See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

RachelHOTY — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 19:08:30 GMT

Any update on your article? My daughter and I (from NY) met you and Rachel that special day.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

RachelHOTY — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 19:04:46 GMT

My daughter and I met you and Rachel that day. What a special day. What a special horse with adoring fans. I admit I could not believe we made the 24 hour trip from NY to meet Rachel. I thought, along with friends and family, that I was crazy. Well, 2 months later, I'm still smiling when I look at the photos we took of Rachel that rainy day. No regrets, only happy memories. Any update on your article? Looking forward to it!

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

Tricia — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:40:04 GMT

This is so nice for them to do and a Racehl souvenir to boot - WOW! Kudos to them for sharing Rachel with her fans. I have the utmost respect for Barbara Banke. I have tried to see a few retired "Studs" and have not even been granted a response as I'm not a breeder just merely a fan.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

Justine — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:26:26 GMT

She's beautiful, and even with the baby bump she almost looks racing fit. Her connections, and Zenyatta's, are simply the classiest people.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

Turnbackthealarm — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:21:14 GMT

Mary in VT.,

I was touched by your story of driving all night to see the Haskell.......Rachel schooled in the paddock the Friday before the race (with a field of $5K claimers,no less) and I stood on the rail and took more than 100 pictures. Rachel was a beautiful thoroughbred and the consummate vision of an elite athlete.

When it rained all morning, I hesitated to drive the five minutes over to Monmouth, but as the afternoon the clouds cleared and the sun came out. My son told me to get going " after all, Mom, how often will we get to see one of the best athletes of the year up close?" So we went.

Ironically, the day that Curlin won the Classic was much like the day RA won the Haskell. Rain all morning and then sun for the win.

Kudos to Stonestreet for all they do to promote racing and it's stars.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

marapace — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:41:31 GMT

I missed earlier opportunities to see Rachel. So when this See Rachel Day was announced in Oct I was one of the first to apply knowing it would be almost a year before another chance would be made available. Three of my daughters who are also huge Rachel fans went with me. Having visited many farms and many famous stallions in the past, I expected that we would get a short visit and not much else and would have been happy with that, just to be able to see and possibly touch our beloved Rachel. What we got instead was VIP treatment from Stonestreet, with plenty of quality time with Rachel, who handled it with extremely well. Once most filly/mares move on to become broodmares, being able to see them is nearly impossible and they are 'lost' to their fans. If we are lucky, there might be a mention of the mare on the farms websites (providing you know which farm they are on), a web fan page or a blog that keeps us up to date on our precious ladies. Getting to see them, even from a distance in a field or paddock is almost impossible unless you ‘know somebody’ or are ‘somebody’. But once again Mr Jackson and the Stonestreet family got it right. It was a visit we will never forget and I think that is the point. Mr Jackson had vision and understanding in all aspects of his life and extended it to the fans of Rachel. I am grateful that Mrs Barbara shares and continues this vision. I made a point with tears in my eyes to express my gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to see our hero to the family of Stonestreet and Jacksons personal assistant and I hope that they understood just what it means to us. Mr Jackson and Mrs Barbara have set the pace, will be interesting to see if any other farms are paying attention, because it does make a difference to the fans. Its not just about the stallions and selling breeding seasons. Hopefully this will be an instrument of change and you can bet when the little Rachel/Curlin colt races, I'll be there.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

TracyG — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:49:41 GMT

I had the honor to meet Rachel during the summer visit at StoneStreet. It was a day I will never forget. I wrote about my day and posted it under "Discussions" on their Face Book page. Check it out.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

GoldenBroom — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:59:56 GMT

CLASS! Take note racing fans...both Rachel and Queen Z's connections have been so wonderful to their fans and reached out in new ways to support a new generation of horse lovers. Thank you Stonestreet for the updates and I'm SO happy Rachel was bred to Curlin too...I think it will lead to a very hearty racing individual.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

genie918 — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:12:00 GMT

I was one of those fortunate fans that got the opportunity to visit with Rachel last Thursday. She looked absolutely wonderful and was extremely accomodating to her adoring fans. I thank the Jackson family for allowing the public to visit with her and kudos to the staff at the farm who could not have been more gracious. While I understand that horse farms are working farms and not amusement parks for tourists, it is nevertheless terrific when they provide access to racing fans and non-racing fans alike to visit the facilities and meet these amazing animals. I echo the sentiments of previous comments that this is one way to help promote the sport. I hope that more farms in the future follow in the footsteps of those who already seem to "get it".

