It is indeed an extraordinary path that leads from a childhood home in Artemis, Ky., that lacked indoor plumbing to being hosted by the Queen of England for high tea. And yet that is the uncommon road traveled by award-winning owner and breeder Ken Ramsey. “That just don’t happen except through horses,” said Ramsey, with an accent that speaks to his roots. “It kind of levels the playing field is what I’m trying to say.”
Tag: Legends
Old Friends Farm a Decades-Long Journey for Michael Blowen
Michael Blowen glanced at the 1977 Sports Illustrated cover of Triple Crown champion Seattle Slew when it arrived in the mail and immediately discarded it. A horse on the cover of such a prominent magazine? “I thought thinking of them as athletes was absurd,” he said. Blowen, then a writer for the Boston Globe, accompanied Bob Taylor, one of his editors, to Suffolk Downs seven years later. The visit to the Massachusetts track was life-changing.
Brilliant Women in U.S. Horse Racing History
Although horse racing remains a largely male-dominated world, women continue to break down barriers as jockeys, trainers, owners, and breeders. Here are a few notable women who played a role in shaping the sport of kings in the United States. Laska Durnell — In 1904, Durnell became the first woman to own a Kentucky Derby starter and winner with Elwood. Elwood was the first Derby runner owned by a woman and also the first bred by a woman, Mrs. J.B. Prather.
Racing’s Unforgettable Rivalries: Sunday Silence and Easy Goer
Advancements in airline travel had an amazingly profound impact on everyday life in this country. It brought the eastern and western shores closer together, and created business opportunities that would have seemed ridiculous a century ago. Trans-continental flights allowed professional franchises to expand into the Golden State of California in the late 1950s and it wasn’t too long before East-West rivalries sprang up, involving teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.
