Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Yelah — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:23:30 GMT

Fantastic article! I know how in awe you must have felt being so close to those great horses. I was able to spend some time alone with Silver Charm at Three Chimneys and I was so excited I was shaking. (Especially because he came racing all the way from the far side of his paddock when I called his name. That is one sight I will never forget.) All you can think is: 'I can't believe I'm standing this close to equine perfection'.

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Penny — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:53:52 GMT

What a wonderful trip down memory lane! I, too, cherished Kelso and Northern Dancer in my teens, and later Secretariat. Thanks for all the great comments!

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

RobertfromBMore — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:26:20 GMT

What a great story and as so many people said, you made us feel like we were there. Seeing the past horse racing equine stars is one of the great things of our sport and the grooms and the owners, first class all the way. Try going to visit Arnold Palmer or John McEnroe or Bob Griese at their home!!!

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Whatever — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:26:52 GMT

What an honor to have fed kelso a carrot and to have seen Northern Dancer, what a thrill that must have been. I would have given anything to see the great Kelso, unfortunately I was just a kid then and since my folks were not into horses they would never take me.

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

luv the boy — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:28:43 GMT

Mary, absolutely loved your story. love hearing about the olden "greats." brings tears to my eyes. I love horses so much, especially thoroughbreds. got interested in them when I was a tiny kid and was reading the Book of Knowledge and saw a story about Man o'War. I am now 62. keep on writing. and thank you. Nola

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

oldgraymare — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:15:28 GMT

way back in the '50s there was Ward Acre Farms in New Rochelle NY. My girlfriend and I (about 10 yrs old) peddled up on our bikes and were welcomed by the stud grooms to see Master Fiddle and Wait a Bit (triple dead heat with Brownie and Bousset) We were naive TB/horse loving kids yet were treated like ROYALTY.

Class will out every time

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Dreamer's Mom — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:35:16 GMT

Wow! Got goosebumps thinking about seeing Northern Dancer in person!

Affirmed? I am soooo jealous!

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

kelso fan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:58:42 GMT

What a wonderful article. Kelso is my favorite racehorse of all time (and I would argue the best). I too collected every scrap of info about him as a kid and still have a special place in my house for pictures and books about him. I remember him training in Aiken SC and seeing him work there between the AIken Trials. NOrthern Dancer was another favorite of mine - and I knew he would be great. I had the pleasure a few years ago of meeting his son, Sadler's Wells at Coolmore. The staff there was absolutely wonderful and I was able to pet him and have my picture taken with him. Thanks again for sharing your memories of those two giants of the turf.

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

joe — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:11:08 GMT

I was up close with the great Affirmed, John Henry, Strike the Gold, Silver Charm, Broad Brush among others-and in Unbridled's stall. Saw Slew twice-he knew royalty isn't touched, and shot me a condescending glance from his stall. A St.Mary's Seminary/Baltimore friend and I spoke of a trip to see Northern Dancer ("he's not getting any younger"); next day's Sun headline brought news of his death. Don't delay those trips to your equine idols!

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Mary — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:14:44 GMT

Richie: What a great story ! Visiting Kelso five times had to be a real treat. And, your memories of Delaware Park, in Stanton, too ! We visited off-season and even found a horseshoe in the walking ring - still have it. That is a beautiful track and, if memory serves, I think Kelso made his first start there.

Mary

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

vikki — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:37:15 GMT

Mary, a lovely gift for storytelling. And Richie, you as well.

Thanks to both of you. I hope one day to get to Kentucky and visit some of these wonderful horse farms.

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Richie — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:18:58 GMT

Wow-did this bring back some great memories. Way back in the 70's when I first discovered our wonderful sport I was living in Wilmington, Delaware. I grew up about 10 minutes from Delaware Park but never went there til I was in my late teens. I became an instant fan and read all I could about the great horses of the past. One day a friend of mine and I decided to make the short drive to Chesapeake City , Maryland to try and find Kelso. We had no trouble finding the farm and just drove in, fascinated by the whole place. I remember we stopped at one of the barns, where a groom was leading out a mare and foal. My girlfriend thought we should leave as they looked busy but I got out of the car and went over to the man. Right away he smiled and said- "Do you know who this beautiful girl is?" Of course I didn't but he continued. " This is Politely, winner of.... " Of course wanting to impress him I blurted out "Delaware Handicap-1968, I think. Are you serious?" So before anything else we got lots of pics of her. Than we asked if it would be possible to see Kelso. He pointd over to the house and said to go around to the paddock behind and Kelso and his friend Pete were there. As we were getting into the car he said that Kelso was the horse with the white sox. So we drove over and parked and walked around back and there he was. We couldnt believe it. Here we were with one of the greatest horses in history-just us-nobody else around. Just as you did we had brought some treats and Kelso wasted no time in devouring them all-we did manage to get poor Pete one or two carrots-lol! When the food was gone, Kelso, as if on cue galloped down to the end of his paddock and than back again-what a thrill! I took lots of pics of him and still have one of them over my desk. Although that was over 30 years ago I can remember that day as if it were yesterday. I visited "Kelly" 4 or 5 more times after that but than moved away from the area in 1978. That was the last time I saw the great champion. When I read of his passing in 1983 I was deeply saddened but so glad that I had the chance to get to know him a bit. I have never returned to Woodstock Farm to visit his grave but when Steve Haskin wrote his wonderful book about Kelso, I saw the picture of his grave marker. The inscription chosen by Mrs. Dupont reads: "Where he gallops, the earth sings". And you know what-it really did.

