Everyone who knows me knows that thoroughbred racing is in my blood. I grew up at the racetrack - at the ripe age of 10 my dad would send me to the betting counter to place his bets for him (I think I may have been the only 10 year old who knew how to wheel an exacta or bet a trifecta) and he'd give me an extra $2 to bet on my own horse. At the time I didn't think anything of it, but now I really question the moral correctness of allowing a third grader to gamble. But I didn't end up with a gambling problem, so I guess I lucked out! And when it was time for me to graduate from the 8th grade, while other kids were going to celebratory dinners with their families, my dad had scheduled a thoroughbred race to be held in my honor! We all went to the track, had a nice dinner, and then when my race was up, I got to go down to the winner's circle and present the winning rider and horse with the "Congratulations Kimberly Burke" purse. I know, I know - it's amazing I turned out as normal as I did!
So even though I'm an animal rights-giving bunny hugger, I still enjoy watching the ponies race. I have no idea how damaging it is to the horse, nor do I want to know. And of course I had to watch the Kentucky Derby this weekend, which was an extremely sad event, and as soon as I found out there was an injury I started tearing up and had to turn off the TV. The whole point of this post is to make a note of something that I realized when the race was finished. Prior to the race, Hillary Clinton joked that she wanted people to bet on Eight Belles - the only girl in the race - to win. I thought that was very clever and cute. But after the race, I realized that not only had Eight Belles come in second, but she came in second to a horse named Big Brown. And not only had she come in second to a horse named Big Brown, but she also had to be killed after the race. I'm very sad to say that this does not bode well for Hillary Clinton! RIP Eight Belles ... and Hillary Clinton.
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