Your attitude toward owing a race horse can kind of be equated to a balloon. Every time your horse (or horses) does well, it is like a giant breath went into the balloon. As more and more air goes in, the balloon gets bigger, but also becomes more fragile. After In Over My Head went win, win, second in Springfield, a Balmoral overnight and Duquoin, his particular balloon was billowing with hot air. Then came the dreaded needle. The same needle that popped our balloon back on July 16th when Mo make a break and took last out in Pennsylvania came and attacked us again on September 19th. He had elevated himself to the status of an ‘Open’ horse. As the last entry had talked about, he faced a big time group that included Annieswesterncard. The fact of the matter was, however, In Over My Head was the best horse in the race that night. I have no doubt about it. Unfortunately, as he entered the final turn (there are 4 turns at Maywood since it is a half mile track), the horses all got bunched up. The one he was following started to back into him just a bit. Mo’s nose was nearly touching the helmet of the driver in front of him. He was loaded with pace and ready to win the thing in the stretch when…he made another break. We still don’t know exactly why. Maybe it was just too jammed up, maybe he got hit in the head with an errant whip, but it really doesn’t matter. He finished last, while Danny and I stood next to the track and got a chance to see it live. The night ended with a resounding POP! I didn’t want to think about racing for a few days. It was a real long trip back to Madison that night.
Luckily for us, another giant breath of fresh air was breathed back into our lives as owners last Saturday. Mo needed one more tightener before heading out to his next stakes event to be raced at the Meadows (Pittsburgh) on October 6th. We entered him at Balmoral and he ended up facing a very tough field that included many of the best older horses in Chicago. We knew this would be a tough test and we also had the added fear of what if: what if he makes another break. Not a fun thought. At least we drew well (post position #3) and had one of our regular drivers (Marcus Miller) at the reigns. We were hoping for a solid race…maybe in the top 3. Generally, we just wanted to make sure he was sharp and ready to ship out east.
The race started in somewhat a surprising fashion. We kind of thought Marcus would take Mo to the front, but instead he dropped him back to 6th. You always have a plan going into a race, but in the end, it is the driver that has to make the decision. They have to read their competition. Read how the horse feels that night. It is a lot of split second decision making and Marcus felt that dropping back was the best move. Coming to the half, he moved In Over My Head off the rail and expected one of the horses in front of him to do the same so he could follow another horse. After waiting for a couple of seconds, it never happened, so instead of being the follower, Marcus and Mo got to be the leader. It is definitely a tougher trip, but Marcus did a good job bringing Mo up toward the front in a very controlled and measured fashion. By the time they reached the ¾ mark, Mo was moving on the leaders, but was still a few lengths from the front.
That stretch at Balmoral is just one long sprint and in the beginning, Mo was his usual self: just grinding away, pacing hard as hell and slowly moving toward the leaders. The problem was this was no soft group. His competition was very tough that night and we weren’t making up a ton of ground. Half way thought the stretch, he had edged closer, but I was still thinking we were in for a 3rd place finish. Luckily for us, Mo wanted more. There just seems to be something in that horse. He loves passing other horses and just doesn’t seem to get tired. He kept grinding away. It was like DuQuoin all over again. First he gets to the back of the leader’s bike. A couple more steps and he’s half way up on the leader. The wire is getting closer and closer. Another horse is coming up on the inside. It is three horses coming to the wire, practically in unison. He’s running out of room and just when you think it is over, he finds one more burst and….it’s a photo for the win! Was it enough? Did he get there? It is a matter of inches between winning and taking third. Waiting for a photo is absolutely excruciating as an owner. We patiently waited for the announcer…”It’s official…the #4 In Over My Head is the winner”. What a race! What a gutty performance! The balloon now has air again!
It is races like that one last Saturday that just continues to build our love of Mr. In Over My Head. He just doesn’t quit. I swear if they moved the finish line another quarter of a mile out, he’s just keep on grinding away. Digging in, swaying his head slightly back and forth like he’s trying to eat up every possible inch of ground he can with each step. I could watch those replays over and over and never get sick of seeing them.
When we bought In Over My Head last January, we knew that this would be the time of year we would have to make a decision about him. We are entering the prime sales season for horses (both yearling and older horses) and the not so fun thought has to come up. Do you keep him? Based on what he’s accomplished, he’s worth a pretty big chuck of money. Probably somewhere in the vicinity of 3 to 4 times what we paid for him. The smart business decision might just be to sell him. Take the money and run. I’ll never forget listening to Grandpa talk about the business end of racing one time when I was just a kid. “It is a business” he said. “You can’t get caught up with emotion and you can’t let yourself fall in love with a horse.” He then paused for a second deep in thought and followed up. “But sometimes, you just can’t help it.”
In Over My Head officially falls into the ‘sometimes you just can’t help it’ category. He isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Renewed Rivalry? Not Quite, but we’d Like It To Be
For you local NFL historians, you may remember back in the early 1990s there was a heated rivalry between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. They faced each other virtually every regular season (included national games on Thanksgiving) as well in the playoffs. The games were intense and often close, but there was one problem with the ‘rivalry’. The Cowboys always won. From 1993 – 1995, the upstart Packers were reestablishing themselves as one of the top teams in the NFC. They made the playoffs each season and were a threat to win every game with Mr. Favre under center. However, in six meetings (3 regular season and 3 playoffs) the Packers were 0-6 against the powerful Cowboys. Packer fans hated the Cowboys. They were the team’s #1 ‘rival’ in those years. Cowboy fans had a different perspective. They didn’t really care. The Packers weren’t a rival…the Packers were a nice up and coming team they always beat! It wasn’t until the great Cowboy teams began to decline that the Pack finally got a leg up on them. Not much of a rivalry after all.
We here at team In Over My Head have identified our new ‘rival’ and his name is Annieswesterncard. We, like those Packer teams, are an upstart youngster who is just now starting to make a name for ourselves. Annieswesterncard, on the other hand, is like the Cowboys. In just 11 starts this season, he has banked over $280,000. As a two year old, he raced 12 times and took in $220,000. He ranks among the elite in the 3 year old pacing colts in the country. Oddly enough, in In Over My Head’s first lifetime start, he finished 2nd to…you guessed it Annieswesterncard. So why all this background? Our ‘rivalry’ will be renewed this Friday as Mo races at the $14,000 open at Maywood Park and much to our surprise (and chagrin) none other than Annieswesterncard has entered the race as well. We now have a regular season game against the Cowboys on our schedule.
To complete the analogy, our ‘playoffs’ will be two big races in Chicago at the end of the season. Like a real playoff scenario, we need to finish strong to even be eligible. There is a chance we may be watching those races from home. Annieswesterncard is already eligible and will more than likely be racing in them (unless the connections choose to take him somewhere else).
We hope to start a real rivalry this Friday night. Maybe we can pull off an upset and turn a few heads. Beating Annieswesterncard would certainly do just that. Is it likely to happen? No, it really isn’t, but you never know. Stranger things have happened. Maybe after the race we will be in the middle of a “Go Pack Go!” cheer instead of hearing “how ‘bout them Cowboys???”
