The Queen of racing Rachel Alexandra is finally returning to the track after her win over Mine That Bird in the Preakness. It’s no secret that I was very happy that they held her out of the Belmont Stakes to give her some rest for the rest of the year. I believe they have done everything perfect since purchasing her after her record breaking performance in the Kentucky Oaks. Trainer Steve Asmussen has been very easy on Rachel in the mornings which I am a big fan of especially when dealing with fillies, and he seems to have her primed for another one of her monster performances.

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Todd Pletcher went from trying to figure out a way to beat Quality Road to now trying to figure out the best way to get Quality Road back to the races.  On Monday, Pletcher became the new trainer of the Florida Derby winner Quality Road.  Quality Road’s owner Edward Evans moved five other horses from Jimmy Jerkens care to other trainers. Pletcher also picked up the talented 3 yr old filly Casanova Move who has placed in multiple graded stakes race with the most recent being a 3^rd place finish in the Acorn on Belmont day.

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I have heard many different opinions from people on what they think about Calvin Borel and his confidence. Borel has been known to let his emotions get the best of him when talking to the media about his horse. After he won the Derby with Street Sense he said he would win the Preakness, and now after working Mine That Bird this morning he went on to say that ““He’s ready. We’re going to win. No questions asked.”

One of the things that Horse Racing lacks from other sports is the characters that the media can grab a hold of and use to get more viewers. Yea you got people like D Wayne Lukas, but his best days are behind him. Bob Baffert has that swagger, but he is about the only one. Only other one I can think of is Rick Dutrow Jr., but he isn’t in the public eye enough with the Triple Crown for the media to use his personality. Then there is Calvin Borel.

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Thank you very much Mr. Jess Jackson for making the right decision. Too many times owners get carried away with the press of their horse and end up believing their horse is invincible. Even horses like Rachel Alexandra have weaknesses and can be beat. I came off as a little critical of Mr. Jackson in my last article which was not my intentions. I was just really hoping that they would make the right decision and pass the Belmont. If Mr. Jackson is serious about running her as a 4 yr old (which I hope he is) there is no reason to ever run this filly unless she is 110% ready.  

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We are one day closer to the running of the Belmont and there is still no word out of the Rachel Alexandra camp on whether they are going to run or not. Jess Jackson had said that he was going to make a decision after Rachel’s work this past Monday. The same day that trainer Chip Woolley had said he was going to make a decision on Mine That Bird’s jockey situation, but since Mr. Jackson has called an audible and has said that a decision will be made after Rachel’s work this coming Monday trainer Chip Woolley has held off on making his decision. Interesting….

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The Illinois Racing Board have suspended jockey Jamie Theriot for 30 days after his reckless riding resulted in Rene Douglas and his mount Born to Be clipping heels and falling in Saturday’s Matron at Arlington Park. That spill resulted in jockey Rene Douglas possibly being paralyzed from the waist down.

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In the game of horse racing tragedy can strike at any minute especially if you are a jockey. When you have animals weighing over a thousand pounds running at 40mph one bad step can mean death or serious injury. With death being a serious possibility why do these hundred pound jockeys do it day in and day out? If you ask any jockey I guarantee you the first thing that will come out of their mouth is the thrill of victory when their horse crosses the finish line first. Its that high that keeps them coming back day after day after day or why after countless broken bones or concussions that they always come back for more. More times then not when a jock is involved in a spill it is not a life or death situation, but a broken bone or concussion, but that little percentage of spills that can result in death is what makes their job the most dangerous profession in the world. Unfortunately this Saturday the racing world had to witness one of the serious accidents. Read the rest of this entry »

The undefeated champion Zenyatta let everyone know that she wasn’t ready to concede her title just yet to Rachel Alexandra or any other filly. Zenyatta started her 2009 campaign off the right way as she glided home to an easy win over her rivals in the Milady Handicap that left her jockey Mike Smith speechless. 

“I’m numb,” he said. “I’m looking for some emotion now, but I’m just numb. She’s just amazing. Physically, I think she’s better than she was last year.”

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Once again Mine That Bird is without a rider. After Mine That Bird’s derby win Calvin Borel jumped off to take the mount on Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra. Now Mike Smith has decided to honor his commitment that he gave trainer John Shireffs and owner Jerry and Ann Moss. Smith will ride Madeo in the Charlie Whittingham Stakes at Hollywood Park the same day as the Belmont Stakes. This just speaks volumes of Mike Smith’s character for him to jump off a probable Belmont favorite to honor a commitment to owners who have been loyal to him throughout his career.

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Kiaran McLaughlin’s 3 yr old colt Charitable Man has added his name to the list of Belmont starters. This 3 yr old son of Lemon Drop Kid most recently put his name back on the map after an impressive 3 ¾ length win over Imperial Council in The Peter Pan at Belmont. He was one of the more impressive 2 yr olds last year. He broke his maiden by over 11 lengths, and then went on to win the Belmont’s Futurity Stakes where he beat Louisiana Derby winner Friesan Fire. After that race he suffered a fracture to his shin that knocked him out until April this year when he returned in the Bluegrass. He finished a disappointing 7^th that day. McLaughlin recently had this to say,

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