The Reason I Am a Fan of Horse Racing

I did not become an avid follower of horse racing until the beginning of 2007. The only exposure I had to the sport was the Kentucky Derby, and even then I usually did not know it was "Derby Day" until I turned on the television and happened to stumble across the all-day programming. "Prep-races" was a foreign term to me, and I had no idea that the horses even competed in other races prior to and after the Triple Crown series. Preakness day would come and go unbeknownst to myself, and I would tune in for the Belmont Stakes only if there was a Triple Crown on the line.

The first step to my becoming a fan was the construction of the Harrah's Casino, Simulcast and Harness track in lovely (.....) Chester, Pennsylvania. During my initial trip, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I was betting harness tracks across the country with not a clue as to what the difference between "trot" and "pace" were. After taking one look at a thoroughbred program, I immediately dismissed it because there were far too many numbers that I didn't understand. At least with the harness past performances, all the horses had always run one mile. Whoever had run the fastest miles in the past would win the race today. Right? For anyone who has ever bet harness, the answer is obviously an overwhelming "NO". However, I thoroughly enjoyed the individual betting screens and the overall atmosphere of the place (for those that have never been there, the computers at each seat are eerily similiar to the computers used to order sandwiches at "Wawa". Just touch the screen where it says what you want to do, and bam, you got it.) I purchased a book that explained the nuances of the thoroughbred program and returned to the simulcast facility fully armed with the knowledge needed to make intelligent betting decisions. On approximately my third race, I decided to throw $1 on a 9-8-2-10 superfecta at Calder Race Course. Miraculously, it finished up exactly that way. $700 and change were mine-all-mine. Was I some sort of superfecta expert? Was I just a naturally brilliant handicapper? I won't go into the financially detrimental details, but once again, the answer is another overwhelming "NO". However, I was hooked into the Sport of Kings, but in a much different way than I am today. I was obsessed with the big score and trying to make a small fortune off of the races. At this same time, a handsome, young colt had just kicked off his 3-year old season, and my view of racing would never be the same.

The date was February 19, 2007. I had read an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about a promising, Pennsylvania bred 3-year old who was taking his next step toward the Kentucky Derby via the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was undefeated and had been on or within a head of the lead throughout the entire running of all four of his career races. His name was Hard Spun, and he was the 1 to 2 betting favorite at post time. The gates flew open and Hard Spun had perhaps the worst start of his entire career. He only broke a few steps slower than the other speed horses in the field, but for Hard Spun, that made a world of difference. Since he broke slower than usual, he had several horses between him and the rail and therefore had to race much wider than the rest of the field. He made a move up into second place toward the end of the backstretch, but failed to sustain his run and ended up crossing the finish line a very disappointing fourth. For the first time since my debut trip to the track, I felt sorry for a horse who had come out of a race perfectly healthy. In my mind, he was clearly the best horse on paper and I could find no statistical reason for him to have run the way he did. Even if he had been wider, this should only have forced him to win by a smaller margin than usual, right? The only reason I could think of at the time was that the poor guy was simply having a bad day. He was clearly trying to give it his all throughout the race, but for whatever reason on February 19, 2007, he couldn't put together a winning effort. 

I started scouring the internet for all the information I could pertaining to his career and where his next race may be. Would he be able to bounce back and put together another winning streak or had he simply peaked as a 2-year old? Would his "no-name" trainer continue to point him toward the Triple Crown or would he be entered in easier spots? I became absolutely enamored with the little guy. I was now more of a fan of the horses as opposed to the betting. I followed the Triple Crown trail like I would a professional sports team. Despite my obvious bias, I truly thought that Mr. Spun had an excellent chance of taking home the roses in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. When they made the turn for home and he was loping along on the lead while all the other horses that had been near him were fading toward the back, I experienced a rush of absolute euphoria. Of course, I had yet to notice Street Sense blazing along the rail and gaining quickly, so the euphoria was short-lived. For a split second, I thought Hard Spun would be able to tough it out against Street Sense down the stretch, but alas, it was not meant to be. When the race ended, I was obviously a bit upset at the final result, but shortly thereafter, my feelings changed. I was genuinely proud of him. He ran his heart out for the entire 1 and 1/4 miles and had finished ahead of eighteen other horses. He finished second in the most famous race in the world and had done all the dirty work being on the lead for all but the last eighth of a mile. I had gone from excitement to euphoria to disappointment to pride in just over two minutes, and because of this emotional equivalent to a NYC cab ride, I am a Hard Spun fan for life. 

The rest of his career certainly did not let me down. He placed third in the Preakness and fourth in the Belmont. He returned to the races after a short, post-triple-crown break to finish second in the Haskell. He then polished off two wins in a row with victories in the King's Bishop Stakes and the Kentucky Cup Classic. In the latter, he exacted his revenge on Derby winner Street Sense (albeit on a slightly smaller stage) by taking the race gate-to-wire with Street Sense crossing the line second. In the Breeder's Cup Classic, he finished off his career with another valiant second place effort to the future, two time Horse of the Year, Curlin. He finished in the top three in all his races save for two, and he never once threw in a "dud". He never fell far behind and was always in contention turning for home. He would come out of the gate running and give it his all, all the way to the wire, every time.

From what I've read, Hard Spun is thoroughly enjoying his career at stud (who wouldn't?), and I will be one of the biggest fan's of his sons and daughters when they take to the track in a few short years.