Do girls still go through a horse crazy phase? It used to be a right of passage. I think the typical run of things was all things horsey until the girls start to become women and then it’s boy-crazy. Except, I never really went through the boy-crazy phase. Don’t get me wrong; I liked boys, just not the boys I knew. There were only a few I would have considered dating out of 400 in my high school class. In result, I stayed horse crazy longer than most.
I’ll admit to being rather conflicted about horse racing. The horses are really started too young. If you’re not in the know, you usually wait until a horse is between two and four years before you ever think of getting on their back. It takes that long for the muscles and bones to mature enough for the load.
Racehorses are competing at two years old (or less). The Triple Crown (Derby, Preakness, and Belmont) is for three year old horses. They’re competing at a top level when most other horses are just getting trained to carry a rider. And I get that there is going to be some natural selection/breeding going on that favors Thoroughbreds that mature early. But I think training them so early leads to more injuries and fractures which can result in death.
That all said, I usually watch the Kentucky Derby. I missed watching it live this year, I’m sorry to say, because it was a heck of a race. The biggest long shot, who was dead last near the Clubhouse turn, made the best closing sprint I think I have ever seen. He churned through the field, weaving through traffic without a stutter or check in stride. I can’t believe the stamina he had to still be pouring it on as they passed under the wire. Simply amazing stuff. I can’t wait to see him run again in a couple of weeks.
Hopefully, in a couple of years, he’ll be retired and enjoy standing at stud for a decade or more.
Tuvela Two-Step 