Beautiful story on Precisionist
 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=6183042

Please listen. It's just so touching.

Yes I heard this on NPR on the way home from work. I remember the sprint but not much else. It was a good story. Already had the grave dug and just take him out there. Then some horses are creamated. I wonder what drives the owner to bury the whole animal v. cremation.
I am going astray a bit here but I personally dont want to take up any room so Im going to ask that the Hydrogen, Oxygen, and a good deal of nitrogen be "burned" off my body so "I" can be a little pile of unpurified carbon ash. And I dont want to be purified carbon and pressed into a diamond. A bit expensive and rather bizarre.
Dont think anyone will want to come look in a spot where my body is decaying and say what a great runner he was. I remember when he...
posted on Derby Trail asking to be cremated.

I want to be cremated too, but only because I don't want any f'ing bugs crawling over my dead body!!! :eek:

I dont think you will mind either way after the fact. But if "bugs" you before said event... I understand.

Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl. :o

Kids, can we keep this about Precisionist?? Please?

2 hrs between 1st and 2nd post. Where were you blue eyes? So tell us of your memories of Precisionist.

Re: Precisionist..
 

We talked extensively about Precisionist last week on ATRAB with Steve Haskin (Thursday's archives), and I had a long talk with his trainer Ross Fenstermaker about him. Fenstermaker joined us on Friday in the last hour.

I was just starting to become a race fan during his era, and had only vague recollections about his exploits. But after talking with Steve and Ross, can understand why the decision was made to bury him 'whole'. They only bury the great ones that way, and this was a great horse...

Curiously, despite an amazing record, multiple Gr. I wins going short or long, a great rivalry with Whittingham's Greinton, and 4 Breeders' Cup starts (2 SPR, 2 CLS), he seems to go underappreciated. Fenstermaker explained a few of his losses to me, and his third in the BC Classic behind Skywalker and Turkoman, and infertility, is likely the difference between his being just 'another Hall of Famer' and an immortal.

Specifically, Jerry Bailey on 26-1 Herat, destroyed Precisionist's (1.70-1 and 2nd choice) chances in the race, and nearly ruined him completely. Bailey drove Precisionist and Gary Stevens into the rail TWICE, once entering the backstretch and then later near the 6f mark. Stevens lost ground on both occasions, was third by less than 3L, and Precisionist exited the race with a fractured ankle. He was to enter stud service, but proved infertile and was returned to the races more than a year later...

I've got a few more Precisionist stories that Fenstermaker told me, but I'm going to write a piece about him after talking to McCarron, and will save them for that. It's remarkable to me that it takes the death of a great champion like this before we find out about how superb a runner he was... I can't understand why the game does such a rotten job utilizing the exploits of it's other great champions. This was clearly a special horse, and I'm more than a bit chagrined that I knew next to nothing about him before last week...

He was a really good horse who was able to compete at the highest level both sprinting and going a route. Definition of classy racehorse. Today he would be transfered to Pletcher in a business decision and be retired after 10 starts.

Priceless... Post of the month...

Of course those 10 starts:

a smashing juvenile maiden win,
a victory in an early juvy graded stake,
an 'explainable' loss in the BC Juvy, :(
a delayed three year old debut win in an N1x,
a win in the Sam Davis,
a win in the Lanes End, :rolleyes:
a 'maddening' 2nd in the Derby to an obvious superhorse from an obscure trainer, :o
a teasingly good Jim Dandy 2nd after an injury layup,
a 'bad trip' 3rd in the Travers,
a career finale JCGC 4th where he comes out with an injury that would keep him sidelined at least 8 months... :D (best to go to the shed...)

MEOW
but the 3 year old debut would be in an A/OC not N1X

Dude, Precisionist was so good he might of won all those races!!!

........ was there live at the anita, my first year of wagering....... i bet the big horse from the east and was let down. did hit with manila and saw the mighty alysheba run third in the juv. flying from about 30 back:)