Louisville, KY - The Kentucky Derby is the world’s most famous and prestigious horse race. It’s not surprising that Churchill Downs was the track of choice for the $50,000 UAE President’s Cup Arabian Race on Saturday, June 18. It will be a

momentous occasion as ten, top racing Arabians turn for home under the iconic twin spires, following in the hoofprints of legends like Secretariat, Citation, Whirlaway and Native Dancer. It’s been a long time coming. Arabians are, after all, the Thoroughbred foundation stock. Look to the beginning of the English Thoroughbred and you will find the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk. They are the true source of Thoroughbred heart, courage, and that mythical, magical characteristic, termed the “Look of the Eagles.”

Are Arabians different to train, ride and race than the Thoroughbred? Perhaps. “Arabians stay sounder because they are better boned than Thoroughbreds,” says Arabian and Thoroughbred race trainer Tracey Nunley. “They seem to do better than the Thoroughbred under stressful training. There is more to them, and just when you think you are running out of horse in the stretch … they get tough and work even harder. The stronger you ride them, the more they give you.”

That’s probably why there’s more than one horse to watch headed for the starting gate in the President’s Cup on Saturday at Churchill Downs. The favorite, Grilla, coming from a track record- breaking race in Houston, is expected to have some fierce competition when the pack makes the turn for home. The mile-and-a-quarter race, same distance as the world famous Kentucky Derby, is a good distance for Arabian horses. In the stretch, the tougher, smaller Arabian horse will have a chance to show off its depth of strength and courage. It could be Grilla will find the Burning Sand son T M Fred Texas right there ready to give him a real run for the finish line. Bred by Todd Moak and owned by Sam Vasquez, T M Fred Texas is a 2010 Darley Award Nominee and the holder of track records at Arapahoe Park in Colorado and at the Sam Houston track in Texas. In the mile and a sixteenth Sheikh Zayed Bi Sultan Al Nahyan Arabian Cup T M Fred Texas entered the race off of a three-race win streak and closed well on the eventual winner Grilla. T M Fred Texas won the March 4th Texas Six Shooter and currently has a lifetime record of five wins in six starts.

Todd Moak, breeder of T M Fred Texas, is the current leading Arabian racehorse breeder. The sire of the talented runner is Burning Sand, the current leading Arabian racing sire. His dam, Queen Kong, is the current leading broodmare and his younger brother, T M Junior Johnson, is two for two at Delaware, and the current leading three-year-old on the circuit. It says a lot about the quality of the horse and his potential in the President’s Cup. Moak himself started out on a shoe string, raced and became a breeder on a limited, no-frills budget and has had great success. For the breed that started it all and gave everything worth writing about to the beginnings of the Thoroughbred, the Arabian horse has had a long, hard road to glory. Now it’s taking a turn around the world’s most famous race course. Good for them. It’s about time.