09.05.20
Posted in Churchill Downs, Kentucky Derby, Thoroughbred Racing at 7:59 pm by Thomas
It was certainly a surreal day at Churchill Downs today for the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby. The weather could not have been better and the track was certainly fast so maybe its appropriate that Authentic, ridden by John Velazquez at 8 to 1 odds won the race convincingly in a time of 2 minutes 0.61 seconds over Tiz The Law.
It marks trainer Bob Baffert’s 6th Derby win though the day wasn’t without incident for him with one of his other horses, Thousand Words scratched after he reared up and went over backward in the paddock stalled and hit his head which is an automatic scratch by track vets. Then after the race, while they were putting the Roses on Authentic he spun and knocked Bob Baffert to the ground, but it is 2020 what can you expect.
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12.30.15
Posted in 2018 Games, Breeders Cup, My Thoughts, Thoroughbred Racing, World Games 2010 Foundation at 11:10 pm by Thomas
As I look back on 2015 I am reminded of why this site came into existence, ten years ago this month the announcement was made that Kentucky had won the right to host the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games. As Lexington Kentucky is consider the Horse Capital of the World I dubbed them the Kentucky World Equestrian Games and launched this site as a means to put my talents to use supporting those and future Games. The 2010 Games are of course a bit more then 5 years in the past now though I still believe their impact is felt in this region.
The big example for this year was the 2015 Breeders Cup, which myself and others feel has a direct connection to the 2010 Games, even those who say the Breeders Cup would have eventually come to Lexington with out us hosting the Games can’t deny that the Games at the very least brought it here sooner then it otherwise may have naturally occurred. I actually tend to disagree with that as it doesn’t really make sense that it should take the Breeders Cup 31 years to come to Keeneland considering the history and importance of this track but I know there are individuals who can make the argument why Keeneland hadn’t and my response to them then is, then why now, what changed, after a moment of their puzzlement, I say, the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games is what happened.
Though we didn’t win the bid in 2014 to host the 2018 Games, Bromont’s win was still viewed as a plus because it again brought the Games to North America, so we were disappointed to hear recently that there are some questions about the integrity of the final proposal in regards to the final document submitted by the Mayor of Bromont. The current information on the investigation can be found here. Our hope is this is more a technicality in that not all the details were clearly documented as opposed to a more blatant omission of who was ultimately responsible for the financial requirements of the Games.
Looking forward to 2016, we hope we can be more involved in continuing the case to our new Governor to submit a bid for the 2022 Games. On a personal note we are leading our county 4-H Horse Program and are looking forward in being involved in the next generation of horse industry leaders.
Happy New Year 2016!
Kentucky Colonel
Thomas P. Demond
KyWEGO®
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05.01.14
Posted in Kentucky, Kentucky Derby, Louisville, Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event, Thoroughbred Racing at 9:10 pm by Thomas
I am not sure there is a bigger week in Kentucky that defines us as the Horse Capitol of the World like the 10 days from the start of Rolex through Saturday’s Kentucky Derby this year. There are a number of interesting factoids in regards to these two events. The Rolex Three-Day Event takes 4 days from Start to Finish, the Kentucky Derby is decided in 2 minutes plus or minus a few seconds. Both events are consider a leg of the Triple Crown in their respective sports. A number of successful Rolex horses are Thoroughbreds that started out as race horses and transitioned to Eventing. Generally Jockeys are short and only weighing about 100 pounds, Eventers tend to run the gambit on body size, William Fox-Pitt who won this year’s Rolex is something like 6′ 5″. The Rolex is in Lexington, The Derby in Louisville, two cities defined by Horses and Basketball both with a taste for Bourbon. Both events draw big crowds with significant economic impact both locally and on a State basis. The Derby does beat the Rolex in the area of TV coverage, 4 days of Rolex are turned into 1 hour of TV a week after the fact, where as the 2 minutes of the Derby equals many hours of live coverage across several channels. The obvious difference is that you can’t bet on the Rolex, well technically I guess you could, but who would want to, and if you do, you probably need to seek help. Another thing they have in common is that men and women compete equally and women are certainly a force to be reckoned with in the horse world, maybe more so there then anywhere else in business. I am sure that last sentence will draw some comments and I don’t have any scientific studies to back that up but feel pretty good about the validity of that statement. All of this is to make the point that we are The Horse Capitol of the World and that is a pretty cool thing, especially this time of the year.
