Children of the Bluegrass

Long before basketball became the now sport of most Kentuckians, a sport existed that gave many of our citizens a pride that is now only rivaled or surpassed by the round ball.  Years before Coach Cal exploded on the scene with unbelievably talented youngsters from all across the nation.  Years before Rick Pitino, or even the legendary Adolf Rupp prowled the sidelines in Lexington, a different athlete was already making their names known, not just in America but all around the world.  The almost forgotten native sons and daughters of the Bluegrass, the mighty thoroughbred racehorse.

In a time when world war was common place a sport existed that had fans arguing, as they do today, about which athlete was number one.  Most of these great equine athletes,  as they do today, had their origins in the rolling hills and lush pastures of central Kentucky.  Hardened by the limestone that this magical land rests on, these world class athletes, nurtured by brilliant sunshine and temperate weather, have long made Kentuckians proud.  While we all celebrate the great accomplishments of our great basketball tradition, never loose sight of the fact that the tradition of altering the world horse racing scene has usually started on the hallowed ground of the Bluegrass.

Basketball is over for another season and most Kentuckians turn their sports interests to the Kentucky Derby.  The best young three year olds from around the globe will be positioning for a run at immortality and a chance to get to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.  If the fates cooperate and luck is with them, they may have a chance to realize that potential that began on a misty morning some where in the rolling hills of the Bluegrass.  Not all of the best athletes in the world start life with a basketball in their hands some do it by frolicking in the warm sunshine and on the fast race tracks of the world.  While we cheer the greatness of other sports and athletes, don't ever forget that some of the greatest athletes that ever lived, started life here in our own state and they will always remain the Children of the Bluegrass.