You Play The Cards That Are Dealt

Three months now since Rodney's retirement. I've had since the end of November to think about getting the RR stable going once again. And am starting to fret a little at the passage of time. Maybe, if one has serious plans to win the Derby, in addition to money, motivation and help some sort of sense of urgency is necessary.

I do remember back in late 1996 when I decided to "move" the whole operation from KCMO to Lexington, KY. That was a big personal change of life, and how that actually transferred from being a thought process to occurring was that we just did it. Packed the bags, informed the Landlord we're out of here, put the horses into the trailer and left. I'd made a couple of trips to Lexington of course and found a barn there. Nice people btw Ray and Rita Jones. She runs or ran the County Extension Office there.

I have considered doing the same thing again. Just packing the bags and heading to a horse venue let the chips fall were they may, St. Louis possibly, or Iowa or Phoenix were I have some relatives. That sort of suddenness likely in the end would work out fine.

Probably yours truly is a little short of being totally ready for that sort of adventure. Might happen at some point. My more serious thought processes of the moment vis a vis racing are that when I am ready to get that next yearling or two year old my plans are to have everything ready to go in terms of racing that horse forthwith. The one thing I have learned in this business is how fast the they age and the months pass. When I'd bought these last two before the constant rains hit I'd determined to get them to the track fast. Never happened due to the weather. This next time I plan to have a stall at a race track or training center near a track and my personal situation near a track simultaneously with buying the horse.

As noted in the last prior post this sort of thing requires some money in a time in my office when there's barely enough to keep things going month to month. Interestingly I never distress about lack of money. Think I learned that lesson early when I arrived to live in NYC with $10 dollars in my pocket as a youngster. My car broke down on the way there in the middle of Pennsylvania and I used all my funds to repair it. I learned that without money you survive and I've never worried about low funds since that time. You make do.

To buy a horse, however, and also, as I plan, to have it ready to go at a track is going to require a small nest egg. Luckily, in the "you make do" category, my office does have one nice case going where a fairly large settlement or judgment is likely due in the next 12 months. We'll see and avoid counting chickens before they hatch. When and if this materializes possibly the RR stable will be back in business. More thoughts on currently being out of racing, next post.