Twelve years after suffering a horrific, career-ending injury, jockey Rick Wilson still misses riding, and the “chance to compete on a daily basis.”
With Hall of Fame inductions this week, we revisit the tale of inductee Xtra Heat, the speedy filly who went from $5,000 purchase to Eclipse champion.
How Xtra Heat went from ignored to beloved to an Eclipse winner to a Hall of Famer is, says trainer John Salzman, Sr., “a good story from the ground up.”
Today in Racing History, Xtra Heat closed out her brilliant career with a win in the Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie, zipping through a dense fog to victory.