The Women Who Bought AP's Half Brother

[Patuxet]

I doubt this will prove to be the salvation of the sport, but it might provide NBC with another side story next Saturday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/nyreg ... 18693&_r=0

[TJ]

I hope NBC does talk it up...it's just an inaccurate piece of reporting from the NY Times....trying to inject politics into something like the Triple Crown. That ain't right. Just aggravating to read how they contort facts to fit their agenda. They need that lead in headline, The Women Who Bought American Pharoah’s Half Brother, to grab your attention, only problem is Linda doesn't have a 1/2 brother to American Pharoah in her barn. That bit of truth doesn't stop the NY Times from using that attention getting headline. This was the 2YO NY bred colt Linda bought....http://www.fasigtipton.com/catalogs/2015/0518/165.pdf for over $800,000. He is a nice colt,but he is a 1/2 brother to Leave The Light On who won last years edition of the Remsen. He's just one of many unrelated Pioneerof The Nile foals on the ground, not related to American Pharoah at all.
Why not report that women have played a big and important role in racing for so very long. Linda Rice was born into the racing business...her dad, Clyde Rice and Wayne Lukas hung around as kids in Wisconsin, plucking mangy looking horses from one sale, cleaning them up, trimming their feet, slapping on shoes, prettying them up and bringing them to the next sale and double their money. Visiting many auctions over a weekend. Now, because Linda has an all women racing syndicate they want to talk about her....she's a wonderful horsewoman for many years. Sally Bailie, Mary Cotter, long before it was fashionable, broke through before Linda had a trainers license. Personally I think it's an insult to call her a "woman" trainer...but that's an important part of reporting from the side of the fence the NY Times happens to be on. Linda is simply a great horse trainer of the highest standards....no matter what the sex, why limit her to just a top female trainer?? That ain't right!There are so many great "women" trainers...Carla Gaines, Kathy Ritvo, Helen Pitts, Jenine Sahadi, Mary Keim, Diana Carpenter, Shelley Riley and so many more. Women owners far more notable then this all women's group they are writing about, as if there should be a distinction....have been around longer then the trainers. Just don't mention that truth, because we want to keep the lie going that horse racing is a mans game and women are still being discriminated against in the freaken 21st century?? That Ain't Right. Many of the top owners of the past were women....Rosa Hoots (owned Kentucky Derby winner Black Gold), Mrs. John D. Hertz (owner of Stoner Creek Farm and Triple Crown winner Count Fleet), Helen Hay Whitney (known as the "First Lady of the Turf" and owner of two Derby winners), Lucille Wright Markey (owner of Calumet Farm after her husband's death and responsible for 4 Derby winners), Penny Chenery (owner of Secretariat), Diana Firestone (owner of Genuine Risk), and Frances Genter (owner of Derby winner Unbridled). Mrs. DuPont of Bohemia Stable fame, Jenny Craig, Beverly Lewis, Virginia Kraft Payson, and Madeleine Paulson, Mrs. Unger, Marylou Whitney, Elizabeth Jerkens the list goes on and on. Once again in today's news fact checking doesn't exist if it fits the narrative. THAT AIN'T RIGHT! TJ

[Patuxet]

I don't see any political implication in the headline, but it certainly points up the widespread ignorance about horse racing in general and terminology in particular. People who aren't quite sure what a gelding is aren't likely to know why colts by the same sire aren't considered half-brothers. For them it would seem an arcane distinction. The writer of the article who initially used the term incorrectly certainly should have known the subject better. Unfortunately the person who composed the headline simply incorporated the writer's ignorance and compounded the error.

[TJ]

I don't see any political implication in the headline, but it certainly points up the widespread ignorance about horse racing in general and terminology in particular. People who aren't quite sure what a gelding is aren't likely to know why colts by the same sire aren't considered half-brothers. For them it would seem an arcane distinction. The writer of the article who initially used the term incorrectly certainly should have known the subject better. Unfortunately the person who composed the headline simply incorporated the writer's ignorance and compounded the error.

Hi Patuxet,
You're right, no political implication in the headline...that was the sizzle, the bacon in the article left much to be desired. I'm probably wrong, but to me it seemed to point to the women's rights narrative...as early on in this piece they mention...In an overwhelmingly male sport ....guess if they never slipped that in the article I wouldn't have taken issue. That just seemed to be inaccurate to me and my lifetime in horse racing. Some of the best people in the sport were women, who I met walking in the back gate. I doubt many women would ever say they were discriminated against. It was all about having the ability to perform, not about their gender, plenty men have been replaced by more competent women trainers in this industry and will continue to do so, if their ability so dictates. A better narrative would be the change in the industry since the 40's, 50's and early 60's. That's when men truly dominated the sport...just take a tour of the backside today and you will see women just about outnumber men today. Our future trainers come up through these ranks....if there are more women then men getting the job done, they will rise through the ranks and become our future trainers.
Women on the backstretch were unheard of years ago, not so today! The NY Times piece that mentions In an overwhelmingly male sport should read up on Sylvia Bishop, who died in December 2005 and was one of the first woman to hold a trainers license. She owned and trained horses since 1938. Read the story, she certainly drew attention when she walked in the back gate at Charletown, but she quickly gained the respect of the "overwhelmingly male sport" in an era when that was a true statement.....the backstretch has come a long way since then. TJ
http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_d ... hop_a.html

[murphysmom]

I wondered when I read this article about all the other women trainers that weren't mentioned.

I loved the link that you posted TJ about the first black woman trainer. I knew Montell & Violet Stewart and loved to hear their racing stories when I was just a little kid! They told stories about racing at Detroit & Chicago & had no reservations about letting a little kid play with all those trophies! Such memories!