We here at team In Over My Head have identified our new ‘rival’ and his name is Annieswesterncard. We, like those Packer teams, are an upstart youngster who is just now starting to make a name for ourselves. Annieswesterncard, on the other hand, is like the Cowboys. In just 11 starts this season, he has banked over $280,000. As a two year old, he raced 12 times and took in $220,000. He ranks among the elite in the 3 year old pacing colts in the country. Oddly enough, in In Over My Head’s first lifetime start, he finished 2nd to…you guessed it Annieswesterncard. So why all this background? Our ‘rivalry’ will be renewed this Friday as Mo races at the $14,000 open at Maywood Park and much to our surprise (and chagrin) none other than Annieswesterncard has entered the race as well. We now have a regular season game against the Cowboys on our schedule.
To complete the analogy, our ‘playoffs’ will be two big races in Chicago at the end of the season. Like a real playoff scenario, we need to finish strong to even be eligible. There is a chance we may be watching those races from home. Annieswesterncard is already eligible and will more than likely be racing in them (unless the connections choose to take him somewhere else).
We hope to start a real rivalry this Friday night. Maybe we can pull off an upset and turn a few heads. Beating Annieswesterncard would certainly do just that. Is it likely to happen? No, it really isn’t, but you never know. Stranger things have happened. Maybe after the race we will be in the middle of a “Go Pack Go!” cheer instead of hearing “how ‘bout them Cowboys???”
Thursday, September 10, 2009
An Exciting End to an Interesting Day
If I could draw up a picture perfect Saturday, it might look something like this: sleep in, get some breakfast, hop in my car, drive down to watch In Over My Head race, drive back to Madison, go to a Badger football game with friends/ clients, take in some postgame fun afterward. That is exactly how Saturday was supposed to work out, but due to an intervention by Mother Nature, we had to do a little bit of improvising. Luckily, it all worked out just fine.
In Over My Head was set to make his second Illinois State Fair start in DuQuoin in the 3 year old open Hayes Memorial Stake race. It was a similar race to Springfield with a little larger purse ($46,000) and a couple of new arrivals to make the race noticeably more difficult. Nob Hill High and Ideal Danny joined the fray and along with our regular rival My Boy Luke. This event proved to be a real test to Mo’s ability.
The morning line oddsmakers didn’t seem to have much faith. Despite a favorable post position of 3, he was picked 5th in the program at 8-1. I could understand Nob Hill High and Ideal Danny being at lower odds. They have raced in some of the largest national events this year. Ideal Danny had a mark of 1.49.4. It made sense, but Mo was also picked behind My Boy Luke (who he had beat two times in a row) and Boccio, an untested colt with a very limited resume. We were getting the Rodney Dangerfield treatment, but it didn’t matter too much. The race would set everyone straight eventually.
So the plan was simple: drive to South Beloit, watch the races and then drive back to Madison for the football game. The plan was thrown off as soon as Danny and I arrived down in South Beloit. Instead of sitting down to watch the 1st race, we were watching a screen that simply said the races had been postponed due to rain. We got a hold of John and he said the plan was to reevaluate the track at 1pm (in about a half hour) to see if they would try and race or just cancel the races. The thought of canceling was not a good one. In Over My Head need a race and we thought we had a good chance at a big chunk of that purse given how sharp he had been. We also had Andy Miller at the reigns, which had proven to be an excellent combination. That also changed at 1pm when we found out that the races were being moved back 5 hours to a 5pm start. Also, Miller (along with other top drivers Brian Sears, Tim Teitrick and others) were leaving. There was a huge race card up in Canada that night and they couldn’t risk missing those events. We were driverless.
I’d like to thank Tyler Butenschoen for keeping us informed and being down at DuQuoin to secure a driver for us. After the group left for Canada, there were only a couple to choose from. We ended up landing Dale Hiteman, a long time veteran of the Chicago circuit. While we didn’t know how he would work with In Over My Head, we at least knew we had a guy who had been through rigors of a race many times over. Once this was all figured out, it was time to hit the road. Danny and I had to get back to Madison for the game. Unfortunately, my brother Kirk and Dad also met us in South Beloit only to turn around and head home almost as soon as they got there. On the way back to Madison, Danny and I agreed this was just something you have to roll with. One of those things in life you can’t control, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. The delay, the driver change, uncertainly of more rain that could wash the race away. Expectations for the day had dropped.
Danny and I felt our new plan was rather workable. He conveniently lives just a block from Camp Randall Stadium. I was going to do my duty entertaining clients at the game and at the end I would say my goodbyes and head over to his house for an internet viewing of the race. Greg, unfortunately, didn’t have that luxury and got to spend his entire day in the greater Beloit area. Twelve hours of waiting to watch a 2 minutes race. Now THAT is dedication! Per my timing, I expected the race to go off at about 9pm, which was perfect. The Badger game would be about over and it would be no problem to head out. Also, Bucky was surprising their somewhat skeptical fan base (myself included) by jumping out to a big lead on Northern Illinois. After a frustrating season in 2008, this was looking much better…even if it was just Northern Illinois.
In the middle of a conversation, my phone buzzed, but I didn’t bother to look until 20 minutes later, which is when my heart rate began its standard pre race climb. Apparently, they were getting through the races faster than expected and the text was from Danny, “When are you coming? They are on the 8th race”…and that was 20 minutes ago. I quickly got back to him and found out it was 10 minutes to post. I had a decision to make. The game was only just starting the 4th quarter and all my guests were still in the suite. Do I skip the race? Do I just leave and explain myself later? I decided to do what most rational people would think is the right thing: stay at the game and entertain your clients. The race can go on without you. It is your paycheck after all that allows you to own race horses. The next 60 seconds was filled with swirling thought of In Over My Head racing for $46,000. Heart rate increasing….sweat beginning to form…mind continuing to race in 50 different directions, which lead to. “Guys, I’m really sorry, but I have to go…I have a horse racing in like 10 minutes…glad you could make it.” With that, I was gone. No one ever said owning a race horse is rational anyway.
As soon as I reached the bottom of the elevator, my phone buzzed again “5 mtp”. Damn, I just skipped out of the game, now I CAN’T miss the race. So, I started to run. Running and weaving through the scattered red clad fans all looking at me with the look of ‘where the hell is he going’ on their face. I came to my only real obstacle, which was a lighted intersection. It flipped to walk right as I jogged up to it. I’m in the clear. I rang Danny and met him in back of his house before being ushered around a few party patrons to his room where he had the computer all set up. It was at 2 minutes to post when we all got settled (Danny, his girlfriend Kasey, his sister Kim and myself). Now it was time to sit back and see what was about to unfold.
