Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra

Zenyatta ran one impressive race against males on a carefully selected race on her home base. Rachel Alexandra ran against males on three occasions at three different tracks. Zenyatta was five for five in California. Rachel was eight for eight at several tracks. Unfortunately, most of the selectors for Horse of the Year only attend one day at the races and make their vote for Horse of the Day. Thus, even though Rachel Alexandra had the better YEAR, I expect Zenyatta will will Horse of the Year(Day).

What a great two years for fillies in the horse racing year. It may be a while before we see the likes of these two fillies again. Doesn't all this discussion about the two horses remind you of all the baseball discussions of Williams vs. Dimaggio, Colavito vs. Kaline (who were traded for each other) and Chamberlain vs. Russell?

Much has been made of the crowd reaction to the victory by Zenyatta. Some have called it unprecented. Apparently, these people were not at Saratoga for Rachel's Woodward triumph.

What a positive thing for racing that we can have a discussion like this rather than the breakdown of a great filly in a nationally prominent race.

Skedaddle

     We went to Stonebridge farm on Wednesday morning to see our 2Yo make his first 3f work. It was a little slower than the trainer wanted but all in all he looked pretty good. The gelding ran each eighth faster than his previous one which is one of the keys the trainer was looking for. I thought it was pretty good for a first effort as he went in company and kept up with his more experienced coworker. 

     

SkedaddletoSeattle

Our 3YO, Skedaddletoseattle, has had two two minute licks. He has shown a lot of promise so far. He loves to run and has good motion. He handles the gate like he is a seasoned pro and the trainer thinks the horse is extremely intelligent. So far, so good. He should have his first breeze this week. Hopefully, that will occur while we are spending a few days in Saratoga.

At this rate, we expect him to make his first start around the end of September. We are still planning on sending him to Mike Ferraro at Finger Lakes for his final two preps.

Drugs in racing

     Rick Dutrow has his suspension doubled from 15 days to 30 days in Kentucky. He says he can accept 15 but not 30. Thankfully, the trainer does not decide on the length of the punishment. It was doubled because Dutrow knows how to play the system in the eyes of the commission. 

     Steve Asmussen has his request for further testing denied by the Texas commission. What he really should be doing is just accept the results and move on. But of course, he has lawyers who enjoy the fight and will continue to do so even if it is not in the best interests of racing. 

     I guess the various state commissions are tired of being made fools of by slick trainers and their even slicker lawyers. Who can name a top ten trainer who has not had a positive drug test involving at least one of their horses in the last three years? And racing wants to know why it is losing popularity?

     Two things should be done immediately. The vet for each horse should be listed in the pp's along with a list of all medications that have been administered to the horse since its last race. In addition, if a horse receives a positive test then all horses belonging to that trainer are also suspended. They can be restored to racing when the suspension is over or when the horse is transfered permanently to another trainer. 

     No more excuses for drug positives. Racing must clean up its act immediately. 

Sanford Stud

     We recently had the opportunity to visit the remains of the old Sanford Stud in Amsterdam New York. It is basically one barn with some out buildings juxtaposed to a modern shopping center. It is a jarring experience to park in a parking lot and then walk into a partially restored barn. This is a site well worth visiting to get a flavor of old time racing. As a NY breeder (at least for now), I have watched many runnings of the Hollie Hughes Handicap. It was interesting to see pictures of Mr Hughes training horses at Sanford Stud. 

     It is located on Rte 30 north of Amsterdam and is some 25 miles from Saratoga Springs. It is hard to believe that in the heyday of the Stud, their horses were walked to Saratoga for the racing meet. That must have been an amazing site to see. Brings to mine the time we ran into an old timer at McDonald's in Saratoga Springs. We had walked over to see a picture hanging on the wall near where this gentleman was sitting. The picture was of Dixie Brass leaving the gate in the Travers Stakes of 1992. We got to talking with him and he said he had been around Saratoga his whole life. When he was younger, he used to wait for the train at the old station at what is now Railroad Run. He would then help walk the horses across town, down Union Ave to the track barns and help settle the horses in for the meet. What a sight that must have been. 

