Twenty-One Stages of Rooting for Your Favorite Horse in the Breeders' Cup

You find out that your favorite horse will be competing in a big race:

You start planning on who to invite over to watch the race with you - preferably someone who shares your devotion to this horse:

You go to Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/Tumblr/wherever to express your excitement about the chances of your horse:

But suddenly, you notice that people have started trash-talking your horse online:

At first you’re just confused; after all, how could someone doubt your horse?

But they persist, so now you’re all:

And maybe a little bit:

And certainly:

But on the outside you just act like:

And if you find another fan of your horse online?

Besides, as your horse’s race gets closer, you’re overcome by excitement:

But on the morning of your horse’s race, the nerves begin to take over:

You start soliciting moral support from your friends and family:

Every time you leave your house, you worry that the race is going off any moment now and that you’re missing it:

And when the time for your horse’s race is finally here, you’re pretty much a wreck:

Your friends try to calm you down; it’s … not really working:

Finally, it’s post time! Your horse walks into the starting gate; you are cool, calm and collected. Kind of.

But then the race is off and your horse wins! It’s time to celebrate:

And:

You just bask in your horse’s brand-new winning resume:

Oh, and to those haters that you were dealing with before the race?