The Gallop Out

OK, so they're just carousel horses, but I might go to the Los Angeles Zoo just to check this out. Well-known racehorse owners Jerry and Ann Moss had three of their most famous charges incorporated into the Tom Mankiewicz Conservation Carousel, which opens Oct. 27. They were major sponsors of the project, which raises awareness of endangered species from around the world.

Here's the Los Angeles Times article, and a photo slideshow of the ride. Zenyatta's in the bottom-right corner of the first photo.

 John Shear. Photo courtesy Curt Larson.

If you haven't heard by now, 90-year-old paddock guard John Shear is being lauded as a hero after throwing himself between a loose horse and 6-year-old girl Feb. 12 at Santa Anita Park.

I was there, unfortunately, though I missed most of the incident. I was talking with a friend at the opposite end of the paddock when all of a sudden I heard people yelling and saw a horse's head above the crowd, moving full speed through the walking ring. Next thing I saw was the horse running farther down the path and turning to go back to the barn area. I gleaned from the shocked faces walking away from the scene that the horse forced its way through the corner rope and someone was down and seriously injured.

I immediately thought about John, the friendly lil' guy that I always say "hi" to when I pass him in my many travels around the paddock grounds. I knew he stood at the spot where the horse barged through, because it's my favorite spot to take photos in the paddock. I would normally object to someone coming to stand in front of me right before the horses come past, but Little John was never a problem because I could see right over his head.

I spotted two of my friends that were mere feet away from the accident and as I approached them to ask what happened, they looked at me with distraught faces, on the verge of tears, and said, "It's Little John."

My worst fears were confirmed. Trained paramedics were there within a minute, a short jaunt from the first aid office at the far end of the paddock gardens. John was down for quite a while, losing blood, but he was eventually wheeled off on a stretcher, leaving behind many very worried friends, co-workers and strangers. I learned more as the day went on, and have read all the stories since, updating John's recovery. He still has a long way to go, but so far the news has been a big relief compared to what I had feared.

John was practically unknown outside of Southern California racetracks before his heroic actions, but his story has gradually made it farther up the media ladder. I was inspired today to write about the incident because because it made it onto what I consider its biggest stage yet - ESPN television. LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke wrote a great story about John on Wednesday, March 23, first published on their website on Tuesday night. The story remained at the top of the sports section for a majority of the day. As soon as I read it, I hoped Plaschke would win that day's episode of Around the Horn on ESPN and use his "face time" at the end of the popular sports debate show to tell John's story to a new, larger audience. Sure enough, he did win, and did talk about it!

Click here to download and listen to an audio podcast of the March 23 episode. Skip to the last minute to hear Plaschke's tale that left host Tony Reali "speechless."

I want to conclude by saying "thank you!" to Bill Plaschke for letting more people know about a true hero!

E Z Warrior wins the San Miguel Stakes on Jan. 7, 2007 at Santa Anita Park.

Hey, didja hear!? No, you probably didn't, because none of the major media outlets reported it. Graded stakes winner E Z Warrior sold to George Krikorian for a paltry $5,700 at the Jan. 24 Barretts January Mixed Sale . This is the same sales ring where, in 2006, he sold for $1.2 million in the March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. Last year, the seven-year-old son of Exploit out of Carson Jen stood his first season at stud at Applebite Farms in French Camp, Calif. for a fee of $2,500. He retired from racing in 2009 with a record of 15-3-2-2 and $238,468 in earnings. All of his siblings are winners, including grade 1 winner A Z Warrior and multiple stakes winner J Z Warrior.

Applebite Farms closed this winter and dispersed all of its stock at the sale. They sold E Z Warrior on behalf of his owner, Ahmed Zayat (Zayat Stables, LLC), who encountered bankruptcy trouble last year. Do these two things explain how a horse like that could sell for so little?

I was a fan of this horse when he was racing, in part because of his black color. That trait prompted me to make a drawing of him. He also caught the eye of Julie Ziek, who photographed him at Monday's sale.

He's not the first successful horse to drop so far, and won't be the last. I only hope that wherever he's going he'll be happy and treated well, as he deserves.

I was watching the 2010 Sportscenter Year in Review show in hopes of seeing something about horse racing, specifically Zenyatta. I got what I wanted, but it came from the most unexpected source.

Mike Wilbon, co-host of ESPN's show Pardon the Interruption, has always made fun of horse racing. While listing his top five moments of 2010, he had Zenyatta's Breeders' Cup Classic run as his top moment! I nearly choked on my lunch. Zenyatta has has a huge effect on horse racing, and Wilbon is just one of the many people she won over.

I love me a good horse racing video game. In the past month or so, Nintendo has been advertising a new game called Wii Party that's comprised of a slew of mini-games. For a few seconds on the TV commercial, they show a family swinging their Wiimotes similar to a jockey whipping a horse, and then they show the screen with four horses racing to the finish line over green turf.

