Horse Racing Fantasy Community

Was anybody home when the bidding between two billionaires was taking place or were their egos so inflated and the rush and the atmosphere so exhilirating that someone forgot to look at how much they were about to spend for a horse that not only had never raced in his life, but was actually given the name The Green Monkey? The colt is out of Forestry, not exactly the greatest sire in the world, and though the Green Monkey stood with near-perfect conformation, the horse did have only one registered workout - an 1/8th mile in 9.75 seconds. Who says he can carry that speed for another 1/8th mile or, more importantly, for half-a-mile?

As The Green Monkey stood up in the ring and the auctioneer went back and forth and the crowd was awed as the price kept going up on the digital display screen, Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo, operators of Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, had to be in total shock as they watched their colt's bidding price climb through the roof. I hear stories that the horse could have been privately purchased weeks earlier for many millions less. I don't want to say a number, but it is significant. When the smoke cleared and the bidding was over, Suzanne Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derek Smith were the proud owners of the world's most expensive thoroughbred. I guess the shiek of Saudi Arabia, who was fueling the bidding, probably was thinking at the time, I'll just raise oil a couple of pennies a barrel and pay for this baby in no time. And, for billionaire Michael Tabor, though a lot of money, its probably only a week's pay for the guy who has made his fortune in the gambling industry. You know what they say, even gambling operators love to make bets. Most of you know that the Green Monkey turned out to be an absolute dud, racing three times with one 3rd place in-the-money finish to his credit.

The Green Monkey will be standing stud in Florida in 2009. He arrived at the Hartley/DeRenzo Farm this year where he will begin his breeding duties in 2009. I love DeRenzo's comment that he made to the press this February stating that they plan on building The Green Monkey his own barn. No shit, Sherlock, you sold the horse for $16 million, you should probably get him his own private island, a couple of chauffeurs and a Lear jet. DeRenzo further stated that the horse had a feeling of a champion and to this day thinks he's a champion. He can think whatever he wants, Mr. DeRenzo, but to use the words 'The Green Monkey' and 'champion' in the same sentence is a little absurd, unless your sentence reads something like, "The Green Monkey, who would never be a 'champion' was sold for $16 million." DeRenzo continued his after-sale sales pitch by stating that he was a tremendously fast horse. Yes, he was, but I don't know any thoroughbred crowns that are awarded to horses that can go 1/8th of a mile. Yep, speed is important, but if they can't carry it a distance or call on it multiple times during a race, they will never be more than an average horse at best.

DeRenzo also plans to set up special tours of the farm that will allow visitors to see The Green Monkey. You gotta be kidding me! Who wants to see the horse that never was? The fact that DeRenzo further stated that he is a special horse because his price was the greatest in history is actually comical. If that auction would take place again today and the two people bidding knew the horse's destiny, the horse would never have been sold, and DeRenzo and his partner would not be talking about special barns, special tours and, infact, they probably wouldn't be talking at all. He would have been written off as a typical failure as part of the racing game.

By the way, to all our game players, The Green Monkey is not a horse you'll find available in any one of our racing files. We're sorry, but the horses in our game were never valued by their purchase price. If they're in our game, it's because they accomplished great things while they were racing. I'd much rather have a horse like John Henry, who was originally sold for $1,100 and turned out to be one of the greatest ever. Now, that's a story!

The Green Monkey