A very impressive performance!!

[WillyJ]

Did anyone else happen to watch The Preakness today?

It's been 25 years since Affirmed won the Triple Crown and while several other horses have won the first 2 races since then, none have been able to go on and win all 3 . . .

But after watching Funny Cide win The Preakness today, I gotta say this horse has a real shot. . .


After winning the Kentucky Derby under somewhat controverisal circumstances, funny Cide simply blew the rest of the field away today, winning in Secretariat-like fashion by 9¾-lengths and going away. . there wasn't another horse near him when he crossed the finish line.


The Belmont is next, and because it's a much longer race then the 1st 2 legs of the Triple Crown a horse that is built to win those races often falters there. . but this horse is born and bred in New York, and looked so far above the compitition today that it seems likely he'll make some history when they run this June 7th. .

I've been a big horse racing fan for years, and I can't recall being so impressed with a horse since seeing Seattle Slew back in '77. . so I'll have some bucks on him. . .

 

[browneyes]

Willy, I won't tell you what popped in my head from the title (NO! Not that!, I can read your mind, Willy ).

I don't think I've ever seen an actual horse race. I like your enthusiasm about it though. I'm glad you got to see a good performance.

 

[WillyJ]

Did you think I was probably just bragging about myself again Shannon!

 

[Michelle]

I agree, Will, it was an amazing performance today and I'll be rooting for Funny Cide in the Belmont! He was pulling away at the finish so I think this horse just might have the kick needed to endure the Belmont.

I would love to see another Triple Crown winner!

 

[WillyJ]

Me too Michelle!!! Racing could sure use the shot-in-the-arm a new Triple Crown winner would provide, and after today i really think Funny Cide has what it takes. . .

They way he just left the field behind like that was really amazing!

 

[bsnyder]

I missed it! But have since caught up on the post race coverage!

Willy, if you're a horse-racing fan, I have a must-read book suggestion!

I just finished the NYT bestseller "Seabiscuit, An American Legend".

This is not a subject I'd normally think I'd want to read an entire book about, but it's a very well crafted book and an amazing story!

 

[WillyJ]

Thanks for the tip Bet!!!

I'll have to make a point of checking that out; and as a matter of fact, I seem to recall reading something in the Daily Racing Form today saying a movie about SeaBiscut was going to be coming out soon. . wonder if it's based on that book?

The race today wasn't exciting in that it was close; it was exciting just to see what looks like a superior horse peform like that. . Santos had him laying in 3rd on the back streach and as soon as they hit the turn he cut him loose and he just effortlessly blew past the leaders, never looked back, and ws still pulling away at the end. . .

The Belmont has been a graveyard for Triple Crown hopefulls that past couple decades, but I just have a gut feeling this horse will pull it off. .

 

[charlie,nj]

I’m not a big horse racing fan…but I do remember my mother always making us stop everything we were doing to watch the KD on TV. (oddly enough that’s the first time I ever heard the word “bookie” used) I have friends from HS who still to this day load up the camper and go down to the K to party every year. (30 years straight)

Hey Willy don’t you think that the big KD controversy was all just a concocted plan to give horse racing an extra bit of publicity? Most people wouldn’t have known Funny Cide from Farside if it wasn’t for the “controversy”. The kids in my sons Kindergarten were even talking about it.

I guess it is a little bit of a sore point with you being that you were involved in the great DIS corn payola scandal a few years ago. You remember it don’t you? The time the mods invented the “weirdest thing you ever saw in WDW” thread. I must admit it was a pretty cool plot to have someone post that they saw a person eating a can-o-corn on the steps of City Hall…then out of the blue the DIS starts hawking corn t-shirts and mugs on it’s DIS merchandize page. How much of a kickback did the mods get for setting that up?

 

[SuiteDisney]

First of all, I disapprove of horse racing at such a young age. 3 y.o. horses are youngsters and shouldn't be pushed to go as hard as they can.

That being said, what's even more impressive is that Funny Cide is a gelding, not a stallion. I'll have to do some research and double-check, but I'm pretty sure that if he does win the Triple Crown, he'll be the first gelding in history to do so.

It's a shame that he is a gelding. If he were a stallion he'd most likely be retired after the Belmont and put out to stud. But he was gelded for medical reasons and wouldn't have been able to reproduce anyway. His life will be much harder, though. He'll probably have to race until he breaks down. Horse racing isn't such a wonderful life for a horse.

