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.

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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.

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