Azul Leon Painting his Masterpiece

Azul Leon with Blue Paint on his Whiskers!

Saturday morning, two-year-old Azul Leon was led out into the sunshine at Doug O'Neill's Hollywood Park barn to try his "hand" at fine art. Helping him with his painting was Sharla Sanders, "Artistic" Director and Fundraising Volunteer for Equine Expressions for CERF (California Equine Retirement Foundation). Equine Expressions' mission is to create artwork by renowned Thoroughbreds to raise funds to care for retired racehorses.

Equine Expressions was developed by CERF after Re-Run (who create the "Moneighs") and CERF agreed to "split" the U.S. and focus on their respective coasts. According to Sanders, many of California's leading trainers have been very supportive of the project, including O'Neill, Mike Mitchell, Dan Hendricks, Brian Koriner, and Richard Mandella. 100% of the proceeds go to the care and feeding of retired racehorses at CERF.

Paintings start at $300 and go up, depending on the horse. Top sellers have been paintings by Lava Man ($1,200) and The Tin Man ($1,500).

Sanders is herself a licensed owner, who began volunteering with CERF in 2004 when she took on the sponsorship of a horse. She later became involved with the annual charity golf tournaments, and started painting with horses in 2007.

"I will paint with current and ex-racers, stallions at breeding farms, geldings, and someone's backyard racehorse," Sanders said. "If it's a horse, I will paint with it!" Rest assured that the horses are using non-toxic, water based paints.

Sharla Sanders can be contacted at sosillyfilly@gmail.com. Enjoy the video!

Ever Had a Hunch?

Several years ago, when I was working in program production for Santa Anita Racetrack, I made a hunch bet I will never forget. As I was driving in to work in the morning, I heard Pink Floyd's tune, "Free Four," on the radio. One of the lines in the song goes, "Who is the master of foxhounds, and who says the hunt has begun?" I was still singing that line to myself as I walked into my office.

I picked up the daily program, which included the card for the opening day of the Fairplex meet, and the name of a horse running that afternoon at Fairplex jumped right off the page at me -- Master of Foxhounds. Well, I put $2 to win on him (I'm not a big bettor!), he won, and I cashed a ticket for $100.

Now, I'm not saying I make bets on hunches all the time; but, when I get a really strong hunch like that, I know -- really KNOW -- that it's going to win. Like many racetrackers, I'm a big believer in luck. I believe that luck is a real phenomenon, and that it is cyclical. Some people are just better than others at recognizing when they're having a "streak."

I'd love to hear anyone else's "hunch" experiences. Please leave a comment and share your stories!

Tyler Baze Recovering from Injuries Suffered During Spill on Friday

Tyler Baze at Hollywood Park 12/6/08.

Tyler Baze, third leading jockey at Hollywood Park's Fall meet, is recovering from injuries incurred when his horse, Pink Diamond, went through the rail just past the wire in the 4th race Friday. Baze suffered four cracked ribs and a hairline fracture of the scapula.

Baze said he hoped to be back by opening day of the Santa Anita meet (Dec. 26), but the final decision rests with his doctor. Baze was up and around today, in good spirits except for the fact that it hurts to cough or laugh!