I want to tip my cap to a great athelete who passed away today, Barbaro. An amazing, beautiful thoroughbred. He has a special place in my heart because of his stirring win in the Kentucky Derby last year. It was the first time I actually backed a winner in that race. It's a very difficult race to handicap, I've been betting and losing for many years, (I've won plenty of other races, just not the crown jewel of the triple crown!), three year old colts and fillies, still growing, maturing, usually facing an overflow crowd, going a mile and quarter for the first time.
It's a real challenge for the horses, the jockeys, the trainers and the handicappers. There's skill and luck and well, to have any kind of success, a lot of factors have to kind of come together. Kind of like life, I guess. They call horseracing the "sport of kings," but in this era, there are very few royals in the stands on any given day at your local track. A lot of "broken down horse-players," but maybe in their way, those down and outers are the royalty of the modern (or is it post-modern, or post-post-modern?) era.
Nothing like the excitement of the horses loading up into the gate, waiting for the bell, and then the roar "they're off." Some of my best days have been spent at places like Santa Anita, Arlington Park, Sportsman's, Maywood, El Caliente, Gulfstream, Calder, Long Champs...I hope to get to Saratoga, and Del Mar down the line...
Anyway, thanks Barbaro...what a great performance, those two mintues at Churchill Downs in Kentucky made you a champion, and made me feel like king of the world, for a brief flash!