We all agreed before hand that getting In Over My Head off the gate was a key to the race for us. He has such good gate speed that you have to use it to help get into position and despite being on him for the first time, that is exactly what ‘The Hitman’ Hiteman did. He got Mo out of there beautifully and took him to the top. It was déjàvue all over again when My Boy Luke came sweeping up from the outside to take the lead. We sat second and the other two big names sat patiently behind us. Mo continued to follow My Boy Luke past the half, which is when Nob Hill High (who was the favorite at post time) went first over and was followed gamely by Ideal Danny (2nd favorite). In Over My Head had got unexpectedly loose in the pocket a couple of times down the backstretch, which really worried us. Was something wrong? Was he off today? Maybe a bit sick? I was hoping none of the above and remembered John telling us one time that Mo is such a relaxed horse in the pocket that you sometimes have to chase him a bit to keep in on the horse's back in front of him. Given Dale’s lack of experience with the horse, I was hoping that’s all it was. As they came out of the final turn and into the stretch, Mo was back up to My Boy Luke and looked ready to strike. At that point, Nob Hill High had pulled even with My Boy Luke and Ideal Danny was about to tip out to challenge him. We were in fourth and as we entered the stretch and was expecting a powerful charge from In Over My Head, but it didn’t come right away. He was pacing hard, but we were unsure if he could make up enough ground against this talented group in front of him. Over the next 12 or so seconds, I had accepted a 4th place finish. The other horses had a bit of a head start and were just too fast to sprint past. Luckily for us, Mo had one more move in reserve. With no more than 100 yards to go, the top four horses were nearing a bunch and we were still in the back. Mo was chewing up ground and with one incredibly quick speed burst shot from 4th, to 3rd and right at the wire, he inched past Ideal Danny and into 2nd place. While he didn’t get to the winner (Nob Hill High), we were thrilled.
In Over My Head had just put up another incredibly strong effort. He again showed why we love watching him race. He showed heart and guts to go along with his speed. With the exception of the race back at the Meadows when he clipped a wheel and broke, he is always flying in the stretch. He paces beyond the wire every time. He had that same look that he did at Balmoral the race before when we watched the replay. Head swaying side to side with each step as he goes after any horse in front of him. You can almost read his mind “I’m going to catch that son of a gun if it’s the last thing I do.” Much to our liking, he usually does and in the last couple of races, he’s been beating some very solid horses. We beat Ideal Danny. We just got beat part of a length to Nob Hill High who is heading off to the Little Brown Jug to face the premiere 3 year olds in North America. In Over My Head always races with his head up, like he is full of pride. After our last few races, the owners are feeling a sense of pride too. We know now he is no fluke. We are proud that our risky purchase has gone from an immature speed horse with a propensity for making multiple breaks to a fast, gutsy and easy to handle racehorse. We aren’t sure how much better he will get. We still aren’t totally sure how fast he is. He hasn’t put up that gaudy 1:50 mile yet, but he hasn’t had to. All he does is race hard and beat other horses. I’ll take that any day.
In Over My Head was set to make his second Illinois State Fair start in DuQuoin in the 3 year old open Hayes Memorial Stake race. It was a similar race to Springfield with a little larger purse ($46,000) and a couple of new arrivals to make the race noticeably more difficult. Nob Hill High and Ideal Danny joined the fray and along with our regular rival My Boy Luke. This event proved to be a real test to Mo’s ability.
The morning line oddsmakers didn’t seem to have much faith. Despite a favorable post position of 3, he was picked 5th in the program at 8-1. I could understand Nob Hill High and Ideal Danny being at lower odds. They have raced in some of the largest national events this year. Ideal Danny had a mark of 1.49.4. It made sense, but Mo was also picked behind My Boy Luke (who he had beat two times in a row) and Boccio, an untested colt with a very limited resume. We were getting the Rodney Dangerfield treatment, but it didn’t matter too much. The race would set everyone straight eventually.
So the plan was simple: drive to South Beloit, watch the races and then drive back to Madison for the football game. The plan was thrown off as soon as Danny and I arrived down in South Beloit. Instead of sitting down to watch the 1st race, we were watching a screen that simply said the races had been postponed due to rain. We got a hold of John and he said the plan was to reevaluate the track at 1pm (in about a half hour) to see if they would try and race or just cancel the races. The thought of canceling was not a good one. In Over My Head need a race and we thought we had a good chance at a big chunk of that purse given how sharp he had been. We also had Andy Miller at the reigns, which had proven to be an excellent combination. That also changed at 1pm when we found out that the races were being moved back 5 hours to a 5pm start. Also, Miller (along with other top drivers Brian Sears, Tim Teitrick and others) were leaving. There was a huge race card up in Canada that night and they couldn’t risk missing those events. We were driverless.
I’d like to thank Tyler Butenschoen for keeping us informed and being down at DuQuoin to secure a driver for us. After the group left for Canada, there were only a couple to choose from. We ended up landing Dale Hiteman, a long time veteran of the Chicago circuit. While we didn’t know how he would work with In Over My Head, we at least knew we had a guy who had been through rigors of a race many times over. Once this was all figured out, it was time to hit the road. Danny and I had to get back to Madison for the game. Unfortunately, my brother Kirk and Dad also met us in South Beloit only to turn around and head home almost as soon as they got there. On the way back to Madison, Danny and I agreed this was just something you have to roll with. One of those things in life you can’t control, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. The delay, the driver change, uncertainly of more rain that could wash the race away. Expectations for the day had dropped.
Danny and I felt our new plan was rather workable. He conveniently lives just a block from Camp Randall Stadium. I was going to do my duty entertaining clients at the game and at the end I would say my goodbyes and head over to his house for an internet viewing of the race. Greg, unfortunately, didn’t have that luxury and got to spend his entire day in the greater Beloit area. Twelve hours of waiting to watch a 2 minutes race. Now THAT is dedication! Per my timing, I expected the race to go off at about 9pm, which was perfect. The Badger game would be about over and it would be no problem to head out. Also, Bucky was surprising their somewhat skeptical fan base (myself included) by jumping out to a big lead on Northern Illinois. After a frustrating season in 2008, this was looking much better…even if it was just Northern Illinois.
In the middle of a conversation, my phone buzzed, but I didn’t bother to look until 20 minutes later, which is when my heart rate began its standard pre race climb. Apparently, they were getting through the races faster than expected and the text was from Danny, “When are you coming? They are on the 8th race”…and that was 20 minutes ago. I quickly got back to him and found out it was 10 minutes to post. I had a decision to make. The game was only just starting the 4th quarter and all my guests were still in the suite. Do I skip the race? Do I just leave and explain myself later? I decided to do what most rational people would think is the right thing: stay at the game and entertain your clients. The race can go on without you. It is your paycheck after all that allows you to own race horses. The next 60 seconds was filled with swirling thought of In Over My Head racing for $46,000. Heart rate increasing….sweat beginning to form…mind continuing to race in 50 different directions, which lead to. “Guys, I’m really sorry, but I have to go…I have a horse racing in like 10 minutes…glad you could make it.” With that, I was gone. No one ever said owning a race horse is rational anyway.
As soon as I reached the bottom of the elevator, my phone buzzed again “5 mtp”. Damn, I just skipped out of the game, now I CAN’T miss the race. So, I started to run. Running and weaving through the scattered red clad fans all looking at me with the look of ‘where the hell is he going’ on their face. I came to my only real obstacle, which was a lighted intersection. It flipped to walk right as I jogged up to it. I’m in the clear. I rang Danny and met him in back of his house before being ushered around a few party patrons to his room where he had the computer all set up. It was at 2 minutes to post when we all got settled (Danny, his girlfriend Kasey, his sister Kim and myself). Now it was time to sit back and see what was about to unfold.