     The only thing that I ever saw even remotely similiar was the night of the first benefit auction for the Belmont Child Care Center. It was called the Fourstardave Gala then and was held at the Canfield Casino. Fourstardave was in Saratoga at the time and was walked down Union Ave to Congress Park. He had a police escort and people clapped and cheered for the old boy. 

Saratoga 2009

  

     NYRA held its annual Saratoga update recently. Purses have already been cut for the Saratoga meeting as betting handle has been down. Despite that, NYRA appears to be confident and still plans to make many improvements to Saratoga. 

     One of the things they keep mentioning is that improvements will be made to dormitories on the backside for the everyday backstretch employees. You know, the grooms , hotwalkers and other employees whose work is vital to keep horse racing going on. 

     Coincentally, it was announced that the John Neumann residence next to St Clements Church is now empty as the last of the retired priests has been moved out. Why couldn't NYRA sublet that facility as a dormitory for their workers. It is just a short walk or bike ride to the Oklahoma track. I am sure that the owners of that facility could use the money and the backstretch employees would have a clean place to live. 

first time starter

   A 3YO gelding by the name of Futurello made his racing debut yesterday at Hastings Park in British Columbia. We bred him and sold him as a yearling at the Fasig Tipton sale in Saratoga. He had bone chips and it a while for him to make it to the track. Unfortunately, he got a poor start in the race and never seemed to get into the race. He trailed the field the entire way and ended the race beaten approximately 20 lengths. Based on his workouts, he certainly seemed fit. I was not able to see the post parade so I don't know how he looked before the race. It just seemed that the race was so bad that it probably did not mean much. Hopefully, he will do better next time out. 

     

NY OTB

     What took them so long? OTB's are now asking the attorney general of New York to rule on the legality of NY citizens betting with accounts located outside of New York. In other words, when people have a choice, they choose other than OTB. Thus, for OTB's to be able to compete they have to eliminate competition. 

     It makes a lot more sense to let NYRA take bets from anywhere and eliminate the OTB's. But since when does logic have anything to do with state government in New York.  I have both a NYRA one account and an out of state rebate account. I used to have an OTB phone account also but I have since closed it due to the ridiculous policies of the OTB. 

     It makes absolutely no sense to have six different OTB's in New York until you realize that upper positisions at OTB are just expensive welfare for politically well connected hacks. Who can forget the disgraceful performance of Hazel Dukes at NYC OTB. 

     New York State does only six things well---spend, spend spend and tax, tax, tax.  

     

Small owners and bettors

     There is a lot of chatter now on the internet about how horse racing is ignoring its big bettors. That seems to be changing somewhat in that racetracks are belatedly realizing that they need to build their handle. A case in point is the new high roller rooms at Belmont Park. Kudos to NYRA. 

 

     Anytime there is a meeting to discuss horseracing, bettors are never invited. It is almost as if horseracing is ashamed to admit that betting is what drives purses. 

     In addition, have you noticed that anytime there is one of those horseracing meetings, the same old big time owners and breeders are invited? What about the small breeders and owners? They are pretty much considered a nuisance especially by NYRA. Let a small owner try to get comp seats at Saratoga. They are laughed out of the house. 

   By the way, these are the same owners and breeders that serve on the boards of racetracks, Breeders Cups, and breeding associations. Since they have a huge role in the mess that horseracing is today, what makes anyone think that they will be part of the solution?

My 2YO

     Skedaddle to Seattle had his first gate training at Stonebridge farm two days ago. He handled it like a pro. He seems to take everything in stride. 

     Yesterday we watched him gallop twice around the artificial training track at Stonebridge. He just seems to be a new horse since he was gelding. Apparently, the undescended testicle was bothering him more than we realized. 

