I would have loved to have seen two of the best females get back on the track and square up for $5 million. It would have had the feeling of Seabiscuit and War Admiral. But, I guess we’ll just have to wonder what would have been.

It was confirmed that Rachel Alexandra would not run in the Apple Blossom. The race was bumped up to a swelled $5 million purse, if both showed up to run. But, it looks like it will be back to the original $500,000.

Steve Asmussen was taking this really heavy. I spoke to a friend of mine who was on-track doing newspaper notes work.  He thought it was going to be the best racing weekend of his life. But when they were turning for home, he knew things were about to get tense.

Mr. Asmussen said he would never have sent out a runner who was not ready. When Calvin Borel was interviewed during the day, you would have thought the day was going to be all downhill running for the gal. It looked too easy… There was plenty of time off, and who knows? Maybe she did need one….

The good part was that she came back in good order. I think they will drop back and re-think her course in racing. It is so hard to keep a finely tuned blade to that level of sharpness. Even Zenyatta didn’t have the cleanest of trips, but she looked so good, it was hard to believe that she missed a day.

Racing sure could have used this race. The fans were coming back, and the gals were being mentioned with the all-time greats. Oaklawn Park and surrounding areas were worried about accommodating the crowds. But that is all gone. The race will still be great, but it won’t have that needed boost of star power. The game sure could have used a boost. It would have been nice to have witnessed this event. It would have been great to bring new faces to our sport. It would have been many things, but not anymore. I guess racing will just have to wait…