History in the Making

Starting off my day at work seemed about as normal as possible. Blue skies and sunshine gleamed over the hills of Kentucky and glanced off the brilliant Ohio River. I walk into the jock’s room and the daily banter of how riders did yesterday and how many mounts await held the conversation. It was until […]

Rough and Tough Game

For decades, Angel Cordero rode as tough as nails. You didn’t come up the rail on him, and Lord knows you didn’t ride too close to pin him in. It was part of the game and he did his fair share of days off and fines levied. Irad Ortiz is one of the strongest finishers […]

Be Careful What You Wish For

Confusion has a steep price to pay. I’ve been working in racing all of my life. No more saying it’s been mostly part of my working years; it’s been my entire life. – I’ve loved every day from the ice-cold parking lot days until I slowly climbed the ladder. The sport was my first love […]

The Little Things

On your way to your office, you see the beauty of watching horses train on the track as you hear the sounds of snorting colts being pulled up after a strong morning work. – You lean against the rail like you do every morning and you drink in the beauty of your surroundings. You could […]

Ochenta (80)

I remember holding your hand and walking in the track. We were buddies separated by 23 years and I loved every minute even though I didn’t know what was really going on. Just being with you was reward enough, and nothing in my life has been that good since. You were great at math and […]

The Dawn of a New Day

As you see the fluffy wisps of billowing beauty in the sky moving quickly, there’s something ominous behind pushing them away. The sport of kings lies upon these white clouds, and this time, we’re not sure where the rain will fall. Horse racing, especially Thoroughbred racing, was a sport enjoyed by all during the progressive […]

What’s Next?

Keeneland flew by like a warm spring day and the Kentucky Derby 149 is in the books. Now, we have two weeks until the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown takes the track, and the waiting can be the hardest part. So, what’s a horseplayer to do?? First, I played for two days at Keeneland […]

Special Delivery

Prior to the Derby, a large envelope arrives. Just like a little kid waiting on my note from Santa, I tear into the package and find a dark green construction paper packet. About forty pages of the most comprehensive data put together by a single racing fan. It covers how he did last year; the […]

Getting Back in the Game

A few blogs ago I spoke of taking a sabbatical. A little break from the bump and grind of betting on a bad streak or without the passion needed to score. I didn’t need as long as I thought initially and felt ready to ask the coach to put me back in. My plans are […]

Taking Notes

Go back to the days of staring out the window while your history teacher droned on about the historical happenings way back in the day. – When the bell finally sounded and you looked at an empty notebook, you know you’ll pay the price later when the test day arrives. – Same process as playing […]

Winning Ponies

Archive for the ‘General Discussion’ Category