Aria has completed her first race. I was a basket case as usual. I get very tense, worried and excited about one of mine racing. But I get very quiet so not to disturb the horse or heck the trainer. I'm better once I'm at the track and can see the horse. I'm okay once they come back and I know they're okay. So much more exciting then showing or should I say, I find it so much more stressful and fun at the sametime then showing.
Before the race on race day. The horses have a vet exam a short time before the race. A track vet looks at the horse, feels their legs, and watches them walk and trot. He also checks the lip tattoo. Aria thought it was very odd to have to trot with someone, since she has not shown halter. Others that I have race think this is an odd halter class.
The horse is then cleaned up and put in the racing bridle. There are first, second and last calls for the race over the loudspeakers. They are walked down to the holding barn. At the holding barn, their lip tattoo is checked and blood is pulled. The horses in Texas are lead onto a couple of pieces of plywood on the ground to look for toe grips. Toe grips on shoes are not allowed in the races in Texas now. There are straight stalls to let the horses stand in or they can be lead around. A wash rack is in there as well if they need sprayed down before the race. Aria was very good. She found all this very exciting and her eyes were about to pop out of her head, but she was good.
The horses are then led to the saddling paddock. They got to their appropriate stall and are saddled. The jockey's valet comes out with the tack. The horse is saddled up with the tiny saddle and an over girth is put on. The over girth is very tight and it takes 2 people to put it on them. The horse is typically walked around a bit to make sure everything is in place. Aria was very good. She did not care for the overgirth, but she had worn it before and was very excited by everything going on, but she was obedient. The horses are then led out in order to where the trainer, owner and jockey are waiting outside the saddling paddock. The jockey is tossed up there often with the horse just barely hesitating, but not stopping. Sometimes horses blow up in this area with all the excitement so it can be an exciting area to stand. And then off they go to the track to be met by the pony horses and to be taken to the gates.
Aria did great for her first race. It was 6.5 furlong maiden special weight filly race. 6.5 furlongs is long for her first out, but that was all that was offered. She has never been under lights and the race was at night. She had only come out of the gates once with another horse and had not worked with a lot of horses. So she had a large learning curve in the first race. I just wanted her to come back safe and sound.
Aria was in the 9th hole. She came out 3rd in the gates, got hit with sand and said, maybe we need to think about this and held back. Then she ran with the 2nd pack of horses and got over the sand thing. She went between two horses who were running and made sure the horse next to her did not pass her at the finish line so she got a 5th out of 10 horses. She beat experienced race bred horses. I believe she was the youngest horse in the race and the only one who hadn't raced. She came back fine and bounced all the way back to the barn. She thinks she won the race. The front runners were ahead and I don't think she knew she was suppose to go to the front, but that's okay. She'll figure it out. Everyone was happy with her race and how she behaved. Racing pays to the 5th place so she made a bit of money for her first out.
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