Practically the end of January and my annual break from horse racing has now officially ended. Not really a break as I still keep checking my favourite sites for news stories of interest, but I’m not really living it during my brief seasonal hiatus. Not until tomorrow that is, with the running of the Holy Bull Stakes. It begins once again. Preparing for the first Saturday in May means I only have only three months in which to get it all done.
Of course I’ve already got a number of derby prep race result printouts scattered about the house. Soon they will be assembled into a tidy little pile. With each passing week this pile will begin to grow and I will eventually become the proud owner of a stack. I will resist the urge to examine the contents of my stack until April rolls around and then I will begin my analysis. I’ll set up my work station and then each prep race will be broken down and every available stat overanalyzed. It’s all about the handicapping rituals and this is what I want to share through my writing. Other handicappers, horse racing fans and their significant others understand what this is all about, however for the majority of the population the rituals of this obsession go unrecognized.
But, it’s still early days on the Kentucky Derby trail. The horse racing champions of last season have just been recognized with their Eclipse Awards. Will last year’s two year-old champions continue to have what it takes and will they be able to stretch out in distance and take on the one and a quarter mile distance of the Kentucky Derby? For those who know nothing about this sport, horses only get one shot to win the Kentucky Derby as this race is open only to three year-olds. My computer desk will soon be littered with sticky notes as I jot down the names of the newest up and coming three year-olds being discussed on the forums by my fellow horse racing junkies.
As I settle down to watch tomorrow’s Holy Bull, I will take a deep breath before the post parade of horses begins. I will remind myself not to get too excited as many horses simply don’t make the final cut. Early favourites from the winter and spring rarely make it to the big day and morning line favourites often scratch, but that’s a whole other story for a whole other day. Tomorrow I will just take that deep breath, sit back, relax and enjoy the race. Oh, who am I kidding! Tomorrow we will finally find out if Eclipse Champion Hansen, that special white thoroughbred, can beat his newest line up of rival three year-olds. Does he have what it takes or will he become the first to fall from the derby trail?
Tomorrow I can begin to live it all again.
