Happy Breeders’ Cup Friday: November 1, 2013. I could write an entire book about how the BC has become bloated–about the fact that f!llies and mares–like women in horse racing–are tossed into the back seat. Again.
But that’s another rant, for another day. (And believe me, I WILL rant about it at some point in the very-near future.)
But today’s column is my effort to get you, the race fan–the betting public–the lover of horses, and of the sport of racing them–to watch a race that will split your hearts wide-open. A race on which you can BET your brains out. A race of beautiful, elegant, historic horses–the very foundation of the Thoroughbred breed.
Yes, today at Santa Anita, under the banner of the Breeders’ Cup–Arabian horses will race in the President of the United Arab Emirates Cup Invitational, and you’re invited…
Without Arabian horses, Thoroughbreds would not exist. If you’re a real race fan, you know this fact.
Without the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk–no Thoroughbred, no way, no how. The reasons for Mr.s Darley, Godolphin and Byerley’s use of the breed when concocting their lab horses was that, for 5000 years, the Arab horse has exhibited traits that were important in the creation of the new Thoroughbred breed: Arab horses are intelligent–brilliant, really. Loyal, fast and eager to do whatever their humans ask of them. They’re companionable, friendly and fun.
So the Thoroughbred came into being, and it seemed that the Arabian horse world and the Thoroughbred worlds took different directions.
Not so. Arabian horses race.
Arabian horses are beautiful, elegant–and watching them race is sheer joy. Watching a race of Arabians is like watching 5000 years of history unfolding before your very eyes. I wept my guts out the first time I saw an Arabian race, live, at Delaware Park in 2011.
Well–GREAT news! If you plan to watch the Breeders’ Cup races today–Friday, November 1–you can see Arabians race. You’ll see horses who look a little different–but who still love to run, who put their hearts into it–and wow, you can BET on them.
Now, this is an important point that you must understand: in the enlightened world of Arabian horse racing, f!llies, mares, colts, horses and geldings race against each other. On a regular basis.
There’s none of the ridiculous American misogyny against females, or ageism against “older” horses, that exist in Thoroughbred racing.
The race of Arabians at the Breeders’ Cup, the 11th race today (Friday) is the
President of the United Arab Emirates Cup Invitational Stakes.
This is not an “also” race. This is not a claimer race, or an exhibition. It’s not a race for maidens, or for horses who are untested. This is an invitational, just as important as any other Breeders’ Cup race.
This race is for horses who rock, horses who are worthy of your respect–and love.
And check this out: precisely because it’s an invitational–and some of the BEST racing Arabians in the world were invited to Santa Anita–they were invited regardless of gender or age. The best Arabs happen to be male, female, cut, uncut, younger, older.
That’s just how the Arabian racing world rolls: no -isms.
These are the horses who were invited to participate, not in order of post parade:
Al Waed – (Kador De Blaziet x Cassels Naomi) bred in Texas – 5 yr old horse
Ayers – (Burning Sand x BW Ali Catt)bred in Florida – 7yr old horse
Grilla – (Kong x Dixie Darlene x Wiking) bred in Florida – 7yr old horse
Litle Bit – (Burning Sand x Halianna) bred in Florida – 5 yr old mare
Lucky Sand – Burning Sand x Vague De Gemme) bred in Mississippi – 3 yr old colt
Ms Dixie – (Burning Sand x Dixie Darlene) bred in Florida – 5 yr old mare
NC Casey Jones – (Makzan x Shes the Most) bred in Texas – 10 yr old horse
No Problem Al Maury (FR) – (Dormane x Memosie Al Maury) bred in France – 5 yr old horse
Sergeant Pepper MHF – (Amazing Son x Shippey Lane)
bred in Texas – 5 yr old gelding
Smoke House – (Kaolino x Smokey Rose) bred in Flroida – 4 yr old
gelding
So Big Is Better – (Burning Sand x WM Mirror Image) – 9 yr old
horse
Wow–look at the range there–and every single one of these horses deserve to be in this race. They traveled from all over the country–from all over the world. They didn’t come here–their connections didn’t spend all that money to ship–just for fun.
They came to compete, and to be taken seriously.
You should take them seriously.
You should bet on them.
I’m aware that fans of Thoroughbred racing may not know how to handicap Arabian racing–and that’s probably something that the Arabian Jockey Club and IFAHR (International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities) –should address. Marketing to seasoned Thoroughbred racing handicappers, and handicapping instruction for newbies, should become part of their plans for the future.
But for now–until you learn the ins and outs of handicapping Arabian race horses–bet on a horse because you like grays. Or because you dig the name, or the place of origin. Or because a horse is a longshot.
You might bet on Little Bit because American jockey, Kayla Stra, will be in the irons. (Little Bit is a personal fave–both Little Bit and Kayla have a place in my heart.) But then there’s Smoke House, owned by my friends, Kathy Kroll-Smoke and Paul Smoke. Maybe a dead-heat? 😉
Or you might bet on Sergeant Pepper MHF because you saw this interview http://www.talkofthetrack.com with Pep’s trainer, John Youngdale. (Go to page–interview is in mid of page–light gray horse, a beauty. Sweet face. And Mr. Youngdale–hmmm, a horse trainer who trains Arabians? Maybe you could learn something from him…?)
Perhaps Grilla is your fave–Ann Henry, a wonderful horsewoman who owns an Arabian f!lly who’s first cousin to Grilla. A good bet there–family connections, and Grilla is a rock star. 🙂 Ann also expects Smoke House to do well.
To be honest, I’ve tried and tried to determine if HRTV or another network will carry the race. But rumor has it that drf.com will stream it live. Just stick around after the Distaff. The Arabian race goes off at approximately 5:10PM, California time. (Use Los Angeles as your point of reference for that, if you’re not in the U.S. The race will be at 8:10PM in New York Time.) Wherever you are in the world, you can watch it online. Here’s the World Clock, in fact, to help you know exactly when to watch:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/So now you have no excuse. You can watch online, you can bet online.
You can go online and fall in love with Arabian horses, and the sport of racing them. If you love horse racing, and you’re one of those fans who whines that the sport needs to figure out how to grow–well, pal, you’ve been overlooking the most obvious idea.
Don’t bug NYRA to host infield parties for drunks–they’ll never bet. They don’t even know that horses are racing on the oval around them–and they don’t care.
Don’t come up with a million idiotic ideas, and then trash NYRA, or Magna, or CDI when they don’t comply.
Instead–heed this idea, a sure-fire way to get more people to the track–and to give you, the long-time fan, a little spice in your betting day:
Acknowledge the fact that Arabians are The Original Race Horse. And that there’s not a race track in the United States that can’t accommodate races of Arabians on a regular basis. More horses to love, more horses to bet.
Fall in love today with Arabian horse racing–then take the stupid ideas that too many fan groups put forth–and toss them into the trash.
Instead, campaign for your local tracks and your state racing commissions to invite Arabian horses to race.
Arabian horses are beautiful and majestic–and they don’t just stand still, posing for pictures.
Arabians race–you can bet on it.
——————————————————
Photo credits:
Sergeant Pepper MHF, courtesy of www.talkofthetrack.com
References:
Arabian Jockey Club:
Watch the President of the United Arab Emirates Cup Invitational Stakes on
Daily Racing Form:
