Full Celebration! John Henry Grave

Here is the gravesite of John Henry who passed at age 32 on October 8, 2007. He is buried near the paddock at the Kentucky Horse Park where he reigned since 1985 as a resident in the Hall of Champions! He was named after the "steel-drivin'" folk hero because as a baby, he loved to rip up steel water buckets and feed tubs and stomp 'em good. He was bought as a yearling at the Keeneland sale for $1,100. He was over at the knee, plain, small, and he had just whacked his head, so was all bloody.

But he paid for himself over and over. He raced for 10 years and had a 83: 39, 15, 9 record. He earned Horse of the Year twice, a place in the Racing Hall of Fame, the Santa Anita Handicap twice, the Arlington Million Handicap twice, the Graded 1 Hollywood Invitational and Oak Tree Invitational each three times, and the Jockey Gold Cup. He was the first horse to pass $4 million in earnings and ultimately earned $6,497,947 on the track. Chris McCarron, one of his friends and jockey, said that John Henry was so smart that he felt that "I'm just along for the ride." JH would look at the scoreboard after races, looking for his place and for his betting earnings. And he was so competitive that he pulled his groom to the winner's circle once, after having lost a race!

Cranky wonderul old man! Hope he's running in heaven with his friend Cigar and other great racers!

Full Celebration! My Zen Perfect Day

Okay, so in these photos, you see exercise riders at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Over 900 racehorses and 100 trainers quarter here to learn the ropes! These are racehorses learning their trade, or tweaking and refining their trade. Here is where they can get their "gate card" which is their official permission to run at our country's race tracks because they have proven they can load into and leap out of a gate. Here is where exercise riders earn about 10$ a ride to jump on novice baby race horses. The place has two tracks, one you see in this photo, and then a second which is only a 5/8th mile on the inside of this larger one. It was an amazing facility! We got to meet and speak with a trainer, Mike Cameron. We got to see Chris McCarron's North American Riding Academy, it was awesome.

Okay, so here was the perfect day, and it occurred on Saturday, April 25th, when I finally got in the zone on my Full celebration weekend. I woke up and felt the cool breeze of early morning. I heard horses whiffling and snorting. I made coffee and had my morning java and chocolate mousse with Revelry and the Paints and Palimino. I drove out to the Thoroughbred Training Center and took a tour. I took a driving lesson with Breimer. I visited a horse farm and talked with a young college student with two paint horses. I went to Rolex and watched the Cross-Country. I met David O' Connor's mother, Sally O'Connor, who was working as a fence judge! I visited the Kentucky Horse Park and saw Funnycide and visited John Henry's gravesite. I took a tour of the Driving Center and looked at all the amazing sorts of carts, carriages, gigs, and phaetons. I saw Secretariat and Man 'o War's statues and visited Violet's and Hailee's relatives, War Admiral and others at their burial ground. I went to an art museum and saw Scott Tree's photos of Arabians and Fay Moore's sports paintings of equines. I went home and had a glass of wine with the horses back at Gayla. And then I had a relaxed dinner at Galvin's in Georgetown while reading In Service of the Horse, reading how David O' Connor's groom cares for his horses. Then I slipped into a sleep, as horses snorted and puffed and made agreeable happy noises!

Breaking News! Heading Down the Homestretch

The longest-running racetrack in California, Bay Meadows, will close on May 11th after its last 70 day meet. It was founded in1934, so has had a 74 year run! It's an historically significant track for many, many reasons. It's innovative founder, William P. Kyne, introduced the ideas of pari-mutuel betting and the Daily Double, and implemented the technologies of the all-enclosed starter gate, the totalizer board, and the photo-finish camera, all Bay Meadows firsts!

Famous horses ran here, including Majestic Prince and Native Diver who broke their maidens at Bay Meadows. Determine and Charismatic used Bay Meadows as preps for theier Kentucky Derby wins. And other regular famous horses included Seabiscuit, Citation, Round Table, John Henry, Noor, Coal Town, Cigar, Lost in the Fog, and Secretariat's best girl, Lady's Secret! Famous jockeys included Bill Shoemaker, Laffit Pincay, Jr. and, of course, Russell Baze who just won his 10,000th race there!

A sad thing about it's history is that the groundwater contains poisonous environmental hazards, including petrochemical hydrocarbons, benzene, toluene, and pesticides.

