Broadening My Horizons

I'd like to think of myself as having an open mind when it comes to people. I guess that is a subjective concept but I tend to not be discriminatory based on religion, race, nationality, etc. My most judgemental moments typically target the lazy, the arrogant and the stupid. However, being a red, white and blue American, I may not have given the Arab/Muslim world and the French a fair chance. The title of this post is "Broadening my Horizons" because growing my knowledge of horse racing has in turn expanded my knowledge (and appreciation) of these cultures that I may have previously rooted against .

Who in their right mind can hear the story of Julien Leparoux and not root for this kid? He plead with Patrick Biancone to come to America and work with horses. He debuted on the big stage of Saratoga and began to win while he had to beg and borrow to find money to eat. And now he leads the country in wins and has the brightest of futures ahead of him. How could one be so shortsighted to hold his nationality against him when he sacrificed, took huge chances, works so hard and is using his wonderful talents to achieve "the American Dream".

Every story I read about Sheik Mohammed, Sheik Hamdan and the late Sheik Maktoum focus on their generosity and horsemanship. They seem to be genuinely good men and have the best interest of horses, the industry and people in mind. They have invested much larger amounts of money in racing and the USA than they have received in return. Americans may root against them because of politics but I have developed an appreciation for them because their commitment has earned them some good fortune.

I never thought that my new-found appreciation for racing would make me see the big picture of the world in a different light. I was so wrong. I just wish that the rest of the world could see that deep down we are all the same. We just want to see a great race and hit the exacta with the longshot.