Not many people are aware of the fact that the Czech Republic has had a long and distinguished history of horse racing, and that horse racing and various other equine disciplines are enjoyed throughout the country. The Czech Republic is also known for its high standards in breeding, in particular Kladruby horses. Even though they have not celebrated abundant international horse racing success, the racing industry remains well supported in flat horse racing and steeple chase racing events. In the Czech Republic, the city of Pardubice is seen as the horse racing hub and is also home to one of the most dangerous steeple chase racing events in Europe

Horse racing has been a part of Newmarket for centuries, with the Newmarket Racecourse hosting racing events since 1671. With so much horse racing history to share, there is no better way to discover the heritage of the racing industry and explore is journey from the past till present day, than at the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket. What makes this museum stand out above any other horse racing museum is the fact that there are retired jockeys and trainers working at the National Horse Racing Museum and they are able to answer questions descriptively and add in a few personal stories.

The year of 2008 was interesting, competitive, and compelling.  This could be the same line written about every year practically, but we may be a little biased. This is after all The Sport of Kings.

We saw a wonderful crop of runners emerge early on, and with the blowing winds of winter, we begin our countdown to great things to come.

We watched Big Brown deliver in the Derby and Preakness, only to let our spirits down, when he failed to bring home the Triple Crown after a puzzling effort.

Curlin became our “iron-horse” as he ran on everything except blacktop. He even made the trip to Dubai and came back in good order. To watch his effort on Breeders’ Cup Day at the top of the lane, only showed what a champion looks like.

When Eight Belles fractured both of her front ankles after running second in the Derby, we as fans knew the winds of change were coming to the sport we love. We’ll miss her. But not more than Larry Jones who addressed the media immediately in the press box that day. He wanted to the truth to be known before speculation began. He is class personified. We will miss his white stetson in the winners circle as he is giving up training very shortly. The good guys do ride off in the sunset.

2008 became the first year that the Breeders’ Cup was run on synthetic surfaces. (As a side note:  the Euros love going to California, and they will be back again next year.)  Two days of racing could not have been more exciting.  For me, it was memorable as it was my first trip to Santa Anita. You can bet it won’t be my last…..

Some of the voices of our game are forever silenced. Some of them are: Jim McKay, whose love of racing brought Maryland on the map with many great days of stakes racing; and Luke Kruytbosch, the announcer at Churchill Downs. The best sometimes are taken away too soon. This is the case. He loved the game, and moreover he loved being a part of the sport. The sounds are deafening. Many media figures who left our game a little better will be missed. This we will know, when we reach to read their columns and the fruits of their labor will be gone forever. To name some: Dennis Dodge, Gill Stratton, Dean Williams, Edgar Allen and Bob Benoit. One that reaches into my heart is Cliff Guilliams. He was a guy who made as many friends as enemies. Never one to hold his tongue, he will be missed as the color in the press box just won’t be the same.

There are many I have missed, races left out, and events that needed more than just a word. The best we can do is come back and try again. I left out the economy. Some things are just better left unsaid. The game will rebound. It will sustain many injuries and losses, but it will rebound. We need to focus on the future rather than torture ourselves with the past. 2009 brings more post times, races to run, champions to be crowned and memories to be made. The game will change as everything does, but racing will survive.

From all of us at WinningPonies, have a safe and Happy New Year and we’ll see you at the races!

Thoroughbred racing’s all-time winningest jockey Russell Baze, and three of his colleagues, will fly up from Northern California to take on four of the top riders at Portland Meadows, on Jan. 7th in the first Golden Gate versus Portland Meadows Jockey Challenge, sponsored by XpressBet.

The competition at the Portland, Ore., racetrack will consist of four XpressBet Jockey Challenge races and $20,000 in prize money.

Headlining the event will be the return of Northwest United States native Russell Baze, who has more than 10,200 wins in his career and is once again leading the Golden Gate rider standings. Baze’s son-in-law, Kyle Kaenel, currently fourth in the Golden Gate rider standings, will be part of Team Golden Gate along with Francisco Duran and Leslie Mawing, who each had 28 wins at the Golden Gate meet through Dec. 29th.

