Sporting history is riddled with unexplained hardships and supernatural theories. 

Form the curse of the Billy goat to the Socceroos' witch-doctor hex, storytellers and bush poets have perpetuated sport’s most painful narratives by assigning them divine, dramatic causes.

With the prospect of freedom finally at our fingertips, reality meets reflection in sometimes subtle ways.

Naturally, we wonder whether post-pandemic life bears any resemblance to pre-pandemic life in all the ways that matter.

It doesn’t, and it won’t.

Even the Breeders Crown, Australasia’s most revered series of age-based standardbred racing, isn't what it was.

Tonight, that series reaches its climax for 2021 at Victoria’s metropolitan home, based at Tabcorp Park.

And while it may not marry-up with Crowns of days gone by, somehow in a complex way it’s better than before.

Very often, Breeders Crown barrier draws are all but irrelevant. 

Class discrepancies at age restricted level are vast and few variables, even double-figure alleys, bear serious significance in the overall scheme.  

That’s not the case in 2021.

In a world where patriotism is pilloried and love of nation marginalised, rare are the chances to chant for our own. 

Fortunately, despite this fact, we still fly flags when opportunities arise. 

Olympic competition will always jolt our jingoistic instincts, as will World Cups and the soon-to-be-staged Ashes which will not be denied.

When Beyonce Knowles famously wailed that ‘girls, they run the world’ way back in 2011, it’s highly unlikely horse racing was her primary inspiration. 

But if the shoe fits, wear it. 

Last Tuesday, star mare Verry Elleegant claimed the Melbourne Cup and, in doing so, became the fifth female thoroughbred champion of the past 25 years alongside Wink, Black Caviar, Makybe Diva and Sunline. 

Three days the later, the 2021 Breeders Crown began at that series spiritual home, Bendigo, and once again the girls outshone the boys.

When spring has sprung in Melbourne, all of racing’s sins are set aside for two short months. 

It’s a little like that moment you open the door for guests after bickering with your partner, smiling like the world could hardly be more wondrous. 

Differences are deferred, politics placated, and presentation prioritised.

FOR those hooked on harness racing by the seductive heroics of horses like Pure Steel and Popular Alm there’s an understandable passion for the sport to suddenly wind back the clock. 

Sadly, for them at least, that simply cannot happen. Time's, both literally and metaphorically, have changed. 

Sporting media manifests such an enormous presence these days that the theatre of combat is contested off-field more often than on it.

THE paradox of choice has a happy habit of paralysing people in an increasingly insidious way. 

In a world where you can have, or at least strive for almost anything, which dream do you choose? 

If you’re struggling with this first-world conundrum, Scott Ewen may have the answers you’re searching for. 

Punters are often pilloried by broader sections of society, but their passion for prognostication, if moderated, manifests certain life skills many more socially celebrated peers sorely lack.

Occasionally, for marginal and sometimes miserly reasons, champion humans and champion horses are forced to forge harder than others for recognition and acknowledgement.

Trotting trainers, almost exclusively, do not declare their own horses. 

In myriad ways the two equine racing codes share a decidedly similar DNA profile. 

They share similar challenges regarding animal welfare, wagering, handicapping, programming and relevance.

American entrepreneur Howard Schulz once said success is best when it is shared. 

On face value, that phrase sounds little more than a trite, somewhat simplistic sentiment. 

On Saturday night at Bendigo, however, it meant everything.

Even when articulating the extraordinary story that is General Dodge, there’s something so overwhelming about its nature that the limited human consciousness can barely comprehend it.

Racing has a funny way of making and breaking reputations in stunningly superficial ways. 

Differences endure about when Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival launches in earnest.

What are the integral ingredients which comprise a Grand Circuit pacer? 

In no particular order, any horse hoping to compete at the highest level must possess strength, speed, depth, professionalism and an almost ethereal will to win. 

Bondi Lockdown, the prophetically named colt from Victoria’s Wimmera region, has these attributes in spades.

Kiwi-born Martial Arts legend John Danaher has a theory that mastery of any physical pursuit and all manner of personal reinvention can be achieved within five years. 

But how long does it take to reinvent an entire industry? 

Roughly 10 years ago, Harness Racing Victoria resolved to revolutionise southern hemisphere squaregaiting stock as a matter of urgency. 

And for those who don’t know, squaregaiting is trotting, and trotting is different to pacing.