THE ASPIRING HORSEPLAYER

It’s in our darkest hours that we often find our brightest stars shine most brilliantly. Their radiance casting the perfect contrast to those bleak horizoned afternoons where nothing is as it seems, or as it should be.  In the midst of our emptiness, something catches our eye.  A glimpse perhaps, or even a glimmer.  In that micro-second when true greatness passes our field of vision and comes into contact with our consciousness, we are reminded again what it is to be moved, humbled, and awed by that which we so long to see.  We remember what it is to truly live life full of passion and pride.

Rachel Alexandra becomes the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness. Photo by Cindy Pierson Dulay http://horseracing.about.com

The past few weeks have been riddled with the defeats of some of our most cherished and well respected runners.  It might be said that the most recent incarnation of this trend began when Mine That Bird was upset by the “other Bird” (Summer Bird) in the Belmont Stakes.  Heading into last weekend, much of the hype was then centered around the return of some of racing’s current biggest stars; Indian Blessing and Kip Deville, as well as the return of the nations most versatile older male in Einstein. Surely the return of such classy runners could be counted on to provide stability and familiarity to the frequently chaotic world of racing, right? Well, apparently not. The failure of each to left the upper echelons of several of the divisions of thoroughbred horse racing completely jumbled.

To be fair, Einstein received one of the worst trips in recent memory, and still fought on gamely. Let’s also not forget that he’s probably a slightly better turf runner than he is a dirt runner, so it’s not like the guy was on his preferred surface. While he went down in defeat to the 2008 Preakness runner-up, Macho Again, Einstein still remains the top older horse in the country…although the older male division has seemingly never been as weak and depleted as it is now. 

Think about it, beyond Einstein, who have we?  Well Armed comes to mind, after his multi-million dollar performance this March in the Dubai World Cup.  Can we still list Tiago in that category?  Macho Again certainly deserves some respect now for his performance in the Stephen Foster. Still, if this is the best we’ve got behind Einstein than things are quite desperate indeed.  How much do you want to bet the folks affiliated with the Breeders’ Cup are hoping the Euros can be enticed back across the pond to Santa Anita in substantial numbers this fall?

And it’s not like things are that much better in the older female division.  The only difference is that we’ve got a sure thing runner in Zenyatta that is so indisputably tops in the division (and indeed generally considered tops in all of thoroughbred horse racing in the U.S.) that the division appears healthier than it may really be.  It’s deeper than the older male division, for sure, but awfully top heavy with Zenyatta heads and shoulders above the rest. I’m not even going to type the logical theoretical follow-up to this statement.  I’ll just leave it as “what if?” I think you know where I’m going with this.  If for some reason Zenyatta were not racing, then what? It’s a scary thought.

Then there’s the 3-year-old Triple Crown season. Talk about a lack of clarity!  Much like in 2007, we had 3 different horses win each leg of the Triple Crown, with only Kentucky Derby champion Mine That Bird finishing in the money in each of the 3 legs.  For my money, that makes him the top 3-year-old male in the nation hands down, with “male” being the operative term.

The top overall 3-year-old in the nation in my mind is irrefutably Rachel Alexandra, the sensational filly who triumphed in the Preakness. Why, you ask?  Well, not only were her runs in the Kentucky Oaks and the Preakness examples of sheer brilliance, but she can also boast that she defeated the top male, Mine That Bird, in their only head-to-head match up.  Obviously the final chapter in this story is far from written, and one could easily see Mine That Bird and the rest of the boys getting a shot for revenge later on down the road. Who knows, with the right pace setup anything is possible.  I think we’ve learned the “anything is possible” lesson a million fold this year.

For the moment, however, there is simply no other horse in the nation with such immediately recognizable “star power” as Rachel.  It’ll be interesting to look back 20 years from now and find out what kind of a lasting impact she made on the many young boys and girls whose first memory of horse racing was that special third Saturday in May.  Might they have developed an affinity for the sport all of us have come to know and love?  I’m willing bet the answer will be yes for a good number of folks. Whether they remain fans or not depends on what happens from here on out.  The point is that she’s the kind of horse that can unite folks in a common bond of respect and admiration.  She has the potential to captivate audiences and catapult the sport, even if but for a moment, back to a position of national prominence.

