Ensenada celebrates the Festival del Caballo today in the Valle de Guadalupe.
Congratulations to Mexican jockey Jesus Castanon and his winning ride on Shackleford at Saturday’s Preakness Stakes in Maryland.
Shackleford was ridden by the namesake of a deity, and was named himself after an island along the North Carolina coast that is known for its wild horses. Visitors to Shackleford Banks are warned that the feral horses who live there, reportedly descendents of shipwreck survivors, might bite if you get too close.
Jockey Jesus Castanon, who also rode Shackleford in his fourth-place Kentucky Derby effort May 7, said he felt his father at the finish. The senior Jesus Castanon trained horses in Mexico City, got his son started riding at age 16 and died in November of kidney disease.
“When I came to the wire,” Castanon said, “he just came to me. I know he was there, watching.” Complete Article
Animal Kingdom finished second. Which brings up the question of who and what decide which members of the animal kingdom are slaughtered for food or are considered eating taboos?
Major Horsemeat Countries – production in Metric Tons(from eathorse.com):
China – 204,000 tons
Mexico – 78,876 tons
Kazakhstan – 55,100 tons
Mongolia – 38,000 tons
Argentina – 55,600 tons
Italy – 48,000 tons
Brazil – 21,200 tons
Kyrgyzstan – 25,000 tons
Worldwide Totals – 720,168 tons
