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THAT
spectacular opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics on
August 8 really thrilled the whole world no end.
From the
opening presentation up to the staging of the
magnificent fireworks display, millions of viewers were
kept hanging by the edge of their seats, waiting on what
would come next.
It was
truly a Summer Games opening worth watching again and
again. China simply never missed a thing in order to
give the world a presentation of its culture and
development through the years in grand fashion.
Nobody
wanted to say how much was spent in that grand opening,
but many speculate that it could be more than $100
million. That amount could easily be raised by no less
than a superpower, the status of which China had already
reached several years back. That awesome display on
Friday was a coming-out party for China, which is poised
to dominate the world because of its economic boom in
the years to come.
But that
grandiose display of talent and money is somewhat a big
display of how to waste money to many countries whose
people are hardly eating two to three times a day. Those
millions could easily feed millions of people in Africa
or even within the far-flung provinces of China.
We could
not blame China for carrying out a spectacular opening
display since it is trying its best to show the world
how it has managed to reach its top status nowadays.
Exceeding other Olympics grandiose opening is just on
top of China’s list even before it bid to host the
present one.
I think
it should have been the responsibility of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) to curtail such
grandiose and multimillion-dollar opening display,
especially now that the world is undergoing deep
recession. Many people are going hungry, while many are
being displaced from their homes simply because of lack
of food and money.
The IOC
must be the one to come up with guidelines for the
would-be hosts in the future, especially as far as the
opening gala is concern. Too much display of power and
wealth in just a few hours is simply wasting important
money that could be funneled to helping the poor around
the world. In this time of need, one nation’s
extravagant display of wealth should not be tolerated.
Sports
must lead in teaching our young how not to be
extravagant and be helpful to those who are in need. One
need not have beautiful shoes or a colorful outfit in
order to compete in the world of sports. One only needs
determination and the skill in order to excel and
compete in the international level.
I wonder
what happened when the first Olympics in Athens opened?
I suppose that it also has glitter and pomp but not that
kind where more than $100 million was spent.
****
THE
stage is already set for the Philippine Racing
Commission (Philracom)-sponsored first leg of the
Juvenile Fillies Stakes and the Juvenile Colts Stakes on
Sunday at the Santa Ana Park.
A total
of P2 million has been set aside and P1 million each has
been offered to the top four finishers in each event for
the series featuring the best two-year-olds in the land
today. The winner of each leg, which will be disputed
over the 1,450-meter distance, will be going home with
the top prize of P600,000, while the runner-up picks up
P225,000, third P125,000 and fourth P50,000.
There
are eight contenders in the Juvenile Colts: Eugene
Pioquinto’s Far Beyond, Hermie Esguerra’s Go Army and
Mastermind, Jun Paman’s High Tower, Boni Mantilla’s Key
Boy, Ruben Dimacuha’s Kudos, Manny Santos’s Oh Wackm and
Eric Tagle’s So Real. All these colts are assigned 54
kilos each.
In the
Juvenile Fillies Stakes, the official participants are
Herma Farms & Stud’s Aloha, Eugene Tan’s Ask Leikey,
Hermie Esguerra’s French Vanilla and Frozen Margarita,
Jake Maderazo’s Knockout Babe, Manny Santos’s Love You
By Heart and Mind Music, Tony Eleazar’s Security World
and Paolo Mendoza’s Windbeneathmywings.
On the
other hand, eight fillies are nominated in the Lakambini
Stakes, another Philracom-sponsored event set to be held
on August 24 at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona,
Cavite. They are Anonymous, Champion of Show, Indelible
Ink, Lady Lorelle, Princess Yana, Security Queen, Twin
Turbo and Vergara. The breeder of the winning colt and
filly will be given a bonus of P30,000 each.
A total
of P1.1 million is being offered by the sponsoring
Philracom in this 1,750-meter race, with the winner
receiving the top prize of P720,000, while the runner-up
picks up P270,000, third P150,000, and fourth P60,000. A
P50,000 bonus will be given to the breeder of the
winning horse.
****
ANOTHER
so-called iron horse was retired in the United States
recently and that is Lava Man, a seven-year-old
California-bred son of Slew City Slew—Li’l Ms. Leonard,
by Nostalgia’s Star.
Steve
Kenly of STD Racing Stable, coowner of Lava Man, said
the decision was made following initial examinations of
the horse at Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center in Los
Olivos, California, east of Santa Barbara. Kenly said he
was told by the center’s staff that X-rays taken of the
gelding’s front ankles were significantly different from
those taken earlier this year.
Lava Man
retires with 17 wins in 46 starts for total earnings of
$5,268,706. That puts him third among California-breds,
behind only Tiznow, the nation’s Horse of the Year in
2000, and Best Pal. |