I know the “smart money” says that it’s gambling that brings true “horseplayers” into the game to stay, but my visits to the tracks on major racing days over the years have convinced me that rule only applies to folks who will be wagering significant sums of money on a frequent basis. While that’s certainly important (betting handle being the lifeblood of the sport), it’s not the entire story.  Nor is it a particularly appealing way for the sport to branch out to future generations of fans (“gambling” being associated with a bevy of negative connotations).  There simply has to be something of substance and value besides the betting.  Let’s be honest, quite often an undercard maiden or lower level claiming race is actually a more intriguing “betting race” than the featured graded stakes of the day.

Just as important as the gamblers (and perhaps overlooked for far too long) are the folks who will tune in without wagering and thereby increase tv viewership (thus generating ad revenue, etc.) and the folks who will pay for admission and purchase souvenirs along the way. From being involved in a Rachel Alexandra fan club over on Facebook, I can tell you with absolute certainty that Rachel is EXACTLY the kind of horse with this sort of “crossover appeal” that the sport so desperately needs.

The proof was in the pudding on Preakness day when, despite a drop in actual attendance at Pimlico compared to the year before, the tv ratings and overall handle were up – the latter being especially remarkable given the present economic condition of the country.  Perhaps this has to do with my proximity to Baltimore and Pimlico, but I know that many of the folks I ran into following the Preakness were still buzzing about the filly, and here I’m talking about folks who had until that moment never so much as uttered a word about horse racing one way or the other.

My sense is that the majority of folks realize this, and that this probably fueled the disappointment many expressed when owner Jess Jackson decided to skip the Belmont and instead rest Rachel for her summer/fall campaign ahead.  I found this quite vexing, as I suspect many of the folks vocalizing disappointment at the withholding of Rachel from the race would have been the first to criticize had she run and something gone wrong. Thankfully, most people seemed to understand that the sound decision was to rest her, although it must be said that this decision did have a correspondingly detrimental effect on the overall profitability and marketability of the 2009 Belmont Stakes.  

Without a Triple Crown on the line, the crowd for Belmont 141 was markedly less than had witnessed Big Brown’s attempt at history in 2008.  Betting handle was down as well.  On the plus side, there were no reported plumbing problems this year. Still, the bottom line was that without a marquee runner (no disrespect to Mine That Bird, mind you, he just doesn’t have quite the same “crossover appeal”…although it must be said that Calvin Borel has become something of a household name after doing appearances on Lettermen, etc) the overall day was less than it might have been…at least from NYRA’s perspective.  

Fast forward to today and news that Rachel Alexandra will seek to make amends by traveling to Belmont to compete in the Mother Goose on June 27.  

Isn’t this exactly what we’ve needed?  I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been suffering from a bit of post Belmontitis lately. You may have noticed this as the volume and frequency of posts has slackened quite a bit. The moment I heard it was confirmed that Rachel was running in the Mother Goose, my mind leaped into “action mode.” Travel arrangements, hotel accommodations – each of these were suddenly immediate priorities.  There’s simply no way I’m missing her in person…especially considering what a wonderful view one can get if they stake out a comfy spot in the paddock prior to the Mother Goose. 

Note: If you happen to be in the area that day, just look for the guy in his early 30’s wearing the crimson Alabama baseball cap with the big cursive “A”…who is no doubt gawking and dripping with excitement (and sweat, depending on the weather) as post time draws near. 

In fact, I’m attempting to organize a Facebook driven “meet up” for her fan club members.  Currently the idea is to meet under the paddock tote board immediately after the 5th race.  I’ll let you know if anything changes, of course.  The 5th race seemed perfect as it gives folks a chance to arrive at their leisure (not everyone being quite the “early birds” that we are), and should still provide ample time to enjoy the later races on the card without missing any of the Pick 4 action. 

Hopefully I’m not alone in this excitement.  I can think of no greater message that we, the fans, could send to horse racing to say “yes, it is about the horses” than to show up in force to welcome Rachel back in her first race since making history in the Preakness. 

I could even care less if she goes off at 1/9 (which she should be, anything else being an overlay). It’s not about the wagering (although, let me be honest…you KNOW I will be wagering). It’s about a chance to witness greatness. One of the few and fleeting opportunities to do so that we are afforded, made all the more important by the instability and lack of truly “great” horses in many of our divisions at the moment.

So with this in mind, I’ve only one question for you all…

Who’s coming with me?