Into the Fire

Probably the majority of you who visit this blog once in awhile know nothing about horse racing and maybe could care less about the sport, but I spent over 30 years in the industry, and the Triple Crown races will always represent the pinnacle of championship horse racing. The elite group of young Thoroughbreds who are mostly royally bred to achieve this kind of status competes at a level those of us who’ve participated in the sport can only dream about. It’s like the Pro Bowl in football except nobody elects these horses—they race for the privilege of competing in this grueling trio of route races at distances they’ve never before run.

Racing has been called “The Sport of Kings” for many reasons, but initially it was because kings, lords, and aristocrats were the only ones who owned, bred, and contested these magnificent animals. We used to joke about it being the sport of kings because they were the only ones who could afford to do it, and at the upper echelon of horse racing, it’s a very expensive game. Yearlings can sell for upwards of several million dollars.

Yesterday, in spite of the same situation of there being no Triple Crown winner for yet another year, six colts and one filly made it a very interesting and competitive field for this longest and toughest jewel of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes. The race is run at Belmont Park in New York, the biggest racetrack in North America. The distance is a mile and a half, a distance many of these horses will never run again.

What made the race especially interesting is that a filly was set to run against the boys, and while this isn’t unheard of, it’s almost non-existent in the history of the Triple Crown races. Those of us in the sport remember Genuine Risk’s courageous attempt and the toughness of Winning Colors, and there were a few more. The only filly to ever win this race (since it’s been part of the Triple Crown races) won it back in 1905 when the race was a mile and a quarter. And as one might expect, this year’s entry was no ordinary 3 year old filly. She was undefeated against her gender, and her pedigree had two Triple Crown winners on both her mother’s and father’s sides (Secretariat on Mom’s side and Seattle Slew on Dad’s). What this means is that she had the credentials to “get”, or be able to run, the difficult mile and a half distance. Anymore in the USA, Thoroughbreds are being bred to have more speed than endurance, so to have both—and particularly for this distance—is truly exceptional.

The other factor about having a filly in the race against her male counterparts is the fact—and generally it’s just not negotiable with very few exceptions—the colts are stronger than the fillies. No one argues women’s lib issues in horse racing. The facts speak for themselves. However, now and then God creates an exceptional filly who can demonstrate the kind of toughness and extraordinary ability to step up and defeat the boys. It is a rare occurrence at this level of competition.

So, to watch the stretch drive of this year’s Belmont Stakes as the Preakness winner Curlin and the Oaks’ winner Rags To Riches drove in unison to the impending wire, it was truly exciting to see the filly edge past this colt, watch the colt come back on to draw level with the filly, and see the filly furiously pass him once again and secure the lead at the finish line. It was indeed a classic race! The filly had matched a talented and courageous colt stride for stride, looked him in the eye and said, “Huh-uh, Big Boy”, and then demonstrated her prowess at being a champion on this day. And it was one for the record books–a race which very possibly will not be equaled anytime soon in the annals of this sport. It requires too much.

It’s incredibly difficult to stay whole to get to this level of competition. These horses are very young and are asked to run distances at which they’ve never before competed. Hard, tough distances at three different racetracks with three different surfaces to run over, three different barn areas and racetrack structures with limited time to recuperate from each effort. I know this means little to most of you, but to those of us who’ve put our hearts and souls into this business of racing Thoroughbreds, we have to hold back the tears at such an incredible feat of what took place Saturday at Belmont Park.

But then, if you’re like me, you let the tears drip from your eyes in silent admiration.

Father, what a noble creature you created in the horse. Thank you for my love for them. They’ve brought so much joy—and pain—to my life, but I’m richer for it. Thank you for your love for your creation, that you made it all perfect in the beginning. Please help those who work with these courageous champions to take care of them and to realize that you’ve given them incredible gifts, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

(I will send a copy of my first novel Hope Of Glory [744 pages] to 5 fans of horse racing who stop by and leave a comment. It’s a comprehensive novel about the middle echelon of horse racing written in the language, lifestyle, and culture of the sport.)