All the King's Horses

Today is a multiple hero day as befits the start of a new calendar year. Today is officially the birthday of EVERY Thoroughbred horse in the United States. The above picture is one of the greatest American racehorses that ever lived, Secretariat, who won the 1972 Belmont stakes by 31 lengths. A victory that was so stunning, and by such a wide margin that the cameras of the time had to pan back in order to catch the second placed horse in the field. It seems wide angle lens were quite invented yet. I admit I was only about 3 years old when Secretariat thundered home in that race, so I was unable to put my two quid on him to win. Which would not have paid anything to speak of anyway. However, I do love the ponies, and I have since I became of age, placed several wagers on several horses that are turning a year older today. Some of them were lovely beasts that managed to reward my faith in them by coming across the wire in the correct order. I remember the first ever Kentucky Derby I "picked" correctly, and I remember the heartbreak of watching that horse (Pleasant Colony) lost his Triple Crown bid in the Belmont. That story is a story for another day. I have torn up a lot of losing tickets since then, and will tear up quite a few more before I am done with playing the ponies. I was even quite taken aback when on my recent travels, I was afforded a chance to order horse meat goulash. I ordered it in the hopes that it tasted better than a few of the mules I had bet on, and was quite surprised when I discovered that it was quite good, and I would probably order it again given the chance. However, I am still not sure how I feel about the whole idea of eating horse. Either way betting on them (win or lose), or eating them I do love the ponies, so for today the hero of the day is every Thoroughbred in the United States.