Good Morning Everyone,
I sincerely hope you had a great weekend! Mine was quite nice and very relaxing. I’ll share some current photos with you during the next few days.
I thought all of the weekend racing was quite captivating. I was especially pleased to see Bernie’s son, STAY THIRSTY, win the Jim Dandy Stakes-G II at Saratoga. Bernardini also had some other nice winners over the weekend. This is great news! Congratulations, BERNIE! I’m sending you a HIGH HOOF!
On another note, I am very pleased to share some information with you this morning. It is so special to touch base with an ‘old friend’ and keep up with how he or she is doing. This weekend, Dottie was able to get an update on my PONY PAL, HOOTIE, to share with ALL OF US. You have seen HOOTIE in countless photos with ME…accompanying ME back and forth to the race track. While I was in training, he was with ME on these walks the majority of the time. He has been my very dear friend for years.
One of the many jobs at the race track is to be a ‘PONY PERSON’. In this position, you and your ‘pony’ (which is often a retrained retired race horse) work with different trainers and accompany certain horses from their barn to and from the track. A man named Freddie Wilson owned HOOTIE and he was a pony person at the track. Since I really liked HOOTIE and got along so well with him, MY JOHN worked out a schedule with Freddie so HOOTIE could be MY PONY in the mornings! As we have written in a previous Diary, after I retired….so did he. HOOTIE was adopted by TROTT of Southern California and now has a second career working with them. In the above photo, he is getting his daily “SPA TREATMENT” from Dee, on the left, and Susana, on the right. Per Bonnie, who updated Dottie on all of this, he is truly one of the BARN FAVORITES. HOOTIE has truly become part of the TROTT TEAM!
TROTT is a wonderful organization which ‘adopts’ horses from the racetrack and retrains them for their NEXT CAREER. So many dedicated people work endlessly trying to accomplish this goal to help horses. The organization is volunteer based and the hard work and loving care given by these people is truly appreciated by all of US! MY TEAM and I have also worked to help raise funds for TROTT. I loved the one T-shirt they did with ME on it. MY JOHN came up with the words to be placed underneath my picture stating……’DANCING AGAIN IN 2010′.
I have been told that TROTT is currently planning a Del Mar Charity Fundraiser. They are a 501(c)(3) organization. It will take place on August 28th at the San Diego Polo Club from 6 to 11 p.m. More details may be found on their web-site….TROTTUSA.ORG.
I also understand that Liza G. Fly will be singing at this event . I hope she sings the song she wrote and recorded for ME! I must say…I DO GET A KICK OUT OF LISTENING TO IT! (Blush, Blush)
Watch it here…ENJOY!
With Love,
Hugs to All~ (Great to hear from you, HOOTIE! I’m SO HAPPY to see you again!)
Z
Kari Bussell
@Sharon Call -Superior????… absolutely nothing about me superior in any form shape or fashion…..YOU are responsible for having me in sobs playing that beautiful music with your idea at high C…Love-Joy & Hugs to you friend.
Kim Noble
Hootie looks like he is being spoiled rotten – and he deserves it!!!
Delrene
After now having time to read most of the posts THANK YOU ALL for giving Hootie’s Facebook name and for all the beautiful videos and links. I don’t know how I missed seeing Utopia – oh my, he is by one of my favorite big guys, ROCK HARD 10.
Congratulations on your win Utopia and of course a belated Happy Birthday to you Diana. Looking forward to my name tag. Happy Birthday to all August birthday girls and boys. Zenyatta and Dottie – we owe it all to you. Lisa – your song is like my national anthem….It is so inspiring.
Gary Moulton
@DOUBLE DARK DAY………………………….08-02-11 (1:17 pm est.)
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@Kimberly Potter – Your Welcome. I hope you didn’t get in trouble at work. I really love your part of the country. Both my Parents are from South Dakota. I might be heading your way one day soon. I can relate to this song. Hope you like it.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjinYW1k2wU&feature=related
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@DJ- Listen for Angels – You have to close you eyes.
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@Terry Crow – It’s not my first Rodeo, LOL, Keep’em coming, I need a good laugh everyday.
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@DMCQ – Thanks, it’s the Terry and Gary show. Terry is the headliner, I’m the sidekick.
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@Eveline – Your Welcome, I love that poem and it is very appropriate for those situations. Was that Va. horseman Arthur “Nick” Arundel?
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@Diana S – I can’t find the Past Performances for that race.
Gary Moulton
@Old Man Joke – An elderly man bought a small Breeding Farm in Florida at an auction. Over the years he fixed it up a little to his taste. He had a large pond in the back, set up nicely: Picnic tables, horseshoe courts, a volleyball court, and some apple and peach trees. The pond was properly graded and ideal for swimming.
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One evening the old man decided to go down to the pond and look it over, as he hadn’t been there in awhile. He grabbed a five-gallon bucket to bring back some fruit. As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer, he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his pond.
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He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end. One of the women shouted to him, “We’re not coming out until you leave!”
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The old man frowned, “I didn’t come down here to watch you ladies swim or make you get out of the pond.” Holding the bucket up he said, “I just came down to feed the alligator” You should have seen those women scampering out of the pond, the old man sure did.
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Old men can still think fast!