Kentucky Colonel
Thomas P. Demond
KyWEGO
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04.30.13
Posted in Kentucky Derby, Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event at 10:33 pm by Thomas
It’s amazing that we are at the end of April and we are still getting bouts of pretty cool weather for this time of year, especially compared to what we had this time last year. I made all 4 days of the Kentucky Rolex Three-Day Event and Cross Country day was actually chilly at points, though I think that was a good thing for the horses, certainly better then temps in the 80’s.
The good news has been we have had no hard freezes like we did several years ago after having a month of near 80 degree weather, that was devastating to the foliage at the time. Pastures are coming back strong, especially Bluegrass which loves the warm days and cool nights. Also we have been getting abundant rain which will help to mediate any potential drought concerns for this summer should the weather finally turn hot.
As for the Kentucky Derby, the weather is expected to be cool and rainy which should make for an interesting race, and with the track sloppy Normandy Invasion could be the one to beat.
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03.31.11
Posted in Attractions, CCI****, Events of Interest, Keeneland, Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, My Thoughts, Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event, Thoroughbred Racing, Three-Day Eventing at 3:46 pm by Thomas
April is the kickoff of so many things horsey in Kentucky and some not so horsey that for me its the best month of the year. The month starts out with the Kentucky Wildcats on the verge of winning a Championship, I know not a horse related event but certainly a Kentucky event.
Keeneland’s Spring Meet starts the 8th and runs through the 29th with the last major Prep Races for the both the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks. Keeneland is certainly one of the most beautiful Thoroughbred Race Tracks in the country and with the Kentucky Red Buds and Dog Woods in full bloom it maybe nearly Angelic.
The Kentucky Horse Park starts the month with the Kentucky Spring Arabian Show, then mid-month the Kentucky Spring Premiere kicks off the Saddlebred show season…(DRUM ROLL PLEASE) To finish the month, The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, the only Four-Star Three-Day on North American Soil, with all that excitement I am not sure how I will survive the month.
For more information check out,
Kentucky Horse Park Calendar.
Keeneland
KyWEGO®Православни икониikoniИкониПодаръци
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05.15.08
Posted in Discussion, Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event, Thoroughbred Racing, Uncategorized at 11:22 pm by Thomas
Today marks the 14th anniversary of Mr. Jones coming into my life and had Mr. Jones survived he would of turned 18 yesterday. Thinking about his loss has got me to thinking a lot about the tragedies of recent and the agenda a certain organization is pushing. Mr. Jones was a Thoroughbred and when his life began that was going to be his life’s work but that was not to be and he found his way to me. Ultimately the agenda that this unnamed organization is pushing would basicly remove horses from our lifes, of course they may try to argue that, but ultimately that is what their agenda would lead to.
For me, it comes down to a simple question, is it better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all. For non horse people the point I am going to make next probably will be hard to understand, but if the world had been different when I was born and horses had been removed from our lives so Mr. Jones never came into my life would I or he been better off. Losing him was very hard and I still feel that loss to this day and I believe that he fought the fight to survive as long as he did because he was happy in this life. So would he or I been better off if he had never existed, I think you can guess my answer? So for those of you who think that horses do what they do because we mear humans command them to, you are sadly mistaken.
I will end on a more upbeat note. I heard that Laine Ashker was released from the hospital on Tuesday and by now should be home sleeping in her own bed which is great news though she still has much in front of her both physically and emotionally. I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing you ride at another Rolex in the future.
Thomas Demond
Founder
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05.31.07
Posted in Combined Driving, Discussion, Georgetown, Kentucky, Thoroughbred Racing, Updates at 10:16 pm by Thomas
Its the end of May and wanted to give a quick update.
In Kentucky April really kicks off the horse season with the Kentucky Rolex 3-Day Event at the end of the month and then things kick in to overdrive in May with the Kentucky Derby the first Saturday in the month. Of course we should say congratulations to Street Sense and his whole crew and to Curlin for running a great race in the Preakness. Hopefully we will get to see these two again in the Breeders Cup Classic.
As most people have probably realized by now, I am an all around horse person. If it involves horses I have an interest in it, which makes this time of year very busy.
On Preakness day I was actually out watching a Combined Driving Event at the Gala Driving Center in Georgetown, Kentucky. There are not a lot of Combined Driving Centers in the U.S. unlike Europe and the Gala Driving Center is certainly amongst the top.
As for the funding for the Kentucky Horse Park we have taken a wait and see attitude as we wait to see if the Governor calls a Special Session in June. We continue to promote the Games by talking to people where ever we meet them and the response has been largely positive. The real concern always comes back to the money that is going to be spent for the Games as most know if Government tells you one number it is always going to cost more. Our primary goal then has to be to make the Games more successful then what people are expecting so that the State reaps benefits in 2010 and beyond.
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