The ups and downs of horse racing help us get through the cold days of winter.

It is too early to think about spring, or is it?

Is it too early to think about the first Saturday in May, or is it?

Steve Haskin’s Kentucky Derby Rankings week 2 released on January 24, list our own Chasing Time number 12.  Wow. This is amazing and enough to get us pumped up.  Chasing Time came out of his big win at Oaklawn very well and ready to go again, however the team has decided to give him some time between races, which could be very important if he does make it to the grueling Triple Crown stage, and will point him to the $1 million Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on February 26th.

Meanwhile, Always Hopeful was scratched from his race last week, due to some aggressive behavior in his training (running away with the exercise rider) and it has been decided to geld the horse, which will help him settle down and reach his full racing potential. No babies for Always Hopeful, but maybe some really great races and trips to the winner’s circle.

And then Miss Sakamoto made her debut at Gulfstream last Thursday, ran a huge race and showed a lot of promise finishing third beaten about a half length by a very nice filly.  Miss Sakamoto drew post position 10 which put her at a disadvantage in the five-furlong race, she broke well and then settled about four lengths off the pace, came on at the top of the stretch, although forced about six horses wide still had enough to close with the winner and just missed second place.  I can’t wait to see this filly next time out. And she is a looker!

Yes, the high points are sweet and then the low points make the high ones that much sweeter!!!

And they are off… Botero Family Racing is off to a great start in 2022…

A new year always brings with it many great expectations and hope for the future which lifts our spirits.  Our horses are surely doing their part to help fill our days with excitement and great expectations.  Carrothers ran his best race in America finishing third in an allowance race at Aqueduct.  He is still getting used to his surroundings but starting to show his potential on the track.  Tap the Gavel also ran well in his first start of the year, although he needs to mature.

And then this weekend, our Chasing Time won his allowance race at Oaklawn Park by seven lengths under a hand ride.  A truly impressive performance.  Now the team is pointing our three-year-old colt to the Rebel Stakes in late February, which is considered a Kentucky Derby prep race (Yes, I did say Kentucky Derby prep, let’s keep our fingers crossed).

Meanwhile our new two-year-olds are all starting their training at various farms and training centers.  Hector and Roxanne spent this weekend visiting some of them, they stayed at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala Florida and had a great time.

Our next start is for Always Hopeful in New Orleans this coming Saturday 1/22.  This will be his second start and he has been working well leading up to the race.

Happy New Year to all of you and Happy Birthday to all our Racehorses

2021 had its ups and downs, maybe more than other years but not really.  We need these ups and downs, we learn from our mistakes and enjoy the good times even more because we know how the bad times feel.  We certainly have experienced many things that we are grateful and thankful for in 2021 and one that surely stands out is the founding of Botero Family Racing.  It is our dream come true.

During 2021 Botero Family Racing invested in 20 racehorses, built our La Rosina website and tasted victory several times with Got Stormy, Chasing Time and Duke of Love.  We also had several seconds and others runners that provided much excitement and more importantly great promise for the future.

As you might know all Thoroughbred horses technically have the same birthday and become one year older on January 1st.  This makes New Year’s Day so much more important and fun this year.  Our 12 two-year-olds turn three and our 6 yearlings all turn two and are now eligible to run in races.  2022 promises to be a great year, full of thrills for Botero Family Racing.

Our latest additions are:  Mrs Whistler a Tonalist two-year-old filly training at Palm Meadows Florida.  She has had two bullet works and is pointing for her first race in January at Gulfstream Park.  The other is a two-year-old colt Hero Status by Flatter and is based in Santa Anita.

Stay tuned for a lot of racing news during the coming weeks…

Christmas is a time of memories….

Memories of our childhood, of family gatherings, of times spent with those that sadly are no longer with us, memories of times with our own children and happiness all around. Christmas is a time to make memories, wrapping presents for the grandchildren and putting up decorations for them to enjoy, that is how they will remember us when we are long gone. Christmas is a time to enjoy the season, we must be in the present and share these moments with our loved ones, for after all that is what memories are made of.

