Coming up, A River City Fourth of July

This is a work in progress. I have been "on call" for the past two weeks at my day job, and have only been able to get to Colonial Downs for a couple of hours Friday night.
This is a hodgepodge of stuff.
Video may be added, deleted, changed around. I have a little video of the York River Concert Band I want to get in here, some video of Sheldon Russell and Rosemary Homeister etc, presented with no rhyme or reason, mainly for future reference.





More than horse racing at Colonial Downs this weekend.


Former Attorney General and Republican candidate for Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell was there to get some votes.
Interesting place for him to show how up, given that the Colonial Downs racetrack is out in the wilds of rural New Kent County, in a sparsely populated area. It is, however midway between the voter rich Tidewater area and the Richmond, so there was some logistical logic to his decision I rechon.



Christie Black (Miss Virginia United States) and Liz Barker (Miss Teen Virginia) made the scene at Colonial Downs, meeting the folks and posing with winning jockey James S. Vail.



and a lady sang "Take Me Out to the Races" at Colonial Downs. I love the body language as she belts out the word "ponies". I couldn't catch her name over the old time PA system at Colonial Downs, but I understand this young lady is the last person to sing the national Anthem at the Diamond, the ill fated minor league ballpark in Richmond Virginia that has been the center of so much controversy since the Atlanta Braves farm team split the city in a huff last year.

Coming up, more on the Rosemary Homeister/Sheldon Russell battle for top jockey honors and a cut from the York River Concert Band.



TvNB

Saving Horse Racing, dumb ideas abound

There are a lot of whacked out ideas being presented to save the sport of horse racing in the United States, but this one being floated in BloodHorse.com is a real dilly.

It calls for a World Series of Horse Racing, apparently to be held during half time of a nationally televised football game in the Fall.

My take?

With all those defective horses in there like I Want Revenge and Quality Road, this idea has a very real potential to be a PR disaster for horse racing.
Many of those horses mentioned simply aren't durable enough to be championship material.

They've proven during the run up to the 09 Triple Crown series that they just can't cut it, and most likely, if they continue to race, will not leave the track alive.

And then there's the question of a level playing field. Jess Jackson has already made it clear he'll only run Rachel Alexandra on dirt. What if a top horse runs best on grass? How about synthetics? Can a race that in effect excludes the best horses from around the world truly be called a World Series?

In short, this is just another one of those half baked ideas coming down the pike these days and is something that cannot be sustained given the present status of the horse racing industry and the animals themselves in the United States today.


Not related but an interesting article in something called the The Villages Daily Sun. I'm saving this because it sets the record straight on the question of Rachel Alexandra and plastics.


TvNB

Death of a Racehorse by W.C. Heinz, a repost

In memory of Sailor's Cap and Terrain and the many others we never hear about, I'm re posting this link to Death of a Racehorse.

Certainly the best piece of reportage
I've ever seen about
life and death at the track. And along with William Nack's
excellent piece "Pure Heart",
about the death of Secretariat, a must read for anyone
even remotely interested in thoroughbred racing.

TvNB

Coming soon, Forest Hill Park Lake update

The renovation of the lake at Forest Hill Park in South Richmond, Virginia is going full bore,

For large view, click on picture

as evidenced by the pile of mud that's slowing growing into a mountain topside.


While the soil is secured behind a chain link fence,


does the dust from same present any danger to the surrounding neighborhood?


or to families of picnickers enjoying hot dogs, Tru-Aid, Moonpies and beer in this historic shelter just feet away?


There's some talk on another blog that the only contamination found so far in some of the mud and muck has been some petroleum residue. So far, there's been no talk of heavy metals or PCB's.

More to come.


TvNB

Yet another almost famous racehorse put down

Is it ever going to end?

We hear a lot about the new found "commitment" to safety for animals and jockeys that supposedly is taking the horse racing industry by storm, and yet it seems that every time you turn around, a famous or near famous thoroughbred has either sustained career ending injuries or is out for the count.

The latest in this sad cycle is the racehorse Terrain. He broke down in the Iowa Derby Friday night and was given the needle at Prairie Meadows.

The story is here.


TvNB

Rachel Alexandra, Mine That Bird lose ground in world rankings

Check here for latest world rankings from the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.

Both Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird have dropped from 7th place to 15th. Zenyatta, who wasn't even on the list last time around, has moved to number 5 on the world's stage.