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

MonicaV — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:18:09 GMT

Rachel's overall brilliance is not questionable, it is a fact!!!!

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

deb — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:48:03 GMT

Great racing PR for the thoroughbred industry. She is such a good horse to put up with the traffic of people that want to see her. She must be happy now.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

Mary in VT — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:36:33 GMT

Glad to see the author get it so right; the Stonestreet folks are pure class for accommodating Rachel's fans the way they do. Pure class.

Speaking of "one at a time" ...

I needed to deliver a dog to the Director of the Headley - Whitney museum in Lexington back in May. She knows how over the moon I am for Rachel and asked if she could get me in did I want to go see her. Did I want to go???????? Heck yeah. But I never allowed myself to dream that it could happen since that was only one month after the tragic loss of Jess Jackson. You couldn't blame those people if they didn't want to be bothered at such a sad time. And you couldn't blame them if they just couldn't accommodate one fan who may never make it back to Kentucky.

When I delivered the dog I wasn't even going to mention Rachel because I didn't want my friend to feel bad if she couldn't make it happen. It was enough that she had such a lovely thought. Maybe I could just drive by Stonestreet later and perhaps see some of Rachel's world from the road. That would be very special in it's own right.

We were getting the dog nicely settled in when my friend announced that we had an appointment at 3 o'clock. Couldn't believe it then. Can hardly believe it now. But those lovely people let us have 10 minutes with Rachel Alexandra. Just us. I pet her neck and kissed her on the nose and thanked her for the thrill of a lifetime. I will treasure those moments as long as I live.

I drove all night to see Rachel in the Haskell Invitational. Got in line at 4 AM to be let in at 6 AM to be able to get the spot on the rail that I wanted. Sat there from 6 AM to 6 PM defending my territory in some serious weather. A huge storm front just sat on the coast of NJ that day. Thunder. Lightening. Every once in a while I had to stand up in order to dump the water out of my chair. But soooo worth it.

Ditto the Woodward except that Mother Nature delivered a spectacular day. Think I was 4th in line at 4 AM. No one could have envisioned how that field of older horses would unleash their best in successive volleys against the 3 YO female phenom, or the courage she would need to defeat them. Words just plain fail to describe the heart, and guts, and glory that horse laid down on the track that day.

After such a deeply stirring campaign like that you just can't forget about her because she is not your horse. Indeed, Rachel owns the hearts of an adoring public. As the article points out so well, there is absolutely nothing material in it for the Stonestreet folks to share her with us now. And yet they do. Regularly. I think they live out Jess Jackson's ideals to perfection; still showcasing the sport and it's brightest stars and in it for the fans all the way. Yep. Pure class.

And it did do my heart so much good to see Rachel so peaceful and so content in her new life. She's a very happy horse. She looks absolutely wonderful pregnant. Her legs are so clean and so sound they look unused. You would never know the miles they traveled or the wonderful things they did. I think her Curlin foal very well could be the iron horse that Jess Jackson dreamed of. God willing.