Memories of the First Saturday of May… Yes, the Kentucky Derby

It was May of 1975, I had joined the US Army and was training at Fort Knox Kentucky, not far from Louisville. My brothers Hector and Edwin came to visit for my weekend pass, and it just so happened that Ed was working with Leroy Jolley and they had Foolish Pleasure entered in the Derby that first Saturday in May 1975.  Foolish Pleasure was unbeaten and the Champion Two-year-old colt of 1974, the favorite to win the Derby, and that he certainly did, impressively coming from behind to take the lead in the stretch and win the race. The Derby is one of America’s premier sporting events and is also known as the Run for the Roses, due to the tradition of covering the winner with a blanket of roses in the winner’s circle. Guess who got to take the Roses home that day…our brother Ed… it was a day to remember…

The fun times continue at Botero Family Racing. This afternoon Carrothers runs at Aqueduct and later this month both Vow and Tap the Gavel will make their second start at Fair Grounds in NOLA and Gulfstream Park respectively.  Stay tuned and don’t forget to make memories this Christmas season!

Family is everything…. And that’s why we call our stable Botero Family Racing!

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, and it is all about family, the Holy Family and all our families as well.  This is the time of year when we stop to gather and reflect on our blessings, especially our loved ones past, present and for those still to come. Yes, we also need to be grateful for the material things we have and the peace and freedoms we enjoy, but none of those are a match for those hearts and souls that we call family. During the Christmas season, we must break from the hustle and bustle of our lives and consider the gift of love that we have in our families.  We wish you and yours a blessed Christmas!

This past week we had some ups and downs on the track. Carrothers made his USA debut on the grass at Aqueduct Racetrack in NY and unfortunately finished last. He is a better horse than that and something was not right for him that day. We hope he will be back soon and under different circumstances prove that he is a good racehorse.

The following day, our horse Duke of Love ran in his first stakes race, the Pilot Stakes at Gulfstream Park and gave a very respectable performance. He finished fifth but lost by only 3.5 lengths, which means he belongs in this company. He ran very “green”, like the baby he is and this being only his second lifetime start, was on the lead at the start and all the way through the race to the top of the stretch but just didn’t have the kick at the end to pass the leaders. I can’t wait to see him run again.

Here is a replay of the race:  https://youtu.be/YI57Io62kX0

As you know we have 18 horses in our stable and each one is progressing on their training or mending from an injury.  Our two-year-olds will turn three on January 1 and of course our yearlings will turn two and start to think about heading to the racetrack.  We are so excited about the future, in the meantime stay tuned for more exciting happenings at Finca La Rosina and Botero Racing Stable.

Purpose + Generosity + Gratitude + HR = Happiness!!!

Purpose + Generosity + Gratitude + HR = Happiness!!!

A sometimes-neglected formula which is arguably the most important one ever developed. And something that we learned from our best teacher, our mother! Mom’s sense of Purpose in keeping her family together, her generosity even now knitting for the “Desamparados” and her sense of Gratitude to God for all his blessings are lessons that we will always have in our hearts and minds. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Holiday and have a renewed spirit and feeling of happiness in your lives.

The secret ingredient “HR”, stands for a dose of Horse Racing……

This weekend started for Botero Family Racing on Thanksgiving Day with our beautiful Speightstown colt Always Hopeful making his first start at Churchill Downs. After showing the blazing speed he inherited from his papa, he had some trouble with the sloppy track and faded towards the back. All indications are he will do much better next time out.

Next out was Tap the Gavel, also making his first career start at Tampa Bay Downs, going a mile. He ran a game race and finished second. Although he was outrun at the end, he never gave up. Tap the Gavel is by the top sire Tapit and we are hoping for big things in the future.

You can see the replay here: https://youtu.be/oTlozcmJano

Then came Chasing Time… Making his third start after finishing fourth and then second, Chasing Time broke on top and showed his speed, then settled in and dropped back to fifth before starting his run at the top of the stretch, breaking through horses in front of him by pure will and guts, and then opening up daylight on the entire field to win by two lengths.  If you don’t watch another race, please look at this one. Pay special attention to his move at the top of the stretch. It was one to remember!

