Arabian Horses Run at Churchill Downs

While I'm recuperating here's some information I thought I might share. This last Saturday was a day in history for the Arabian horse as they raced for the first time ever at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. The Predident's of UAE Cup was a stakes race with a $50,000 purse highlighted the Arabian horse in a mile at a quarter and saw of a field of eight Arabian horses.

This link includes commentary with all pertinent details about the the President's Cup, the field of horses, owners and the trainers as well as the history of Arabian horse racing in the world and the US as well as information about the President's cup. View the race here.

Arabian horses have been fighting to gain respect racing in this country since I first became involved with them. They have had to overcome at lot of prejudice in this battle and it has only been in the past few years that bigger more prestigious races have been available to the Arabian horse. As the purses have grown, so has the respect for the Arabian as a race horse. It warmed my heart to hear that Calvin Borel, one of the top jockeys in the country, was riding am Arabian filly in this race. It shows how far the Arabian horse has come in its journey to be recognized in this country for a sport that literally began with the Arabian horse many centuries ago.

The commentary is done by Christie Eagen of Arabian Results. Christie's normal role at Arabian events, which are usually horse shows, is to publish daily sheets featuring the results of the day's competition. She's been in this industry as long as I can remember and knows her stuff about the Arabian horse but I'd venture to guess doing commentary on Arabian horse racing is not her usual. I think she was as excited to be at Churchill Downs as the owners and trainers were.