{"id":903,"date":"2007-05-04T01:52:35","date_gmt":"2007-05-04T08:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theblackstallion.com\/blog\/?p=56"},"modified":"2007-05-04T01:52:35","modified_gmt":"2007-05-04T08:52:35","slug":"derby-day-saturday-may-5-2007","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblackstallion.com\/web\/derby-day-saturday-may-5-2007\/","title":{"rendered":"DERBY DAY, Saturday May 5, 2007!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Unknown-14\"<\/a> A story about Seattle Slew (picture attached), “The only undefeated Triple Crown Winner” by his trainer, our friend, Paula Turner:<\/p>\n

Dreamhorse<\/strong><\/p>\n

Though my parents live in NY, I\u2019m raised in a N.C. orphanage, and called \u201chorse crazy.\u201d\u00a0 Very young, I \u201cknow\u201d I had been a Native American Indian horse trainer.\u00a0 I learn to read with The<\/em> Black Stallion<\/em>, playing with other kids, constantly pretend to be the Black.\u00a0 Walter Farley\u2019s books become greatest influence on my youth. <\/em><\/strong> Disobeying orders, I frequently get in trouble for riding the mule pulling the ice\/garbage wagon, pretending she\u2019s my Black Stallion. Throughout childhood, I have the same (sleeping) dream hundreds of times: I\u2019m on a big, beautiful black stallion.\u00a0 I can feel and hear him.\u00a0 He is the fastest horse in the world, and I trained him\u2026
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\tAt 18, two weeks after I fail to convince him not to go back, my first boyfriend is killed in Vietnam.\u00a0 The military uses his funeral parade through main street to cannon fodder\u2026\u00a0 At 19, I go north to walk hots at Laurel Racetrack, become one of the first women exercise riders,<\/strong> and marry a trainer.\u00a0 In \u201968, my stepfather commits suicide.\u00a0 A few months later, while my husband and I are living with her, my mother also commits suicide.\u00a0 I throw myself even more into horses.<\/p>\n

My husband and I form a training partnership: I train on the farm and Md. Tracks, then send the horses to him in New York.\u00a0 I fill the hours not training racehorses, with training for 3-Day Eventing, until I\u2019m spending fourteen hours a day riding.\u00a0 A riding accident at Saratoga \u2013horse almost goes through a wooden rail, drops me on it -leaves me with little use of left leg.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 One month later, I ride my first national 3-Day Event almost totally on one leg, finish second.\u00a0 For almost a year, I force myself to practice dressage, through tears of pain\u2026 Never regain more than sixty percent use of leg. Within two years, I am consistently finishing in the money, beating the best international riders.
\nSeattle Slew, a gangly colt,is sold for only $17,500. because of a potentially crippling deformity, a crooked leg<\/strong>, and sent to me.\u00a0 I nickname him Baby Huey.\u00a0 The next day, I decide the only way to save the leg is triple the degree of collection training I\u2019ve ever done<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 I make a radical departure from racehorse training, and never gallop him, using high-level dressage from my Three Day Eventing background for strengthening therapy.\u00a0 For eight months, I teach him how to use his body like a Lippazzaner, instead of<\/em><\/strong> galloping<\/em><\/strong>, spending hours each day working him.\u00a0 I instill his immature psyche with self-confidence, then teach him courage, by facing him with unique \u201cmonsters\u201d as a rite of passage<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 The average racehorse gets a third grade education; I take Huey through graduate school.\u00a0 Within eight months, I\u2019ve erased fear and \u201ccan\u2019t\u201d from his vocabulary, and send him to the track with an Ali attitude: \u201cI am the greatest\u2026\u201d
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\tI\u2019m on Huey in first Belmont gallop: time slowed.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 From his back, I feel the future<\/em><\/strong>; and know Huey is destined for greatness<\/em><\/strong>, and I predict it.\u00a0 At Saratoga, I give Huey his first two breezes (speed workouts.)\u00a0 Again time slows<\/em><\/strong>, he runs<\/em><\/strong> with such power and ease, it\u2019s like controlling a rocket<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Again, I predict his greatness.
\n\tWalter Farley could have scripted. Huey\u2019s Derby<\/em><\/strong> (see enclosure.) The Blood-Horse<\/em> racing magazine states Huey is my Black Stallion.\u00a0 Walter Farley comes to meet me, and says, \u201cYou know you\u2019re living my dreams, don\u2019t you?\u201d
\n\tI answer, \u201cAnd you wrote mine.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong>He\u2019s with me when Huey becomes the only undefeated Triple Crown winner in history.\u00a0 Farley says he hadn\u2019t wanted to write since his daughter (my age) was killed.\u00a0 He tells me our friendship and my story inspire him to write again.\u00a0 He puts the dedication in his Black Stallion\u2019s Filly:\u00a0 \u201cFor Paula Turner, whose dream came true.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 end<\/p>\n

