It's one of the most beautiful tracks I've ever been to. That includes Hialeah many moons ago. But, I've never been to Saratoga yet...
I enjoyed your article about Havre de Grace and the weight issue. I remember when Havre de Grace lost to Blind Luck in the Deleware HCP. Jones was livid. That two pounds definietly could have been the difference between those two horses in that race. So, I have no problem with them pulling her from the Apple Blossom because of the ridiculous weights set up for the race. It serves Oaklawn right. They were wrong. And, for the record, I don't think Porter and Jones are trying to manipulate the weights as stevebiscuit says. The weights should have been much more reasonable for all. Havre de Grace will face any challenge, I'm sure. The challenge just has to be a fair one. It's hard enough to defeat the competition. But, to have to give that much weight up, that, I'm sorry, is not fair. Anyway, just my two cents.
Nice article Matt... Glad to see you included Black Tie Affair. Two others to consider: Monarchos (2001 Kentucky Derby winner), and Bull InThe Heather (1993 Florida Derby winner).
FYI... One of the new horses at Old Friends is Ferdinand's Star, a 16-year old son of Ferdinand himself. He's one of the sweetest horses on the farm.
Great article Eric. I'm sure the research took a ton of time, but the result is awesome. There were definitely a lot of horses and people to remember this year. At Old Friends, we said good bye to Jade Hunter, who you mentioned (thank you), Awad, Glitterman, Polish Navy and The Wickend North. It is always hard to lose one of the older great ones, but we know they have gone to a better place and we are left with some great memories. Thanks again for a great article. Happy Holidays...
Thanks for the kind words everyone. Glad you enjoyed the story. (Muddy - good catch, my bad. He was born in 1969.)
Awesome! Winning 20 in a row at any level is an amazing accomplishment. Glad he did it. (Nice article Brian.)
Thank you for the kind words everyone. They are very much appreciated. (Even you getthefacts, as you are also entitled to your own opinion, too.) I never got to see her race live, but the two times I did get to see her - at the barn before the Classic and at Keeneland on that cold, snowy night, are memories I'll enjoy for the rest of my life. She was definitely one of the great ones.
Agreed, but she sure was a tough filly, winning big races after coming back from surgery, twice, like she did. (Thanks for reading!)
Blind Luck, and Life at Ten, too, are two of the classiest fillies in racing. They should not be treated like "pieces of meat" and put up at auction. If they wanted to sell them, it should have been done in private sales, not at auction. I've lost total respect for all the connections of both horses. Period.