Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby

Although I didn't get a chance to watch either the Kentucky Oaks or Kentucky Derby live I did get to watch replays of both of them today and I thought I should share my thoughts.

Kentucky Oaks - Like everyone else I was incredibly impressed with Rachel Alexandra. How could you not be. She dominated the end of the race and it wasn't even close. What's more impressive is that some analyst's believe that she should run in the Belmont Stakes or Preakness against the boys because they believe she is THAT good. This would be an incredibly impressive feat if she were able to race against and beat the best male horses in the world.

Kentucky Derby - It was a sad start to the day with the news that I Want Revenge would not be able to race in the Derby because of an injury. This must have been a major letdown for the owner, trainer, and 19 year old jockey. However, they handled it with class and I'm especially impressed with the owners answer about whether or not I Want Revenge would race in the Derby. To sum up his answer, it was that as soon as he heard from the doctors that racing the horse might put it in some sort of danger of injuring himself further he said there was no question that I Want Revenge would not race in the Derby. To me, this was a great answer. The owner may have cost himself thousands of dollars but he knew that the horse's health was more important than the money and that is something to be commended.

On a brighter note let's talk for a second about the awesome ride by jockey Calvin Borel. Calvin Borel who won the Kentucky Oaks as well, took a horse Mine That Bird who wasn't even supposed to be able to contend and raced him amazingly with pinpoint precision. Guiding the horse along the rail he pulled off the miracle and Mine That Bird went to easily win the Kentucky Derby. This race shows how important the talent of a jockey is in horse racing. Without Borel's brilliant ride there was no way Mine That Bird would have pulled off the historic upset and win the 2009 Kentucky Derby.