by Charles Pravata
Colonel John and Corey Nakatani winning the Santa Anita Derby (Charles Pravata)
Guest Poster – Charles Pravata
You’ve seen his stunning photographic work used liberally here at GbG so it should be no surprise that Charles Pravata is also a fan of the sport.
A native New Yorker transplanted to LA, Charles mostly shoots the Southern California circuit. Fortunately for us he also travels to big events, and even makes it back to shoot at Belmont every once and while! Please welcome Charles as the first official guest poster here at GbG!
No one really knows what is going to happen in any race, at any track, on any given day of the year. The old adage “That’s why they run ’em.” helps us makes sense of a race that didn’t make any sense at all.
That is the beauty and the mystery of the sport, and the equine athlete. Everyone has an idea, some stronger than others, but, no one really knows. If you could put a microphone in front of a horse and ask him or her how they felt about their chances twenty minutes before post, I could assure you the tote board would look completely different. “So, how do you think you’ll hold up in the post parade considering there will be approximately 120,000 people in the stands?” – “I could give a rats ass about the size of the crowd. My only concern is running the competition off their feet, getting my picture taken, and getting back to the barn for a nice meal and visions of life on a stallion farm.” Now, that’s one cool, confident, and cocky horse, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he went off at 1/20.
Come Derby day, I think it wise for any horse player to only look at the facts, and listen to what is in their heart. A case in point would be my 2004 Derby experience. The Friday before the race, my coworker had asked me to come by his desk and give him my thoughts on the race. When I went over there he had already left for the day, so I left him a note. Here’s what it said:
“Lion Heart leads the field with Smarty Jones stalking, Lion Heart begins to tire and Smarty Jones takes over in the stretch to win, Lion Heart finishes 2nd, and Imperialism comes running late for 3rd.”
He comes to work the next day and finds it, watches the race, and sees everything I told him come to fruition; and he’s amazed. He leaves a note on my desk congratulating me on my big win which I find on Monday morning.
Shortly after I arrive at work on Monday, he comes over to my desk and asks me how much money I won, and I tell him: “Nothing. I didn’t bet it.” He was dumbfounded.”WHAT???!!” So I begin to explain: “Here’s what happened. I went to watch the race at my friends house and everyone was talking about all these horses and who they liked and all that crap, and I got all sidetracked and didn’t play my original picks.”
Needless to say, I was SICK to my stomach watching that race unfold exactly as I had envisioned it. My spirit had aligned with that of the Horse Gods’ for the greatest race of the year, and I blew it. All those experts on TV, they were all wrong, and I was right, but I couldn’t even cash a ticket. The trifecta was more than nine hundred dollars. It still pains me.
If you are reading this, I am sure you have a similar story. Let us remind each other to look at the facts and to trust our hearts. That vision you already have in your head about how this race will unfold, trust it. You know as much about what is going to happen in this stampede as anyone. Let’s just hope that all twenty horses that go out, come back in good order, and may the best horse win.