Hey folks great story about two Cuban exiles who own a horse running Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.
One of the owners is a former political prisoner. The horse’s name is Gayego.
Few, if any, have traveled a more improbable and circuitous route to the Kentucky Derby than Carlos Juelle and Jose Prieto. The Cuban émigrés journey to the owners’ suite at Churchill Downs traces back nearly four decades to hard-labor camps and a maximum security prison run by Fidel Castro’s communist regime.
Juelle, a 68-year-old semi-retired business executive from Rolling Hills, Calif., and Prieto, a 78-year-old medical practitioner from Glendale, Calif., are the owners of Gayego, the winner of the prestigious Arkansas Derby. The overachieving colt, purchased at the 2006 Keeneland yearling sale for the relatively paltry price of $32,000, is the only horse the two friends own.
H/T: Ed G.
gayego a very honest horse
aun cuando esta noticia es gratifying saber que Cubanacan stables existe y que gayego es el unico caballo del establo quiero decirles que gayego ha corrido mainly in California en un polytrack pero aun asi su chance es bueno de llegar in the money
Le deso lo mejor a sus dueños tremenda inversion por 32 mil dolares
Unfortunately Fantomas has picked Denis of Cork to be the winner of this year edition
Saturday is going to be a great party
Denis of cork and gayego exacta…. what a thrill
race to the windows babalusians
Derby Fever
It’s Derby week and everyone reading this post is no doubt consumed with making his or her final selections. Having worked at Churchill Downs for almost 13 years beginning in the early 1990’s, I have always been fascinated with the Derby phenomenon. What makes the Derby so important not only to horse racing fans, but also to the millions of people who have little if any interest in our game on any day other than the first Saturday in May?
There is the obvious: it’s the first leg of the Triple Crown, one of the most elusive prizes in all of sports. It’s been 30 years since Affirmed became the 11th Triple Crown winner. And you can’t win the Triple Crown if you don’t win the Derby.
Some say it’s the tradition of the Derby, which will be renewed for the 134th time Saturday. It’s the mint juleps, the singing of “My Old Kentucky Home,” the parties, celebrities and the way the city of Louisville and the state of Kentucky embrace the event with a tenacity that has no equal in my experience.
Here is my theory. It’s all of the above coupled with the indisputable fact that for one day horseracing is the biggest event in America and the Derby is the premier betting opportunity on the planet. Twenty of the best equine athletes from all parts of the country, most of whom are well known because of high profile prep races, are running at the classic distance on dirt for the first time. Anything can happen. And with the old Derby field bet eliminated, making for 20 separate betting interests, wagering on the Derby has even more appeal.
Horseracing combines the nobility of the horse with the challenge of picking winners. The Derby brings together all of these elements in the biggest, grandest way imaginable. Somewhere in there is a key to growing racing every day.
That’s my theory for explaining the popularity of the Kentucky Derby. What’s yours?
By the way, I still like Big Brown but Colonel John and Court Vision both look to be peaking at the right time so I am adding them to all of my exotic plays. And something about Visionaire is hard to ignore.
Good luck Saturday
ALex Waldrop ,CEO of the NTRA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI4fu3CtWHs
With the horse named “gayego,” would this indicate that the horse’s owners have some family roots in the Spanish province of Galicia?
Yes, if you click through to the article they explain the Galician connection and the reason they spelled it Gayego instead of Gallego.