You can watch the race here. Go to the sixth race on Saturday Nov 27:

https://www.churchilldowns.com/racing-wagering/toteboard

So now we can focus on Christmas…but wait, there is still more racing too…

This week our horse Carrothers makes his first start in North America (he won twice in England) going a mile and a sixteenth on the grass at Aqueduct. And our own Duke of Love who won a week ago in Toronto is entered in the Pulpit Stakes at Gulfstream on Saturday December 3rd. This is a big step up in competition for him, but he showed a lot of talent in his first race, so why not? The fun goes on and on…

Winning feels sooooo good…second place isn’t bad either…

This week Botero Family Racing is celebrating a win from Duke of Love in his first start at Woodbine Racecourse in Ontario Canada. Duke of Love came from off the pace through an opening on the rail and then pulled away from the field in the stretch. He showed a lot of ability and guts. This Canadian bred has a bright future ahead of him and we are excited to be part of it.

Today our Union Rags filly Vow, had her debut on a very sloppy track at Churchill Downs. She broke a little slow out of the gate, but then gathered herself and went after the leaders getting head in front at the top of the stretch. She was unable to hold off the eventual winner but opened a ton of daylight on the rest of the field and finished a strong second. We are so proud of our filly and the way that she ran today.

The fun continues as does our Thanksgiving tradition…

Thanksgiving Day has always been an important holiday in our family and maybe the most enjoyable. It is a day to eat a wonderful home cooked meal, spend time with family, watch football and most importantly give thanks for all the blessings that we have and reflect on our need to be generous with others. This year we also get to have some racing thrills from our colt Always Hopeful, a son of Speightstown, who will make his first start on Thanksgiving Day at Churchill Downs. What a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Yes, winning feels good, but just being in the race and finishing well is all we ask for.

On Saturday we will also be keeping an eye on Chasing Time who is making his third start and coming off a very good race and close second. So far Chasing Time has shown us that he is a game racehorse, and we are all keeping our fingers crossed that he will “break his maiden” this Saturday.

Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to all.

Thank you, Got Stormy, for the racing thrills…We all know you will be an incredible mom!

Last weekend the best racehorses from around the world gathered at Del Mar racecourse in southern California for the Breeders Cup 2021 and what a great show it was. For us at Botero Family Racing, it was a bittersweet day because our great race mare Got Stormy ran her last race and is now heading to the farm to become a broodmare. Got Stormy ran in the $2 million Turf Mile. She did not win but gave her all as she always does.  She finished fifth, beaten 2 and half lengths which is very respectable in a field of 15 of the world’s best turf specialists both male and female. Thank you, Got Stormy you were a great race mare, and now we can’t wait to see your progeny learning from you and winning the big races. Maybe one of them can even beat your track record at Saratoga some day?

Now we turn our attention to some of our other horses in our stable for great stories to tell…

Chasing Time finished second in only his second start. He led from the start setting very fast fractions and fought hard in the stretch. Chasing Time never gave up and lost by less than a length. Obviously, he has the heart of a racehorse, and we are looking forward to big things from this colt as he turns three next year.

In the next three weeks Botero Family Racing will be running two first time starters; Always Hopeful a beautiful Speightstown two-year old colt making his debut at Churchill Downs and Duke of Love another two-year old based at Woodbine in Toronto. We are also very excited to see Three-year old Carrothers a winner of two races in Europe make his American debut at Aqueduct in New York. Carrothers has been training exceptionally well with a bullet performance (best of 50 works at the distance that day) in his last workout at Belmont Park.

Most of our other horses are two-year-old colts and fillies which are at various stages of their development, all showing great promise for racing in late fall/winter of this year and spring of next year.  Stay tuned and join us in our fun adventure.

Our Stable…those words sound so good!

The Finca La Rosina has been in our family for many years and so has the idea of a thoroughbred racing stable. However, the latter only recently became a reality and is featured on our web site. Botero Family Racing has invested in syndicated horses of the highest quality, with the goal of realizing the excitement of winning graded stakes races and classics.

The world of thoroughbred racing has never been as good as it is today. Record purses and record purchase prices at sales are driving increased interest from many. However, the love of horses and horse racing has always existed from the dawn of human civilization and is as strong as ever today. That is where our passion for horse racing comes from.

The star of our stable is Got Stormy, a six-year-old mare with a racing heart as big as the moon and talent to match. Right now, we are patiently waiting for November 6 th , when she will go to post in the Breeders Cup FanDuel Mile on the turf at Del Mar. Currently, she is training at Churchill Downs and appears to be coming up to the race in great form.

Most of our other horses are two-year-old colts and fillies which are at various stages of their development, all showing great promise for racing in late fall/winter of this year and spring of next year. Stay tuned and join us in our fun adventure.