Team Portland Meadows will feature the top four riders in the current standings. Debbie Hoonan-Trujillo has been atop the Portland Meadows win list for most of the season, and currently has 45 winds at the meet. Mark Anderson is currently second in the standings in his first season at Portland Meadows. The third member of Team Portland Meadows was to be perennial leading rider Joe Crispin, but he was injured after being thrown from his mount in the third race on Monday at Portland Meadows. His replacement is not known at this time. Crispin, who ranks third at the Portland Racetrack has 35 wins, is expected to miss six to eight weeks. Javier Matias completes the line-up for Team Portland Meadows with his 29 wins, which puts him fourth in the standings.

The competition will feature four XpressBet Jockey Challenge races, each of which will have eight horses in the field. Each of the eight riders will be assigned a mount via random draw. The riders will receive a score based on where their mount finishes.

Points will be given according to the finish of each race; first is worth one point, second two points, and eight eight points, for example. The team with the lowest score at the end of the competition will be the winning team.

The winning team will split up to $10,000, while the losing team will get $5,000. As a bonus, the rider with the most wins will receive $2,500, the second-place rider $1,500, and the third-place rider $1,000. Should there be a tie for most victories, the tiebreaker will be second-place finishes, followed by third-place finishes if needed.

Live coverage of the XpressBet Jockey Challenge will be shown on HRTV with host Jon White and three-time Kentucky Derby winner and Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens. The Challenge will be featured in races four through seven, with a start time of about 2:15 p.m. PST.

Opening day at Santa Anita means Christmas is over, the springtime “Road to the Roses” is on the horizon, and there’s one last chance to evaluate some of the top runners of the waning year before voting for the Eclipse Awards.

The Santa Anita “validation” may not be as important as it was before the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Those races now usually define the year-end awards. Even a stumble at Santa Anita would have meaning only in a close competition. And a horse like Bob Black Jack has little chance of advancing his cause despite his convincing, gate-to-wire win in Saturday’s $250,000, Grade I Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds.

Bob Black Jack just missed in the Santa Anita Derby last April, finishing second and only 1/2 length behind Colonel John. But he then faded from contention in the Kentucky Derby, after setting the early pace, and wasn’t seen again until November, when he finished a close fifth in the Vernon O. Underwood at Hollywood Park.

Saturday, the California-bred Stormy Jack colt jumped out of the gate under David Flores and never looked back, winning by 2 1/4 lengths over the favorite, Into Mischief. Georgie Boy was third, and Santa Anita Derby hero Colonel John, coming off a sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, could do no better than fourth in the Malibu.

Bob Black Jack, trained by James Kasparoff, ran the 7 furlongs on the all-weather track in 1:20.20, after setting quick fractions.

“He needed his last race, no doubt about it,” Flores said. “I knew nobody else had the speed this horse does. I was hoping we could control the race, and we did.

“He cleared right away and threw his ears up. Nobody else seemed like they were in a hurry, and he was doing it so easily. He finished up really strong, and I just hope he stays good and sound and that we have another big year with him.”

In Saturday’s companion $250,000 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, Indian Blessing did make an Eclipse Award statement, stalking the pace set by Indyanne until the turn, then taking command to win by 1 1/2 lengths over Ginger Pop. Bsharpsonata was third while Indyanne appeared to take a bad step, was pulled up and vanned off.

Indian Blessing, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Indian Charlie, finished the 7 furlongs in 1:20.89 with John Velazquez riding for trainer Bob Baffert. It was her sixth victory in nine starts this year. In the other three races, including the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, she finished second.

Voting in the 3-year-old filly Eclipse category may be interesting. Eight Belles is the likely and sentimental choice, having won four straight races before her second-place finish and untimely death in the Kentucky Derby. However, Goldikova won the Breeders’ Cup Mile in her only U.S. start. Proud Spell won the Kentucky Oaks, the Delaware Oaks and the Alabama. Lastly, Indian Blessing was as consistent as they come in top company.