We all agreed before hand that getting In Over My Head off the gate was a key to the race for us. He has such good gate speed that you have to use it to help get into position and despite being on him for the first time, that is exactly what ‘The Hitman’ Hiteman did. He got Mo out of there beautifully and took him to the top. It was déjàvue all over again when My Boy Luke came sweeping up from the outside to take the lead. We sat second and the other two big names sat patiently behind us. Mo continued to follow My Boy Luke past the half, which is when Nob Hill High (who was the favorite at post time) went first over and was followed gamely by Ideal Danny (2nd favorite). In Over My Head had got unexpectedly loose in the pocket a couple of times down the backstretch, which really worried us. Was something wrong? Was he off today? Maybe a bit sick? I was hoping none of the above and remembered John telling us one time that Mo is such a relaxed horse in the pocket that you sometimes have to chase him a bit to keep in on the horse's back in front of him. Given Dale’s lack of experience with the horse, I was hoping that’s all it was. As they came out of the final turn and into the stretch, Mo was back up to My Boy Luke and looked ready to strike. At that point, Nob Hill High had pulled even with My Boy Luke and Ideal Danny was about to tip out to challenge him. We were in fourth and as we entered the stretch and was expecting a powerful charge from In Over My Head, but it didn’t come right away. He was pacing hard, but we were unsure if he could make up enough ground against this talented group in front of him. Over the next 12 or so seconds, I had accepted a 4th place finish. The other horses had a bit of a head start and were just too fast to sprint past. Luckily for us, Mo had one more move in reserve. With no more than 100 yards to go, the top four horses were nearing a bunch and we were still in the back. Mo was chewing up ground and with one incredibly quick speed burst shot from 4th, to 3rd and right at the wire, he inched past Ideal Danny and into 2nd place. While he didn’t get to the winner (Nob Hill High), we were thrilled.
In Over My Head had just put up another incredibly strong effort. He again showed why we love watching him race. He showed heart and guts to go along with his speed. With the exception of the race back at the Meadows when he clipped a wheel and broke, he is always flying in the stretch. He paces beyond the wire every time. He had that same look that he did at Balmoral the race before when we watched the replay. Head swaying side to side with each step as he goes after any horse in front of him. You can almost read his mind “I’m going to catch that son of a gun if it’s the last thing I do.” Much to our liking, he usually does and in the last couple of races, he’s been beating some very solid horses. We beat Ideal Danny. We just got beat part of a length to Nob Hill High who is heading off to the Little Brown Jug to face the premiere 3 year olds in North America. In Over My Head always races with his head up, like he is full of pride. After our last few races, the owners are feeling a sense of pride too. We know now he is no fluke. We are proud that our risky purchase has gone from an immature speed horse with a propensity for making multiple breaks to a fast, gutsy and easy to handle racehorse. We aren’t sure how much better he will get. We still aren’t totally sure how fast he is. He hasn’t put up that gaudy 1:50 mile yet, but he hasn’t had to. All he does is race hard and beat other horses. I’ll take that any day.
Monday, August 31, 2009
A Big Suprise in Little Kendall
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have ourselves a win streak…
Saturday night marked the strangest place I ever got word of how a horse finished: Standing at a jukebox at a bar in Kendall, Wisconsin (population 450). A group of us were up in that area for a little bike riding along a popular trail (see the gang in the picture). I was trying to find the right song to follow up “Got Me Under Pressure” by ZZ Top. I should have instinctively just went to
‘Over My Head’ by the Frey, but never got that far. The rest of our group (Laura, her brother Ryan, sister in law Jamie along with Schlitz and Liz) were hanging out at the bar (which was empty except for us). I was considering going with an old standby, “Folsom County Blues” from Mr. Cash when I heard Laura yell from across the bar ‘Winner, winner!’ ‘Danny just texted ‘Winner, winner!’ Apparently, Jamie was using her phone when the text came in. None of us (except Laura) got phone reception up in Kendall and I had asked Danny to text her number when the race was over. Winner, winner? I couldn’t’ hardly believe it. Two in a row??? The jukebox would have to wait. I ran across the bar and took Laura’s phone outside to call Danny.
Saturday night marked the strangest place I ever got word of how a horse finished: Standing at a jukebox at a bar in Kendall, Wisconsin (population 450). A group of us were up in that area for a little bike riding along a popular trail (see the gang in the picture). I was trying to find the right song to follow up “Got Me Under Pressure” by ZZ Top. I should have instinctively just went to
‘Over My Head’ by the Frey, but never got that far. The rest of our group (Laura, her brother Ryan, sister in law Jamie along with Schlitz and Liz) were hanging out at the bar (which was empty except for us). I was considering going with an old standby, “Folsom County Blues” from Mr. Cash when I heard Laura yell from across the bar ‘Winner, winner!’ ‘Danny just texted ‘Winner, winner!’ Apparently, Jamie was using her phone when the text came in. None of us (except Laura) got phone reception up in Kendall and I had asked Danny to text her number when the race was over. Winner, winner? I couldn’t’ hardly believe it. Two in a row??? The jukebox would have to wait. I ran across the bar and took Laura’s phone outside to call Danny.In Over My Head was racing at Balmoral Park that night in a 3-year-old open event against some formidable foes. It was more or less a tune-up for our upcoming stakes event in DuQuoin this weekend. We were once again taking on My Boy Luke as well as a very talented horse named Doubletrouble and three other solid colts. The purse was small compared to some of our recent events ($7,000), but every dollar helps when it comes time to pay the bills at the end of the month. Once I got Danny on the phone, he gave me the verbal replay. Unlike our Springfield race, our driver (Marcus Miller) took Mo off the gate relatively cautiously and he fell back to 5th place going into the first turn. Much like Springfield, My Boy Luke gunned to the front. It stayed that way for until just past the half when Fox Valley Seth tipped off the rail and began a first over trip. Mo followed him and the favorite, Doubletrouble, followed Mo. That group of three slowly grinded toward the leader and at the head of the stretch, Fox Valley Seth had pulled even with My Boy Luke. That’s when Marcus decided it was time to send Mo to the outside and put the hammer down. The next quarter of a mile or so was fun to watch. Fun because we got a clear shot of In Over My Head just charging to the wire. He looked strong, he looked fast and as they crossed the wire, everyone else was looking up at him. He had just scored his second win in a row.
His final time of 1.52.4 was very good, just 0.1 off his best lifetime win mark. The number that caught my eye was his last quarter in 26.3. His stretch drive was amazing…just watching him charge home, giving it all he had. He showed strength, speed and heart. It was a thing of beauty.
The other positive part of that race was that he got a good trip and wasn’t used all that hard, which should make him razor sharp for next Saturday’s race in DuQuoin. The Hayes Memorial should have a purse of about $45,000 and I’m guessing a field of 8 or so. It should prove to be a bit tougher than Springfield, but I think Mo is ready. Maybe a State Fair sweep? We’ll see, I don’t want to put the cart before the horse.
