Closing the door on 2009

Yes, we are still in the business; yes, horses have run and Bat actually came in third a couple of weeks ago. It was in a $5,000 claiming race, but at least I can say we hit the board in 2009. Stay Alert has disappointed us twice, falling dramatically from grace. I haven’t updated this blog because I had grown weary of making fun of my horses, and more importantly, was afraid you had grown weary reading about underperforming horses. But, tomorrow is the start of a new year—and if I’m not optimistic, who will be?!! So, here is the scoop: Stay Alert is running Saturday, January 2, 2010, in a low level claiming race. The particulars hardly matter. What matters is, I think we have paid our "bad luck" dues in full during 2009, leaving open the possibility that 2010 is going to be a whale of a year. And if I'm right about this, there'll be a new post on Monday! If you want to read more, go to our website, http://www.equinebusiness.biz and send me your e-mail. I'll send you a copy of my diary entry for December 31.

I've learned some things over the past few days: Watching your horse come in 5th on a big screen TV isn't better than watching him come in 5th on a little TV. Actually, I think it is worse. So, tomorrow, we're going to go watch Stay Alert run in person at Churchill Downs. Stay Alert is our gray two year old. We hope running a gray on Friday the 13th is the antidote for the broken mirror bad luck hex. We clearly think he is our best hope of using that picture frame that is still unopened. If you want to know more, you can read my horse alert on the website: www.equinebusiness.biz.

Also, I've learned that if I want to do a shameless plug for my son's blog, it helps to get the address right. I've corrected it in my earlier blog--and here: http://itaintmobydick.blogspot.com And no, he doesn't write about horses.

With luck, I'll need you to go out to my Facebook page to see us in the Winner's Circle. And I'll get to Twitter about winning. That would be a new experience for me. I think it is time!

The Breeders Cup will come and go without any of our horses. In fact, all my picture frames are still in their original packaging. Cape Town Bay came in 5th, claiming he could have won it if the track hadn't been muddy. We can now add mud to the long list of things the Bay doesn't like. But, because hope springs eternal, BAT is going to try and claim the picture frame this Sunday. And with more luck than what we had this week, Stay Alert will be running next week. To learn more about any of this, you can go read the Horse Alert at http://www.equinebusiness.biz/. Our cool news is, we entered the 21st century and bought a flat screen TV. So while our horses may be slow, if we are watching them at home on television, by gum, I can see them. And the book continues to grow, fueled more by horse issues than nonhorse issues. That's a good thing. I continue to have no idea if there are more than 14 people who read this blog, but out of gratitutde to you, I'll keep putting stuff out here.

By the way, you might try http://itaintmobydick.blogspot.com/. Yes, that's my son--but he is funny!

Yes, we're still in the business with another shot at a Winner's Circle picture on Friday. It is the slow one, Cape Town Bay, that is running. But "slow" is a relative term. I'm hoping he'll look really fast against this group of non-achievers he is running against. I'm careful not to dis these horses, though, since it is as likely that the Bay will win it as he is to come in 8th. Such is the life of an owner of a slow horse. To see the Horse Alert I sent out to those who follow our horses, go to http://www.equinebusiness.biz under the News tab.

Even though we haven't had a horse run in a while, the book is 28 pages longer than it was the last time I wrote on this blog, and I've talked with one published author and one publisher. The published author gave me no encourgagement whatsoever, suggesting I either write about beastiality or murder and mayhem if I want to be published. Since I don't know much about either and I don't think Ken or God would like it if I tried to become familiar with either, I think I'll stick with horses. I may not get published, but I won't be in jail either. The publisher was more encouraging. Of course, she didn't read any part of my book either. Both suggested I keep writing. So I am, both here and there. The good news--if you're interested in any of my horses--all of them should be running over the next ten days. We're ready!