In voting for the filly and mare sprint champion, Ventura, who beat Indian Blessing by 4 lengths in the Breeders’ Cup, would seem to have a significant leg up.

Baffert said the La Brea was not an Eclipse audition. “We just ran in this race because the filly enjoys running,” he said.

Baffert said he now plans to ship Indian Blessing to Dubai for the $2 million Golden Shaheen on March 28. “That was my plan. I was going to run her here and then freshen her up and take her to Dubai , if all goes well,” he said. “She’s better than she was for the Breeders’ Cup. She’s stronger now.”

In other opening weekend action at the track that hosted this year’s (and will host next year’s) Breeders’ Cup World Championships:

Proudinsky had to fight for running room at the top of the stretch in Sunday’s $150,000 San Gabriel Handicap. But once the 5-year-old, German-bred son of Silviano got a clear path, he made good use of it, winning by 3/4 of a length over Ferneley. Medici Code was third and Becrux, unable to find anywhere to run after he turned for home, settled for fourth. Proudinsky, with Rafael Bejarano up for trainer Bobby Frankel, finished the 9 furlongs of firm turf in 1:48.39.

The win was Frankel’s 900^th at Santa Anita, including five runnings of the San Gabriel. He seemed modestly impressed, both with his success and his horse. “He had a really good trip and got through when he needed to,” Frankel said of Proudinsky. “He did his job. He’s a nice, honest horse. Not a top-class horse but a nice Group II horse. We’ll see what’s next, play it by ear. It’s nice that I’ve won that many races here but I didn’t realize it,” he added.

The $100,000 Sir Beaufort Stakes for 3-year-olds came off the grass because of recent rains in northern California, and four of the original entrants were scratched. The change in surface didn’t seem to bother the favorite, Gio Ponti, who rallied from last to win by 1 1/2 lengths. With Garrett Gomez riding for trainer Christophe Clement, Gio Ponti covered the 1 mile on the all-weather track in 1:34.92. Medjool was second, a head in front of El Gato Malo. “He ran a really good race,” Gomez said. “The synthetic today was a question and I wanted to give him an opportunity to see how he’d over it. We know he can run over grass.”

In the third feature on opening day, All Saint rallied three-wide into the stretch in the $125,000 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes for California-bred juveniles, then lugged in a bit before winning by 1 length over the favorite, Feisty Suances. Atticus Jack finished third. All Saint, a gray son of Skimming out of the Free House mare Santa Patricia, ran the 7 furlongs in 1:22.07, with Rafael Bejarano in the irons.

Flashmans Papers got the lead early in the stretch run, in Saturday’s $70,000 Eddie Logan Stakes for 2-year-olds, and held on at the end to win by 1/2 length over the favorite, Kelly Leak. Congor Bay finished third. Flashmans Papers, a British-bred colt by Exceed and Excel, ran the 1 mile on “good” turf in 1:36.61 under Rafael Bejarano. Garret Gomez was hospitalized after a spill in the race. His mount ducked into the rail early in the stretch run.

Saucey Evening came from last of seven, to win Saturday’s $125,000 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes for state-bred, 2-year-old fillies by 2 1/2 lengths. Spanish Ice was 1 1/2 lengths to the good of Ten Churros, for second place. Saucey Evening, a daughter of More Than Ready, ran the 7 furlongs on the all-weather track in 1:21.84. Gomez rode for trainer H. Graham Motion.

Navigator found her way to the front and then to the winner’s circle in Sunday’s $70,000 Blue Norther Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, holding on at the end to win by 1 length over April Pride. Acting Lady was 1/2 length farther back in third, and the favorite, Internallyflawless, got home last of nine. Navigator, a Kentucky-bred Stormy Atlantic filly, ran the 1 mile on firm turf in 1:36.38 with Victor Espinoza up for trainer Ron Ellis.