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....
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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....
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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....
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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."...
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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....
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