     Next up for him, on Saturday, is a two minute lick. Assuming that works out ok, he will start breezing next week. Hopefully, if he stays on track he will be ready to run by Labor Day. The plan now is to keep him at Stonebridge until he is two works from racing and then send him to Mike Ferraro at Finger Lakes for the finishing touches. 

     We are fully prepared to race him but of course, as with just about anything, he is for sale. 

Poor Planning

One of the things that is a mistake in racing is that different tracks do not coordinate their schedules in scheduling graded stakes races. A case in point is what happened on June 13 between two of the most important racing tracks in the country.

Churchill Downs ran the Grade II Fleur De Lis for fillies and mares 3YO and up at a distance of 1 1/8m. Belmont Park ran the Grade I Ogden Phillips for fillies and mares 3YO and up at a distance of 1 1/16m. Brilliant.

The Fleur had nine horses running. The Phipps had seven horses running but three of those were running as an entry. Couldn't it have been possible to reschedule both races so that horses could run in both? Racing desparately needs someone to coordinate stakes schedules so that graded races for the same horses are not conflicting with each other.

2YO in training

My 2YO in training, Skedaddle To Seattle is doing much better since his procedure. He had been acting very studdish and we decided to geld him. The vets could not find one of the testicles. Apparently it was still up inside him, so it was no longer a minor procedure. The vets set up a procedure room at Stonebridge farm and did the operation. They found the testicle wrapped around an intestine and they were able to successfully remove it. I was told that it could have been a serious situation as the testicle could have become gangrous.

The doctors are very pleased with themselves as they were able to do the procedure at the farm rather than bringing Skedaddle to the equine hospital. I was pleased also as they saved me quite a bit of money.

The horse is now galloping again and is ready to start two minute licking. He should start breezing soon thereafter. After a few breezes, we will send him to Mike Ferraro at Finger Lakes who will put the finishing touches on him. We now expect good things from him.

John Morrison at Stonebridge is doing a great job with him to date. The horse was broken there and he is being handled very carefully by John. We hope to get to see the horse on the track in the next couple of days. Stonebridge is currently the only farm with an artificial surface that I know of in New York State although one is being built at the old Greentree Stud behind the Saratoga Race Course.

Veterinarians

     We have a mare by the name of Future Bold who is a granddaughter of Seattle Slew. She dropped a filly on April 15 who is absolutely gorgeously. Unfortunately, she was born with a hole in her palate and some of the milk she was drinking would come out her nose. We talked to a vet at Rhinebeck Equine who said an operation was $4000 up front. We countered with half up front and half after the operation. He then countered with you don't want to pay so as far as I am concerned you can just put the baby down. 

     We then called Cornell who said put $2000 up front and pay the remainder when she was released. What a difference in attitude. We sent her to Cornell where the vet, Dr Jeff Cheathem could not have been nicer. He called us several times to let us know what was going on. The filly had a minor setback and ended up staying a couple of extra days with a screw replacement in her jaw. 

     The operation was partially successful. There is still a trickle of milk in her nose but nowhere nearly as much as before. In fact, another local vet believes that she can live a healthly and productive life as a broodmare but will never race unless the hole is fully plugged.  She is by Smooth Jazz out of Future Bold.  So she has the possibility of being a good broodmare. Thank God we got a second opinion and did not listen to the first bozo vet at Rhinebeck. 

     To top it off, Cornell told us that they had heard similiar stories regarding this first vet and knew his name without us telling them who it was. So, caveat emptor in regards to vets but a good one is worth his or her weight in gold. 

Susan B Anthony Handicap

     The Susan B Anthony Handicap was run at Finger Lakes today. All time leading trainer at Finger Lakes, Michael S Ferraro, ran first, second and third. This could not have happened to a nicer gentleman. He is a classy guy who stays calm all the time and just keeps on winning races. 

