My Renewed Dream

(Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2016)

I feel like I’ve been here before, like the movie “Groundhog Day,” where Bill Murray lives the same day over and over again. It’s February 2, 2016. Whereas in previous years the groundhog has seen his shadow and left us with six more weeks of winter, today Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow. That’s the prediction for an early spring. Thank goodness for this, because I’m still digging out from the three feet of snow Snowzilla left us in Virginia. It’s that time of year when Thoroughbred foals are being born. In the shadow of American Pharoah’s Triple Crown winning season, new dreams are coming alive. If all had gone as planned — as I’d planned, given the control-freak that I am — we would all be counting down to Lilly’s due date. But fate works in mysterious ways, and it was not for Lilly to get pregnant last year. So here we start again. The vet pulled a culture from Lilly’s uterus to ensure that it’s healthy. So far, the culture is clean of bacteria. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I’ll learn the final results any day. In the meantime, I continue to indoctrinate my husband Kelly into all things Thoroughbred. We drove to Timonium, Maryland, on Sunday, Jan. 31, to watch the Fasig-Tipton Thoroughbred horse sale. I warned him not to get an itchy finger and raise his hand unwarranted. It was with excitement we watched people try to outbid each other on the horse they had their eye on. This is not a run-down auction with unkempt horses being sold. The Thoroughbreds that walked into the ring were in full flesh, clean, and ready for their next job in life, be it a broodmare or to race for another owner, or to find a new role in the world of show horses. The prices ranged from $1,000 to many thousands, but quite affordable if you knew what you were looking for. In fact, my sister was with us to look for a horse for the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover. We didn’t come away with any purchases, though a small part of me wanted to jump right into the deep end and bid on a two- or three-year old in training. Wouldn’t it be fun to be a part of the racing scene immediately? Kelly did get excited about the art of the sale at the end of the day when my sister considered making an offer on a horse from the person who’d purchased her. I think I might have Kelly hooked. We met many different people involved in all aspects of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred scene, all who were very nice and informative. My parting thought at the end of the day was how to get more people like me and my husband to experience a day at the sales. Something for the higher ups at Fasig-Tipton to ponder.

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