The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat

Over the last couple of days, I've reminded myself there is nothing like watching your horse win a race. From the time the starting gate goes up, (assuming he decides to come out and go the right direction), as he makes his way down the back side, picking horses off as he comes around the top of the stretch and then down the stretch, pleading with him to keep on coming or to just hang on, when your horse crosses that finish line first, you have just experienced the best two minutes in sports. Whether it is a $10,000 claiming race or a stakes race, there is no other thrill like it in the sports world. It is why we do this.

No, Cape Town Bay did not win his race Sunday. He came in second last. It has been 11 months and seven days since we have won. Since my short term memory is not what it used to be, I'm glad I can still remember. I'm happier still that I wrote down how it feels to win--so I won't forget why we do this.

If you want to see what Winner's Circle Pictures look like, go to our website: www.equinebusiness.biz I promise I'll put the next one out there, too. It can't come soon enough!

No Breeder's Cup Horse This Year

Ken's and my decision not to nominate any of our horses for any Breeder's Cup races continues to be the correct decision. Back Alley Tales, our three year old, came in 5th yesterday--out of seven. And he was 9 lengths back. These were not necessarily good horses, just horses better than BAT. Being right isn't all that is its cracked up to be.

I'm also now worried about my book--which still needs a publisher. I had hoped to talk about the thrills and agonies, the highs and lows of horse ownership. While I've nailed the agonies and lows, I'm a little light on the thrills and highs. It's particularly important it ends well, I think. I'm up to 98 pages. If there is going to be a balance, the book will be at least 200 pages long. My cash flow needs require that the next 98 pages come pretty quickly. It is clear BAT isn't going to deliver. Maybe Cape Town Bay and Stay Alert will. Stay tuned!

Horse of the Year? Why Not My Horse?

In the horse world, we're a buzz whether Rachael Alexandra will be named the Horse of Year even if she doesn't run in the Breeder's Cup Classic. Since Summer Bird won the Travers and is running in the Breeder's Cup Classic, some think he should be horse of the year if he wins it. I don't really care. I just know that none of my horses will be since none of them have hit the board this year, much less won. I mentioned all this stuff trying to maximize good search words in the first paragraph.

All three horses are still in training; slow, but in training. We went out to watch them yesterday. Walter, our faithful trainer, said he wished they were faster.

I was hoping that yesterday was going to be a momentous day for us. It was the first day AFTER what I hoped was the lifting of the "mirror falling off the wall and breaking" hex . While I know that usually means seven years of bad luck, I was hoping that since we were in the midst of really bad horse luck, that the new hex would only be a year long. I can't point to any event yesterday that makes me believe I'm right about the shortened hex. I'm willing to give it a couple of days, though. I really need to be right about this.

So far, this blatant attempt to find a publisher for my book, now 97 pages long, hasn't worked either. But, 10 of you have signed up to "follow" my blog--with an equal number of family members and non-family members following. I don't think signing up to "follow" me notifies you that I've put something out there, so I'll let you know otherwise. I appreciate those of you who signed up. Others of you let me know you read it, but didn't sign up to "follow" it. Others of you reported technical difficulty. I'm sending each of you an e-mail to let you know there is a new post. I feel it is the least I can do. Since I sent an e-mail to my Horse Alert group that now numbers 210 and exactly four of you signed up to follow my blog and I heard from another seven of you, it makes me wonder how many of the other folks actually read the Horse Alerts.

I have gotten some hits on the publishing end, though. A couple of those Horse Alert folks actually know publishers or writers who have been published. I'm meeting with one of the publishers after Labor Day and putting the wheels in motion to meet the author of a recently published horse industry expose. Since I'm getting some nibbles, I'm getting nervous about the fact that I need an ending--preferably one that is happy. I think that would help sell "The Diary of a Crazed Horsewoman, Volume I."

In case I'm wrong about the mirror hex, does anybody know an antidote for mirror hexes?

Breeder's Cup Winners--Why not my Horse?

