Hansen's owner was thinking blue for the Gotham
March 1, 2012NEW YORK (AP) - By his own admission, Kendall Hansen has come up with a few oddball ideas in 30 years of owning racehorses.
His latest brainstorm created quite a stir: He wanted a blue horse.
Hansen is the owner of a Kentucky Derby hopeful named Hansen. He proposed dying his near-white colt's tail and mane blue, with a touch of yellow, to match his racing silks for Saturday's $400,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.
The blog posting last month drew the ire of racing traditionalists who said this was bad taste and an insult to the sport. Others supported his claim that a little horse coloring could be a good thing.
New York racing stewards had the final word. They denied the request, stating there is ``no sustaining merit to the request.''
Hansen faces 12 rivals in the Gotham.