[erhrdt3]

Hello friends, wishing all very safe and Happy Holidays!

Speaking of women owners/trainers, if I may take a moment here to honor my best friend, who has been in this sport for decades, with no fanfare. In her early 70's now (she'd kill me if she saw this...!) but you would not know it, she has been training and racing her, now our, beloved horses for decades. An attorney by day, she starts her 2nd job aka love, after a full day of trials, dealing with the BS of those in Washington, DC, (need I say more) anywhere from 5-6pm, going to our farm, caring for the mares and horses that used to race or never made it to the track for one reason or another; she never will dump a horse due to performance. She is where I first heard the term "spoiled pasture pet" from when speaking of our gallant Spec. Bid mare, now the elder Maggie. Dragging water to them over the ice when our 'employee of the month' fails to show up yet again..and the power goes out on the farm causing the horses' water bins to freeze over. Assuring each and every one of them are blanketed in the cold, tucked away in their stalls. Playing the yearly chase game with my mare, who is a snot, and the gang to get their masks on in the 90 degree heat. Picking stalls for not only our horses but for the others who's owners for one reason or another just happen to forget, and the poor horse is left to stand in a mess. She will have none of that.

She was an integral part, although no accolades given, in the career of one of her favs, J.O. Tobin, back in the decade of champions. Then buying some his sons and daughters, racing them successfully, and giving them their forever homes. Going to the auctions and buying the yearlings that no one wanted, making winners of those 1k horses, beating those 200K and up ones that lined up with them in the same race. Getting up at 2 am on a workday, to go to the training facility to soak an abcess on the filly that she had just finished preparing for a race then comes up with a gimp the morning of.. and does it twice a day for as long as it takes to be back to better than perfect. Then driving across town to the farm to check on a gelding she had adopted, who was going to meet an untimely end if not for her, just for taking a bad step. He is now racing the huge fields at top speeds, in his forever home with her. And she does all this in her office attire, no less!

She knew of my love for Ruffian. When she saw a little, black, kind of rough looking filly at the KEENOV yearling auction, that of course no one wanted; not only did this girl come home with her, but so did this filly's pasture mate, a gorgeous red chestnut, also unwanted. My dear friend has turned them both into beauty queens, and the black filly has turned into a sleek, greyhound looking mare.. who has taken on colts and won. She has wired the field of horses who have cost 100 or more times than she did. Amazingly with the same running style of on 'that lead' coming home that the Great Ruffian did. Always the longshot too. (sure wish she won like Ruffian all the time though!) All thanks to this tough, incredible woman, who had a dream when she was younger, moved to Lexington, KY, and did what she dreamt of. No, she is, we are not..in fact FAR from, the wealthy stables, farms, owners, syndicates..etc..etc. etc... she, then we, are just 2 ladies who love the horses, the majestic horses that give their all to do what they are told and trained to do, but my dear friend goes even beyond that. This strong woman takes the winnings from the races we are lucky enough to win, place, show.. and not only puts it back into even better care for them, but she recently has been the sole savior of approx. forty abandoned Thoroughbreds, using both her legal skills and her love of them to make sure they have water, food, and now is in the process of the legal mumbo jumbo of getting them all the vet care they need. Their owner was a very good friend of hers, a doctor who gave back to the communities in Lexington and the surrounding areas by having free clinics for the kids whose parents could not afford medical/dental care for them, and did this for years. Then as he became elderly, had a stroke, and is now in a long term nursing facility not ONE family member would show up for him. ONE friend did. As of Christmas Day evening, when I spoke with her over the phone, she was so tired from getting them all fed and cared for she could barely talk. If only we could find a reliable employee to help with the daily activities that must be done for our horses and now these innocent, but abandoned horses. She pays well. (the last employee she set up in a studio apt. and bought him all appliances and 2 weeks of food to get him started-then he just vanishes) They will stay for a bit, then just not show up, or show up so drunk they can't stand up. If any of you know of a good honest horse person who would like to make some extra money, please let me know.. I must find some help for her. I am still stuck up in far NE IL, getting ready to have my 53rd (not a typo) surgery on Jan. 7th. So, I do the phone calling, contacting those that need to be contacted, anything I can do from afar, however I know you must be on site to get any real work done.

I honor and thank all the great, loving and strong women to go above and beyond for these beautiful animals. The hands on women, who's hands do not have the silky smooth skin and long dragon nails and wear the several thousand dollar hats and dresses of the always seen on TV millionaire/billionaire owner's wives..or girlfriends..or both. Of course, there are always the exceptions, that get in there and valiantly work to help the horses, Mrs. Chenery and Mrs. Paulson are two that come to mind.. but I think you all know what I'm talking about.

The hard working women who work behind the scenes, the rub downs, the hot walkers, the farriers, the all important veterinarians, and yes, the great jockeys now too. And to the loving owners of the horses that are not household names, the ones who see a horse who's track days are behind them, and their future looks bleak, and may I mention this boards' very own Madelyn, who has the now gorgeous and happy Thabit, the beautiful chestnut she has so lovingly nurtured. The photos don't lie! My favorite is of Thabit walking away from the camera and Madelyn saying he is her forever horse. That is the heart of a strong woman getting it done for the love of the majestic horses.

So, I honor all of you ladies, and my best friend in Lexington, Ronda Paul. And again, she will kill me if she sees this as I mentioned....shhhhh...her age!!!

Good luck to all, and a happy and healthy 2016!! God Bless!!

*If any know of good, honest, reliable help at both our farm and at the training facility, own current DL and vehicle obviously helpful, please let me know.. I need to get Ronda some help! Thank you all.