Read the whole story on the writers forum: Click Here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more about Seattle Slew: http:\/\/www.seattleslew.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday Derby Day …. Racing with the Queen!<\/strong>
\nThis is the 133rd running of The $2,000,000 Grade I Kentucky Derby.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. SEDGEFIELD: Turf and Polytrack seem to be his game.<\/li>\n
  2. CURLIN: Is he good enough to overcome the inexperience?<\/li>\n
  3. ZANJERO: Definitely not as good as the best ones.<\/li>\n
  4. STORM IN MAY: Calder shipper seems miscast.<\/li>\n
  5. IMAWILDANDCRAZYGUY: Will need a career best effort for a small share.<\/li>\n
  6. COWTOWN CAT: Nice colt is at the top of the “B” class.<\/li>\n
  7. STREET SENSE: If the rail is open, look out!<\/li>\n
  8. HARD SPUN: Recent 5-furlong drill most certainly can’t help.<\/li>\n
  9. LIQUIDITY: Californian is overmatched in here.<\/li>\n
  10. TEUFLESBERG: Has already had 15 starts. Look elsewhere.<\/li>\n
  11. BWANA BULL: King of the Northern California sophomores is up against it.<\/li>\n
  12. NOBIZ LIKE SHOBIZ: Enigmatic colt must “get his act” together.<\/li>\n
  13. SAM P.: Removes blinkers for toughest test to date.<\/li>\n
  14. SCAT DADDY: Honest colt is getting good at the right time.<\/li>\n
  15. TIAGO: Don’t expect lightning to strike twice.<\/li>\n
  16. CIRCULAR QUAY: Great fresh runner returns from an 8-week hiatus today.<\/li>\n
  17. STORMELLO: Multiple cross-country travels have taken a toll on him.<\/li>\n
  18. ANY GIVEN SATURDAY: Much better than his last. Not impossible.<\/li>\n
  19. DOMINICAN: Does have some familiarity with Churchill Downs.<\/li>\n
  20. GREAT HUNTER: I’ve always believed he’s a closing sprinter.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Racing with the Queen!!This is the 133rd running of The $2,000,000 Grade I Kentucky Derby.#1 – SEDGEFIELD: Turf and Polytrack seem to be his game.#2 – CURLIN: Is he good enough to overcome the inexperience?#3 – ZANJERO: Definitely not as good as the best ones.#4 – STORM IN MAY: Calder shipper seems miscast.#5 – IMAWILDANDCRAZYGUY: Will need a career best effort for a small share.#6 – COWTOWN CAT: Nice colt is at the top of the “B” class.#7 – STREET SENSE: If the rail is open, look out!#8 – HARD SPUN: Recent 5-furlong drill most certainly can’t help.#9 – LIQUIDITY: Californian is overmatched in here.#10 – TEUFLESBERG: Has already had 15 starts.\u00a0 Look elsewhere.#11 – BWANA BULL: King of the Northern California sophomores is up against it.#12 – NOBIZ LIKE SHOBIZ: Enigmatic colt must “get his act” together.#13 – SAM P.: Removes blinkers for toughest test to date.#14 – SCAT DADDY: Honest colt is getting good at the right time.#15 – TIAGO: Don’t expect lightning to strike twice.#16 – CIRCULAR QUAY: Great fresh runner returns from an 8-week hiatus today.#17 – STORMELLO: Multiple cross-country travels have taken a toll on him.#18 – ANY GIVEN SATURDAY: Much better than his last.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","category-horses"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblackstallion.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblackstallion.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblackstallion.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblackstallion.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblackstallion.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theblackstallion.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblackstallion.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblackstallion.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblackstallion.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}