 

[browneyes]

Originally posted by WillyJ
Did you think I was probably just bragging about myself again Shannon!

Have you been doing your best Bruce imitation again, Willy?

 

[bsnyder]

Willy, the movie is based on the book. I hadn't heard about the movie version, but I'll definitely go see it.

"The Universal Studios motion picture based on Seabiscuit: An American Legend is now in production. Created by Larger Than Life Productions, the movie is being directed by Oscar nominee Gary Ross, writer of the critically acclaimed blockbusters Big and Dave and producer/writer/director of Pleasantville. Ross, an avid racing enthusiast, is also serving as screenwriter on the film.

Tobey Maguire, star of Spider Man, The Cider House Rules, Wonderboys, and Pleasantville, is starring as Seabiscuit's regular jockey Red Pollard. Veteran actor Jeff Bridges, star of such films as The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Fisher King, and The Big Lebowski, is playing Seabiscuit's owner, Charles Howard. Academy Award winner Chris Cooper (American Beauty, October Sky) is playing Seabiscuit's trainer, Tom Smith. Elizabeth Banks (Catch Me If You Can) is playing Marcela Howard. Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens is playing jockey George Woolf, while Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron is playing Charley Kurtsinger, War Admiral's jockey.

The movie is being shot at several locations, including Kentucky's Keeneland Racecourse, New York's Saratoga Racecourse and California's Santa Anita Racecourse. Seabiscuit is scheduled for release on July 25, 2003."

 

[WillyJ]

Thanks for the info Bet! I'm definitely going to get a copy of the book and check the movie out when then release it. .

Laura, I agree with you up to a point, but having been around the horse racing industry quite a few years, I can tell you that while it can be cruel, it really depends on the owners and how they treat the animals. Most horses that are qualified to run in one of the Triple Crown races represent a huge investment by the owners thus they are treated extremely well. . . it's in the lower ranks of the industry where the potential for profit is iffy at best where you find jerks who cut costs on the horse's care and run them into the ground. .

Personally, I have a problem with racing them as 2-year olds, but (depending on the horse) by 3 many horses are mature enough to race as long as the owners don't push the animal too hard or run them when they're not ready. .

If Funny Cide wins The Belmont and Triple Crown, he will have earned his owners around $10 million in less then a month, so even though they can't retire him to stud, they won't need to run him into the ground either. . .

And yes, he will be the 1st gelding to win it if he does- and when they do retire him he might actually have it better because he's gelded. A stallion is a very dangerous, unpredictable animal and often have to be isolated from other horses, where as a gelding is much easier to handle and can be turned out with other horses no problem, which is better since they are social animals. .


Now Charlie, you should be ashamed of yourself for casting aspersions on the character of my fellow mods like that!!!

There's no way they'd stoop so low as to push a thread as part of some kind of elaborate scam to make money off t-shirt kick-back and such!!


It was my idea, and I didn't share a penny. . .

 

[Deb in IA]

Willy, the book Bet mentioned is superb!! I read it last year; literally could not put it down!!

I LOVE that era of the late '30's, and the story of three unlikely, washed-up characters (Red Pollock the jockey who was abandoned at a racetrack at age 15, Seabiscuit, the knock-kneed, mis-trained horse, and Tom Smith, the loner ex-cowboy who finally understands how to get through to Seabiscuit) makes for a rousing story of how an underdog got the attention of a nation and became a national hero.

The movie comes out July 25; I can't wait!

And yes, I am a horseracing fan, too. Actually, anyone born and bred in Louisville, KY knows about horseracing!! If you ever get a chance to go to Lexington, Willy, you should visit the Lexington Horse Park:

http://www.imh.org/khp/

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I was so impressed on Saturday. I knew that once Funny Cide was on the outside, it was a pretty done deal since that is the position he loves to come from. Funny Cide's story is pretty amazing. Six old high school buddies pooled their money together to buy him. And he was pretty cheap too (in horse terms). I think they have likened it to winning the lottery. A horse that runs in the Triple Crown races really is not a target for being run to the ground even if gelded.

 

[charlie,nj]

I knew you were behind it the whole time.

As a matter of fact I remember Pete posting that the corn t-shirt was created in honor of all of your corn posts.