She DID it!!

Kicked the boys' asses, atta girl.

Rachel Alexandra has beaten the best fillies and colts of her generation, with class and style. The favorite won the Preakness, itself a rarity.



She breaks from the far left hole, #13. Her jockey (I will remind you, gentle reader, he is a native New Mexican) is easy to find, he's in canary-yellow silks. Pretty much wire to wire, she ran a great race.

The jockey, Calvin Borel, is the first in history to walk away from the Derby winner to ride a different horse against the Derby winner in the Preakness. Would the race have turned out differently if he'd stayed on Mine That Bird? Possibly, but that's irrelevant. What's done is done, and Rachel Alexandra proved she's one of the best.

The second place horse was Mine That Bird (also of New Mexico), and given his finish in the Preakness is officially my pick for the Belmont. He has the skill and stamina for that race, and I hope to see a good one. Now we have to wait three weeks to see it.

One of the things I love about horse racing - and eventing, and herding trials and coursing and agility and many other dog sports - is there's no division of sexes. Men and women compete against the course and each other with dogs and bitches, intact and altered, take on all comers. May the best team win, the best dog on the day, and move us to try harder to do better next time.

Amen.