Monday, August 24, 2009
A Race Day to Remember
I woke up in the middle of the night on Tuesday. I guess it would have technically been early Wednesday morning. I was reeling a bit from the handful of brews polished off earlier in the evening, but my mind was on something other than the lingering headache. It was a feeling I wasn’t expecting to experience after the events that took place just a couple of hours before: remorse. It was like we got too much…too much fun, too much excitement, too much purse money. It felt like I didn’t deserve it for some reason. Luckily, that feeling subsided after thinking about the path to get there. A path we wouldn’t have even been on if it were not for that painful race out in Pittsburgh on July 16th where we traded a certain 1st or 2nd for a last place finish. If we had won, we wouldn’t have shipped back to Illinois for the Review Stakes race. If we didn’t ship back to Illinois for the Review, we wouldn’t have had a chance to experience the events of Tuesday night. There was no reason to feel like we got too much of anything. We deserved it.
It isn’t often were you can go to a race where you have a full compliment of ‘fans.’ Danny and I had been out to the Meadows for a race, Laura and I had been to Pocono Downs, but this was the first time we had the full crew: Greg, Danny, Laura and myself. Also, John, Jackie and Tyler Butenschoen were all down in Springfield for the race. If that wasn’t enough, Danny brought along a couple of friends (Darryl, Parker and Tanner) to round out the unofficial ‘In Over My Head Fan Club.’ We were all there because we all had a feeling something good was going to happen that day…well, except the Butenschoen’s. They had to work and take care of the horses! They may have had good feelings too. Anyway, ask any horse owner about having a big group come down to see a race you have a good feeling about and they will tell you a story about a time when their expected celebration turned out to be an uncomfortable, somber evening. A situation where their horse was expected to do well and the race went horribly. Horse got a bad trip, made a break, any number of things can happen to ruin a night. We were hoping that day would not create another one of those bad stories.
The one thing the general public didn’t realize was that we had a secret weapon that day. That weapon was none other than Danny Carey, fully dressed in his new colors, and he would be warming In Over My Head up. Danny has 3 starts as a trainer with 2 wins and 1 second. Between him and the Butenschoen’s, we had the best in the business getting Mo ready.
Because of rain the previous day, they had to race about 10 races from Monday’s card before ours, which pushed our race back from an anticipated 6pm start to about an 8pm start. As much as I love watching the races, Laura and I decided to step away from the track for awhile and take in the State Fairgrounds the only true way: on the skyride! For just $5 per person, you can ride in that cable car looking thing that slowly glides over endless rows of deep fried food stands, hot tub dealership booths, an ‘international village’ (which surprisingly wasn’t too busy), the midway rides and a plethora of other booths and food stands. We ended up getting a ‘milk shake’ for $4.95 that, quite frankly, I could have got for $1.50 at Dairy Queen (it was just soft serve ice cream), but hey, that’s what State Fairs are for. We ended up timing the ride perfectly because as we came back to the start, we got to see a bird’s eye view of the start of a race on the track. Very cool.
After a trip through the fairgrounds, the rest of the day was kind of a blur. I bet a few races, cashed a couple of tickets, but before I knew it we were just a few races away from ours. When Danny was out warming him up, I started to feel it. Those nerves were setting in. Gone were the high flying fun times of the skyride. My body started to feel heavy. My stomach started to tighten up. We were nearing race time.
There is something so unnerving about being able to stand and look at your horse before a big race and that is what we had that day. You don’t get to do that at most tracks as they come onto the track from the paddock, which is located a quite a ways away from the grandstand area. That isn’t the case in Springfield where the paddock is open and close. We could sit on some picnic tables near the grandstand and see In Over My Head standing there. He was a mere 20 yards from me. He was active: ears perked, looking over the stall at his future competitors, throwing his head around and at times he just appeared to be calmly watching the races unfolding out on the track. He is such a sharp looking horse. With all of the people we had down watching the race, there was a lot of activity around Mo. I decided to keep my distance. We didn’t need too many cooks in the kitchen. I just watched…and got more and more nervous.
I swear, races 6 through 10 went by in heartbeat. We were in the 11th and when the 10th race was complete, the group gathered over near Mo. Greg, Danny, John, Jackie, Tyler and Danny’s friends. I walked over, but left quickly. I just couldn’t take it anymore. Too tense. From there, I headed over to the betting counter. I had a $20 in my hand and planned on putting $10 to win and $10 to place on In Over My Head. I felt he was at least the second best horse in the race. The favorite, My Boy Luke, was certainly a worthy adversary. In his last 6 races, he had finished first 2 times and second 4 times. His times were fast and he would be tough to beat. However, as I got to the window, I had a change of heart. “$20 on the 2 (In Over My Head) to win,” I said. “Wow, everyone seems to be liking the 2,” the attendant replied. To that, I said, “That’s good, because I own half of him.”
I met Laura and said it was time to head up to the grandstand. She suggested saying a little prayer before we left, which was fine, but I didn’t want to pray for Mo to win. That would be too greedy; I just wanted him to race well. Laura said she’d take care of the win part of the prayer.
We found a spot in the grandstand near the wire with a good view of the track. Greg joined us a couple of minutes later and we both spent the next 10 minutes in a world of agonizing nervousness. He said it best when he commented on the fact when you only have one horse, everything rides on that race. There isn’t a big stable to fall back on. I think that is something that people miss when they see us so nervous. I’d just say think about going to a casino. You plan on gambling $250 dollars that night, but instead of $10 blackjack bets, you just throw it on one hand. A little more intense, right? Well, that’s us. One horse, one bet and a bucket full of nerves.
The tension was so high, that I didn’t even watch the horses as they approached the starting line. Instead, I was just looking down at the ground, hoping we were about to witness something good. When they reached the start line, I looked up and liked what was unfolding: Mo had driven out to the lead. My Boy Luke was gunning from his post position #4 as well, but Andy Miller (who seems to be a master of getting In Over My Head out of the starting gate well) made him work a bit around the first turn before he cleared. The first quarter was a snappy 27.1, one of the fastest that day on a relatively slow track. After a rather exciting start, the next half-mile was actually kind of bland. My Boy Luke continued to lead the way as we followed and he slowed the race down to a near crawl. The time as we reached the ¾ mile marker was 1.30.0, which is very slow for this group even on a bad track. With those easy fractions, it would be a sprint to the finish line.
Now we know Mo is a sprinter, but the problem was he was locked in. My Boy Luke was in the lead, we followed and two horses had moved up from the back in the outer flow, pinning In Over My Head on the rail. A thought flashed through my mind…we won’t do any better than 3rd. Without racing room, there would be no chance to use our speed to try and sprint past these other horses and as they neared 1/8th of a mile to go, I was thinking our trip down would have an average ending at best. That’s when things changed. My Boy Luke was pouring it on and starting to separate from the horses challenging from the outside, but he wasn’t separating from us. That created an opening and Andy Miller masterfully jumped at it within a split second of seeing it. He pulled Mo off the rail and within just a few steps, he was gaining on My Boy Luke. The problem was that we were running out of race. They were charging to the wire, now in full view of us looking on from the grandstand. It was a two horse race. In Over My Head was gaining ground with each step: past the race bike, up to My Boy Luke’s back, to his midsection…we just needed enough track to finish him off. It was then Mo seemed to take a gigantic couple of steps that got him eye to eye with the leader. There was still 50 feet of track left and with our momentum, the favorite was toast. Mo stormed past him and as they crossed the wire, In Over My Head, with a perfect drive from Andy Miller, had just captured the first big victory of his life.
