The most important racehorse in training right now is Shared Belief. He may not be the best, but few can argue that he is the most important. How important is he? I have never seen social media light up over a racehorse suffering a minor injury until Shared Belief. So, needless to say, the horse has influence.

The previous paragraph is probably a bit irritating and unsettling because if you are reading this, you are probably a huge racing fan. You are probably the type of person who understands why it’s usually a bad idea to bet on a son of Bernardini in a two-year-old, maiden turf and why a speed horse going wire to wire doesn’t count if it happened at Keenland- you are definitely past horse racing 101. What you now have with Shared Belief is a horse who connects with newbies. You have a horse whose primary fan base thinks it’s adorable that they tell you on a racing program who the horse’s “parents” are. I know that the thought of having to share the track with these newbies makes you nauseous, but I’m here to tell you why it isn’t so bad.

Do you remember the days when racing was a mainstream sport? Neither do I. So, it’s interesting to hear my cousin – a football fan exclusively – talk about how Shared Belief always makes a crazy move around the last turn. He’s slowly learning about the nuances of the game and may decide to become a fan. I used to have a tough time believing people when they told me that horse racing was a topic of conversation at family gatherings because I had never experienced such a thing till now. Talking about racing over a couple of beers is a great way to spend the day; it will grow on you quickly.

I love the Saratoga/Del Mar meets because of the high quality racing but also because regular guys and girls attend these meets. Well, what do you think will happen if Shared Belief makes it to the Santa Anita Derby? I’ll tell you what will happen, Jim Rome will hype up the race on his Friday telecast like there is no tomorrow and voila regular people will show up to the track. You will see people you haven’t seen in years. People like your son, your daughter, that cool guy at work who always drinks imported beer because Coors light is for pansies. You will experience racing as it was meant to be experienced.

Now, I know what you are thinking, Jameel has sold out and hitched a ride on the Shared Belief bandwagon – patently false! There is a certain son of Empire Maker who’s bandwagon I will ride until he gives me a reason not to. I have seen enough racing to know that Shared Belief is a lot like a Brother Derek with a dash of Smarty Jones. He will run a strong 10 furlongs due to his ability to rate, but he cannot close in to fast fractions well enough for me to put my money on him. The son of Empire Maker looks like a horse who is crying for a two-turn race. Shared Belief looks like he can’t wait to compete in the Met Mile.

Shared Belief’s Cash Call Futurity was a bit of a mirage. He chased 46 and 3 fifths and drew off to win by almost six, but that is because he has a high cruising speed and the race is only a mile and a sixteenth.  Shared Belief cannot go slower than a half in 47 flat and that means that he probably won’t have enough to hold off Empire Maker’s ferocious son going ten furlongs.

So, if you want to see a horse that reminds you of a young A.P Indy head over to the fairgrounds, but if you want to have a beer with your long-lost children and that cool guy at work head over to Santa Anita for Shared Belief’s next race. Who knows, you might actually enjoy yourself.