A Triple Crown Winner

I had originally planned to continue sharing the adventures of my trip abroad, but decided that can wait.

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I love sports.  But sometimes more than the actually action of a game, I love the stories that are told through sport.  I love the history and tradition as well as the transparency it provides and the camaraderie it brings to a community.  I’ll always believe that sports are more than just a game. 

This weekend the sports world witnessed something that hasn’t happened in 37 years.  American Pharoah won the Triple Crown.  If you follow horse racing at all you know that many people have questioned whether this would ever be done again.  Thirteen horses in the past 37 years have won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness before falling short during the mile and a half Belmont Stakes. But not American Pharoah.  He is the 12^th horse in history to accomplish this feat of winning all three of the Triple Crown races in just 5 weeks- each race being a different length and on different tracks.

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I’m a big fan of horseracing and the thing about this accomplishment is that it’s not just for a particular team or city.  Every year we have a Super Bowl Champion, Stanley Cup Champion, World Series Champion, NBA Finals Champion, etc.  And though we continuously have winners of prestigious races in horse racing, we haven’t seen a horse with such greatness in a long time.  I absolutely love the amount of support and fans that come out of the woodworks to root for a Triple Crown contender.  In the sport of horseracing, I really encourage it.  NBC showed clips of the many different celebrities, shows, etc that were sending their support to American Pharoah.  Even opposing trainer Todd Pletcher said prior to the race, that he wouldn’t be upset if his horse lost to American Pharoah.  The industry was extremely hungry for this.  A Triple Crown win is something that all fans root for and it restores faith in the horse racing industry.  It proves it can be done.  That a horse can still accomplish the recently unthinkable- running a mile and a half race with both speed and stamina.  Maybe ear plugs or a shorter tail are the secret?

American Pharoah has seemed to run these races with ease.  He ran a beautiful race from start to finish.  He was in the lead the entire time and started to break away on the final turn before really getting ahead half way down the stretch and finishing 5 and a half lengths ahead of Frosted and the others to follow.  (Not sure if  you noticed this but Materiality was 2^nd/right behind American Pharoah up until the final stretch and finished dead last- perfect example of the stamina most horses lack.) Jockey, Victor Espinoza did a wonderful job on not letting American Pharoah break too soon, not that it would have mattered because American Pharoah seemed to race to the finish with ease.  Espinoza even had time to look back at the others just like Ronnie Turcotte did on Secretariat.  The race was so much fun to watch.  I literally got chills as I watched him cross the finish line.  It was a remarkable 2 minutes.  The best two minutes in sports. 

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Congratulations to American Pharoah, Victor Espinoza, Bob Baffert, Zayat Stables and everyone else for their monumental victory.  I can’t wait to see American Pharoah run in the Breeder’s Cup for a hopeful Grand Slam!

Drink Like You're at the Derby!

The Kentucky Derby is one of my favorite sporting events of the year, if not my favorite! I love the history, tradition, and prestige of such an iconic event. I had a wonderful time when I went with my dad to the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby in 2013 and can’t wait to go back! Even though I won’t be in Louisville this weekend, I can dream of being at Churchill Downs with the signature drinks and commemorative glasses in my hand.

Festivities start today with the Kentucky Oaks Day- a day dedicated to the fillies (girl horses).  Fillies are allowed to run in the Kentucky Derby if they qualify, but the Kentucky Oaks is strictly a “Ladies Day”.  The horses “Run for the Lilies” today.  And keeping with that theme, the drink of today at Churchill Downs is called the Lily.

Here’s how you can celebrate with a delicious Lily of your own:

1oz. Vodka- Grey Goose is the sponsored Vodka for this drink at Churchil Downs

1oz. Sweet & Sour Mix

3oz. Cranberry Juice

Splash of Triple Sec

All over crushed ice (I bought a bag from Sonic- they have the best crushed ice!)

Garnish with some fruit- typically a lemon wedge and blackberry

The more popular drink of Derby weekend is the Mint Julep.   This is such a delicious and refreshing cocktail for bourbon lovers, like myself.  The secret to a great mint julep is the simple syrup.  To make a simple syrup boil equal parts sugar and water together for about 5 minutes (usually about 2 cups, depending on the amount of drinks you’ll be making) with a few mint leaves.  Then add some more fresh mint leaves and let cool, refrigerate over night.

It’s easiest to make each drink as you go by filling a cup with crushed ice (I don’t know why crushed ice is best, but it is, just take my word for it.  Again, I buy the bag from Sonic).  Then depending on how sweet you like your drink, pour about a tablespoon or a little more of the simple syrup into the glass, topped off with your choice of bourbon, stir, and add some more mint for garnish and extra flavor.  Enjoy with friends while watching the races!

Have you checked out the horses yet?  Who's your pick to win? 

Preakness 2014

One of my family’s favorite things to do together is to go to horse races.  It’s one of the only sports we can all agree on and truly enjoy.  We love the atmosphere, the excitement, experiencing different racetracks, and of course winning a little bit of money- if we’re so lucky!

Last year my dad and I took the trip to Kentucky for my first Kentucky Derby experience and it was everything I wanted it to be, even with the rain. 

But this year all five of us took the short drive down to Baltimore for the Preakness Stakes to see Triple Crown hopeful, California Chrome, run up close. 

We arrived at Pimlico Race Track on Friday for Black Eyed Susan Day, similar to Oaks Day at the Derby, a day dedicated to the fillies.  My dad’s company was sponsoring events taking place that morning, and we got to reap all the benefits!  We had great seats in the grandstand and access to the Turfside Terrace located on the edge of the infield (not to be confused with the frat party atmosphere of the actual infield, where you can see virtually nothing)!!

I’ve been to a number of racetracks including Monmouth, Saratoga, Gulf Stream, Churchill Downs and Keeneland.  I was shocked at how Pimlico holds such a prestigious event, but is very run down.  The paddock area was especially disappointing.  But the Preakness itself definitely lives up to the hype!  It’s an iconic horserace with its traditional flowers and signature cocktails.   There are races all day leading up to the big event- on both the turf and the dirt. 

The Turfside Terrace was a wonderful area to spend the day with great views of the horses, great food and drinks, and exclusive betting windows.  We found a spot close to the fence and stayed there for most of the races.  We were exceptionally close to the races that ran on the turf.  You could feel the breeze and the rumble of the ground and the horses raced by. 

Before we knew it the trumpets were sounding for the race we’d been waiting for all day.  The contenders paraded down the track to the starting gate.  Once set in their post positions, the whistles blew, the gates flew open and they were off.  Running past us in the blink of an eye, around the turn and down the stretch before breaking for the final lengths to the finish.  The crowd was wild, yelling for their horses to win.  California Chrome surged ahead with Ride On Curlin’ finishing one and a half lengths behind.  It was a wonderful race. 

And now I can’t wait/I’m so nervous to watch California Chrome race in the final leg of the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes.  I love his story (the colt of a $8,000 mare bred with a $2,500 stallion to a one horse stable) and would love to see him achieve a Triple Crown win!!!  I’m supposed to be in NYC seeing Aladdin on Broadway with my family that day.  Any chance we can exchange our tickets and head to the Belmont?    #CHROMIE