To be honest with you, the final couple of seconds and the immediate time afterward was kind of a blur. I remember when Mo pulled even with My Boy Luke and knew at that point, the race was ours. I think I yelled something to the effect ‘We got it!’ to Greg and he said something like ‘this way!’ and motioned for me to follow. Greg had done his homework: he had already mapped out the fastest route to the winner’s circle! Very impressive game planning. Apparently, we took off sprinting about as fast as In Over My Head down the grandstand platform to a set of stairs and started going down them like we were a couple of cops chasing a suspect. Then we realized we forgot something rather important: Laura. Oops. I ran back up the steps and yelled for her. She wasn’t too far behind and was on cleanup duty as I had dropped my sunglasses and race program in the sprint. Now back together, the three of us winded our way through the belly of the grandstand and emerged on the ground level near the winner’s circle.
Shortly after we arrived, we were joined by the rest of our group: Danny and his friends, the Butenschoen’s and the stars of the track: Andy Miller and In Over My Head. Andy gave John a quick fist bump as Mo was led into the winners circle. We all followed and lined up for the picture (which you can see below). Lot’s of happy faces in there.
It isn’t often were you can go to a race where you have a full compliment of ‘fans.’ Danny and I had been out to the Meadows for a race, Laura and I had been to Pocono Downs, but this was the first time we had the full crew: Greg, Danny, Laura and myself. Also, John, Jackie and Tyler Butenschoen were all down in Springfield for the race. If that wasn’t enough, Danny brought along a couple of friends (Darryl, Parker and Tanner) to round out the unofficial ‘In Over My Head Fan Club.’ We were all there because we all had a feeling something good was going to happen that day…well, except the Butenschoen’s. They had to work and take care of the horses! They may have had good feelings too. Anyway, ask any horse owner about having a big group come down to see a race you have a good feeling about and they will tell you a story about a time when their expected celebration turned out to be an uncomfortable, somber evening. A situation where their horse was expected to do well and the race went horribly. Horse got a bad trip, made a break, any number of things can happen to ruin a night. We were hoping that day would not create another one of those bad stories.
The one thing the general public didn’t realize was that we had a secret weapon that day. That weapon was none other than Danny Carey, fully dressed in his new colors, and he would be warming In Over My Head up. Danny has 3 starts as a trainer with 2 wins and 1 second. Between him and the Butenschoen’s, we had the best in the business getting Mo ready.
Because of rain the previous day, they had to race about 10 races from Monday’s card before ours, which pushed our race back from an anticipated 6pm start to about an 8pm start. As much as I love watching the races, Laura and I decided to step away from the track for awhile and take in the State Fairgrounds the only true way: on the skyride! For just $5 per person, you can ride in that cable car looking thing that slowly glides over endless rows of deep fried food stands, hot tub dealership booths, an ‘international village’ (which surprisingly wasn’t too busy), the midway rides and a plethora of other booths and food stands. We ended up getting a ‘milk shake’ for $4.95 that, quite frankly, I could have got for $1.50 at Dairy Queen (it was just soft serve ice cream), but hey, that’s what State Fairs are for. We ended up timing the ride perfectly because as we came back to the start, we got to see a bird’s eye view of the start of a race on the track. Very cool.
After a trip through the fairgrounds, the rest of the day was kind of a blur. I bet a few races, cashed a couple of tickets, but before I knew it we were just a few races away from ours. When Danny was out warming him up, I started to feel it. Those nerves were setting in. Gone were the high flying fun times of the skyride. My body started to feel heavy. My stomach started to tighten up. We were nearing race time.
There is something so unnerving about being able to stand and look at your horse before a big race and that is what we had that day. You don’t get to do that at most tracks as they come onto the track from the paddock, which is located a quite a ways away from the grandstand area. That isn’t the case in Springfield where the paddock is open and close. We could sit on some picnic tables near the grandstand and see In Over My Head standing there. He was a mere 20 yards from me. He was active: ears perked, looking over the stall at his future competitors, throwing his head around and at times he just appeared to be calmly watching the races unfolding out on the track. He is such a sharp looking horse. With all of the people we had down watching the race, there was a lot of activity around Mo. I decided to keep my distance. We didn’t need too many cooks in the kitchen. I just watched…and got more and more nervous.
I swear, races 6 through 10 went by in heartbeat. We were in the 11th and when the 10th race was complete, the group gathered over near Mo. Greg, Danny, John, Jackie, Tyler and Danny’s friends. I walked over, but left quickly. I just couldn’t take it anymore. Too tense. From there, I headed over to the betting counter. I had a $20 in my hand and planned on putting $10 to win and $10 to place on In Over My Head. I felt he was at least the second best horse in the race. The favorite, My Boy Luke, was certainly a worthy adversary. In his last 6 races, he had finished first 2 times and second 4 times. His times were fast and he would be tough to beat. However, as I got to the window, I had a change of heart. “$20 on the 2 (In Over My Head) to win,” I said. “Wow, everyone seems to be liking the 2,” the attendant replied. To that, I said, “That’s good, because I own half of him.”
I met Laura and said it was time to head up to the grandstand. She suggested saying a little prayer before we left, which was fine, but I didn’t want to pray for Mo to win. That would be too greedy; I just wanted him to race well. Laura said she’d take care of the win part of the prayer.
We found a spot in the grandstand near the wire with a good view of the track. Greg joined us a couple of minutes later and we both spent the next 10 minutes in a world of agonizing nervousness. He said it best when he commented on the fact when you only have one horse, everything rides on that race. There isn’t a big stable to fall back on. I think that is something that people miss when they see us so nervous. I’d just say think about going to a casino. You plan on gambling $250 dollars that night, but instead of $10 blackjack bets, you just throw it on one hand. A little more intense, right? Well, that’s us. One horse, one bet and a bucket full of nerves.
The tension was so high, that I didn’t even watch the horses as they approached the starting line. Instead, I was just looking down at the ground, hoping we were about to witness something good. When they reached the start line, I looked up and liked what was unfolding: Mo had driven out to the lead. My Boy Luke was gunning from his post position #4 as well, but Andy Miller (who seems to be a master of getting In Over My Head out of the starting gate well) made him work a bit around the first turn before he cleared. The first quarter was a snappy 27.1, one of the fastest that day on a relatively slow track. After a rather exciting start, the next half-mile was actually kind of bland. My Boy Luke continued to lead the way as we followed and he slowed the race down to a near crawl. The time as we reached the ¾ mile marker was 1.30.0, which is very slow for this group even on a bad track. With those easy fractions, it would be a sprint to the finish line.
