Betty's Critters - & History Views

 On a muddy track at Pimlico, the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes was won by Seize the Grey - a colt sired by Arrogate, who has 2,750 owners.  The gray/roan colt is trained by D. Wayne Lukas (aged 88), who won the Preakness for the seventh time in his career - he has won 15 Triple Crown races so far.  It was the first graded stakes win for jockey Jaime Torres, a 25-year-old native of Puerto Rico.    Seize the Grey, out of Smart Shopping, is owned by My Racehorse, a micro-share partnership, with 2,750 owners, who purchased 5,000 shares of the colt for $127 per share.  He won $1,200,000 today for his owners.    Seize the Grey took the lead when the starting gate opened, and never looked back.  Imagination, the Bob Baffert trained colt, shadowed him for the first half-mile, then slowly faded.  Seize the Grey won by 2 and 1/4 lengths, followed by the Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, who was a head in front of Catching Freedom, who led...

 The 100th running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes took place today with a field of 8 3-year-old fillies vying for a purse of $300,000.  The fillies carried between 118 and 124 pounds for the 9 furlong race on a fast track at Pimlico Race Course, outside of Baltimore, Maryland.     When the race began, Gun Song was the crowd's betting favorite, with Corposo as their second choice; both fillies were allotted 118 pounds.    When the gates opened, Recharge stumbled from the gate, which set her behind.  Jeanne Marie led the racers from the gate to the top of the stretch, creating times of 24.20 seconds for the first quarter; a slow 49.47 for the half-mile; and 1:13.66 for 3/4 mile.  The mile was clocked at 1:38.80, with Gun Song, who had run in second place for most of the race, taking the lead.  Gun Song won the race by 3 1/4 lengths in a time of 1:51.39.  Corposo was second by a neck over Call Another Play, who led Whocouldaskformo by ...

 The 100th running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes has a scheduled post time of 5:44 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 17.   This used to be the second jewel of the "Fillies Triple Crown" but it has been down-graded to a Grade 2 Stakes handicap race.  The race is 9 furlongs (1 and 1/8 miles), and has a purse of $300,000.  The only filly entered that ran in the Kentucky Oaks is Lemon Muffin, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, who finished 8th in the Oaks.  She has also been assigned the highest weight in this race, 124 pounds.  (All entries in the Oaks carried 121 pounds two weeks ago.)    There are 8 entries in the Black-Eyed Susan this year; 6 were bred in Kentucky, while Jeanne Marie was bred in Pennsylvania, and Call Another Play was bred in Maryland.  There are 5 chestnut fillies, 2 bays (Jeanne Marie and Whocouldaskformo) and Lemon Muffin is a gray/roan.  Seven stallions are represented in this race; Gun Runner sired two - Gun Song and Recharge. ...

 It looks as though the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company will have a bumper crop of foals for its' Pony Auction on Thursday, 25 July.  The people who live on Chincoteague Island do not pay a tax to support their Fire Department and Ambulance Service.  The purchase of fire fighting equipment, fire engines, ambulances, rescue vehicles, all training for both services, and the few paid positions in both services, come through the sales of the Chincoteague Pony foals, the annual Firemen's Carnival in July, fund-raising events and donations.  The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company was established in May of 1924 - 100 years ago this month - after two horrendous fires wiped out downtown areas, and then when a third fire occurred, the previously purchased fire-fighting equipment would not work.  Fourteen men passed a hat around, raised $4.16, and the CVFC was formed.    My mother was a Teaguer, born and raised on the island.  Her father and grandfather...