The year is almost over and so now is as good of a time as any to look back on the horses and moments that made 2013 special. Overall, there have been better years for our sport. From a pure racing perspective, 2013 will not go down in the history books as one of the better years, but from a human-interest perspective this was a year to remember.

The year started out with arguably the best west coast jockey of all time-Gary Stevens launching a comeback. I am not the type of guy who is going to lie to you. I thought that he would finish fourth or fifth in the jockey standings at Santa Anita and capture a few grade twos and threes along the way. Well, Stevens served me some crow when he piloted Oxbow to victory in the Preakness for D. Wayne Lukas, the man who practically gave him every good three-year old he has ever ridden. What must’ve made the victory especially sweet for Stevens is that he rode the speed horse to near perfection- a lost art in today’s racing. I really believe that there is no jockey in the country who could’ve ridden Oxbow as well as Stevens did except for Rafael Bejarano. Of course, Stevens wasn’t done as yet. He rode incredibly well throughout the year and earned himself a ride aboard industry darling Kathleen Ritvo’s Mucho Macho Man. Once again, Stevens made the difference and beat the late-charging Will Take Charge by a nose, and showed why horse racing is such a unique sport. A man retires at the top of his game, leaves the sport, and comes back to take the sport’s biggest prize. The types of things that people wished would happen in basketball or football actually do happen in racing.

Speaking of Oxbow and Mucho Macho Man, Kathleen Ritvo coming out of nowhere and D. Wayne Lukas making a huge comeback are two other big stories this year. Female trainers have always had a tough time in the racing industry because, let’s face it, this is an “old  boys” sport. Of course, Ritvo loves horses so she has always done the best with what little she has had and has been content to do so. Mucho Macho Man has put her on the map since his gutsy third in the Kentucky Derby, and has stayed in top form thanks to the steady guidance of Mrs. Ritvo. In a day and age when so many trainers push there horses to the brink, Mrs. Ritvo thinks primarily of keeping a horse happy and healthy.  She was finally rewarded for her tremendous display of integrity when Mucho Macho Man helped her become the first woman to ever capture the Breeder’s Cup Classic.

I have long wondered why the golden boys of the 90’s D. Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito don’t get the best horses anymore. With all due respect to Todd Pletcher, he couldn’t sniff Mr. Lukas’s or Mr. Zito’s jockstrap so to speak. So, needless to say I was pretty happy when I saw Lukas capture his record 14^th Triple Crown race. Maybe this isn’t a sign of anything or maybe it’s a sign that owners are starting to realize that the masters will always be better than the pupils-only time will tell.