First, one major item that I forgot to reference about this years running of the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree - there were no major injuries during or after the race. There were bumps, bruises, and scrapes - but no torn ligaments, no broken bones. All forty entries checked out fine the day after the race. - Hooray!
We're now a little less than 4 weeks away from the Kentucky Derby - the "holy of holies" of three-year-old thoroughbred racing in the United States. Only twenty horses will be allowed to start in the race, and the entrants are now scored on a point system for finishing in certain graded stakes races. First, the horse must be nominated, and pay entry fees to stay nominated, up until March. Of course, a horse may qualify with entry fees and points, but not run due to other factors - lameness, illness, or injury. In fact, if the horse does not feel "right" to the jockey, the jockey can ask to withdraw the horse after the race warm up and before entering the starting gate, or the veterinarian at the starting gate may keep a horse from participating. If a trainer is not happy with the way the horse is exercising, he may be scratched. In any event, here is a listing of the top 25 horses with their point earnings - horses with the same amount of points are listed alphabetically by name:
1 Girvin 150
2 Gormley 125
3 Irap 113
4 Irish War Cry 110
5 Always Dreaming 100
6 Thunder Snow 100
7 Gunnevera 84
8 Practical Joke 74
9 J Boys Echo 63
10 State of Honor 62
11 Tapwrit 54
12 Fast and Accurate 50
13 Hence 50
14 Malagacy 50
15 Battalion Runner 40
16 Battle of Midway 40
17 Cloud Computing 40
18 McCraken 40
19 Patch 40
20 Untrapped 34
21 Classic Empire 32
22 Local Hero 30
23 Royal Mo 30
24 Iliad 20
25 Master Plan 20
I still think the Derby is wide open this year....
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