Horse Racing: We've all lost a good friend

The thoroughbred horse world suffered a great loss this past week with the death of Henry de Kwiatkowski.

As someone who experienced his life in the game, from a distance, we should all be glad he was there. He was the classic horse story, a man who had money to spend, but ended up loving the horses and the sport.

I remember back in the '80s, everyone was talking about the man with a lot of money buying the good horses. They were trained by Woody Stephens, and people were saying that he was a short-timer. Well, Mr. de Kwiatkowski turned out to be a lifer. He fell in love with the business, and the game, and actually purchased Calumet Farm. He was hooked, like a lot of us.

I hope people remember the good horses he owned, Conquistador Cielo, Stephan's Odessy and Danzig Connection, a Belmont Stakes winner.

He will be greatly missed by all of us. He started out as a guy with some money and ended up as a horse lover. Here's to hoping that someone will step up and carry on the legacy of Calumet. Mr. d K sure did.

If there is any justice in this world, his current horse, Region of Merit, will win this year's Kentucky Derby.