This horse racing mini game on Wii Party is called Derby Dash. Every horse racing video game I've seen before has been a niche game that is only horse racing, but Derby Dash charts a new frontier into general family/party games. It also makes use of the Wii's groundbreaking sensor technology.

Here's a video of a race:

Based on first impressions, the race is far too short. I'm guessing it's three furlongs, based on the final time of 35.2-seconds. The race may be short, but the frontrunner hung in there way too long considering that it was whipped right out of the gate. Also, the amount of whipping is an exaggeration. The last thing racing needs is another false impression that horses are "beaten to death" by jockeys. Speaking of jockeys, these ones better hope they don't fall, seeing as they don't have any helmets on.

However, Derby Dash also does many things correctly. Considering the audience, the simple design works well. They don't need every minute detail, but they include enough little touches to satisfy a racing fan - a starting gate, inner dirt track, distance poles, colored saddlecloths, grandstand and photo finish. The horses come in every regular Thoroughbred color - chestnut, gray, bay, and dark bay - and players can suit up in jockey silks as their self-designed Mii characters. And wouldn't real-life racing be great if every race ended in a blanket photo finish like that?

I haven't had the chance to play Wii Party and/or Derby Dash yet, but there's still some time for Santa to get it for me. Otherwise, don't expect me to cough up $49.

I'm going to the Breeders' Cup!

For the past week and a half, I've been going to bed early and getting up early in an effort to lessen the effect of jet lag when I travel back in time to the eastern time zone. I went to bed at 8:30 p.m. last night and woke up at 3:15 a.m. In Louisville, I'll have to get up three hours earlier just from the time zone change, and another three hours earlier on top of that to go to morning workouts each day!

Tomorrow, assuming all goes well, I'll wake up at 2:30 a.m., leave the house at 3:30 a.m., arrive at the airport at 4:30 a.m. , depart at 6 a.m. and arrive at 2:30 p.m. Then ensues eight days of all horse racing, all the time, including races and farm visits.

A primary reason I made the late decision to attend is that my editor at California Thoroughbred magazine, Rudi Groothedde, was able to get me credentials for the event. It will be the first time I get to enjoy the luxury of shooting with credentialed access, and I plan to use it to my great benefit. I also got credentials for Arlington Million Day this year, but I was never able to enjoy them after I cancelled my flight following the death of Tuscan Evening.

I am already stressed out packing for the trip, but I hope to have a great time, rain,snow or shine!

Welcome to Southern California's newest race meet, TVG NTRA Oak Hollywood Park Tree NTRA TVG !

Watching a replay of Zenyatta's historic 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic win is a great aphrodisiac, no matter what time it is or what mood I'm in. I've literally watched the Cal Racing replay hundreds of times. Sometimes, though, I'm in the mood for something more...raw. Raw footage. Raw emotion. Youtube to the rescue!

Below are some of my favorite fan videos that show Zenyatta's exhilarating win from the vantage of fans like myself. I watched from the very top of the stretch, where I got a perfect view of the start and final turn. Zenyatta looked hopelessly beaten at that point. Once the horses passed, I immediately ran in the general direction of the finish line like a madwoman, hoping to at least catch a sideways view of the infield jumbo-tron to see if Zenyatta pulled it off. Thank goodness the Breeders' Cup decided to switch to traditional colored saddlecloths, because I could only see colored squares, and the yellow #4 was in front. That, accompanied by the deafening crowd reaction, told me that the best possible result (for me) had occured. I screamed louder than I've ever screamed before, waving my "Go Zenyatta" sign in the air and hugging friends, and the rest is history.

Hold onto your chair lest you get nauseous from all the camera shaking, and let's embark on an un-be-lievable journey...

This one from the clubhouse apron is filmed from right behind a man that may or may not be Zenyatta's exercise rider, Steve Willard:

The person who filmed this must have waited hours to get their spot smack dab on the general admission rail near the finish line:

"Push it! Push it!":

I hope this lady didn't pass out at the end:

Hang in there, speakers. Just a few seconds longer!:

For this one, you may want to turn your volume down. The Classic in its entirety:

These videos are just during the race. There are also many good videos of her before and after her win. Did I miss one of your favorites? If so, leave a link in the comments and I'd love to see it. One can never get too much of Zenyatta.

You've most likely seen this rider's-eye view of jockey Mike Smith riding Zenyatta in a workout at Hollywood Park, but now there's a video of top jockey Joel Rosario riding in a race at Del Mar, thanks to CBS News. Click HERE to watch the feature. Now, we just need a rider's-eye view of Zenyatta in a race.

Click the link below for the rest of the picture.

I'm not one for anthropomorphizing animals, but you've got to see the rest of this promotional artwork for the Mike Smith jersey signing tomorrow at Del Mar.