BarbaraAnne Helberg's Blog

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Four and one-third winners from eight races. No, I didn't bet. Not my thing. I project winners from the racing program information just for the fun of it and have a fine time. Reporting my "expertise" is the second half of the fun. 2008 represented my 2nd (of a targeted annual) Fulton County Fair Labor Day at the harness races to be followed by a blog report (and factual article reports).

How did I pick four and one-third winners? Well, I got winners in Race Two, Race Five, Race Six and Race Seven; in Race One I called a dead-heat between TimJon and Oh My Sam and they obliged me by finishing first (TimJon) and third (Oh My Sam). So I gave myself a one-third point for that "almost" pick.

There were exciting, close races, runaway races, and come-from-behind races. A nice variety for any fan. Two runaways, Taco Chip (Race Two) and Snow Storm Sam (Race Five) and 14-year-old Presidential Pride (Race Six) got the most cheers for their exhilarating efforts.

If you go to the local harness race tracks without much knowledge, a complete program can help a lot in picking potential victors. Pay attention to

• pedigrees -- does a named sire have multiple entrants on the day's card?
• racing records -- does an entrant have nearly one win for every three, or four starts?
• highest career earnings figures -- meaning an entrant has won against best competitors in distinguished races with the largest purses

Follow your first choices. Trust that instinct after considering the above facts. Good luck! Have fun!

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Co-owner and trainer of harness racing's best pacer, Somebeachsomewhere, Brent Mcgrath says his boy won't compete in the Little Brown Jug, and 2007 Thoroughbred of the Year Curlin's connections say their prize runner isn't on a schedule that would include starting in his second straight Breeders' Cup.

Pacing's premier race, the Jug, is scheduled for September 18. Come on, Brent! The fans want it! Somebeachsomewhere is fit and ready!

Mcgrath's beef is that Somebeachsomewhere may have to win preliminary elimination heats to qualify for the same-day Jug final. Delaware, Ohio bettors have favored Somebeachsomewhere 3-1 in the first future wagering pool.

What Thoroughbred racing fan doesn't want to see Curlin, the four-year-old star, captor of this season's Dubai World Cup Classic and last year's Breeders' Cup Classic champ, hook up with three-year-old phenom Big Brown? And when has Curlin's owner, Jess Jackson, ever run from a fight? Big Brown's trainer, Richard Dutrow, Jr., has called for a matchup.

Hook'em up, gentlemen!

In Delaware, Badlands Nitro, who paced second to Somebeachsomewhere in the Pepsi North America Cup in June, has been given next best voting status. His odds stand at 7-1.

After Big Brown's failure in the Belmont Stakes, which robbed him of the 12th Triple Crown in history, but subsequent hard-fought victory in the Haskell Invitational, the game was on for a match race, so to speak, with the mighty Curlin.

What a shame if the best of the best don't race in the best of the available competitions.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Somebeachsomewhere not to race as a four-year-old?

Ridiculous!

Thoroughbred Big Brown and Standardbred Somebeachsomewhere, both unbeatens throughout the spring of their three-year-old seasons, proved vulnerable in June (BB's failed Belmont Stakes) and July (Somebeachsomewhere's upset in the Meadowlands Pace).

If the Triple Crown loss didn't devalue BB's future -- he since has won the Haskell Invitational -- Somebeachsomewhere's defeat shouldn't lessen his future prospects either. Both horses should make great stallions and contribute mightily to their respective bloodlines.

So let the big boys run while they can.

Somebeachsomewhere has years to go as a pacer. Let him glow into that twilight of greatness reserved only for the special ones! There's lots of time for him to pass on those talented genes!

Rumors of retiring the once-defeated pacer before he even gets to the pacing Triple Crown series are sad. Let the little fans have more than a moment, or two to enjoy the big boys. Pacers and trotters have much longer expectancies on the track than do runners.

Big Brown has already been scheduled for stud service at Three Chimneys Farm following his final three-year-old race, probably the Breeders' Cup Class in October. Somehow, it doesn't seem like enough to expect to visit the champ somewhere on shed row someday.

Nor to see Somebeachsomewhere roaming a pasture instead of blitzing for the wire in competition.

These two fellows are prime time. Let them continue to do what they have been primed for -- to race!

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Okay, there's more. We're not done. As the Belmont Stakes begins, favorite and Triple Crown hopeful Big Brown slips, veers right into Guadalcanal, gets stepped on, and suffers a startling moment of confusion.

Perhaps it's time to go to a stream of conscious report from Big Brown himself:

BIG BROWN: (crashing from the Belmont Stakes gate) "Hey, Kent! Get me over...I don't want the rail! Oh, I'm slipping...my back feet are stuck...there, okay.

"Hey, Guad (Guadalcanal)...Look out...Get over, Guad! Kent! You falling off up there, or what? Guad, move it! Ouch! Get off my feet!"

(Shaking his head left) "Now looky what you did, Guad! My shoe's loose! It's only the first turn, and my shoe is loose! You stepped on it, Guad!"

(Shaking his head right) "Can you help me with this, Kent!? Kent! Oh, this is useless; we can't talk while (shaking his head backward) I'm running!

"I'll have to slow down -- that shoe hurts -- now it's okay...let's move outside, Kent.

"Ouch! It's off again...Geez! Okay...daylight...yeah, we're through...backstretch coming.

"Kent! Let's just get my spot...before this silly shoe slips again...Ouch! There it went...

"Nuts, I'm tired...backstretch...I'm pooped...this shoe! Third...ouch! I'm third...the reins are moving...fourth...Kent! Kent...

"No gas...I'm out...the triple. This shoe! Sorry, Kent...I'm out."

(Trailing off to the right, shaking his head) "Are they booing us? Kent?"

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

As a teenager, I was a huge Detroit Tiger fan, and in particular, an Al Kaline nut, in the 1950s and 1960s. Year after year, until the old format of just two full leagues was replaced by division playoffs, the Tigers chased the New York Yankees for a pennant.

The division decisions spread things out in the 1970s, when it became the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics doing battle for a division title, while Detroit played second fiddle, and the Yankees split and languished elsewhere, in the expanded version of diamond warfare.

There was no rightfielder like the young Kaline, who joined the Tigers from high school in 1953. He had an immediate impact on the Detroit scene, playing in 136 games and getting 504 at bats the next season. His bat sung heroics and his glove was golden year after year.

Off the field, he was a giant, too. He was a straight shooter, as they said in those days. Not a womanizer, not a drinker, not a showboat. Just a good kid who emerged into an icon playing a game he loved and, amazingly, he always said shyly, making a living at it.