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Cee — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:33:05 GMT

Hi Mary-Ellen...so proud of you and so happy to see you in print. Now we just need more of it. So keep on writing! You have a gift and made me feel like I was "in your shoes". Hi to the "bestest" and see you soon! Love and Hugs, Cee

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

RGGC — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:32:43 GMT

Great story, thanks for sharing.

It sounded very much like the journey my husband and I took years back. I caught a death of cold walking from paddock to paddock in Ky. It was a rainy October. I got to see both Mr. Prospector, (his groom was also nice enough to take him out of his stall), fed carrots to Alydar in his paddock,and then got to see Seattle Slew in his stall. (He was in no mood to come out and socialize)among other greats. If I had died the next day it would have been okay with me!

People and horses in this industry do treat their fans well.

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Robin Bush — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:08:55 GMT

Mary,

Thank you so much for your piece! You are a terrific storyteller. I am awed seeing some of today's great horses--even working with a few--but I can't imagine what experiencing some of the true greats like Kelso and Northern Dancer must have felt like! But you've made me feel it as well as anyone could. And congratulations on your book! I hope it does great, and I hope to see a lot more of your work in the future!

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Lovely Lisa — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:32:10 GMT

What a great article. It brought a tear to my eye as I thought back to 1986 when I visited Lexington with my mom. That trip we saw 3 Triple Crown winners ... Seattle Slew, Affirmed, and Secretariat. I was shocked that I was able to visit Secretariat. We were the only ones there, and the groom brought him right out of the stall to us. Outside he was munching on grass and we were petting him (my face almost cracked from the grin-I TOUCHED HIM!). When the camera came out he'd stop eating and pose. Every single time. We tipped the groom and floated back to the car. I can't believe he was gone a short 3 years later. We also saw Spectacular Bid, but he was a dud after Secretariat. Seattle Slew was out in his paddock so we only saw him from a distance. Affirmed was in his stall, saw we saw him up close. It truly was the trip of a lifetime as far as great race horses go.

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Flora — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:03:17 GMT

P.S. - today, if I got to meet Zenyatta or Rachel I would be just as thrilled - the boys can't have all the glory!

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Flora — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:01:10 GMT

What a beautiful story, thanks so much for letting us share it.

I have a similar story with a different breed of horse - I had the privilege of meeting several legendary Arabian stallions many years ago. I was as thrilled as I could possibly be to see these gorgeous animals, National Champions and top sires, up close and in the flesh as their babies played in the nearby paddocks. What a treat!

My biggest dream was to see Secretariat, but tragically that never happened. I was actually planning a vacation to Kentucky for the summer after he died when the news came, and I never did go. Someday I will go and see the other wonderful horses who are there, but he was special.

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Mary — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:49:42 GMT

To Tracey and Theicytruth:

Thanks for the kind words, Tracey ! Good luck with your great operation out there in New Mexico !

Theicytruth: You go and see Smarty ! Three Chimneys does a great job with their tours. We've been there three times ! We visited with Smarty just after he was retired, and he was really neat, calm and cool.

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Theicytruth — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:27:04 GMT

OH, and Mary, I hope to visit Three Chimneys to see Smarty Jones. Another of my really favorites!!

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Theicytruth — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:22:45 GMT

Mary,

I LOVED your article!! and I am SO ENVIOUS!!! you actually got to see and PET KELSO!! He was my favorite when I was a kid. Followed his career and even had a scrapebook with articles and pictures of him. What a thrill to have actually petted him!! AND you saw Northern Dancer. I had no idea he had been in Maryland. He is in my horse's pedigree and I would love to have met him also. Thanks for sharing!

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Somethingroyal — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:53:04 GMT

Thank you, Mary. Your wonderful story left me feeling as though I was standing right next to you. What a treasure to have met two of racings kings.

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Tracey — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:00:59 GMT

Thank-you for the great story - reminds me of my visit at Winstar to see my favorites - Tiznow & Victory Gallop - how wonderful it is to be in the presence of these great horses - you've captured the emotions!

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

DelcapJack — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:15:46 GMT

Mary...being from Delaware your story brought a tear to my eye...being from the great Kelso's era your journey revived many memories...Mrs.duPont was a kind and gracious horsewoman...and Carl Hanford is a down to earth gentleman who loved Kelso who Carl thought was original best racehorse to look through a bridle! We are the lucky ones who lived during these years...and Mary you just remined us ...THANK YOU ...a tear is a good thing!!

re: Queen For A Day - By Mary-Ellen Donovan

Joanne Kraft — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:16:00 GMT

This was a terrific experience, one that I share with you. I don't remember which year in th 80's, but I wrote to Woodstock and received permission to visit the great Kelso. And I brought apples and carrots. To think that I was able to touch and give treats to this great champion was beyond my wildest dreams. He was accompanied by a pony who also ate the offerings. And I have pictures which I treasure. It is second only to my l976 visit to Claiborne during which I met (and touched!!!) Secretariat, Riva Ridge, Round Table and Tom Rolfe!!!