With racehorse rescues becoming news today, it is not uncommon to hear a story of a horse that was "rescued" and how he became a successful jumper, hunter, dressage champion, child's show horse, etc. This is a story of a rescued horse that didn't go on to the show world, yet became a champion in any case.

Except for the Triple Crown races, and before the inception of the Breeders' Cup, Belmont Park's Jockey Club Gold Cup--run intermittently at Aqueduct--was the preeminent event in Thoroughbred racing and a true test of stamina and class.

Few of us are ever close to "great" persons. The family of Winston Churchill comes to mind; the sisters of Mother Teresa's convent; the inner circle of John F. Kennedy. Our casual and usually inappropriate overuse of the adjective "great" may even diminish the person we are trying to praise.

When the mayor of New Orleans (referring to the approaching Hurricane Gustav) described the Doppler radar image as the "mother of all storms" and decreed a mandatory evacuation of the city, I packed my bags in a hurry. The fear factor was escalated when reporter Geraldo Rivera followed with a description of the storm as "an awesome killing machine."

I testified as part of the "Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns: The State of Thoroughbred Horseracing and the Welfare of the Thoroughbred Racehorse" Congressional hearing June 19. It was both disillusioning and enlightening. I naively thought I was invited along with three other veterinarians to talk about all the issues influencing fatal injuries in racehorses.