Now we know Mo is a sprinter, but the problem was he was locked in. My Boy Luke was in the lead, we followed and two horses had moved up from the back in the outer flow, pinning In Over My Head on the rail. A thought flashed through my mind…we won’t do any better than 3rd. Without racing room, there would be no chance to use our speed to try and sprint past these other horses and as they neared 1/8th of a mile to go, I was thinking our trip down would have an average ending at best. That’s when things changed. My Boy Luke was pouring it on and starting to separate from the horses challenging from the outside, but he wasn’t separating from us. That created an opening and Andy Miller masterfully jumped at it within a split second of seeing it. He pulled Mo off the rail and within just a few steps, he was gaining on My Boy Luke. The problem was that we were running out of race. They were charging to the wire, now in full view of us looking on from the grandstand. It was a two horse race. In Over My Head was gaining ground with each step: past the race bike, up to My Boy Luke’s back, to his midsection…we just needed enough track to finish him off. It was then Mo seemed to take a gigantic couple of steps that got him eye to eye with the leader. There was still 50 feet of track left and with our momentum, the favorite was toast. Mo stormed past him and as they crossed the wire, In Over My Head, with a perfect drive from Andy Miller, had just captured the first big victory of his life.
To be honest with you, the final couple of seconds and the immediate time afterward was kind of a blur. I remember when Mo pulled even with My Boy Luke and knew at that point, the race was ours. I think I yelled something to the effect ‘We got it!’ to Greg and he said something like ‘this way!’ and motioned for me to follow. Greg had done his homework: he had already mapped out the fastest route to the winner’s circle! Very impressive game planning. Apparently, we took off sprinting about as fast as In Over My Head down the grandstand platform to a set of stairs and started going down them like we were a couple of cops chasing a suspect. Then we realized we forgot something rather important: Laura. Oops. I ran back up the steps and yelled for her. She wasn’t too far behind and was on cleanup duty as I had dropped my sunglasses and race program in the sprint. Now back together, the three of us winded our way through the belly of the grandstand and emerged on the ground level near the winner’s circle.
Shortly after we arrived, we were joined by the rest of our group: Danny and his friends, the Butenschoen’s and the stars of the track: Andy Miller and In Over My Head. Andy gave John a quick fist bump as Mo was led into the winners circle. We all followed and lined up for the picture (which you can see below). Lot’s of happy faces in there.
It wasn’t until after we left the winners circle when I realized just how special the day had become. Not only had we just won an important race, we had done so together. It is kind of rare to get everyone together to go to a race. It is even rarer to win that race. It is even rarer for that to happen in a stakes event. I thought back to our brief, but interesting history with In Over My Head. This is what we HOPED might happen when we bought him. I think we all actually envisioned a time when we would all be together in Springfield to watch a big victory and it actually happened. It really was a dream come true. I know in the future there will be more horses. Hopefully more big wins, but I can tell you with 100% certainty, that the victory in Springfield that day and the shared excitement with all of together will be something I will never ever forget.We were the last race of the day and once done with the picture, picture ordering and cashing winning tickets, we headed back to the barn. On the way were lots of phone calls (Kirk, Mom, Dad and Grandma) and text messages. Darryl was able to locate a few cold Miller Lites. We popped the tops and had a big cheers to In Over My Head…I can’t remember the last time a beer tasted so good. From there we headed out for a late dinner and numerous recounts of the race and all the excitement that surrounded it. It was one of those days that you really don’t want to end, but we all reached a point of exhaustion soon enough. The stress and excitement of the race can really wear you down. It was time to call it a day, but it would be a day that I knew would be remembered and reminisced about many, many times.
I took a moment to look at past champions of this event. The Review Stake is certainly not a major race, but a true stakes race. Some of the biggest names in racing won it: Tar Heel in 1951, Race Time in 1964 and Bret Hanover in 1965. Recent speedsters such as Yankee Cruiser (2003) and Jeremy’s Jet (2006) won it in the last decade. To be fair, it was a bigger event in the past. With the blossoming slot purses in states like Pennsylvania, less horsemen ship their horses back to Illinois for the State Fair races, but that doesn’t matter. We made history, even if it was a small sliver of history. And, it marked the 10 year anniversary of another Carey owned horse victory: Carey’s Card Shark who won it in 1999. Let’s hope we can find another ‘W’ sometime between now and 2019.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
A Good Fifth and a Trip Back Home
I’m not sure exactly why, but I was thinking good things were going to happen on Saturday afternoon when In Over My Head raced at the Meadowlands. Due to planned trip to the Door County area with family, I was unable to watch the race and depended on the always timely calls/ texts from Danny as to what was going on. When I got the text that he finished 5th, I was noticeably bummed out. Not upset, but just bummed out. I thought a top 3 was clearly in the cards that day, but it just didn’t play out as we hoped.
The beginning of the race was a flashback to the early days of Andy Miller driving Mo from a far outside post as he swept quickly toward the front, eventually giving up the lead to the #10 horse that was also rushed out quickly. That two hole trip would normally be a thing of beauty, but the problem was as they turned for home. Mo was absolutely loaded with pace, but the horse he was following was on the last legs of his bid to be the first to the wire. As he began to give up ground to the charging pack on the outside, Mo also got pushed back. He did sneak through on the rail, but the outside momentum was too much. He finished a very game 5th, only getting beat 3 legnths and clocked his quickest lifetime mile in 1.51.2.
With that, we leave the eastern USA for a trip back to the Heartland. It will be Mo’s first trip back to the Land of Lincoln since he was shipped out east back in December of 2008 when he prepped for the January sale where we purchased him. The plan will be for him to go three starts: The Review Stake in Springfield for open 3 year olds, an expected overnight at Balmoral and the Hayes Stake in DuQuion for open 3 year olds.
Those three races should give him legit opportunities to do something he hasn’t done a lot of in the past few races: exceed expectations. He did plenty of that this winter and when he first came back in June, but we’ve left some better finishes on the track in the last few starts. In reality, none of it has been In Over My Head’s fault. Some bad breaks, bad draws and bad race luck have kept our hopes of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishes under wraps. That’s the way it goes. As I talked about with Greg, one big race can change that in a hurry. John continues to keep Mo sharp and I really think we will pop for a big one soon. Springfield next Tuesday would be a great place to start a big run. Only time will tell.
The beginning of the race was a flashback to the early days of Andy Miller driving Mo from a far outside post as he swept quickly toward the front, eventually giving up the lead to the #10 horse that was also rushed out quickly. That two hole trip would normally be a thing of beauty, but the problem was as they turned for home. Mo was absolutely loaded with pace, but the horse he was following was on the last legs of his bid to be the first to the wire. As he began to give up ground to the charging pack on the outside, Mo also got pushed back. He did sneak through on the rail, but the outside momentum was too much. He finished a very game 5th, only getting beat 3 legnths and clocked his quickest lifetime mile in 1.51.2.
With that, we leave the eastern USA for a trip back to the Heartland. It will be Mo’s first trip back to the Land of Lincoln since he was shipped out east back in December of 2008 when he prepped for the January sale where we purchased him. The plan will be for him to go three starts: The Review Stake in Springfield for open 3 year olds, an expected overnight at Balmoral and the Hayes Stake in DuQuion for open 3 year olds.
