I’ve seen quite a few great thoroughbred races the past 23 years and some championship caliber horses, but the events of this past Saturday may have topped them all. History was made at historic Saratoga Racetrack in the Woodward Stakes when the three year old filly; Rachel Alexandra defeated older colts in front of a crowd of 32,000 screaming fans. This sensational filly once again showed her dominance over the opposite sex and stamped herself as the leading contender for the 2009 Horse of the Year honors. Being in attendance at this historic event meant quite a bit to me as a racing fan and lover of thoroughbred racing and will be always etched in my mind for the rest of my life.
If you follow the sport of thoroughbred racing like I do or are a fan of Saratoga , you knew full well the importance and historical meaning of this particular race. But, on a national scene this event wasn’t covered as it should have been. The local television and newspapers gave Rachel’s race full coverage, partly because the event was held at Saratoga . Unfortunately, thoroughbred racing only seems to make “headlines” during the Triple Crown season and if something negative impacts the sport. Unless a Triple Crown is on the line or a horse is injured during the running of a major race, the national media usually misses the boat.
What Rachel Alexandra accomplished last Saturday was a rarer event than even a horse trying to win a Triple Crown. Very seldom fillies or mares face older male counterparts in North American dirt races. While it happens often in Europe and sometimes here in the states on grass, the distaff runners stay against their own kind on dirt. When it comes to three year old runners, the girls never face the boys at all. This year, we had a girl beat the boys twice in two major three year old races for the males. This alone should have her in the headlines nationwide to say the least. But when her connections chose to race at Saratoga against older male colts, this alone should have been top story news in sports before and after the race. I know that the “four letter” sports network was busy covering the first weekend of college football, but the other four cable networks should have jumped at the chance to show this once in a lifetime event. Thankfully, the New York based MSG plus who covers thoroughbred racing from NYRA gave Rachel her due with coverage. The sports world is covered on all angles in this day and age with lesser events. The “sport of kings” has been around for centuries. Some say that thoroughbred horse racing is a dying sport. For all those nay sayers, I say it’s far from that! The excitement is still there and horses like Rachel Alexandra will lead the sport back to the top. It may be about the wagering during the daily nine, but when it comes to the spotlight of the our sport; thoroughbreds that capture the imagination like Rachel Alexandra are what will make the “sport of kings” rise to the top again. National sports coverage, take note!
My final race statistics for the 2009 Saratoga meet were; 85 winners selected “on top” out of 365 races for the 36 day meet. Total money won on those 85 winners was $538.40 (on a $2.00 wager), 53 winners were listed from my 2nd runner-up pick and 97 other winners came from my multi-race runners listed. 78 exactas, 49 triples and 14 superfectas all “boxed” plays were given out as well with 50 other multi-race winning plays (doubles, pick 3 & 4 or grand slams). As the meet went on; my handicapping improved with 49 winners chosen the second half of the meet, after only having 36 the first three weeks.
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