Today, my husband, Ken, and I decided we would not enter any of our three horses in this year's Breeder Cup races--mainly because one of our two year olds came in 6th in a $30,000 claiming race, our three year came in 4th in a $30,000 claiming race and our other two year old just came out of layup. I mentioned the Breeder's Cup solely for the purpose of enhancing the possibility that someone with ties to the horse and/or publishing world would stumble across this blog.

In my first entry below, I noted my skepticism about blogging--but admitted I need all the help I can find locating a publisher for my book--which I have tentatively called "A Diary of a Crazed Horsewoman." It is 75 pages long so far, and other than having no idea how it will end, is coming along nicely. Even slow horses can provide some rather entertaining material. However, as I feared, so far, the only ones to find my blog are my husband, my sister, my daughter-in-law and me--under a different name. Try as I may, using all the good search words in my first paragraph--and my last name--I never could get by blog to come up in Google, either.

I'm going to let my Horse Alert folks know about this blog on Monday, hoping that at least 5 out of the 210 or so will actually come look out here and help swell my numbers. That said, I have no idea if it matters if my blog has 4 followers or 200 followers.

I did find out yesterday that in addition to the 7 people who follow me on Twitter--none of whom I know--I have a new follower who wants to have sex with me. No, I don't know him either. I'm still waiting for that first person to come through our website posted below who wants something other than porn or Viagra.

Do you think this is how Julie--in "Julia & Julie" really got started?

The Next Kentucky Derby Winner, Why Not My Horse?

For ten years, my husband and I have owned and syndicated race horses. We buy yearlings at the Keeneland Sales in Lexington, KY, and are convinced that every year we have the next Kentucky Derby winner and probably the next Triple Crown Winner. So far we have been wrong. At one point in my life, I thought the horses would support us, so I quit my day job as a life insurance lawyer. I now know that was a judgment error as well. So, I'm writing a book about the highs and lows of being a horse owner that I hope somebody will publish someday. After seeing "Julia & Julie" yesterday, I decided I needed to start a blog so that somebody would discover me. Surely the "Thoroughbred Times," "Bloodhorse," Jennie Rees from the "Courier Journal" or anybody from the "Lexington Herald," "New York Times" or "Washington Post" would be happy to talk to me. I think they all have interviewed Alex Waldrop from the NTRA. He's a nice guy, but I think I'm more entertaining. Also, by mentioning his name and organization, I'm hoping I've increased the chances of somebody actually discovering this blog.

I have my doubts about whether this will work. I feel about blogging the same way I feel about 5 year business plans. I'm skeptical of folks who make them and am disdainful of those who believe they work. I proved my own point when I did a business plan when I quit my day job 2 years ago. My business plan showed we would own 8 horses and manage 6 others by June 30, 2009, resulting in a positive cash flow regardless of the win/loss record of our horses. As of August 19, we own three. None of them are the next Kentucky Derby winner. And I fully appreciate that whether our horses win or lose has a huge impact on cash flow. Right now, ours is negative. For some reason, we are having fun and this is infinitely better than working for thirty-somethings who probably will never be as smart as they think they are now. But if I don't raise some cash, we'll either have to move in with one of our two sons or I'll have to go back to working for thirty-somethings. Hence, I'm blogging.

It's not like I'm not already out there. We have a website that talks about what we do and I post my Horse Alerts--e-mail notices/musings that I write when one of our horses are running--on that site. While I send these Alerts via email to more than 200 folks, based on the "contact submission forms" I get from the website, it appears the only ones reading them off my site are folks with serious porn hangups and folks desparately trying to sell or in search of Viagra or one its many derivatives. I also Twitter, with 7 folks following my Twitters--none of whom I know and all of whom hope I'll hire them to do something. And none of my Facebook friends link to our website--which I dutifully put out there everytime I tell them I've posted another Horse Alert to the website. So, why would I think anyone would find me here? But, we do what we have to do, don't we?

So, without giving away my book, over the next few months I hope somebody finds this blog, is interested enough to go out to website -- www.equinebusiness.biz -- and send me a "contact submission" form for something other than porn or Viagra.