Gary Moulton
@Second Thirdly Baby Report – Both tracks closed 08-02-11
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Well it’s been two weeks and I have only hit one win bet. I’ve had 2 out of 3 in the tri 4 times, twice had the winner and no under numbers, twice with the winner and one under, twice I had a horse vanned off, two void bets, and the rest were off the board but 6 times I had the 4th horse that would have rounded out the super out of 23 races. Considering what one night out cost, restaurant, show, game, whatever you do, costs more then I’ve spent on the Babies in 2 weeks. For the entertainment value you get from 6 to 8 hrs out on the town compared to my last two weeks, for me I’ve gotten way more bang for my buck. LOL. Money management is the name of the game. Have a plan, stick to your rules, and don’t play races you know nothing about. For me, these baby’s are for fun, but the real reason is so I will know something about them when and if any of them race later in Stakes or get on the TRAIL. Best tool in the box is to pass the race. It’s a sure thing, you don’t lose anything! Only sure thing you will find in this game. There is always another race. Have the patience to wait for a good spot. In real life I would have passed half of these Baby races because all the conditions weren’t right at 2 mins. to post. Like that day on the lake at the Spa. One of my rules is don’t bet CHALK! Pass the race! The percentage of wining favorites is less the 50% at every track in the world. I don’t know why folks bet chalk when they should know that they will lose more then half the time. To put that in perspective, if you flip a coin 999,999 times and it comes up tails every time, what are the odds it will come up heads on the one millionth flip? Well I’ll save you time for those who don’t know the answer. It’s still 50-50. Well right there you have better then a 50-50 chance to win playing a horse other then the favorite then you do flipping a coin. If you can hit 4 out of 10 for a reasonable price you would be batting .400. How many baseball players do you know that bat .400? If you can hit 50% you can make a living at it, LOL. Percentages are one of the tools. A couple of useful ones that carry a lot of weight are, about 80% of all races won are won by the top ten jockeys and trainers at that track, shipping is a special situation. About 75% of the time a 4 or 5 yr old will beat a 3 yr old in the first half of the year until they adjust the weights. After that it goes down a little but it is still a powerful angle. There are so many rules, angles, and information that it’s hard to keep it all straight. You have to stick with the basics, Speed, Class, Pace, Form, and then form your own parameters from experience. Secondary Factors are Distance, Trips, Trainer/Jockey, Track Surface/Post Position, Pedigree, Weight, Equipment/Medication, Age, Sex, and then there are special situations, Track Bias, Shipping In, Odds, Combinations, Science, and Cheaters. We are all looking every day. You can find “patience” between your ears. Back on track tomorrow.
DJ
To Gary M: Thank you, I did close my eyes and it was just beautiful. I needed that…
Marilu V
@ Judy B: How sad about the 52 horses. I am not familiar with these sitautions at all. Is this how is works? No homes so straight to the slaughter house. How can the rest of family of the owner do this? He must have loved them. Can’t they postponed this so there is time to look for homes? Marilu
Maria K.
Hootie is so handsome. I was so happy that Stay Thirsty won. He did really well. Now, he needs to win the Travers Stakes like his dad. Thanks for the update & I love you Queen Z!
Tracey - Ottawa, ON Canada
Yes we have to be thankful for places like TROTT, who give a racehorse a much deserved second career. One good example of a horse that raced then left deserted is Dyna King! dumped and left to die. Thanks to the Heart of Tuscon for taking him in. Thank goodness there is a tattoo, as I would think that the owners should be ashamed of themselves. You are certainly looking great Queen Z!!!! Kisses to you
Paul
Zenyatta, congratulations to Stay Thirsty, Bernardini’s son for winning his race. Unfortunately, this was one of the races that I missed. I am happy to hear that you had a pony pal in your barn 55 days. I hope he is doing well. It sounds like TROTT, which retrains retired racehorses, did a great job and still does. I wish I could be at that fundraiser in San Diego later this month. It would be a blast if I could.
Sally (B)
Hi sweet Z; I am happy for Stay Thirsty, and goodie goodie for Hootie! It is great to see your buddy loved by a special team too. Any pictures of you always makes my day! love with 2 kisses on your soft nose; one for baby z How are you feeling now my lovely?
Neva Rae Powers
I got to meet Freddie at Barn 55 and he told me some tales of Hootie.
Mary
Dottie, please keep us updated on Hootie and the Trott organization, with Zenyatta reminding us of the events, is great.
High Hoof to Hootie, I’m sure Zenyatta misses him.
Hugs and Prayers
Snoprinz
Thanks to TROTT for taking HOOTIE under their wings and training him for a second career. Hootie looks great in the picture. Thanks to all the volunteers at TROTT for taking care of retired horses.
Maggie N
funny how my bs meter is buzzing a little
Line Markings
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Ecko
Dear Zenny, Thanks for the ears forward on 60 mtienus this Sunday. I’m a sporadic viewer but this is NOT TO BE MISSED. Put a post-it on our T.V.! So many happy positives in these last two diary entries. The Gifted Dyna King recovery is a true miracle. Amanda, So good to hear you and your family are safe. We all will be keeping other families in our prayers. @ Charlotte Farmer: The article posted was a year old. Has any additional progress been made in preserving the gravesite of the great Noor? Last but not least: Lighting a candle of love & rememberance for Barbaro. May our past champions never be forgotten. Love & Peace