Carry on!

by Gordon Waterstone

As I was driving to The Red Mile Wednesday morning the hit Kenny Chesney song “Carry On” came on the radio. And I thought that this is close to how I feel as we have reached the back half of the six-day Grand Circuit meet at The Red Mile. We are all carrying on the grand tradition of not only the racing but also the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.

As you read yesterday, I attended the afternoon session of the yearling sale, but stayed only for a couple of hours as I not only had to write my column, but I also had early dinner plans on the Merrick Inn patio with Joe Holloway. I live in the Merrick community so I could actually walk to the five-star restaurant if I so desired.

As Boss Dave wrote in yesterday’s HRU, it was a solid second session. Through the first two days, the sale has grossed $43.757 million, a seven per cent increase over 2025. I’m sure sales managers David Reid and Bruce Brinkerhoff are happy. Despite all my rounds of the pavilion, I’ve only had a chance to see both of them from afar as they are very busy.

Day 2 was also a good day for my sponsors, Steve and Cindy Stewart’s Hunterton Sales Agency as they can boast they sold four of the top seven horses of the afternoon. Hunterton sold 43 horses on the day for a total of $4.72 million. And Hunterton still sits atop the list as the leading consignor for the first two sessions with 66 horses sold for $9.694 million.

Also having a good day on Tuesday were Jeff Gural, Lorne Polger, and Andrew Cohen, who back in the day was a correspondent for The Horseman And Fair World.

If you have been perusing the results sheets from the sale you may have noticed a new name popping up in the buyer category: Total Transparency Stable. Ron Burke was the signee, but since I know how busy he is, I hunted down Mark Weaver to find out about this new stable.

Mark told me that he has been putting together a stellar group of owners to comprise Total Transparency, and the hopes are to purchase eight to 10 2-year-olds this year. They bought some at the Goshen Sale and in Ohio, and another pair here in Lexington. Mark said that all the horses will be sent to Charlie Norris to winter train at Spring Garden Ranch in Florida. Mark said all the horses will be sold next June on onGait.com, and that anyone with interest can come to Spring Garden Ranch to get behind the horse themselves. I guess it’s like a 2-year-old-in-training sale, so if you’re interested be sure to get hold of Mark.

So, let’s get back to a glorious Wednesday morning at The Red Mile. The temperature dropped into the low 40s overnight and was 52 when I arrived at the track, but with plenty of sunshine it felt warmer and I did not require a jacket.

I stopped first into the judges’ office where I found Casey Larson sitting at his desk waiting for the race office to call that Saturday’s closing-day race card was ready to be drawn. I walked over to the Hunterton Farm/Hunterton Sales Agency-sponsored breakfast table, where I saw young Logan Shehan overseeing things himself. I asked where was his partner Lolah (I learned her name earlier) and he told me he gave her the morning off. So, Logan had sole control of the bulging tip jar, where again I was very generous and gave him a dollar for my donut.

I walked up to The Deck under the Tree of Knowledge where I found Chris Tully, Billy “The Toolman” Bigler, my agent Nick Salvi, Bill Elliott, and Joe Koury. Joe and I will always be connected as it was he who I ran up on the stage at Rosen Shingle Creek in February 2019 to interrupt his acceptance speech on behalf of Bergstein-Proximity winner Foiled Again since we had the actual winner there to bring in and “accept’ his own award. Bringing in Foiled Again into the banquet room was a moment I shall never forget.

I left the group for a few minutes to take a walk around the backstretch. There was a lot of activity on the track as horses were looking to race Saturday were on the track. Otherwise, it was a pretty quiet journey.

When I got back to The Deck, Chris, Billy, and Nick were still there. Trackman Dan came up and expressed his disappointment that the breakfast tables were empty and there was no coffee available. Chris pointed out that the table opened at 7 a.m. and it was now close to 10:30. Billy then said he thought Dan delayed his appearance in hopes of finding only coffee and no Logan/Lolah working so he could save the tip money.

Dan left as he had work to do on the racetrack, and I caught a glimpse of a horse heading into the final turn going fast. I remarked to Billy and Nick that the horse looked really great, and as he went past, they both agreed. Dr. Andy Roberts was in the sulky and I later caught up to the veterinarian to ask about his charge.

Andy told me that the colt was a homebred son of Bettor’s Delight named Doc’s Giovanni. The pacer has made just five qualifying starts this year but the lines show him on the definite improve. Andy told me that while Doc’s Giovanni may be unraced this year, he expects to be at the O’Brien Awards in 2028 accepting accolades as the 3-Year-Old Colt Pacer of the Year for 2027 in Canada.

As I do every year at this time, I think about how many people I have come to know over my 48-year career in racing. I also think about how many people I still do not know. Because of that, I am so glad that some have come up to me to introduce themselves. I am most appreciative of everyone who stops to take the time.

That brings me back to last Saturday for a minute. I stopped to talk to Bill Elliott at a table in the clubhouse where he introduced me to Jason Nielsen of Nielsen Equine Services and his wife. When Bill introduced me, Jason replied that he knew my name as he reads Backstretch and that he enjoyed the columns. I told Jason I would surely mention him, and I apologize it took so long.

Tonight, is the closing session of the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale at Fasig-Tipton, with things getting underway at 7 p.m. But first, don’t forget the racing action that has a 1 p.m. post time. Racing will continue on Friday and Saturday at 1 p.m. as we finish up the two-week GC meet.

Speaking of Saturday’s card, it will be finishing up as people make their way to Commonwealth Stadium to watch UK play LSU at 7 p.m. So, there will certainly be extra traffic out on Broadway as the harness faithful make their way out.

Although the expected highs over these last few days are in the low 80s, the mornings are still brisk. If you need some warmer weather garb, or anything else, be sure to stop and see Jeremy in the Gift Shop as he has some really nice items available. And if you’re maybe planning on hanging around a couple days after in Lexington, you might want to pick up some rain gear as the remnants of what will be Hurricane Isaias are expected to reach Kentucky on Sunday.

And gas prices remain relatively unchanged, except for maybe a drop of a few cents. Most stations I see are $4.14 for regular and $6.49 for diesel.