Not one of the people involved, just a photo illustration/Photo by mnieves/iStockphoto
I had begun writing this post about Mine That Bird’s connections early yesterday morning. It had started as a “let’s see what else we can find about them on the web” story.
But, in the afternoon, they were in the news Big Time in a rapidly changing story played out in the racing press.
It’s not a heart-warming story. And at least we can be glad that that no horses have been injured.
As for racing’s reputation? I’m not so sure.
Frankly, what happened wasn’t illegal, but it was unseemly. And soiled racing’s reputation again.
Mark Allen and Pioneerof the Nile owner Ahmed Zayat had reportedly joined forces to squeeze out the sizzling hot, but technically unqualified, filly Rachel Alexandra from the Preakness.
What was happening wasn’t illegal, but it wasn’t pretty, either. Especially for folks who had dreamed that this horse could be a “people’s horse” like Seabiscuit in troubled times.
The Preakness field can only have 14 horses who have already qualified to run in the Derby. Rachel Alexandra, as fast as she is and even though she won the Kentucky Oaks, was not. Her owners need to pony up a $100,000 supplement to get her in.
The thing is, speed and performance don’t count in getting to the Triple Crown races – money does. Which is easier to quantify, I suppose.
Anyhoo, Mine That Bird’s jockey Calvin Borel, who also rode Rachel to the winners circle in the Kentucky Oaks, agreed to continue to be Rachel Alexandra’s jockey, which would leave the Derby winner without his skilled pilot.
Which, in reading between the lines tells us that Borel passed up a longshot at the Triple Crown to ride the horse that he considers better. He has been quoted as saying that Rachel is the best horse he’s ever ridden. Which, includes the other horse he steered to the Churchill Downs winners circle, the 2007 Derby winner Street Sense.
So, if Calvin had any faith in Mine That Bird winning the Preakness, let alone the Belmont, horse and jockey would have been joined at the hip. So to speak.
On Sunday afternoon, I started seeing stories in the racing press (NTRA, Thoroughbred Times, the Bloodhorse) Tweets about how the owners had been networking to fill the field and squeeze out Rachel.
By evening, the participants in the metaphorical filibuster were backpedaling that they’d had a change of heart and would back off.
I didn’t intend to blog about it all until the dust settled. I’m not in the race-to-scoop-the-competition business these days. I’m a cultural commentator.
So, I’m going to show you the original post that was going to run in this spot. You can read it and draw your own conclusions about the participants.
Between you and me, I wonder what the horse doctor thinks of all this?
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I had a lot of fun with the fact that little was known about this year’s Kentucky Derby winner going into the race. Let alone just after the race.
Well, we won’t be in that position going into The Preakness Stakes. Here’s the story of a couple of guys who met in a bar fight and ended up with a Kentucky Derby winner.
It’s a story of across-the-road neighbors and there’s a little dark edge to make things interesting.
Mine That Bird Slept Here
Take a virtual tour of Double Eagle Equine Training Center, aka the Double Eagle Ranch, outside of Roswell, NM.
They train both quarter horses and thoroughbreds here. The track features a 350-yard straightaway specifically for quarter horses.t
The Horse Doctor
Dr. Leonard Blach runs an equine clinic nearby. Buena Suerte Equine is across the road from Double Eagle.
FWIW, he wasn’t part of the bar fight years ago that was the first step on The Derby Trail.
The Oil Man Turned Rancher
Mark Allen owns the Double Eagle Ranch which is across the street from the Dr. Blach’s Buena Suerte operation. Allen has owned quarter horses and thoroughbreds for years.
But, according to the Associated Press story, he’s also the son of an oil contractor who’d been caught trying to bribe Alaskan officials. Mark’s father Bill Allen, the former owner of an oil field services business, had cut a deal for immunity for his son.
The sale of that company allowed Mark to buy Canadian 2-year-old champion Mine That Bird at $400,000.
The Thrillseeker
Trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. has lived a wild and woolly life. That he’s healing a broken leg from a motorcycle accident sounds like no surprise.
Bareback broncs, training throughbred colts, fast cars. And about 25 years ago, he stepped into a bar fight to help out Mark Allen.
As of this writing, he’s reportedly battling an infection in that leg.
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The rest? I deleted it because it basically leads off this post. As this story develops, then ebbs and flows, it all makes me wonder.
Do we expect too much from human winners in sport?
Athletes have been held to a higher standard than the rest of us mortals, probably since the Greeks held the first Olympics.
We’ve made our champions into role models. We put their pictures on cereal boxes. We buy video games in which we can vicariously enjoy their victories.
A few years ago, NBA player Charles Barkley shocked some by insisting that he was not a role model.
Recently, young Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps went out to have fun with some kids his age and forgot that cellphones with cameras are ubiquitous. (Yes, he broke the law, but see why retired cop Lee Lofland says that charges wouldn’t have stood up in court.)
Do we expect too much from imperfect human beings because fortune smiled upon them?
Or, when competitors reach the highest levels of their sport, are we correct to assume that they will rise to the occasion and prove to us that they are worthy of their winnings?
Tags: Bennie "Chip" Woolley Jr., Buena Suerte Equine, Double Eagle Ranch, Kentucky Derby, Leonard Blach, Mark Allen, Mine That Bird, Preakness, Preakness Stakes
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