When Sixtythreecaliber stepped into the starting gate for an allowance optional claiming race at Saratoga on July 19th, she brought a record of 5 wins from 11 starts into the race. She broke her maiden in her second start and became a graded stakes winner by the end of her first season of racing. She also won her first stakes race, the non-graded Seneca Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs in September 2022. That victory added to the impressive tally of wins for progeny of Gun runner, her sire. He had five stakes winners that day.

I invested in Sixtythreecaliber as part of a bundle of yearlings My Racehorse purchased from a Keeneland sale. Each yearling was offered individually as well, but I opted for the less expensive bundle, although it did not have the perks that came with individual shares of horses. It still let me get updates on each horse in the bundle and follow along throughout their journey to get to the races and then root for them when they raced.

I met Sixtythreecaliber when she was on a layup at Silver Springs, where she was recovering from tieback surgery. At that point, although I knew the intent of the surgery was to get her in condition to race successfully, I didn’t know how her race career would play out. Part of me even wondered if she would get to the races.

One thing I’ve learned for sure from the My Racehorse experience is how many little setbacks can occur just trying to get a horse to the races. So I was hopeful but adopted a position of waiting and seeing how it would play out for her.

What I did discover that day was what a sweet horse she is. She was perfectly willing to rest her head in my arms for what seemed like nothing so much as a cuddle. I was enamored.

When she began racing and it was evident she is all heart, always trying hard, and being a bit of a fighter to excel, that further endeared her to me. It always stands out to me when a horse takes on challenges with an innate drive to persevere.

When Sixtythreecaliber raced in the Seneca that September last year, I would have loved to be in attendance since it was so close to Lexington, my home at the time. But I was facing an imminent surgery and had to avoid crowds so I didn’t potentially contract anything that would compromise my chances of having the surgery when it was scheduled.

I cheered her on from home and seeing her win that first stakes race of her career was so thrilling that it eased the sting of not being able to experience it all in person.

Saratoga opened their annual boutique meet on July 13th this year, and Sixtythreecaliber stepped onto the track to race there in their second week of racing. She was seeking her first win of 2023, after notching a few placings in stakes races earlier this year. That explained the decision to enter her in an allowance optional claiming race.

Post time was a few moments after my work shift concluded, and Sixtythreecaliber was last in the initial stages of the race. When she began moving up through the field, it looked like she would hit the board in third, and it was impressive to see how she made up ground. But I should never underestimate how she’s all heart!

She kept going and won in a thriller, surging to the lead nearly in the shadow of the wire and holding off Nostalgic, who was charging hard on her outside. It was a wonderful interlude after the work day.

I was elated – at the manner of the win, how much heart she has, and that she won at such a boutique meet. Later, when she returned to the worktab at Saratoga after that race, her trainer Tom Amoss remarked that she is thriving at the upstate New York track.

She is a horse of top caliber, indeed. I’m glad to have a little investment in her journey, and even more to have the connection to her that I feel.

No matter that I am in a state without horse racing now, moments like those transmit a great deal of the sensations of attending in person. I am grateful for that.