This is interesting news in light of Jess Jackson's announcement that his horse, Rachel Alexandra, will duck the Breeders Cup so as to avoid a repeat of the Curlin situation a year ago where the world's top ranked horse was handily beaten by the Euros.
At the time, the Jackson camp blamed Curlin's lose on the synthetic surface at Santa Anita, and it appears Jackson and company will be serving the same whine this time around.

However, with the mare Zenyatta leapfrogging the filly Rachel Alexandra in the world's ranking, it will be interesting to see if the Jackson camp changes it's tune if they start to see their all but automatic Horse of the Year honors slipping away.


TvNB

Winter View, Julien Leparoux win ' All Along Stakes'

The race was last weekend, but I have a lot on my plate these days and am just getting around to posting some more of the videos I collected during Colonial Turf Cup day at Colonial Downs.



In this video, Winter View, under jockey Julien R. Leparoux, wins the Grade 3, $150,000 All Along Stakes for fillies and mares at Colonial Downs.
It was the 11th running of the All Along Stakes. This video shows the start and the finish of the 11/8 mile turf race, held at the Colonial Downs racetrack in New Kent County, Virginia.

Details on the race can be found here.

Still to come from last Saturday's card includes more video of Rosemary Homeister, the hot jockey who is neck and neck with fellow jockey Sheldon Russell for top jockey honors at Colonial Downs.


TvNB

Secretariat's birthplace, the 'Meadow' today

With the long awaited movie about the great racehorse Secretariat now finally getting some traction, I stopped by the Meadow today to check on the progress of the construction out there.

The Meadow is famed in the equine world as the birthplace of Secretariat, the greatest racehorse that ever lived, and according to reports, will play a pivotal role in the upcoming Disney movie.

According to reports, the movie will center on Penny Chenery's attempts to save her late fathers stud farm from the tax man. Penny Chenery will be played by Diane Lane.

When the horse that was to become Secretariat was foaled by Penny Chenery's broodmare Somethingroyal at 10 minutes past midnight on 30 March 1970 in that little shed down the hill from the broodmare barn, no one could have foreseen that this little foal would provide the solution to her problem and make her a legend on the national stage.

Long story short, the young horse proved so exceptional during his two year old campaign, that Penny Chenery was able to syndicate the champion for a record 6 million dollars, save her late father's stud operation, and become a national celebrity as Secretariat astounded the racing world with his Triple Crown series in 1973.

The 'Meadow' has not been owned by the Chenery family for many years, and it's fate was uncertain (one former owner had already torn down the Chenery Mansion) until the State Fair of Virginia brought the property as a permanent location for their annual State Fair and a year round equine center. The facility will be known as The Meadow Event Park .

A special full time resident at the Meadow Event Park will be a great grandson of Secretariat himself, a rescued thoroughbred named Rainaway ( you can find his story here and here ).



SFVA in is the process of renovating many of the old buildings on the property that have historical significance. Among them is the little foaling shed where Secretariat was born (though moved across the highway from it's original location).


Above is a picture of Secretariat's foaling shed as it looks June 21, 2009.



along with a video documenting the current progress of the construction on the property.

There is also a video and stills on this page that shows what the property looked liked a couple of years ago, including the foaling shed in it's original location.

Battle of Hastings number one in Colonial Turf Cup

Battle of Hastings won as expected Saturday in the Grade 2, $500,000 Colonial Turf Cup at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Virginia.
With jockey Tyler Baze in the saddle, Battle of Hastings did the 1 3/16 mile turf race in 1:57.79 .
Battle of Hastings was trained by the Jeff Mullins of I Want Revenge fame.
Mullins was not at Colonial Downs for the race.

Tyler Baze more than made up for the trainers absence however. The personable jockey was a big hit with the fans at this New Kent County race track, stopping to sign autographs even as he was rushing to catch a plane back to California.

Sidebar, Tyler Baze has something in common with Colonial Downs jockey Rosemary B. Homeister. Both have won the Eclipse Award as nation's outstanding apprentice jockey. Rosemary Homeister in the year 1992, Tyler Baze in the year 2000.

Lot's more from Colonial Downs coming up, including another big day for firecracker hot jockey Rosemary B. Homeister and a look at how Colonial Downs is going international. They now have their tote board in Japanese.



TvNB

Sailor's Cap, Colonial Turf Cup winner, dies

As we await the 2009 edition of Colonial Turf Cup (gr. II), word comes that last years victor, Sailor's Cap has dropped dead in his stall at Belmont Park. You can read about it here

Sad news for Virginia race fans and the news will surely cast a pall over the festivities at Colonial Downs this weekend and the running of the Colonial Turf Cup.

