Okay, I like horse racing…biiiiig duh. By one of those blessings of circumstance, I moved to teach at a school where one of my fellow 3rd grade teachers was married to a horse racing trainer. I’ve been invited to all variety of “inside events” and have had a grand time.
Well, their best horse is Kona Gold, a sprinter (in horse racing, under a mile is a sprint; 1 furlong is 1/8 of a mile, and the standard sprint is 6 furlongs). I’ve been following this horse since he started racing two years ago. I’ve fed him carrots, I’ve brushed his mane, I’ve come to watch him run in four of his races–and stood in the winner’s circle with him in three (she invited me to join them there).
Horse racing’s divisional championship is the Breeder’s Cup, eight races in eight categories meant to determine that division’s leader and champion: sprint (worth $1 million), 2yro fillies($1m), 2yro colts ($1m), older fillies & mares ($2m), mile on grass ($1m), fillies & mares on grass ($1m), mile-and-a-half on grass ($2m), and the Classic ($4m)–the biggest race of the year, where the absolute best in the country compete.
Anyway, Kona has been in the last three BC Sprints, remarkable in and of itself that he was even qualified to get in three straight years. He was third in 1998 in just his fourth race ever, second last year after coming off an injury, and this year…as if the thread title didn’t tell you…he WON! I couldn’t stop screaming and squealing! (I couldn’t be there as the race was held in Kentucky this year–like the Super Bowl, different tracks host the Breeder’s Cup every year.) I wore a “Kona Gold-- Breeder’s Cup” baseball cap that my friend had given me from one of his previous appearances all day Saturday…man, that entire day was just amazing.
It was awesome seeing my friend and her hubby on national TV (they even had a lengthy interview with the trainer before the race). I brought the video to school and showed it to my 5th graders; some of them had had her for 3rd grade and were thrilled to see her cheering Kona home.
And of course, the gratuitous web site plug…first, there are pictures of me with Kona at my photo album site: http://www.picturetrail.com/laurarae
Also, if you’d like to read about Kona and see pix of him winning, you can check out the Daily Racing Form’s article here: drf2000.com
Oh yes, and I failed to mention…Kona won in track and stakes record time. Go Kona, Go Kona…
