“This Is A Silly Game”
November 5th, 2007By Jude T. Feld
I was reminded by a consigner at today’s Keeneland November Sale.
“This is a silly game.”
Mares who never raced, from mares who never raced, selling for millions of dollars.
Why?
Mares who won stakes, in foal to stallions who stand for $100,000, selling for less than the stud fee.
Who can figure?
Why do people sit around all day…watching and listening to the sing-song of the auctioneer…hoping…maybe praying…to the Lord Jesus Christ or the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or Allah, who is kind and merciful or the gentle Buddha…that they by the dam of the Kentucky Derby (G1) winner of 2011 or 12 or 13?
“This is a silly game.”
Kids in Third World countries need Plumpynut just to make it through another day and we are worried about stud fees and stallion service certificates, who is Breeders’ Cup nominated and how did they palpate.
Africans are dying of AIDS by the thousands as we are throwing real money at horses, who will bring pleasure to an owner and a few fans, but they will never invent a cure or make the world a better place.
We are proud to live in the Horse Capital of the World, be it run by the “God-Fearing” Ernie Fletcher or his nemesis “Heathen Gambler” Steve Beshear, but I wondered, “Do we take this all too seriously?”
It’s not my usual style to be a crepe hanger…especially about racing.
I love our sport – the magnificent animals and the thrill of competition they provide.
I have devoted my life to it.
But sometimes I wonder…”Why?”
Does a woman in Lesotho, who is dying of an incurable disease, while her kid is starving to death in her bony arms, give a rat’s ass whether Demi O’Byrne missed a bid at Fasig-Tipton, if a weanling has an A++ Werk Nick Rating, a mare ran a “2” on the sheets or who won the fifth at Aqueduct?
Why do we?