Those three races should give him legit opportunities to do something he hasn’t done a lot of in the past few races: exceed expectations. He did plenty of that this winter and when he first came back in June, but we’ve left some better finishes on the track in the last few starts. In reality, none of it has been In Over My Head’s fault. Some bad breaks, bad draws and bad race luck have kept our hopes of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishes under wraps. That’s the way it goes. As I talked about with Greg, one big race can change that in a hurry. John continues to keep Mo sharp and I really think we will pop for a big one soon. Springfield next Tuesday would be a great place to start a big run. Only time will tell.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Time to Reflect On a 45-Year Anniversary
This Saturday, the richest event in harness racing will take place at The Meadowlands in New Jersey. The Hambletonian, with a purse of $1,520,333, showcases the best 3 year old trotters in the world. It is the only live nationally televised harness race of the year. Muscle Hill is the heavy favorite in the race, but crazy things can happen in 3 year old trotting events. If looking for a pick that might pay, I’d keep my eye on Federal Flex. Just a hunch.
Oddly enough, my focus won’t be on the Hambletonian or any of the other première $100,000+ events that are being raced on Saturday afternoon. It will be on the race 13, where a field of 10 non winners of 4 races/ $65,000 lifetime 3 and 4 year olds will help fill out a star studded card. I bet you can guess who is in to race…that’s right, In Over My Head. We are racing on Hambo Day! It would be the equivalent of having a horse race at Churchill Downs on Derby Day. We didn’t draw real well (post position #9), but we are reunited with Andy Miller, who will be driving Mo for the first time since the Junior Trendsetter Final back in February.
This is the 83rd installment of the Hambletonian and marks the 45th anniversary of Speedy Rodney racing in the marquee event. As I mentioned before, Speedy was owned by my grandpa Wayne (as well as his brother and another investor). It is hard to imagine what is would be like to have a horse complete in this event. Here we are, 45 years later and Greg, Danny and I are just thrilled to be racing on Hambo Day. Our race is just an afterthought, but it still feels special. You have to have a really good horse to even be able to make that card (and we do), but we are a number of notches below the featured event. It just gives additional perspective on what Grandpa had to be feeling back in 1964. What a memory. Maybe someday we can get there too. Feels like a million miles away now, but as the old saying goes, crazier things have happened.
As you might imagine, I have searched quite a bit over the years to find any sort of story or bit of memorabilia that relates to the 1964 Hambletonian and the fact is there isn’t a ton out there. It was a different media world back then, but I have found a couple of links and a picture to share. The first is more of an official summary from the Hambletonian Society:
http://www.hambletonian.org/archives_hambo/h_1964.html
And one from Sports Illustrated…this is really interesting and I honestly have never read it before I did a search for this entry. Note the ‘Wisconsin owned’ comment in regards to Speedy Rodney and the fact that the owners ‘refused to sell’ Speedy to big money owners out east. I always knew Grandpa could be stubborn!
https://www.si.com/vault/1964/09/14/608358/the-winner-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-barn
Also, here is a picture of the start of the 1964 Hambletonian. As mentioned in the SI article, you can see Speedy Rodney gunning to the front on the far outside…a move that proved to be a bit too aggressive.
Oddly enough, my focus won’t be on the Hambletonian or any of the other première $100,000+ events that are being raced on Saturday afternoon. It will be on the race 13, where a field of 10 non winners of 4 races/ $65,000 lifetime 3 and 4 year olds will help fill out a star studded card. I bet you can guess who is in to race…that’s right, In Over My Head. We are racing on Hambo Day! It would be the equivalent of having a horse race at Churchill Downs on Derby Day. We didn’t draw real well (post position #9), but we are reunited with Andy Miller, who will be driving Mo for the first time since the Junior Trendsetter Final back in February.
This is the 83rd installment of the Hambletonian and marks the 45th anniversary of Speedy Rodney racing in the marquee event. As I mentioned before, Speedy was owned by my grandpa Wayne (as well as his brother and another investor). It is hard to imagine what is would be like to have a horse complete in this event. Here we are, 45 years later and Greg, Danny and I are just thrilled to be racing on Hambo Day. Our race is just an afterthought, but it still feels special. You have to have a really good horse to even be able to make that card (and we do), but we are a number of notches below the featured event. It just gives additional perspective on what Grandpa had to be feeling back in 1964. What a memory. Maybe someday we can get there too. Feels like a million miles away now, but as the old saying goes, crazier things have happened.
As you might imagine, I have searched quite a bit over the years to find any sort of story or bit of memorabilia that relates to the 1964 Hambletonian and the fact is there isn’t a ton out there. It was a different media world back then, but I have found a couple of links and a picture to share. The first is more of an official summary from the Hambletonian Society:
http://www.hambletonian.org/archives_hambo/h_1964.html
And one from Sports Illustrated…this is really interesting and I honestly have never read it before I did a search for this entry. Note the ‘Wisconsin owned’ comment in regards to Speedy Rodney and the fact that the owners ‘refused to sell’ Speedy to big money owners out east. I always knew Grandpa could be stubborn!
https://www.si.com/vault/1964/09/14/608358/the-winner-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-barn
Also, here is a picture of the start of the 1964 Hambletonian. As mentioned in the SI article, you can see Speedy Rodney gunning to the front on the far outside…a move that proved to be a bit too aggressive.
At the end of the day, the Hambletonian was a disappointment for Speedy Rodney and his connections, but he lived to race another day. He was actually at his best as a 4 and 5 year old and provided a lifetime of memories for Grandpa, his brother (co owner) as well as Greg who would have been about 10 years old.With that in mind, it is kind of a good time to reflect on where we have been and hopefully where we are going with our own horse. The season started with an endless amount of promise: a 2nd place finish in the sire series followed by a 2nd and a 1st at Pocono Downs. Next came the 5th place finish in the 2nd leg of the sire series, which was disappointing, but not the end of the world. Unfortunately, that was followed by the trainwreck in the 3rd leg of the sires series that made us modify our plans for the rest of the season. That’s the way it goes. Strikes and gutters. I feel like we are on a bit of an uptick now…maybe that’s wishful thinking, but I know we still have a horse who in reality has yet to put together his best race. I want to see that race. I really think it will be impressive and will pull us out of our current state of mind and back to a level of ownership bliss (even if the stay there is temporary).
The next three races will provide In Over My Head his chance to show everyone what he can do. Starting with the Saturday race at the Meadowlands and followed by a trip back to Illinois to race at Springfield and DuQuoin. The races will go for $22,500, $30,000 and $40,000. Nice purses and races that he has the ability to win. Big performances can go a long way in setting us up for the rest of the season.
To compare our current spot right now to a normal sports team, we are kind of in the meat of the season. Preseason expectations don’t matter anymore. They feel a long ways away now. The first part of the season was filled with some wins and some losses. It kind of feels like we have a 5-3 record (if this was the NFL), which is good, but for some reason we should be 6-2. One more win doesn’t look like much on paper, but has a very different feel to it. We are happy, but not ecstatic. We left a big win on the field by dropping a game winning touchdown against the first place team back in the 3rd leg of the sire series and it still stings a bit. Stings can subside, though and the only way to do it is go out and race better.
What this stretch could (and hopefully will) do is set us up for a chance at the ‘playoffs’ at the end of the season. I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves (go 1-0 every week, right…how many coaches have said that to you…guessing about every one), but we have a chance to race in a couple of grade A events in November, but nothing is guarantied. The next 3 races should give us a good idea where we will end up. More to come!
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