That was Al, my first big time sports hero.

Wow, was I happy in 1968 when Al got to the World Series! Every player of great stature wants to play in the fall classic, and every kid wants to see his/her favorite player in it. Not only did Al get there, he had a major contribution in game five that spurred the Tigers on to the world title after they had trailed the powerful St. Louis Cardinals three games to one.

It was heaven, for a day, and more. Thanks, Mr. Tiger!

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Okay, now we have evidence, let's try this one more time. Big Brown lost the Triple Crown. He ran badly. Why? First reported in The Blood-Horse magazine in a statement from owner Michael Iavarone, BB came back from the race with a loose shoe described as "no issue" on his left hind. (June 14, pg. 3025 -- "Big Brown, Connections Regroup After Mystifying Performance".)

Photographic evidence now shows a significantly loose right hind shoe (June 21, pg. 3160 -- Dispatches, "Dutrow, Desormeaux Mend Fences).

Gary Stevens, retired top jockey, now TV analyst, says: "It had to be uncomfortable. It's pretty significant..."

D.Wayne Lukas, top active trainer, says: "Good horses can win without a hind shoe, let alone a loose nail."

I gotta go with Gary. Gee, D.Wayne, did you see the picture in Blood-Horse? How could a horse run well with a shoe hanging as badly as that?! It wasn't a case of a loose nail, or a shoe thrown off altogether.

"To win the Triple Crown, everything has to line up absolutely perfect. The weather, the horse's condition, the track conditions, everything has to be just absolutely perfect." -- USA Today newspaper, June 6, 2008, quoting John Veitch, trainer of Alydar, who chased Affirmed in all three classics to second place.

The horse's shoes...very much part of "everything". And how ironic to have a hind shoe go wrong after all the attention paid to his front two.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

In the Nick Zito barn, the controversy is also discussed: Fierce Wind: (fiercely) "Hey, kid! Da'! You didn't do nothing!" Da' Tara: (winner of the Belmont Stakes) "Wh-What? Sir?" Fierce Wind: (laughing) "Yeah, that's right! Didn't you hear? Big Brown had a loose shoe in the Belmont." Cool Coal Man: "Yeah, I read that." Anak Nakal: "Oh, dear." War Pass: "What are you talking about, Windy?" Fierce Wind: (haughtily "Hey, Your Highness --" War Pass: "Knock that off! What's this about a loose shoe?" Fierce Wind: "Okay. Yeah. Hey, don't you watch ESPN? It's all over the networks and the media!" War Pass: "What?! Did you see it, Nakie?" Anak Nakal: "No, Your Highness." War Pass: "Stop it!" Fierce Wind: "Brown had a loose shoe, Pass." Stevil: "Yep. From the beginning of the race, the photo says." Da' Tara: (eyes bugging) "Darn!" War Pass: "It's okay, kid. You still won the race. It's history." Fierce Wind: "Ongoing history." War Pass: "Are you certain of this, Windy?" Fierce Wind: "Were you listening? There's a photo. The loose shoe is plain as day." Stevil: "Now no one knows if Big Brown could have won if that shoe hadn't come loose." Da' Tara: (hanging his head) "Does this mean my Belmont win will have an asterisk beside it in the record books?"

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Let it go about Richard Dutrow, Jr. and Big Brown. Have a little more Bob Baffert-like sense of humor. You know Baffert, the guy with oodles of major winners, including two Dubai Classic champs, who can't get into the Hall of Fame because he talks too much and trained the wrong types of horses?

Sports Illustrated wonders "What Happened to Big Brown"? What happened is he's a horse, of course, not a programmed robot. How many times do you hear a jockey say about a particular mount, "It wasn't his/her day"?

Well...Da'. The Belmont Stakes wasn't BB's day. After overcoming hoof problems and having no real training since the Preakness, BB immaturely fought his jockey to just...go.

What if Dutrow had been willing to let the eager BB go? Bet BB would've eaten his competition alive, Secretariat-like. That Belmont strategy wasn't logical to anyone. Except BB. Let me go, people!

Had that been the case, critics would be singing BB's praises. Rather than (now) calling him "less than ordinary", they would be saying he's so talented he defies logic.

BB rated in the Derby, and especially hard in the Preakness, then still stole the shows with a brilliant turn of foot when asked. Too eager to cut loose in the Belmont, he ran rank. His first clunker.

If BB were to continue racing and maturing, the only horse in training out there right now who could beat him is Curlin.

Less than ordinary. Like Whirlaway.

Oh...BB had a very loose shoe on his right hind in the Belmont. Da'.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Just a shallow thought from a disappointed, bleeding mind -- Did Big Brown have a Secretariat-like Belmont in him if the game plan from the get-go from trainer Richard Dutrow, Jr. had been to give BB his head if there was no early killer pace (there wasn't)?

Hindsight, of course. Wishful thinking. Boo-hoo after thought.

Certainly not the usual way to approach the Belmont Stakes' grueling "test of a champion" 1-1/2 miles. But wouldn't it have been awesome if it had worked? BB by 20 lengths!

The Belmont is generally considered in the hands of the jockey -- remember Ron Turcotte (on Secretariat) saying, (the horse) "...did it himself" -- to rate his horse through the early going and wait for a last burst after his mount has passed through the final sweeping turn. Three-year-olds don't run 1-1/2 miles before the Belmont Stakes, nor seldom do they see the distance again.

Inexplicably, BB wouldn't rate in the Belmont. He shook his head at Kent Desormeaux the first several furlongs, but Desormeaux got him to a good spot despite the antics. However, when KD wanted to plug in, BB's circuitry was dead.

Big Brown's exercise rider, Michelle Nevin, told us all week how BB did things his way. It was no secret that BB's best had been saved in the Preakness. So, if Dutrow, who was so sure of a Belmont victory, had let him run like a loose freight train to prove his point...?

Ah...well. Interesting speculation. A BB-Curlin matchup in the fall Breeders' Cup Classic? (Curlin, the older and wiser, since you asked.)

