I have mixed feelings about the
Eclipse owner's award to Ken Ramsey
and dont know if Michael Gill was very
deserving either.

My pet peeve regarding Ramsey is that
if he is at the races he ABSOLUTELY
must lead his horse into the winners
circle. Growing up around NYRA, I have
become used to an owner grabbing the
shank and leading their animal into
the winner's circle -- usually after the
feature on the weekend or after a
stake at Saratoga. I've seen Ramsey out
there at Ellis Park or Turfway after a 5000
claimer, elbowing the groom out of the way.
One time he gave the shank to one of his
young grandchildren, who almost got
trampled.

That's just my pet peeve, and may have
something to do with the fact that I groomed horses at various tracks for 5 years, and
always thought that the focus should be on the animal. If you look at a Phipps family
winners circle photo, if it is not a stake
you rarely see anyone in the photo besides
the animal, the jockey, the groom and the
hotwalker.

I will give credit to Ramsey for keeping
his stars in training if Kittens Joy,
Roses in May, and Badge of Silver all race
full campaigns. And after they retire, I'm
sure Ken Ramsey will lead these studs into
the breeding shed himself.



Post Edited (01-25-05 12:12)