Man o' War's shoes

They came in the Jazz Age to see the noble Man o’ War

During the Depression people cheered their great Seabiscuit

Rock and revolution were at the track to greet Secretariat

Now this twittering age bids farewell to our mare Zenyatta

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She has stepped into the gate for the very last time

Calm as a mouse yet larger than life

For me, those ears are her secret pride

slightly tilted and off to the side

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It is all now a haze in the mind’s fluxuations

Coming down to the wire with Blame eye to eye

What a mean little difference not seeing her stomping dance

Led away from the stage of our games of chance

Led away from the stagX

Her losing a race makes little difference to me

She has come back to the shed row healthy and spry

But cruel November has left us quite cold

Now that Zenyatta has stepped from the racing fold

Zenyatta winning the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic

Just came across a link on Equidaily to an article on sun-sentinel.com about the rescue of the horse Freedom’s Flight, a descendant of Secretariat. It’s a heart-warming story of the rescue of the horse from almost certain slaughter. Once rescued it was discovered that he is a former a race horse and has Secretariat and Seattle Slew in his pedigree. Now, his new owner is lobbying him for a role in the upcoming movie of Secretariat. He does certainly look like Secretariat in coloring. That lovely chestnut with the white blaze and socks. Though he may not be a “dead ringer” he certainly brings the great horse to mind. We hope he gets the role!

Like the recent story in the New York Times about the rescue of Tour of the Cat, this story also brings more publicity to the problem of abused and abandoned horses. The industry can do more to ensure that these horses (and all horses) are treated humanely throughout their lives.