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

War Pass: (high-hoofing his stablemates) "Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Let's hear it for Da' Tara, son of Tiznow!" Cool Coal Man: (stomping his hooves) "Big Brown who!?" War Pass: "Gang, focus is everything. You gotta have heart, of course, but focus will always carry you through when your heart fails you." Anak Nakal: "That was great, Da'! I had focus, too, Your Highness!" War Pass: "Nakie, knock that off!" Anak Nakal: (gazing downward) "I still think of her, though." Da' Tara: "Eight Belles?" Cool Coal Man: (rolling his eyes) "Who else?" Da' Tara: "Gosh, were you two in love?" Anak Nakal: (looking soulfully at Da' Tara) "The whole world loved Eight Belles." Da' Tara: "Emmm. Yeah...I'm sorry, Nakie." Anak Nakal: "It's okay, Da'. Stuff happens...every day." Cool Coal Man: "Hey, Da'. How does it feel to win your first stakes?" Da' Tara: (grinning) "It's like a whole different world." Cool Coal Man: "Yeah. Call your dad yet?" Da' Tara: "Yeah. He was really excited. But some days it's really great for yourself, isn't it?" War Pass: "Yes, it is, kid. Good job today, Nakie. You're doing fine. Hey, kid, even so, you looked like a chip off the ol' block out there. If you make the Breeders' Cup roster, don't forget your ol' man was a two-time champion there." Da' Tara: (giving a laughing snort) "We don't get much chance to forget that, do we?" War Pass: "Only game in town, kid."

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Riding Thoroughbreds is Kent Desormeaux's career choice, and the Hall of Fame jockey became a lifetime vision for his son, who is losing his sight, when he made the decision to ease his failed mount, Big Brown, in the Belmont Stakes as the touted horse fell short of a Triple Crown title.

Nine-year-old Jacob glowed in the stands, waiting for pop to bring home a Triple Crown winner. He couldn't see well, for, born deaf as well, he suffers from the genetic disorder Usher syndrome, which is slowly robbing him of his sight.

Jacob's dad wanted to give his son a vision he could hold forever, even after his son's failing sight finally slips away altogether.

Easing up his mount had to be, in Desormeaux's career field, about the toughest blow he's had to take. Desormeaux was a dead cert on Big Brown to win the twelfth ever Thoroughbred Triple Crown. The beginning of the race was riddled with difficulty for the jockey and his favored mount. The experienced Desormeaux patiently piloted the unusually rank Big Brown through that and found a good spot from which to still launch a winning drive.

But Big Brown had nothing when asked to surge. Within seconds, Desormeaux made the huge choice to "take care of my horse" by easing him in the failed effort, rather than pushing him unconscionably to the brink of injury.

Celebrate Kent Desormeaux. He gave his son that vision, the vision of a man doing the right thing in the midst of heart-rending career circumstances.

Pans for those fans who booed Big Brown when he came home last. You all missed the whole bleeping point!

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Push button horses? Guess we can put that to rest now. It was said of Smarty Jones and of Big Brown, "He'll do anything we want him to." Uh-huh. Except rate in the Belmont Stakes. We loved Smarty. We loved Big Brown. But neither rated in the Belmont.

There was nothing physically amiss with Big Brown on Belmont day when he went to the post to make good on Dutrow's guarantee of a Triple Crown title. His pre-race demeanor was excellent. He had been frisky earlier in the day, and had shown progressive eagerness to return to the races.

But he broke from the No.1 gate slipping, veering right, got steered back to the rail temporarily, then about when he wanted to gear up a bit, the pacesetters backed up a tad, and there was Big Brown behind them, rail to the left, horses to the right, no where to go, shaking his head at the whole show.

Kent Desormeaux skillfully got him out of there, but by the time he accomplished that, Big Brown was mentally out of it. He'd already been thwarted from his rhythm. He showed the world who Big Brown is -- his own...well, horse.

Back at the barn, he walked regally, as though he had just won it all, and I think he did. He even purposefully posed for the camera with head high and ears pricked. Dutrow could only stare at him, his own back to the cameras, stunned, unable to speak to the media.

This wouldn't be the first time we've seen a horse run the race he wanted to run.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Recently, I read a letter-to-the editor entry commenting on the fact that Eight Belles, who tragically broke down in the Kentucky Derby and was immediately euthanized, should not be forgotten. The letter was critical of a Thoroughbred racing story (which I also had read) because the story's closing remarks indicated a Triple Crown championship by Big Brown, something the industry craves even more now than it has over the last 30 years, would help erase the memory of the breakdown and would help elevate the sport of horse racing.

I agree wholeheartedly with the letter writer. The story's ending paragraph was hugely off the mark, even tasteless, in the wake of a horrific accident. There was nothing proven wrong with the filly before the Kentucky Derby took place. It was a gut-wrenching, inexplicable happening for all involved, and for the average horse racing fan.

Would a Big Brown Triple Crown be exciting and a shot in the arm for the Thoroughbred game? Absolutely! Should it erase the memory of Eight Belles? Unequivically, no! It's the memory of her, and that of Barbaro, and others, burning brightly, that drives the quest for cures and corrections of care and safety for these equine athletes.

Would a Big Brown Triple Crown elevate the sport past something painful and forgettable? I don't see how. And it shouldn't. We shouldn't aim to elevate past a tragedy. We should aim to address its causes and cures as much as possible. In any circumstance, there is room for improvement.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

To not vote for Curlin for 2007 Horse of the Year based on undesireable things his trainer, owner, or breeder might have done is way off the mark! It was't Asmussen, or Jackson running around those tracks thrashing the competition. It was Curlin.

What did Curlin do in 2007?

He became a champion before our eyes, maturing with each experience, learning how to win. After showing his immaturity, but plenty of guts, in the Kentucky Derby and placing third, he quick-studied his way to a narrow victory over 2006 Juvenile Champion, Street Sense, in the Preakness Stakes. In the Belmont Stakes, he came to full bloom, rated, spurted, drove home hard with determination aforethought to win out, but was nosed from the victory by the marvelous A.P. Indy filly, Rags to Riches.

Curlin did it the hard way. With no two-year-old experience, he earned those three placings in the Triple Crown series, becoming one of few who have achieved the feat of staying on the board in all three classics. And he didn't stop learning there.

Asserting himself anew, he won in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Breeders' Cup Classic.

What was not to vote for? You didn't like his trainer's suspension problems? You didn't favor his owners' fighting over him? There are categories in which to vote against those things. Not Best trainer. Not Best owner/breeder.

Curlin ran his heart out after quickly learning how to win.

He earned 2007 HOY. No question.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

In the Kentucky Derby, Big Brown won me over. Okay, I goofed not picking you, Brown. You're good. Better than good. How good are you?

In the Preakness Stakes, Brown was really good. Fabulous! He bowled me over with his discipline. How many Thoroughbreds do you see who can come back to their jockey when asked, once, even twice, or three times in a race, and still be willing to go all out to the wire when asked to do that?

Even Big Brown's jockey, now three-time Derby winner Kent Desormeaux, can't express his amazement at BB's intelligence and his willing ability to respond correctly to signals. Desormeaux had to brake BB almost back to the gate to avoid using him up too soon in the Preakness. No horse has enough spirit and moxy left to chase down leaders after being called back that hard. Big Brown does.

Champion Smarty Jones lost his Triple Crown because he and his jockey fought each other for control in the early stages of the Belmont.

No fighting with Big Brown. He quickly re-adjusts to his jockey's wishes, then still runs like a loose greyhound down the stretch to the wire. And he's got energy left over!

"We've got horse left (for the Belmont)," trainer Richard Dutrow, Jr. claimed after the Preakness. And how! Win, BB, win at Belmont! Lasso that Triple Crown title!

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Eight Belles' injuries were nothing similar to those of Ruffian in 1975. In her match race with Foolish Pleasure, Ruffian shattered her right leg and kept running. Eight Belles' cause of collapse is yet undetermined. Both front legs broke beneath her. She went down immediately. What caused the fall? Nothing like this has been seen before. Falling forward and breaking two legs is not something that happens to a horse in normal stride.

All Thoroughbred foals born in the Northern Hemisphere have the same birthday, Jan. 1, each year so that their racing registry may be kept accurate. Example: only three-year-olds race in the Kentucky Derby, etc.

Sharing a Barbaro, or an Eight Belles moment is a good thing. The Sport of Kings should not come to a halt because of Eight Belles' freak accident. Yes, let's take an intelligent, closer look at safety.

Never watching (a race) again would be like never driving your car again because a car accident killed members of your family.

According to Larry Bramlage, D.V.M., growth and development of the bones of young horses partially depends on their active use. Race horses must practice their game, and practice makes stronger bodies.

The jury is still out on the subject of synthetic surfaces. Is it more, or less safe?

Bloggers responded to the "Safety First" blog presented by NTRA president and CEO Alex Waldrop. All fans of horse racing may converse about Eight Belles' tragedy. An accident of this nature on the biggest stage of American Thoroughbred racing should be discussed. That's healthy. Accusations surrounding something no one could possibly alter are not.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

War Pass: (circled with his Derby-bound stablemates) "All right, guys, this is the big one. Now it's up to you." Anak Nakal: "I don't know if I feel well..." Cool Coal Man: "There's a filly, you know." War Pass: "Hey! Knock that off, both of you! You go to win!" Anak Nakal: (snifflilng) "What about the filly, Your Highness?" War Pass: "What about her? She knows the score. She belongs in that silly Oaks. Did you speak to her, Nakie?" Anak Nakal: (pushing a hoof nervously through the straw) "Well...I --" War Pass: (eyes rolling) "Oh, good grief! Don't tell me you're falling for her?" Anak Nakal: (brightening) "She's sure pretty. That dark gray and those big dark eyes." Cool Coal Man: "Geez! Why don't you just give her the quarter pole lead?" War Pass: "Is this serious, Nakie? Did you have a hay date?" Anak Nakal: (ducking his head) "Well..." War Pass: "Knock that off! Don't be confusing those big dark eyes with today's target, Big Bad Brown! Ohhh -- Nakie can't handle this, Coal Man. You'll have to occupy the filly!" Cool Coal Man: (smiling) "Cool!" The Derby is run, and the filly breaks down and is immediately euthanized after placing second To Big Brown. In the Zito barn, the mood is subdued. Anak Nakal: (sobbing) "I should have wished her well. I bullied her like you said. I...oh, dear Pegasus..." War Pass: "Knock that off, Nakie! It's about winning!"

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Saving Thoroughbreds from catastrophic injuries has been going on for quite some time. Owners get walloped with unearned pans when they make life-altering decisions for their horses. Early retirements are criticized as greedy gallops to the breeding shed, while screams go forth for more performances from favorites like Smarty Jones.

Now, rants and raves over the tragedy at the Kentucky Derby. The racing industry is cruel, it's said. Do something! The reality is that Thoroughbreds weigh in at about 1,000 pounds and run, racing, or not, on four thin sticks that have a suspect blood supply and no muscle below the knee and hock. Unfortunately, they do, at times, break without warning.

The Chapmans, who owned Smarty Jones and smilingly absorbed the public's brief adoration gained from their dual classic champion's two-year career, were harshly criticized for their decision to retire Mr. Jones to stud while he was hot.

Did we want his safety more than his next performance? After his fantastic Triple Crown effort, Smarty was diagnosed with bruised canon bones on all four legs. It wasn't life-threatening. But the Chapmans had one horse to support their retirement. So they chose to collect stud fees. So we could look forward to more Smarties.

Did we really want to see Smarty run himself into the ground, risking permanent, or fatal injury? The Chapmans were wise.

Charismatic, Lion Heart, Invasor, Rags to Riches, Teuflesberg, and War Pass, all champions, all had their careers shortened by fractures that may have healed well enough for them to race again. Their owners retired them.

Why risk it?

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Big Brown breathtakingly dominated and won the 134th Kentucky Derby May 3. Filly Eight Belles gallantly chased him, then inexplicably collapsed after finishing second, and was lost.

Athletes collapse. Sports are about gladiatorship.

Horse racing will not go away any more than will baseball, or basketball, or the truly "manly", inhumane, gladiator-arena-spectacle of football. Which we love to watch.

Violence is part of our sporting culture. It won't go away. Alas, it is the human way to risk breakage and adversity, even violent endings.

Do we mistreat and abuse horses to get them to compete, or to refine their natural instinct to run? There's a small percentage of that, probably, as there is a percentage of humans who choose to abuse their athletic bodies to compete on a higher level.

We must attack the percentage, not the whole.

Where is the wrong? The blame? The wrong is not in these sports themselves. The wrong is in those who give in to the temptation to alter human, or animal chemistry to enhance performances. Ability is natural. Correct fuel -- food -- is our natural available enhancement.

Eight Belles suffered an underlying cause of collapse. Horses do not run in a stride that requires them to put both front legs forward at the same time. Eight Belles was in distress that caused her to collapse forward with both ankles hitting the ground at the same time and unable to hold her falling weight.

I've seen horrific breakage. Compound fractures. Flailing legs. Ruffian. Union City. I've never seen a horse still able to stride correctly break two legs at once. Barbaro broke one leg and continued to run in correct cadence on three other legs. So did Ruffian, amazingly. And Union City.

Eight Belles collapsed before the breakage.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Yes, Big Brown was inexperienced (three career starts) in his Kentucky Derby, the world's most prestigious Thoroughbred showcase. Yes, he was starting from the impossible Post Position 20.

Only Regret (1915) had beaten the first jinx and only Clyde Van Dusen (1929) had beaten the second one.

So, yes, in the end, I went with the odds -- against Big Brown. My trifecta and my backup trifecta went head over heals. Except for Denis of Cork. I scored one of six.

Big Brown is a fantastic Kentucky Derby champion. And I'm not just saying this -- that in my deepest of hearts, I was rooting for him. He looked good. But those odds.

And I just had to go with those odds against. Maybe this will teach me my lesson -- go with the heart and guts. Leave the odds to others to fuss with and sort through.

My picks of Monba to win, Colonel John to place, Denis of Cork to show finished like this: 20th of 20, sixth, and third. Hmm... A backup trifecta (chosen because after War Pass's injury put him out of the Derby, and Pyro's last previous race was a bomb, and I didn't have a clue who to boost in the wide open mix that was left) went like this: Cool Coal Man, Tale of Ekati, Adriano, and they finished like this -- 15th (oh, dear), fourth (whew, okay, not too bad), and 19th!

From now on, it's the heart that will lead!

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Okay, here we go, analysis and prediction, Kentucky Derby, 2008.

Barclay Tagg colts do better than expected, or less than their talent indicates.

Monba, or Cowboy Cal will make overdue trainer Todd Pletcher a Derby star.

Gayego is to like, but the colt's post position stinks.

Big Brown. You gotta love this guy, a Curlin-like mix of heart and brawn and wide open throttle, but PP No.20 is problematic. So far in Derby history one horse who started from there won the Derby.

Cool Coal Man, if he talked to War Pass, and if he comes in with an all for one, one for all stable attitude, could win going away.

Anak Nakal. Say what? Leave it to CC Man.

Recapturetheglory. Nope. Not in this race.

Colonel John. Everything's in place. Too perfect.

Adriano has a smart jockey (Edgar Prado) and an unbeatable sire (A.P. Indy). This boy could surprise.

Pyro. He'll rebound to find true redemption, or bounce into space-like oblivion.

Denis of Cork of the smooth, versatile talent and the patient jockey (Calvin Borel) might put out all his potential in exchange for a wreath of roses.

Eight Belles. If a filly can...

Big Truck. Big motor stalls in traffic.

Visionaire. Can't see it happening.

Court Vision. Bad verdict.

Z Fortune. No fortune here.

Z Humor. Not funny.

Bob Black Jack. What's in a name?

Smooth Air. Could be a fierce wind.

So...if my trifecta of Monba, Colonel John, Denis of Cork fails to fire, here's my safety net three: Cool Coal Man, Tale of Ekati, Adriano. See you at the track!

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Remember those TV shows in the fifties? Top cowboys had neat horses who followed their every move and responded to their every comman. The bad guys just had ordinary steeds.

Autry had Champion and Rogers had Trigger. Who had a gray named Traveler? Famous southern general Robert E. Lee, of course.

In fictiion, we had The Black Stallion (1941). The Black was a wild Arabian horse who, through an accident at sea, came into the hands of young Alec Ramsey. Thus was begun a twenty plus book saga created by then college student Walter Farley.

Who could forget the stunning telling of the heroics and survival of Black Beauty (1946) by Anna Sewell? Also in 1941 was the down-to-earth, My Friend Flicka, by Mary O'Hara.

Names to remember. Like Somebeachsomewhere, this season's Standardbred champion. The all-time best Standardbred name might be No Pan Intended from the Peter Pan Stables in Pepper Pike, Ohio.

Whirlaway was a great handle. Swooping speed comes to mind, and the 1941 chestnut Thoroughbred Triple Crown champion had that.

Seattle Slew was good. The 1977 Triple Crown champ was named for his owners' places of residence, Seattle and the Florida slews (swamps, or Everglades).

Then there was Alexander the Great's mighty Bucephalus, the strong warrior.

Last year, we lost the Thoroughbred Yes Its True. That brain tingler name always stirred my imagination. What's true?

Got memory lane names? Hi -- oh, Sillll-verrrr! And a--way!

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

If only twenty of 35,000 Thoroughbred foals born annually are permitted to compete in the Kentucky Derby each year, what happens to the other 34,980?

Why are domesticated cats and dogs being euthanized and horses being slaughtered into the millions by the end of every year? Why do bears invade human garbage cans?

The answers to these questions raise more questions.

When people fail to understand, or to benefit from the value of the animals with which they share the earth, they miss out on a great bounty. Most animals readily adapt to the human way when treated with respect and a measure of love.

Dogs who snarl are kept by people who snarl. Bears pound on garbage cans because they are hungry. Humans are turning their environments upside down. Domesticated animals destroyed by the thousands and millions, in particular horses, cats, and dogs, suffer that fate because man is a poor steward of the dominion he was given.

Perhaps God Himself made a mistake.

Must we destroy our beautiful companions simply because we cannot find ways to control their sheer numbers, or to adequately care for our own environment?

Dogs and cats and horses who cuddle are cared for by people who take proper advantage of their animal companion's capacity to love. These loving animals may act differently when abused.

Horses race because men train them to do so. What happens to over 34,000 racing prospects per year?

Why do roosters fight?

Why do dogs bite?

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

"Horse Sense" (# 5) explores the impending death of 1986 Kentucky Derby Champion Ferdinand.

Ferdinand: (Standing in the lineup of death row.) Nervous whinny.

Other: Return whinny.

Ferdinand's bridle handler: "Whoa, boy. Don't get nervous on me."

Ferdinand: Whinny to other. "I am nervous."

Friend from inside the first building in front of Ferdinand: High whinny. "Ferd?"

Ferdinand: Nervous whinny. "Al? Al! Are you in line?"

Al: "Yes! The first building. It's terrible in here!!" High whinny.

Ferdinand: "Al -- Al! What is this? There are wretched odors here, and I can smell blood!"

Al: "It's slaughter, Ferd! I saw Lucky, and he...he screamed, Ferd, when he went into the next room!"

Ferdinand: Nervous whinny. "What do you mean, Al? Slaughter? Is that the smell? What are they doing to everyhorse?"

Al: "Don't come in, Ferd --"

Other whinny: "Al? Ferd? What's going on? I'm in the holding corral on the other side of the first building. What's going on! What is this?"

Al: "Princess?"

Other: "Yes! Al, please, what's happening!"

Al: Screeching whinny. "Oh, Princess --"

Ferdinand: "Al! Hold on --"

Al: "Ferd! Don't come in --"

Ferdinand: "I'm being held. I can't break free!"

Al: "Princess! Jump the corral fence!"

Princess: Frightened whinny. "It's too high! I can't!"

Al: "Try, Princess! Try!!! Oh, dear Pegasus, they're coming at me! Ferd! Get away! It's slaughter, I tell you! They're killing us in here! Go! Now!"

Ferdinand: "Al! I can't get away!" Half rearing, calling with whinny of fright and confusion.

Al: "Run, Princess! The fence! Go, Ferd! Go! Oh, no --"

Ferdinand: "Al? Al! Talk to me, buddy! Al?"

Princess: "Ferdinand?"

Ferdinand: "Princess! Are you tied?"

Princess: "No."

Ferdinand: "Then jump, Princess. Jump! I smell blood, and it's stronger now. Al! Al! Pegasus, no. Jump, Princess! Al? Al!"

FACT: In 2002 in Japan, Ferdinand was "disposed of", most likely in a slaughterhouse, his U.S. owners learned after they had launched inquiries through reporter Barbara Bayer.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

It was an epic contest, and one wonders what might have transpired between masculine Curlin and outstanding filly Rags to Riches in their scintillating 2007 Belmont Stakes battle, won by the lady by a very short nose.

It could have been this:

In the starting gate:

He: "Filly, what are you doing in a man's race?"

She: "Bite me."

He: Snort.

She: Whinny.

Breaking from the gate:

He: "Got jump?"

She: "Move aside for some real pedigree."

He: "Ouch, Girlie, Girl."

She: "My daddy is A.P. Indy. What do you have?"

He: "Muscles." Snort. "And my dad's an up and comer."

She: Mane shaking. Whinny.

Into the first turn:

He: "You going to race, or what?"

She: "I'll see you in the lane, Fella."

He: Snort.

She: Whinny.

Through the backstretch:

He: "Let's see what you got now, Pretty Miss!"

She: "Catch me if you can, Big Boy!"

Turning for home:

He: "After-burners on, Girlie, Girl!"

She: "Better dig in, Sport!"

Down the lane:

He: (huffing) "You're good, and you're beautiful!"

She: (puffing) "Back at you, Handsome!"

He: "I'll pull this off yet!"

She: "Don't think so!"

He: (grunting) "Here's the wire!"

She: (laughing) "Here's my nose!"

Galloping out:

He: "Hey, Beautiful, how about a little nibble later?"

She: "Well...Yes, you earned it, Handsome."

Curlin, third in the Kentucky Derby, winner of the Preakness Stakes, and second in the Belmont to the lady's nose, went on to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Breeders' Cup Classic. He was voted Horse of the Year, then went half way around the world and scorched the competition in the Dubai World Cup Classic.

Rags to Riches dealt with misfortune; a hairline fracture ended her racing career. In 2008, she has been booked to the successful sire, Giant's Causeway. Perhaps she awaits Curlin's retirement!

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

He's been called "a work of art in the saddle", described as hard working, unassuming, mild-mannered, and quick thinking around horses. He's the man who saved Barbaro from instant disaster, keeping the injured Thoroughbbred quiet and calm until emergency assistance arrived, even as the ill-fated Preakness Stakes continued with all spectator eyes focused in silence on the Kentucky Derby champion.

He's Edgar Prado. Horseman, yes. Hero (in the Barbaro incident). Undoubtedly. A top jockey (over 6,000 wins). Absolutely.

But he is more than those nouns can describe. He's a devoted son, husband, and father. His story is poignant and touching, told unassumingly and quietly, like his persona, in My Guy Barbaro. Prado's book is a soft-spoken account of a Thoroughbred racing moment in time, but also a tribute from him to his family, and a thank you to those who helped him become the man and the jockey he is today.

His description of the moments of Barbaro's breakdown is heart-breaking and intimate in its simple suggestion of what an individual goes through emotionally in a quick instance of crisis. The negative and the positive become strange bedfellows as time swirls around split second decisions. There is little opportunity for speculation. Instincts must kick into life-saving gear.

Prado successfully kept Barbaro under control, but also credits the horse as being smart enough to remain calm. There were over twenty fractures in the leg Prado helped hold aloft.

On average, in a given racing season, 3,000 Thoroughbreds breakdown on the track; many must be euthanized on the spot. Some of them mysteriously deeply touch human lives. Such was the saga of Barbaro, shared beautifully by the man who piloted him to greatness, Edgar Prado.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Colonel John -- Mr. Steady -- is my new No.1 on my Best Eleven list headed for the Kentucky Derby.

Although Pyro and War Pass lead 1-2 in earnings, they both raised doubts with their last races, while steady on the Kentucky Derby trail is Colonel John. Winning both the Sham Stakes and the Santa Anita Derby, trained by Eoin Harty for WinStar Farms, LLC, Colonel John is a Tiznow colt out of Sweet Damsel by Turkoman.

Gayego, with high marks in the early season, had to regain his form, and it looks as though he has. He won the Arkansas Derby this month, the San Pedro Stakes in February, and pushed Georgie Boy for second in the March San Felipe Stakes. He's my No.2 choice this week.

The Pyro--War Pass battle has ceased, with War Pass -- temporarily, at least -- holding a slight edge in wins. The Juvenile champion has lost twice, fading to last in the Tampa Bay Derby and hanging on for second place in the Wood Memorial after gassing himself out in early madcap fractions. Tale of Ekati took him in the final strides with impressive movement in the lane. And Barclay Tagg's Tale is my No.3, with (presently) 4th place earnings.

Big Brown, a thunderous victor in three outings, and Big Truck, who trounced War Pass in the Tampa Bay Derby, both have the money down, and Michael Matz trained Visionaire is still on my mind. They are No.4, No.5, and No.6 this week.

Check out my next blog for No.7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

This week's bottom half of my Best Eleven eliminates Pyro and War Pass, both of whom have shown too much vulnerability in the last three weeks.

I'm liking Smooth Air, who has won for 70-year-old trainer Bennis Stutts, Jr. (Hutcheson Stakes) and placed second (Florida Derby), beating off the third place finisher, Tomcito, a star from South America, by over 7 lengths. So he's moving into my No.7 spot today.

War Pass has lost twice. Pyro has lost three times to War Pass, and he failed mysteriously, if not miserably, in the Blue Grass Stakes last weekend.

Trainers Nick Zito (War Pass) and Steve Asmussen (Pyro) really can't explain the wretched performances of their colts, although Zito was pleased with War Pass's Wood effort.

I don't know why. War Pass likes the front, but is showing he might not be able to defend a lead long enough. Pyro might be the better of the two at this point in time, if jockey Shaun Bridgmohan can rate him in the TC series. At any rate, both colts are Derby bound.

Cowboy Cal (Todd Pletcher) got his earnings together finishing second in the Blue Grass Stakes, where Pyro failed. El Gato Malo remains on the earnings bubble, but has shown consistency. They rate No.8 and No.9, and with Georgie Boy off the trail, I still like that Holy Bull boy, Liberty Bull, winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes in January and the March WinStar Derby.

Pyro's roomie, Z Fortune, still turns my fancy over Cool Coal Man. Liberty Bull is No.10, and Z Fortune is No.11.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

The Best and the Brightest. Stamp Curlin's name there. Curlin entered the 2007 Triple Crown races an untried three-year-old, raw, but eager. He had not raced at age two.

The big chestnut's run in the Kentucky Derby, wide and wild, showed outstanding eagerness, but lack of discipline. He seemed not to know exactly how to achieve victory, even though he finished an eye-opening, if green, third with his game charge down the outside lane.

In two weeks, he grew up, winning the Preakness Stakes by strength and by will, and by responding maturely to his rider, Robby Albarado. He came off the turn in a now familiar powerful sweep wide, and set about running down the Kentucky Derby champ, Street Sense, with a neck to spare.

His graduation in lessons learned and his maturation in putting lessons to use were obvious. Not only was he game and talented, he was a very quick study.

Had the lessons been taught and applied at age two, what might have been for the mighty chestnut, Curlin? Could he have been a Triple Crown champion if he'd entered the Crown races with a season of learning behind him?

He's powerful. He's a stayer, a fighter. He's an indisputable champion of the Thoroughbred world. His Dubai World Cup win was pony's play -- by 7-3/4 lengths.

All told, Curlin, strong son of Smart Strike, deserves to be spoken of in the language of greatness.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

War Pass finally showed equine vulnerability by losing. The Juvenile Champion has been written off by some writers as a potent Kentucky Derby contender because he went to no-fire mode in the recent Tampa Bay Derby, finishing last.

Inexplicable was the explanation from jockey Cornelio Velasquez. Puzzled trainer Nick Zito dittoed that remark. However, it was well reported the sleek, speedy champ had suffered a fever (of some kind) in training up to the Tampa Bay.

Is this the simple answer to the non-fire? He didn't feel well. I don't run well either when bothered by the after affects of a fever. How can an individual try as hard when he's ill?

If War Pass gets completely over his some kind of fever, he'll be back in the KD running.

He's still on my Best Eleven Kentucky Derby contenders list:

1. Pyro - the heir apparent for now, until War Pass's status is evaluated
2. Colonel John - never off the board on synthetic services; should handle Churchill dirt
3. Denis of Cork - from Unbridled line, proven record in different circumstances
4. Georgie Boy - looks more and more like a contender; won San Felipe Stakes last weekend
5. War Pass - if some kind of fever worries evaporate, he's the boy
6. Big Truck - wow! he delivered in the Tampa Bay, beating Todd Pletcher's Atoned and No.1 War Pass
7. Visionaire - still there
8. Cowboy Cal - gotta look at the trainer (Pletcher), who is way overdue in the TC with a talented colt
9. Liberty Bull - son of Holy Bull taking liberties aplenty; added $300,000 to bankroll at WinStar
10. Giant Moon - the winningest colt on the trail
11. Z Fortune - Pyro's roommate; never underestimate the motivation of a roomie

There it is, with my neck right out there! Oh, but necking is fun!

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

In Standardbred News, three-year-old pacer Somebeachsomewhere, a Pepsi North America Cup nominee, is the subject of sales talk. Owner Jerry Silva denies any deals have been concluded. But rumors persist. Schooner Stables' Brent MacGrath is the man asking the price.

Mohawk Gets Second Session

Mohawk Racetrack will host the NA Cup for the second summer. It's a $1.5 million purse show. Ninty-two pacers have been nominated to participate thus far. Previous to last year, Woodbine hosted the Cup for 13 seasons.

Driver David Palone had a phenomenal run March 11 at The Meadows. On a 16-race program, Palone drove 13 times and took nine individuals to the winner's circle.

Rockome Vic, the 7-year-old trotting gelding, reached seven straight victories March 10 at Pompano Park, streaking the mile in 1:55.3 with driver George Napolitano, Jr.

Monticello Raceway has added video to its race card features. Handicappers may now view any race on any race program back to April 2007. The availability will continue in forward progress.

On a sad note, Trotter of the Year in 2004 and Triple Crown winner Windsong's Legacy, died March1at Perretti Farms, New Jersey.

Brian Sears drove the 4-year-old mare Symphony In Motion to her fifth straight win March 6 at the Meadowlands. Symphony In Motion (isn't that a poetic name?) won the Night Styles Final, a $60,700 purse, finishing in time of 1:52.2 by a half length over Bridge Jumper.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

He rattled. He rumbled. He revved. He rolled. He roared.

Big Truck motored to notice March 15th in the Tampa Bay Derby, racing past Kentucky Derby favorite War Pass and the field. Trained by Barclay Tagg, the large and Mack truck-muscled Big Truck may produce the last laugh for Tagg.

In 2007, Tagg's Triple Crown-touted Nobiz Like Shobiz proved as unpredictable as he was talented. Tagg's well-pedigreed schoolee failed to fire in Derby competition after running an awesome Wood Memorial. Tagg spent the season getting the colt figured out. Blinkers, no blinkers. Lugging out. Lugging in. Etc. Nobiz did his own thing.

But the Big Truck, 3 for 7, looks manageable, and Tagg is smiling.

In 2003, Funny Cide provided lots of reasons for Tagg to do that before getting pushed back to third in the mud of the Belmont Stakes by Empire Maker and Jerry Bailey.

No one's pushing Big Truck around. Where's he headed?

Nobiz and Funny Cide didn't get far after their Triple Crown potentials faded.

As things stand now, Big Truck has already reconfigured the season's Derby puzzle. War Pass had looked unbeatable, but the sleek Rolls Royce cruiser left the Tampa Bay Derby beaten and beaten up. Nick Zito says War Pass is okay -- thank goodness -- after an early jostling in the race that produced cuts on his legs. With War Pass's last place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby, skinny-faced Pyro, the Triple Crown road's ugly duckling, is now the Kentucky Derby top dog.

Can Big Truck turn the Kentucky Derby tables? Or, even, perhaps, finally give Barclay Tagg the last laugh in the Triple Crown?

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

It's never a given. It's never that predictable. The Kentucky Derby.

Can No.1 War Pass arrive at Churchill Downs still unbeaten? He is pointed to the Tampa Bay Derby this Saturday. His main rival, No.2 Pyro, is scheduled for one more prep before the Derby. He will run on Polytrack in the Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky on April 12.

What about the rest of the best? How about Court Vision? An early pick, he may become that annual late comer. War Pass has a stablemate named Cool Coal Man, Mineshaft's boy. He made some splash of his own in the Fountain of Youth, beating Elysium Field and Court Vision.

There's more talent out there. Here's my Best Eleven headed for the Derby:

1. War Pass --- Juvenile Champ looks great, will probably continue to dominate
2. Pyro --- may catch him in a Triple Crown race, 4th, 5th, or 6th try
3. Colonel John --- he hangs in there; 3 wins from 5 starts, 2 seconds
4. Denis of Cork --- outstanding credentials, 3 wins at 3 different tracks at 3 distances
5. Visionaire --- trained by Michael Matz, a winner; captured Gotham Stakes last weekend
6. Cowboy Cal --- don't count out Triple Crown races winless with a colt Todd Pletcher yet
7. Yankee Bravo --- good numbers, 3 wins in 4 starts, won California Derby
8. Giant Moon --- unbeaten in 4 starts before the Gotham, won Count Fleet Stakes
9. Z Fortune --- Steve Asmussen's third best might surprise in TC races, Lecomte Stakes champ
10. Into Mischief --- a Harlan's Holiday son trained by Richard Mandella
11. Smooth Air --- kicked offf season with Hutcheson Stakes win, may return for a Derby steal

Saddle up! Come along for the ride! First Saturday in May, Churchill Downs, Kentucky Derby.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

Does Pyro have the ability to catch War Pass?

He does. And he will.

After testing one another (once again) in this season's Kentucky Derby, a 1-1/4 miles grade one race that War Pass will win, Steve Asmussen trained Pyro and Nick Zito's War Pass will meet in the shorter (1-3/16 miles) Preakness Stakes two weeks later. The shorter distance will favor Pyro, who will be able to charge from the back in a faster closing clip than a longer race affords him, while War Pass, eager to maintain a lead, will gear up too late.

Pyro will spoil yet another Triple Crown attempt when he puts War Pass away at the wire.

Having said that, I hope my prediction is groundless -- the logic for it certainly is (but it might happen in the Belmont Stakes*!#) -- and I wish it to never come...ah...to Pass. However, anything can happen. And in Thoroughbred racing, so many times, it does. It appears, thus far, that we may have one of those Affirmed-Alydar things, where Pyro and War Pass struggle against one another all through the triple races.

Thoroughbred racing has seen a long skid of two-race TC champs who fell short of gathering in that elusive third race, be it the Derby, the Preakness, or the killer, the Belmont Stakes. The American Triple Crown is, perhaps, the most difficult of sporting feats in which to achieve total victory.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

This season, pressure will be on Curlin, the 2007 Horse of the Year entering just his second racing campaign at the age of four, as he planes to Dubai to race with the world's best Thoroughbred athletes, and on Smarty Jones, the tough little Triple Crown threat from 2004, as a freshman sire.

Curlin, the golden boy wonder, learned so quickly in his first season last year. Between the Kentucky Derby (third) and the Belmont Stakes (2nd by a nose to the lady, Rags to Riches), he swept the Preakness Stakes. Then he went to the Breeders' Cup fully loaded and thundered through rain and mud like he had the best footing in the world and triumphed beautifully.

Now, Curlin goes to the Dubai World Cup in March to try to capture the richest race in the world. Wonderful! He should go. He belongs. American horses have done well there of late. Go, golden boy!

In 2004, didn't you think Smarty Jones was a shoo-in for the TC title? But a little Bird(stone) said no.

Smarty Jones commands a $100,000 stud fee. For that price, owners expect something special. Smarty's first two-year-olds will perform this season. The little Smartys have been described as tough and hardy, just like daddy. Go, little fellas! Can't wait to see you become winners!

Oh, yes, I swooned over both the dark chestnut and the golden boy.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

The remains of the great, brave colt, Barbaro, will be interred at Churchill Downs, the site of his greatest triumph as an undefeated champion. Roy and Gretchen Jackson, his owners who tried to save his life, made the announcement of the agreement to place Barbaro at the track along with a statue outside Churchill's gates.

Mario Pino, who rode the game and tenacious Hard Spun to place finishes in 2007's Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and Barbaro's jockey, Edgar Prado, reached the 6,000 win plateau last November and this month, respectively, to become just the 15th and 16th jockeys all-time to snare triumphs in 6,000 races, while Russell Baze destroyed the all-time victory margin set by Laffitt Pincay, Jr. (9,530), with his 10,000th score this month. Baze is 49 and going strong.

The total handle from 2007's racing season at Gulfstream Park showed a slight decline from the previous year, a typical showing from tracks across the country. But Thoroughbred racing is alive and well monetarily. Even if not as many fans show up at the tracks to watch the competitors, betting is lively and that's where the payoff is that supports the Sport of Kings.

Good news...Teuflesberg enters his first stud season this year after successful surgery following an ankle injury Teuy suffered while racing late last fall. Rood and Riddle performed the artful repair.

And, tough little dual classic winner Smarty Jones has produced some promising youngsters. Tough and hardy describe the first offspring of 2004's near Triple Crown champion, says top Florida agent , Eddie Woods.

Posted by BarbaraAnne Helberg

A Kentucky Derby champion many times has a few legs up on winning Horse of the Year honors, especially if he also won a Juvenile title. Street Sense did both. Was he 2007's best Thoroughbred?

Or was it the wonderfully competitive Hard Spun? Hard Spun raced marvelously in the Triple Crown classics, remaining right on the heels of the chosen stars, Street Sense, Curlin, and Rags to Riches.

And what about the lady, Rags to Riches? Previously unbeaten on the year, she achieved a stirring nose to nose victory over Curlin in the Belmont Stakes. The two bright chestnuts, both as powerful and as beautiful as the race itself, pounded through the stretch like unstoppable locomotives barreling to the end of the track. Rags to Riches joined a short list of elite ladies in winning that classic. Unfortunately, the flashy filly sustained a minor fracture in her next race that retired her for the remainder of 2007.

Curlin came from no where, showed his inexperience in the Derby, but in the Preakness, gathered his engine and his muscle and powered to an impressive win.

Then came the heart-stopping Belmont, the test of a champion, an unrelenting mile and a half gruel. He withstood the loss to win again in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, then awed everyone in the muddy Breeders' Cup Classic, displaying the powerful turn, the heart of a champion.

Curlin is my boy HOY, 2007.