Grape Soda

Eric Guillot, whose 30-year career included several Grade I wins but came to an abrupt end in 2021 after a racist incident, died June 4 at a health and rehabilitation center in Magnolia, Arkansas. He was 64 years old. The news was posted on the website of the R. L. Reed Funeral Home in Magnolia. Guillot started his career in 1991, sending out two runners with no winners. Over 30 years, he would go on to send out 2,348 starters with 259 winners and over $13 million in earnings. His...

After a horse reportedly named after a racist slur won the first race at Aqueduct Jan. 8, reaction on social media and throughout the industry was swift to denounce the name and trainer Eric Guillot, who had posted a picture of the horse and its name days earlier on social media. The 3-year-old gelding by Uncle Mo, who won his debut Friday, was named Grape Soda, a racist stereoptype directed at African Americans. A Tweet on January 1 on Eric Guillot's Twitter feed indicated that he had been named after...