I'm betting this will be the most controversial page on my site. These are my opinions on issues in racing that I decided are important.

Feel free to e-mail me...but, please, be civil! PonyAce@aol.com

Oh...that would be Wayne Lukas up there...he's one of the more controversial trainers around, so he fits there. I got this photo ages ago...the page I got it from it no longer up.

Hallowed Dreams...

When the Ken Rudolph and Matt Caruthers of TVG were discussing Hallowed Dreams' first loss the day after the race, they brought up the issue of the most difficult record to surpass in sports. Caruthers went for Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points in one basketball game. Makes sense, right? Wrong. A few years ago, then high school basketball star Lisa Leslie (now a star member of the WNBA's Utah Starz) scored 100 points in one half of a game before the opposing team forfeited. That reminds me a lot of the Hallowed Dreams situation. Leslie was obviously better than her competitions...as was Chamberlain...as was Cigar...as was Citation...as was Mr. Frisky...as is Hallowed Dreams. However, because her accomplishment didn't come in the professional, or grade one, games, if you will, her record isn't remembered. I'm sure it doesn't help her or Hallowed Dreams' case that they both were competing strictly against females while accomplishing their respective records. Hallowed Dreams belongs in the record books, plain and simple. Cigar and Citation were better than the horses they ran against, Hallowed Dreams is better than her competition. That her competition is a lower quality then that faced by the other two horses doesn't mean her accomplishment is. I feel that Cigar, Citation, and Hallowed Dreams were all equally better than their competion, so the challenge to win was the same for all of them.

Julie Krone/Hall of Fame...

I don't know what you want to say gets someone into the Hall of Fame. Accomplishments? Krone is the most accomplished female jockey of all time. Fame? Krone's probably the best known jockey to non-racing fans. Outside of my precious Tabasco Cat's connections, the first name I knew in racing was Julie Krone. I had a Julie Krone growth chart on my door for the longest time...I took it down only when I realized I'd never have the physique to be a jockey. When I went to Saratoga in 1996, the only track I've been to where the jockey's walk through the crowd, there was no jockey more approached than Julie Krone...there was also no jockey more willing to pause to and sign autographs. I distinctly remember waiting behind a group of kids holding T-Shirts for the jockeys to sign. Since I'd gotten Julie's autograph earlier, I was waiting for Jerry Bailey to come out of the jock's room. While Julie patiently signed shirts, I was chasing Bailey through the crowd. He just wouldn't stop. For the record, I was the only one trying to get his autograph. Everyone else wanted Julie's. She always said she wanted just to be viewed as a jockey, not as a female jockey. However, she can't be. I have no doubt in my mind that if she had consistantly gotten the quality of mounts that, say, Bailey got, she'd have far more victories to add to her already lengthy list. Why didn't she get those mounts? Her gender.

D. Wayne Lukas...

I was drawn into racing by a Lukas horse, so I suppose I'm partially biased. That horse was Tabasco Cat. I was lucky enough to see Tabasco Cat in person (running fourth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup), as well as great performances but Lukas's Timber Country in the Champagne Stakes ad a breathtaking performance by Lukas's Flanders in the Frizette Stakes. I was a huge Lukas fan until a couple years after that...until Coup D'Argent. My years may be off, but I believe it was the 1996 Jockey Club Gold Cup. I thought I saw him limp in the paddock that day, and I overheard the person next to me saying that they thought he was limping, too. Well...Coup broke down that day and had to be put down. I became anti-Lukas Susie. He runs his horses into the ground, blah blah blah, etc. etc. etc. Later, 1-2 years later, I realized that if I hates Lukas, I'd have to hate Gary Stevens (who was riding Coup), the Belmont gate crew (who would have said something), the track vets (who would have scratched him), etc. Well...no more anti-Lukas Susie. I've been thinking about lately...most (note, most, not all), or Lukas's horses that I see complained about being over run, over matched, etc. are owned by Padua. Coincidence? Personally, I don't think so. Padua seems to want return on their investments ASAP.

History Lesson...

As time goes on, I'm getting the distinct impression that people are forgetting about some of the toughest campaigners and most talented horses to grace the track in the past few years. Names like Awad, Mecke, You And I, Grand Slam, Appealing Skier, Formal Gold, and Gentlemen are all but forgetten in favor of Northern Spur, Singspiel, Not Surprising, Lit De Justice, Skip Away, etc. Each of the forgotten horses I listed are multiple graded stakes winners, and, with the exception  of Appealing Skier, grade one winners. If these horses are barely remembered now, will they be remembered at all 10 years from now? I want to know about all the great horses like them from before I was born, and I want people in the future to remember the greats that I was familiar with. Please, don't let these horses be forgotten.

Champions of my heart - And They're Off - Caught On Film - Next Race
About Me - Thank You's

What you see here  is copyrighted by me, Susie Raisher.
There are a few pictures on these pages I didn't take...proper credit is given and I'm allowed to use them.

If I see any of my stuff on another webpage without my permission, I will be extremely angry. You don't want to see me angry.