Once again, we are reminded what a brutal and heart breaking sport horse racing can be.





TvNB

Colonial Downs update

Ten horse field to run in Colonial Turf Cup

A quick video update of the Monday night racing scene at the Colonial Downs racetrack in New Kent County, Virginia

Number one, they held the drawing for the post positions for this Saturdays major race. You can read about it here and watch the James River News exclusive and unedited video of the drawing below.

June 15th, 2009. The drawing for this Saturday's Grade 2, $600,000 Colonial Turf Cup at Colonial Downs in New Kent County Virginia. Drawing video is unedited and presented in it's entirety for historical purposes.

And, I also have a very short video clip of jockey Rosemary B. Homeister putting together a couple of back to back wins tonight.

A quick video showing red hot jockey Rosemary B. Homeister winning a couple more tonight ( June 15, 2009) at the Colonial Downs racetrack in New Kent County, Virginia. She's quite a story.

The first clip is from the 5th race showing Rosemary aboard Mac Speed, the second part is from the 6th race showing Homeister on Izzy Speaking.

The races were moved from the turf track to dirt tonight (I assume because of the excessive rain we had this morning) and these were two great efforts by this hot jockey.


TvNB

Jockey Rosemary Homeister wins big at Colonial Downs

Flash, add Million Seller in race 10 to the list below. That means Homeister had THREE first place horses today... absolutely remarkable.

Jockey Rosemary Homeister certainly won her share THIS Saturday at the Colonial Downs racetrack in New Kent County, Virginia.
According to my count, 2 firsts, 2 seconds and 1 third place finish.
Her mounts included Funny Girl (2nd, race 3), Very Arrogant (1st, race 4), Depends On Annie (2nd, race 7),Listentothewindblo (3rd, race 8), and the big one, Pleasant Strike (1st in race 9).
I left before the tenth race, so dunno what she did there.

Turns out this young lady is something of a rock star in the horse racing world. Check out her story here


TvNB

Diane Lane saddles up to play Penny Chenery in Secretariat'

Secretariat movie star announced.

Variety is reporting that Diane Lane is going to play Penny Chenery in the upcoming Disney movie about Secretariat, the greatest racehorse that ever lived.

Variety claims the movie will be about about "the relationship between the 1973 Triple Crown-winning racehorse and his owner, Penny Chenery".

It will be interesting to see how they define that relationship.

From Bill Nack’s great book, "The Making of a Champion", it doesn’t sound like she was very "hands" on with the great horse, at least not in the warm and fuzzy way that the word "relationship" implies.

It's going to be a very interesting (and long overdue) film. Secretariat fans can only hope that it's reasonably factual.


TvNB

"Season's Best 3-Year-Old" poll out. They just don't get it

You can see the poll here at Bloodhorse.com.

My two cents?

With all due respect to Quality Road, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and many of the others, I just don't see how any horse can be in the running for "Best 3 Year Old" when the animal's physical issues prevent him/her from competing in the highest profile races of the year.

That's the reason horse racing is in the state it's in today... So many unsound horses are elevated to superstar status, bred for big bucks, and pass on their defects to future generations who are incapable of running more a few times in their careers.

One fella said,in the "comments" section of this article, "This colt is built like Secretariat and has speed and power".

I like Quality Road because he's a local horse but no one can ever compare him to Secretariat.

Whoa there, fella.

What made Secretariat the worlds greatest equine champion of all time was not just his accomplishments on the track but the fact that he was DURABLE.

Secretariat was built to LAST, not to make a nice showing in a couple of races and then head to the stud barn to pass on his defects to another generation.
Secretariat could easily have run and produced championship efforts into year four and beyond, and almost certainly would have done so if old man Chenery had been alive and his estate not saddled with tax problems.

As much as I'm rooting for horses like Quality Road and I Want Revenge and Dunkirk to recover and be able to return to the track, my hope for them is not so much that they'll be able to pull out a championship effort or two, but that they'll be able to finish their careers alive.

All of them are good horses that are exciting to watch WHEN they're healthy, but hardly the stuff of Secretariat.



TvNB

Jockeys at Colonial Downs

Introducing some of the jockeys riding at Colonial Downs in New Kent County Virginia on Sunday, May 7, 2009. More to come as video becomes available.
Today I show Rosemary B. Homeister,Jr,Luis Garcia,Eric Camacho, and my favorite, Andria Terrill

TvNB