Vermont - Fifteen races, 160 horses, and hundreds of dignitaries. The eyes of the racing world turned toward Vermont as Pastures of Green racetrack host the first Equinics. With full fields and excellent betting opportunities, the crowd buzzed with expectation as twelve fillies and mares lined up for the Demeter Harvest Trophy Race. Run at an uncommon distance for main track distaffers, a mile and one-quarter, the race proved to be a clash between speed horses and closers.

As the gates swung open, Ms. Prospector, Tarbash's Birds and second-choice Blade Moving set out for the front. The pack of stalkers laying less than four lengths behind the leaders consisted of Frisco Top, Fuzzy Fuzz, Thirsty Bold, and Diplomatic Banjo. A group of five horses, High Cozzene, First Ryder, North Vote, Zone Tickling and Pearl Guitar. After strong early fractions of 23.4 and 47 flat, Ms. Prospector disposed of the other speed to wrestle a two-length advantage. However, the contested early pace took a toll on the leader as Frisco Top made a bid, grabbing the lead at the top of the lane. However, a challenge loomed from the rapidly closing High Cozzene. As they straightened away in the lane, High Cozzene surged to the lead drawing off to a three-length victory in a strong time of 2:02.1.

The exuberant winning trainer, Racelord commented on the race saying, "I felt real good about the way my mare worked up to this race. She hadn't run on the dirt in awhile, but she'd earned almost a $800 thousand dollars on the dirt before this race and was beating some of the best horses in the world. When I moved my barn to Sweden, we found that there were more opportunities on the lawn for her. Even though she'd been in the money in twelve of thirteen turf tries we felt this spot was the best for her. When we saw all the speed in the race, it just bolstered our spirits further. As I watched the race unfold and saw the contested early pace, I knew we were in a good position near the back of the pack. Frankie Gosset gave us one of the rides that have made him a man among boys in California and that was good enough to get the win. Thank you to all the people that worked to make this dream a reality. The Equinics were truly a noble endeavor."

Inhand trainer of runner-up Frisco Top had unqualified enthusiasm for his charge saying, "We gave it a good run today. We had to go a little faster than we wanted to early, because we don't have a huge kick. I think that caused us to come up just a little short in the end. How can I not be proud of my mare? She ran her heart out, and I am really proud of her. The people of Vermont did a fantastic job hosting this event, and I am proud we could do so well."

The bronze medal went to the early pacesetter Ms. Prospector who showed tremendous heart in hanging tough for third. Trainer Slewbetcha gave all the credit to his filly saying, "We hadn't won recently going into this race, so I wasn't sure what to expect today. She had pressure on the front end, which hurt us, but she fought hard. I would have liked to bring home gold, but this was a terrific result. I am proud to just have been a part of this event."

The entire results were: High Cozzene, Frisco Top, Ms. Prospector, Thirsty Bold, North Vote, Fuzzy Fuzz, Zone Tickling, First Ryder, Tarbash's Birds, Blade Moving, Diplomatic Banjo and Pearl Guitar. On a day that High Cozzene's connections stood tall on the medal's podium, the sport of horse racing stood stronger than ever as horsemen from around the world united for a contest of sportsmanship and camaraderie. While only three could walk away with medals in each race, all who competed were winners. Congratulations to all the participants. Until next time, here's hoping your betting slips are winning ones.