insulting the intelligence of jockeys, but archaic in a sports media world where NASCAR drivers and NFL football players wear live microphones into and throughout live competition.

It also tells me that Veitch and the stewards received information from ESPN that they could not process properly and their solution is to stop the information. In the future, if they don’t know about potential problems in a horse race, they can’t be held accountable. It seems unlikely however, that this solution will have any benefit to the horse, the horse player or the fan.

Until the Churchill Downs stewards and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission figure that much out, they are far from correcting the embarrassment that was Life At Ten in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic.