Horseracing, Heartracing

As a total fanatic about horseracing, I feel as though it is my duty to have an entire page for my fanship. :)

It all began sometime in 2003 when my dad called me, Kate, and Amie into the living room, saying, "Girls there are horses on TV."

Smarty Jones winning the 2004 Kentucky Derby

   And those horses just so happened to be the contenders of the 2003 Belmont Stakes. I can't remember how we learned about the Triple Crown races, when the 2004 Kentucky Derby was to be run, but what I do know is that we watched it. On the first Saturday in May, 2004, I remember walking down Silver Sands Street to Golden Sands. That was where some friends of ours lived, and since we had no way of watching the Derby on our TV, we asked to watch it there.
   I remember sitting in front of the TV, unblinking, amazed. I was hooked for life.
   And to make it all the more memorable, I remember thinking to myself: The horse that's running in front, the one in the lead. That's my favorite racehorse.
   It was probable because I knew the horse was going to win, and that I would enjoy telling everyone that my favorite horse won a big race. Whatever I though, I came to find out that the horse's name was Smarty Jones.

Smarty Jones and the Preakness

   That chestnut son of Elusive Quality would become one of the greatest racers in the nation, and would
be known as "America's Horse". He certainly deserved the title.
   Two weeks later, on Preakness Day, we were busy, so we couldn't watch the race. But the entire day, the race was the only thing on my mind. Would Smarty Jones win this one? I hoped so.
   When I got the news that he did, in fact, win the Preakness Stakes I was thrilled. My favorite horse won again!

Belmont Stakes 2004

Unfortunately, Smarty was beaten in the Belmont Stakes by a horse I so grudgingly refer to as "Birdbrain". Yeah, I'm so creative and amazing. :P Birdstone is Amie's favorite racehorse, so you can imagine the "friendly conversations with raised voices" that go on. ;)
   Anyway, That is the adorable, as Tory puts it, story of how I became a fan of the Sport of Kings.


Over the years, I've acquired quite a bit of knowledge about the sport. I won't tell it all to you, for sake of your mind and time, but I will say that there have been several almost-Triple-Crown-winners. Since Smarty Jones in 2004, there's been Afleet Alex in 2005 and Big Brown in 2008. In between, there have been many fine candidates, but they either broke down (Barbaro in 2006), weren't in all the races, or were scratched the morning of the race. So yeah, there's been a ton of disappointment. The last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978. Long time, right?

In my opinion, the worst Triple Crown loss in     horseracing history came in 1998 when Real Quiet was beaten by less than a nose in the Belmont Stakes. I just recently watched the race for the first time, and on the backstretch, my mouth was literally dropped low. Real Quiet had like a three length lead from all the other horses, and was going very strong. He was going to win. He was going to be the 12th Triple Crown winner, for sure.
   And then came along Victory Gallop. With one length to go, one history making length, Victory caught up to Real Quiet.

"There's the wire! It's too close to call! Was it Real Quiet or was it Victory Gallop?! A picture is worth a thousand words! This photo is worth 5 million dollars! Oh, no, history in the waiting, until we get that photo." the announcer called. I can totally imagine the fright, excitement, and pure giddiness of his body and voice.

One thing is for certain: I am glad I did not watch that race live in 1998. I would have been a complete mess. I probably would have cried.
   If there is one horse in Triple Crown history that should have won the Triple Crown, and didn't, it's Real Quiet. (And Smarty Jones, of course :))

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Zenyatta winning the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic

The fillies have been pretty dominant over the colts in the last few years. From Rachel Alexandra to Zenyatta, Goldikova to Blind Luck. Last year Zenny won Horse of the Year, and the previous year (2009) Rachel won. Zenny became the first female horse to win the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2009, and has won EVERY SINGLE one of her 19 races except one. In that race she placed second by less than a length. Yeah, talk about amazing.
   One of me and Kate's favorite things to do is go on Blood-Horse and look at the upcoming races and pick out a horse we want to win. I've picked the winner several times, I must say. Kate picked like five winners in one day. Bet, anyone? ;) (Jk, jk)
 
But anyway, I'll probably add more to this later, just because I enjoy rambling about horseracing.

Stay Tuned!