In honor of the Triple Crown, I ended up writing a trio of horse racing stories. I hadn’t really planned that as part of my coverage plan, but few people expected I’ll Have Another with jockey Mario Gutierrez abroad to make a run for one of sport’s most elusive honors.
A little over a month ago, I got an email from a PR guy asking if I’d be interested in doing a story on a jockey who would be riding in the Kentucky Derby. The jockey was from Mexico. I thought it would be a good fit for a Fox News Latino piece, and it was.
See: Kentucky Derby: From Mexico to the Biggest Stage
Of course, it became a much bigger story after I’ll Have Another/Mario Gutierrez won the Kentucky Derby. And it became exponentially bigger after the pairing won the Preakness, leading me to write a follow up column.
See: Triple Crown? Preakness Winner I’ll Have Another is Great for Horse Racing
With an end to the Triple Crown drought looking almost likely, I was tasked with doing another column ahead of the Belmont Stakes. It was going to be about how difficult it is to pull off the trifecta and how I’ll Have Another was well-poised to do just that. Then I’ll Have Another was scratched a day before the race. My column required a bit of 11th hour reworking, but I managed to pull it off.
See: I’ll Have Another & The Belmont: Hopes Dashed Again for The Triple Crown