Also ran

Posted by Avram Freedberg

Did you ever think about where the term “also ran” originated? Yes, it was horse racing. While the first three finishers in a race are listed one by one on a separate line in a race chart with the prices they paid for coming in first, second or third, the other starters are listed together, separated by commas with the lead in – Also ran:

Today Ahvee’s Destiny was an “also ran…” sixth, to be exact. While I’m sure I could find some things the jockey could have done better, she just didn’t have it today. She was high strung in the receiving barn before the race and sweating in the paddock. While the anxiety of a new environment may have played a role, she acted similarly in her first race at Gulfstream in April and went on to defeat a field of “boys.”Yes, you may remember she was washed out in her first Monmouth race and lost. You might note that she’s had a difficult week and a half with problems in both legs. This race was won by a 30-1 shot. So, all the favorites suffered. Nonetheless, no excuses. She had a wonderful year. Now it’s time to let he relax and freshen up for next year.

Tampa Bay Downs is a cute little track but the opening day crowd created traffic jams on the one lane in each direction road. Happily, they’re creating a new road that will have two lanes in each direction!A couple of anecdotes: When we saw Ahvee at the receiving barn at the Meadowlands before her last victory, her groom, Jeobani, had braided her mane. Rhoda thought that his presence working on her may have relaxed her. When we arrived here today, her mane was not braided. I mentioned it to Jeobani who said he’d had other work to do. Imagine my surprise when hours later Ahvee’s Destiny arrived at the Paddock before the race with new braids! We’re lucky to have Jeobani and so is Ahvee.

I wore short sleeves today when it looked like it was warming up quick. By race time, it was getting late in the day and there was a cold wind. One of the reasons II hoped the horse would win was so I could put my “victory silks” on and warm up. By the way, those silks are actually made by a company called Victory Silks!

A friend of ours sent his sister Debbi’s regards to our jockey. Apparently Debbi was a well regarded trainer here for many years and was friendly with Rosemary our jockey. Unfortunately she had no idea whom I was talking about. I guess we’ll just be the strange folk from up north.

The good news today is that Linda’s father, who was admitted to the hospital a day or two ago with serious issues related to his accident last month, seems to be doing better and is, hopefully, in the right place.

On the doggie front, both puppies we saw on the internet that we were hoping to see have been sold… boo hoo! We’re still going to visit one of the breeders tomorrow. Then, we’ll see all the horsies, including Ahvee’s Destiny and the new colt.

Have a good rest of the weekend!

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