Happy St Patricks Day

Always a great day, especially for me as it is my birthday and being of Irish ancestry, well it's pretty cool! Anyway, even though Jessica at Railbird has done a great job on this already, I wanted to include a note about the Irish Steeplechase Racing
My only frame of reference came last Spring at the Keeneland meet where I was at the rail for the Royal Chase for the Sport of Kings (Gr. 1) which is the first steeplechase event I have ever seen. Anyway, it was very exciting with the horses going around the turf and jumps so many times it makes you dizzy! These horses run for almost 5 minutes! It is insanely exciting. This race was a come from behind win by 1 length over arch rival McDynamo. Hirapour (Irish bred) and 9 yrs old at the time was my lucky pick and the winner. The athleticism of these steeplechasers and the excitment of the race caught me by surprise. Your heart stays in your throat praying there are no stumbles or collisions and that everyone stays up. At the end of this race, one horse (and I can't recall his name) collapsed coming off the track and was ultimately revived with a ton of cold water. It is really an unbelievable test of endurance, race strategy and sheer guts on the part of the horse and rider. I did come away promising myself to go to this race each year! So, may the luck of the Irish be with you and may we all find that superfecta ticket at the end of the rainbow!