I hope Californians enjoy their last meet at this famous track. And I hope they open another in the area which they have discussed and planned.

Breaking News! 2007 Eclipse Awards Announced!

On January 4th, the nominations for this year's Eclipse Awards were announced by the presenting organizations. The Eclipse Awards are named after the 18th century racehorse and foundation sire who was undefeated in 18 starts and left a breeding legacy of 344 race winners, including 3 Epsom Derby winners. This year, the Eclipse Awards, which honor the horses, owners, breeders, trainers, and jockeys of the thoroughbred racing industry and also gives special awards honoring great contributions will be held on Monday, January 21st at the Beverly Hills Wilshire Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, California.

Here are a taste of a few of the nominees for special categories:
1) 2 year-old male: Kodiak Kowboy, Pyro, War Pass
2) 2 year-old filly: Country Star, Indian Blessing, Proud Spellb
3) 3 year-old male: Curlin, Hard Spun, Street Sense
4) 3 year-old filly: Octave, Panty Raid, Rags to Riches

They do not release the nominations for Horse of the Year until the event itself!

This year, the Kentucky Horse Park is receiving a special Eclipse Award for their outstanding contributions to the racing industry. John Nicholson, executive director of the KHP, said, "We are exhilarated to be honored with the special Eclipse Award. This is the culmination of enormous efforts by many people over the past three decades who played a central role in the celebration of that special bond between man and the horse."

The Kentucky Horse Park opened in 1978 and served as the home of John Henry, that many award-winning, 2X Horse of the Year winning racehorse who lived their for 23 years before just passing away in late 2007 at the grand old age of 32. The leading officer for the Eclipse Awards cited the relationship between JH and the KHP when he announced why they deserved this special prestigious recognition: "John Henry's indomitable will and spirit symbolized the love and dedication that the Kentucky Horse Park has given to the thoroughbored industry over the years. On behalf of the presenting organizations of the Eclipse Awards, we are proud to bestow this most deserving honor to the men and women of the Kentucky Horse Park."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_Award_for_Horse_of_the_Year
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_Award

The Kind and Accomplished Chris McCarron!

Christopher John "Chris" McCarron is one of the most famous jockeys the United States ever enjoyed! He was born in 1955 and in 1974 began racing, after the encouragement of his brother, Gregg. During his career, he raced 34,239 mounts between 1974-2002 and had a winning percentage of 21%! He retired in 2002 after 28 years of racing, worked on the film Seabiscuit, worked for the Santa Anita Race Track, and then decided to open a Riding Academy to teach how to be a jockey.

In this photo, you can see some of his very first students, and he is in the background! Most everyone in the horse industry thinks that this riding academy is a great idea that U.S. horse enthusiasts desperately need. Most jockeys internationally do have riding schools to learn their sport; we've been unique for our lack.

Anyway, you will remember Mr. McCarron from my earlier blog posts about John Henry. He was hugging that elder statesman! He was a regular rider for that fabulous Eclipse Award winning horse and spent time with him when he passed earlier this Fall.

But here are some of his many achievements. He won the 1974 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey, the 1980 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey, the 1980 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, and the 1991 Mike Venezia Award for "extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship." He was the youngest jockey to win $100 million, and the nation's leading jockey 6 times! He also won 9 Breeders' Cup Races, including 5 Breeders' Cup Classics, and won 6 U.S. Triple Crown Races, 2 Kentucky Derbys, 2 Preaknesses, 2 Belmonts! He was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1989, and when he retired he was the all-time leading money winner, with $264 million in winnings!

Among his many retirement accolades, some said that he "punched the clock day in and day out." He was a "role model and fierce competitor."

Besides John Henry, his Kentucky Derby winners were Alysheba (1987) and Go For Gin (1994)!

