Saturday, May 17, 2008

Shadow over Triple Crown

Saturday once again has arrived. The last day of this week started out with some showers in the area, including my little spot. That’ll make for a very damp lawn and my mower doesn’t like damp lawns. The bagging attachment clogs. I’m rather happy this morning that I decided Thursday to bite the cool bullet and take that ride.

Our morning weather lady said there will be the potential for showers into the morning hours before some clearing comes this afternoon. It looks like Sunday will be the better weekend day. At least that’s how it looks at this early Saturday morning hour.

Because of a late scheduled meeting Thursday, my daughter was unable to come over to help plant some stuff she bought her mother for Mother’s Day. That activity was postponed until today. I’m not sure if they will be able to work outside this afternoon or if the garden areas will be too wet. I do not that at least part of the activity was to till the veggie areas. If they can’t get to it today, there’ll be tomorrow.

That’ll be the last chance for a while, though. My daughter will be spending next weekend in the books. She’s scheduled to take a test the day after Memorial Day that will make her one of the most certified specialists in her field in Maine. She’s been working on this five part testing procedure for two or three years. And this test is part five. Coupled with her accounting degree, she’s becoming a very valuable employee.

She’s been studying for this final test for a month or more and has passed all the practice tests. However, she’s not the type to take anything for granted and will spend that last weekend going over all the material carefully in preparation for the Tuesday session. So this will probably be the last chance her mom will get for a couple of weeks to help in the garden. Now it’s up the weather gods.

My “maybe” came to fruition yesterday. I disappointed the dog, put on my “going somewhere” clothes and headed to the barber shop for a haircut. It’s been a time coming and my head feels much more comfortable without those couple of strands of hair.

Speaking of the dog, it’ll be a little while before she starts looking out the window for her sister to come play with her. I told you somehow she knows what time it is and that it’s play day. I’ll never know how, but sometime around ten o’clock she’ll start looking out the window for a familiar car to be heading down the driveway. I hope the neighborhood showers don’t ruin her day.

The second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Preakness, will be run tonight. And recent revelations about the condition of horses have put a shadow over the event. There was a story on ESPN.com yesterday about the inbreeding and bloodlines of race horses. Seems a goodly portion of the horses today, including the entire field of the Kentucky Derby, can be traced back to Native Dancer, a great of the past.

But, according to the article, Native Dancer was put to stud after his front ankles became too sore for him to race. Eight Belles, the filly euthanized after the Derby with broken front ankles, had those bloodlines. The article traces what has happened to many of the horses from Native Dancer and even to his stud. Apparently they all have carried the gene that causes those weak ankles.

It was a sad but, if true, an enlightening story about the condition of today’s thoroughbred horses. Many of them may be facing the same fate as Eight Belles. And among those descendents is the favorite in today’s race, the Derby winner Big Brown. It puts a whole new scope on today’s race.

I don’t know how much longer it will be available, but it could be read this morning here.

I hope you have a good Saturday and a better weather Sunday. I’ll be back Monday.

GiM

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