It is a shame that Jackson and Assmusson said that Rachel Alexander is not going to run at Oaklawn Park on April 9th. I think this is kind of premature to say the day after she ran. She got beat, but it was the first race out in over six months. She seemed to become tired. I thought the jock on Zardana, rode a tremendous race on her, as he eased up directly behind Rachel and then he made his move and asked his filly for everything and went for it all and Rachel had just put away the early speed horse. She didn't get the breather that she was looking for and got beat, but ran a very gallant race. So now I guess she will make her next start at Churchill during Derby week because I doubt if Zenyatta will run back that quickly after the Apple Blossom.

It is really a shame as Hot Springs lit up like a Christmas Tree when it was announced. Hotels sold out, airports sold out where all you could do was land, unload and take back off. If you have ever been to Hot Springs you know that the town is about the size of Saratoga Springs and like Saratoga it relies very much on the racing season. Arkansas has no professional sport teams, so they were more than ready for the race.
The owner Charlie Cella had put up 5 million and had worked really hard to get both of the fillies to come, bending over backwards for Jackson (as usual).

I don't think the horse is injured as much as I think their egos are. It is yet another step back for racing.

On Saturday we were fortunate to win our first race at Turfway Park this year. We finally had a resemblance of a spring like day. Every year we get a week the end of February or first of March where every thing dries up. Lows 28-40 at night and daytime in the high 40's and gradually getting into the 50's. The sky is very clear at night and you can see all the stars. The farmers are all working furiously to get things done before it starts raining for a month. It is also the height of skunk breeding season in this area and the aroma is evident. There are a lot more of them flattened on the road (mostly males) do to their one track mind.

We have had six foals so far with a few mares over due. Speaking of breeding, we were awarded Champion Indiana Bred 3 year old filly (Trust N Seven) for 2009. This was the last foal we got out of the mare SEVENTIES as she died a day or two after foaling this Champion filly. This was quite an honor for us and our breeding program. We were also second leading breeder of Indiana Breds for money won in 2009. The winner was Swifty Farms who foals over 40 mares a year. He is the owner of Swifty Oil and has hundreds of gas stations.

Another home bred MOR CHANCES (NY Bred) has been nominated for New York-bred Male Sprinter for 2009 after winning four sprint stakes in a row and placing in the G-3 Westchester Stakes, going 1 mile at Belmont Park. He didn't run after July of 2009 due to some injury, but he has made one start this year so hopefully he will come back and do well.

We had the two Stake winners in 2009 and two stakes placed, all homebred from a limited number of mares. So, I think we raise a pretty good horse on our Shelby County farm. We have a lot of nice two year olds this year. All of which are available for purchase in whole or in part. Join us for an adventure in thoroughbred racing.

Last year the stable ended up winning roughly $715,000. 27 wins, 3 Stake Wins. A good year, but we are still striving to get to a million in purse winnings.

This year has not started out very well at all. The three days that Turfway runs is not good for racing. Lack of effort by Turfway is not going to help anything. The weather has been terrible across the country as well as this local area hindering the training/racing process.

I sent ten horses to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs Arkansas for the first time in 25 years. In hind sight I probably should have sent a couple more. We have done pretty well so far winning three races and hitting the board with others. Oaklawn is one of the bright spots in racing. It is a clean facility and they get good crowds. Everyone shows up in their blue jeans and they bet.The weather has been cooler than usual down there, yet still a lot warmer than Kentucky. They also have one of the best BBQ places in the country called McClard's. This week we got the honor of Barn of the Week and everyone is quite pumped up about it.