I am off to Pimlico racetrack for the next two days. These are Maryland's biggest racing days and the festivities are really fun. Yesterday, Carol and I went to the Alibi breakfast to hobnob with the racing elite. Had breakfast with Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas (sort off) and listened for some racing tips! Then we walked over to the stakes barn and oohed and aahed over the Budweiser giants. Takes a lot of horse to impress these jaded horsewomen, and we were impressed. They are huge, just imaging one of those hooves coming down on a foot makes me cringe. But they are kindest horses, standing quietly for all those pets. Thoroughbreds would be biting all those hands after about 10 minutes. The team manager told us they can get the whole 8 horse team, fully harnessed and ready to pull in 20 minutes!! Can you imagine getting 8 Thoroughbreds to stand in two rows, head to tail, side by side, while 4 guys rushed about tacking you up with all this jangly, shiny harness. We might find those racehorses in the next county at the end of the day!! He also said it cost that beer company about $1,400,000 each horse, yearly, to showcase the team around the country. Yikes. That's a lot of beer. The mare we bred 5 years ago, Baltimore Belle, now 4, is running tomorrow in the 4th race on Preakness Day. She is up against very elite company. Remember Life At Ten, the Breeder's Cup runner who was distressed in post parade and ran badly ( she "tied up"). She will break out of the gate beside Belle! But it is fun to have a horse in, on Preakness Day and we hope she runs big! I come home at night and look at the yearlings in the paddocks and go , "One day...."
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