Mary in Vermont

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

greengirl — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:46:04 GMT

Stonestreet really rolls out the red carpet and goes above and beyond the call of sportsmanship for her fans. What they have done is really fantastic, and hopefully it will continue on with her and maybe even some other cool mares. Here are some pics from my visit in March if anyone wants to see. www.facebook.com/.../set

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

furlongs — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:34:08 GMT

Her overall brilliance is questionable, but she had the best 3 years seasons I have ever witnessed by a filly!! Her Woodward was the best up front speed race by a TB I seen since Wild Again won the BC Classic. Racing needs more horses like her and they need them to hang around for 4-5 years to keep fans coming back for more.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

furlongs — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:30:29 GMT

She had one of the best if not THE best 3 year old seasons any filly has ever had in this country. But her overall brilliance is questionable if you ask me. Her Woodward was one of the best races I have ever seen by any horse up on the lead. In the last 25 years or so the only up on the lead race that compares to it is Wild Again's BC Classic win with Pat Day aboard. Both total Classic's for the age's!! Good luck at the windows everyone...

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

smartysgal — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:21:07 GMT

Oops...well two too many tries! Sorry about that, but I'm sure you get the point. And yes, pics would have been nice with this story!

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

LINDA MARIE — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:44:12 GMT

"BABY BUMP"....YA GOTTA LOVE IT!

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

Barbara W — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 03:27:40 GMT

What a lovely gesture. Wish I had been there. Thank you, Stonestreet.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

Grande Fan — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 01:22:21 GMT

Thank you Stonestreet for sharing with all of us. We may be small players but we are all big fans. Tell someone you know about your visit and the thrill it will always bring you to remember. That's what it IS all about; good horses, good times, good friends. We owe our horses credit for all they have given and their owners and caretakers for their generousity.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

smartysgal — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:59:43 GMT

Third time trying to post this comment. Thanks so much for crediting Stonestreet for allowing us the privilege and honor of visiting Rachel. I was lucky enough to see her last March. I tried holding off on eating the cookie, but my sweet tooth prevailed! She indeed now has her "baby bump." She and Curlin will have the most amazing baby! Can't wait to see pictures of him! Thanks again, Stonestreet, for opening your gates to the public and allowing us to see one of the great fillies or mares to set hoof on a racetrack!

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

smartysgal — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:58:44 GMT

I've tried to post this comment, but something has been eating it up! Thanks so much for crediting Stonestreet for allowing us the privilege and honor of visiting Rachel. I was lucky enough to see her last March. I tried holding off on eating the cookie, but my sweet tooth prevailed! She indeed now has her "baby bump." She and Curlin will have the most amazing baby! Can't wait to see pictures of him! Thanks again, Stonestreet, for opening your gates to the public and allowing us to see one of the great fillies or mares to set hoof on a racetrack!

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

smartysgal — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:55:43 GMT

Thanks for giving Stonestreet the credit it so richly deserves for allowing us the privilege and honor of meeting Rachel. I was fortunate enough to be on the very first visiting day for her last March, and I hope to see her again after her foal is weaned, and hopefully, she will be in foal again. I tried holding off on eating my cookie, but my sweet tooth finally took over. And yes, it was good! I wish other farms would open up their doors to mares, but so far, no dice. Thank you, Stonestreet, for allowing us to see one of the greatest fillies or mares in our lifetime!

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

LouAnn — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 17:00:46 GMT

Rachel Alecandra looks absolutely gorgeous and it is wonderful to hear that she is doing so well. I want to thank Stonestreet Farms for being so kind and accomodating to all of Rachel's fans that have come to visit and see her. It is great that her fans are pampered and welcomed there. Rachel Alexandra is truly missed but will never be forgotten. Sending my Love & Blessings to her and her little sweet unborn foal.

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

Zen4Zen — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 10:14:01 GMT

What a lovely photo of Rachel with her "baby bump" and kudos to Stonestreet and Ms. Banke for treating Rachel's fans so well! Please give her and her staff your readers' thanks and many thanks to you for sharing this story! ~ Laura

re: See Rachel: Promoting Racing One Fan at a Time

greengirl — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:52:55 GMT

I was in the first group to see her this spring and it is an experience I'll never forget! Stonestreet really rolls out the red carpet and goes above and beyond the call of sportsmanship for her fans, and we are forever grateful! www.facebook.com/.../set if anyone wants to see some pictures