TUCSON, Ariz. - Horse racing today has lost not only its innocence, but, tragically, its eloquence as well.
Listening to the present gabble and thinking back to days when racing had magical voices, one is reminded of the great talkers of racing's past.
Jocularity and inanity have taken over for articulate commentary, and missing entirely is an element that once made racing worth hearing as well as watching: eloquence of expression.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - When it comes to winning a Breeders' Cup event, there are no written rules of behavior, and certainly not in Texas, where costumes are encouraged and excess is required.
As a result, no one batted an eye last Saturday at Lone Star Park when Julio Canani, the Peruvian gaucho, sauntered into the walking ring for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies wearing brown boots, shades, and a sharp fawn Stetson right out of the box.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - In an era when horse racing appears to be plagued by illegal drug use, when trainers regularly accomplish feats that defy logic, when bettors routinely factor "juice" into their handicapping, one event in the sport remains free of scandal and suspicion.
Before the 21st Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships are run at Lone Star Park Saturday, trainers, horses, and veterinarians will be subjected to scrutiny without parallel in America racing. The Breeders' Cup organization has the resources (and the will) to do what individual racetracks cannot.
There have been Breeders' Cups with fuller fields and more guaranteed Hall of Famers than this 21st edition, but it is hard to think of one where more was at stake. Almost every championship in the sport, equine and human, will be determined by what happens Saturday at Lone Star, where a solid day of divisional showdowns will culminate in a deep and intriguing Classic that will crown the Horse of the Year.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Richard Mandella likes to describe Pleasantly Perfect as a big puppy, playful and drowsy by turns, prone to bouts of pointless activity followed by long, meditative stares into the mysterious distance.
"Stop it," Mandella commanded as Pleasantly Perfect nibbled his shank and nipped at the air around his trainer. "Behave yourself."
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The last time Graham Motion had anything to do with Texas, it rained hard, as in Old Testament hard, with armadillos, prairie dogs, and longhorn steers lining up by twos and searching for an ark.
Motion was warm and dry in Florida at the time, while his horse, his owners and his jockey were at Sam Houston Park, dealing with a bonafide Texas gullywasher that dumped 3 1/2 inches of rain inside a couple of hours.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The last time trainers Allen Jerkens and Richard Mandella were in such close proximity, Jerkens was introducing his younger colleague to the audience assembled for the 2001 Hall of Fame ceremonies in Saratoga Springs. On that particular day, the newly inducted Mandella was too overwhelmed to summon any wisecracks.
On Tuesday morning at Lone Star Park, Mandella was in true form, going out of his way to give Jerkens a warm greeting, a hearty Texas handshake, and a couple of ribs.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Lone Star Park isn't exactly a hotbed of horse racing history. The track is barely seven years old and still looks fresh out of the wrapper. Traditions are beginning to take hold, but they are mere seedlings when compared to such American heartland institutions as Churchill Downs, Arlington Park, and Fair Grounds.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Two years ago, as the Breeders' Cup approached, John Amerman took a difficult stand and declined to pay the $400,000 penalty required to make his accomplished South American Lido Palace eligible to run in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Then the owner had to watch Volponi win the Classic at odds of 43-1.