Anyway, I think it's great that he's running a riding academy for jockeys. I have the link posted below! Only $3,300 per semester for 6 semesters of learning -- a deal really! And they provide the horses. I bet he's a great teacher. This is what he had to say about finding your bliss, "I"m a true believer that everybody is born with an ability to excel at something. Everybody has a talent to be really, really good at something, whether it be drawing, singing, kicking a football, or whatever it might be. But it's the lucky people that actually find out they discover what that talent is."
http://nara.kctcs.edu/aboutDisplay_section_4.cfm
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_McCarron
or
http://hall.racingmuseum.org/hall/jockey.asp?ID=200
or
http://www.macbethfund.org/news_stories/chris_retires.htm

Breaking News! Lots of Love and a Celebration

Here are photos of the fabulous John Henry. The first was taken in 1998 at the Kentucky Horse Park and you can see his irascible sweetness and champion nature. The second was taken on March 9, 2005 at his 30th birthday celebration. His lifelong friend and former jockey, Chris McCarron, is giving him a hug. You can see that John had a world of friends and love in his life. Bless him on his new journeys.

Breaking News! More on John Henry

Here is a photo of our passed champion taken in 2002. In August, Kentucky had a tsunami of heat and poor John Henry began to show real illness. He had a real hard time staying hydrated, though they gave him world class care.

He was the last survivor of the power-gelding triumvarate of Kelso, Forego, and John Henry. Kelso was a 5X horse of the year, Forego 3X, and John Henry twice, including being the oldest thoroughbred ever to be distinguished with that honor.

When they decided he was ready to pass, they called his old friend and jockey, Chris McCarron, who came to spend some time with him alone. As Nicholson, KHP park director said, "The manner of his going was very touching. Everybody had a chance to say goodbye. It was a dignified and fitting end. There were lots of tears; a lot of laughter; a lot of hugs and very tender goodbyes with John. He went very peacefully."

Chris stayed with him for a longtime on Monday, but left before the veterinarian arrived because he didn't want to see the end of his good old friend.

Breaking News! John Henry passes at 32

Today John Henry was euthanized at the Kentucky Horse Park, at the venerable age of 32. He was an amazing gelding who was only 15.1 hands, but a whole lot of champion. I have seen this gentleman at the Hall of Champions a few times, and was grateful for the experience.

He was foaled on March 9, 1975 at Golden Chance Farms, and was a "small, ugly, and bad-tempered" foal who was sold at Keeneland for $1,100. He was so naughty and destructive of his stall property that he was gelded and sold for $2,200. But then finally, he was purchased by his family, the Rubins, for $25,000 and sent to train with Ron McAnally who trained him with "carrots, apples and love!"

John Henry raced for 8 years, between 1977-1984, earning more than $6.5 million, and earning the Eclipse Horse of the Year Award twice! His final record was 83: 39-15-9. He earned 7 Eclipse Awards and voted Champion Older Horse. He was the oldest horse to win Horse of the Year at age 9, and oldest horse to win a Grade 1 race at the age of 9. He was the Champion Turf Horse in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1984. He won 30 stakes races. And is the only horse to win the Arlington Million (G1) twice and the only horse to win the Santa Anita Handicap twice!! He has won more graded stakes than any other thoroughbred in history. Not surprisingly, he was voted Race Horse of the Decade for the 1980s. And is still the richest gelding of any breed in history! He was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1990, and was voted #23 of the Top 100 race horses of the 20th century! When he retired in 1985, he was the highest money-earning American thoroughbred in history!

He was retired to the Kentucky Horse Park, along with his famous buddy, Cigar and has received his adoring public for 22 years! His family and close friends visited him often, with his trainer Ron McAnally and his exercise rider of 6 years visiting him just this past September. He was failing in health over the past few weeks, and took a bad turn over the weekend. He lost considerable weight and was in kidney failure. The KHP executive director, John Nicholson, said, "John Henry was a testament to the fact that a horse's value is far greater than the sum of his pedigree, conformation, sales price, and race record."

John Henry's dad has passed away, so a son said today that his mother and stepfather, Rubin, "loved sharing John's victories with his adoring fans and we appreciate their devotion even to this sad day. We are sure that if Sam Rubin were here today, he and my mother, Dorothy, would agree that their wish would be for John Henry to be rememberd as the mighty cantankerous champion we all loved."

My girls' share many relations with this champion, and I am sure that you can see that he and Hailee share their looks! Some of their shared family members are Princequillo, Bull Lea, Whisk Broom, Mahmoud, Blenheim, Mah Mahal, Blue Larkspur, Bubbling Over, Man 'O War, and Black Toney.

Here are photos of John with Bill Shoemaker up! Rest in peace, you honored creature!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_(horse)
or
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=93