Barbaro Updates: 475
updates are now here.
Update 2930: A chilly update from Penny at timwoolleyracing.com:
It is cold this Thursday morning and the wind chill ins -5 degrees. The people seem to be bothered by this weather more than the horses. The Tapeta track is riding great and we are so lucky to have this to train on in the winter. The main dirt track would be like training on a beach. This is also the time of year when we take stock in the past year and look forward to the coming year at the same time. We have had several brushes with reality this past year. A few of our horses have gone on to be riding horses. Real Lace and Mass Romantic were claimed and Red Aspen went to Florida and ran two really great races. All in all we have been very lucky and had no life threatening injuries. We take great care to pay attention to what might cause harm to these animals but accidents can happen. We realize that we are fortunate to have made it through the year without major harm. Sometimes losing one of our horses can be like giving up a family pet. I miss them when they are gone and their personalities are never forgotten. Looking forward to the coming year we have a lot of youngsters with promise. Kitty and Molly are very close to racing and both are very interesting individuals. Paris and Rocky are really progressing well, and of course the new babies like Lucky and Bubble Gum are really learning and enjoying things so far. Veiled Reference has showed a lot of promise and Not A Fling ran a great race and finished third last week. Two of Wands showed promise in her first start and I can't wait to see her figure it all out! She is a tough cookie. Powdered Donut and a Lion Hearted filly have just come in and seem eager to train and learn. Luke is still with us and talks to me every night for his dinner. What more could I want? Red Aspen will be coming back from Florida to start the next phase of her life (being a mom). I can't wait to see her and give her a mint or two for her efforts. Who's Happy will be back after her winter break and she should be tough to beat. We look forward to this year with hopeful anticipation and encourage all of you to enjoy it with us.
Update 2929: HBOs Barbaro documentary won a 2007 media Eclipse Award: HBO Sports Wins Eclipse Award, the following are excerpts:
"HBO Sports is honored to accept this very prestigious award," said Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports. "We want to thank Gretchen and Roy Jackson (Barbaro's owners) for their generous support on the project, and of course Barbaro for reminding the world of its love of animals."
and
"The film came together after we met the Jacksons," said Margaret Grossi, who produced the documentary. "We recognized that they were making a genuine effort to save the horse. They never veered in their conviction and never relinquished hope. They handled all of the ups and downs with a lot of class."
Update 2928: It was a chilly morning this morning at Sam Houston Race Park, probably late twenties warming up to mid thirties through the early part of the day. I did call Tim to get the temperature in Fair Hill, he said it was nine degrees and they were only going to shedrow the horses! We had ten sets, so we were busy. A few of the later sets went to the gate, all went nicely. There were a couple of spills on the track, colder weather makes you less agile and the horses more alert. Oh well, I survived anyway so not a bad start to the day.
Update 2927: Heavy rain is forecast for the Santa Anita area in the next few days and concern remains regarding the integrity of the drainage of the Cushion Track: Santa Anita Track Dilemma Not Over.
If you can spare an hour listen to this: TRRN: Person and Race of the Year. Congratulations to Bev Strauss!
Hiya, FsOB! I haven't even turned on the TV to find out how cold it is here on the banks of the Thames, but the windows on the front door are frosted. Yikes! Hope all of you and your animals are safe & warm this AM. Here's to a productive day! Can I possibly be first? RMH
#### To Laurie H.: A scream about Bart & the Doritos! Nikita, the horse-loving Husky, also loves them. ####
Posted by: Robyn Hoffmann at January 3, 2008 11:25 AM