Minnesota Muse

I just got back from Minnesota.

One would think that a weekend jaunt to "one of those states somewhere up north" would provide a plethora of horse racing information.

There’s Canterbury Park Racetrack and Card Club, where every Tuesday afternoon is high stakes canasta and the jackpot includes 24 pounds of beef jerky, two boxes of Nestlee’s Hot Cocoa Mix, a pair of mittens, and an ice scraper.

There is also the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association that
"exists, through honesty and integrity, to provides its membership with quality opportunities to breed, buy, sell, and race competitive Minnesota bred horses." The current number of Minnesota-bred horses is 12. It should be pointed out that the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association should not be confused with the Minnesota Thoroughbreds, which is "an elite level hockey program for girls 19 and under."

Disappointingly, there was no live racing at Canterbury Park Racetrack and Card Club. Nor did I encounter any member of the honest MinTA And the only "Minnesota-bred" I observed was two draft horses pulling an Amish wagon. Horse racing topics eluded me.

But while I was hauling my suitcase, my carryon bag, my daughter’s carryon bag, my copy of Dave Barry’s History of the New Millennium (So Far) that I was reading on the plane and never got around to putting it back into my carryon bag, a piece of Therma Fitzgerald’s famous poppy seed cake with lemon filling that my Aunt Shirley insisted I bring back to Texas if I could get it through airport security without some hungry TSA employee deciding that it was a good time for a coffee break, that I questioned if I could – somehow, someway – compare this recent traveling experience to horse racing?

The answer would be no.

There is nothing relevant between traveling to Minnesota and horse racing. Clearly, I had nothing to write about.

However, the Blog Genie granted me a wish while I was away: Donna Keen, a.k.a. Mrs. Dallas Keen, visited my blog and she left a couple of nice comments. And she is revving up her own blog, Thoroughbred Race Horse Blog, where she provides first hand information and expert opinions regarding owning, training, claiming, and racing thoroughbreds. It is unknown at this time as to whether or not she will share with us some of her great fashion secrets.

Be sure to visit her sites. Feel free to ask, "What qualities do you look for in a horse when you make a claim?" Or "Can you please explain what does the word 'conformation' mean?" Or "Have you ever been to Minnesota? And do you play canasta?" Or just give her a warm welcome.