 

     He did a wonderful job the last three years with my own mare, Watrals Dahlia, who ended up winning nearly $200,000. We retired her at the end of last year and bred her. She is currently in foal to Utopia. 

     We have a 2YO in training at Stonebridge Farm in Schuylerville.  As soon as she progresses a little further in him training, we will send him to Mike Ferraro for the finishing touch. He is by Chief Seattle and we expect good things from him. He had a setback recently when we found an undescended testicle but that problem was quickly solved and he is back in training as a new gelding.  

Tinkering with the triple crown

     Panic in the streets. It is too difficult to win the triple crown so we must make it easier. There seems to be a groundswell for changing either the spacing or the distances of the three races. It is supposed to be difficult to win. 

     The problem is not with the races themselves. The problems are with the training methods of the horses. All this talk about the decline of horses becomes a self-fullfilling prophecy. We can not run the horses too often because they might get hurt. This could have a negative impact on  their breeding possibilities.. Thus we have horses who are entered in the Kentucky Derby who have not been properly prepared. They do not have the necessary bottom to win in the derby and thus they are more inclined to be injured. Liken it to running five 50 yd dashes and then entering in a marathon and you are not allowed to quit the race. What kind of shape will you be in after that marathon?

     Horses now break down quite often in big televised races. That is real good for a newcomer to see on tv. That makes for a lot of new fans. 

     Maybe we should be looking at not allowing horses to run in the triple crown unless they have run at least three times as a juvenile. Maybe they should have at least seven starts before the Derby. Maybe we should limit the Derby to horses that are at least stakes placed. That way we have horses with some ability and some solid training. If a horse is not sound enough to run as a 2YO he should not run a mile and a quarter in May. 

Taking care of horses

   One of the excuses people use for not going to the track is that horses are mistreated. Well, there is a website that will show you everything you need to know about the care of horses and of a stable:

http://www.yourstables.co.uk/flash/ 

Too bad that the site is from the United Kingdom. I guess no one thought about doing it here. Not enough money in it I guess. Very well done site. Try it and give me your opinion. 

Belmont Stakes

     Well, the triple crown races are over for another year. Once again, there is no winner of the triple crown.  There have been many calls to change the race series to make it easier to win the crown. Why? That idea ranks right up with the idea of making tests easier so that more kids can pass them. 

     The real reason that noone wins the triple crown any more is that horses are not trained to do so. In the days of old, horses were trained for the three races. They were entered in the Kentucky Derby as the first step in a series of races and were trained accordingly. That is, they were dead fit with a serious bottom put into them. Today, horses are trained for the Kentucky Derby as the end result of a series of prep races. Then the thought is "Ooh. we won--lets go to the Preakness." They win the Preakness and it is "Ooh, we won--lets go to the Belmont. " What is needed is for the Belmont Stakes to be the objective with the Kentucky Derby and Preakness as races leading up to it. Until then, forget about winning the triple crown. 

     The attendance for the Preakness and the Belmont were both down sharply. The New York Racing Association uses the excuse that there was no triple crown possibility and no Rachel Alexandra. Well, the Preakness had both. However, both tracks instituted a new policy of banning take in alcohol this year. However, both tracks did not ban the sale of alcohol. Gee, do you think the ban had something to do with both Associations wanting to increase the sale of their overpriced alcohol? Can anyone say gauging? By the way, when you place a bet at the $50 window, when was the last time you were offered a complimentary drink? 

Promotion of Racing

     The focus this week in most of the newspaper articles concerning the Belmont Stakes has been on Calvin Borel and his quest to be the first rider to win the Triple Crown on different horses. What a natural feel good story. This emphasizes what horse racing needs to concentrate on to build up racing to build up popularity again. Jockeys are the one thing that slots and casino gambling cannot compete with. Pictures and information about jockeys should be disseminated daily in as many formats as possible. And in the best possible sense, aren't jockeys really not much bigger than young people? So wouldn't they be able to identify with them? 

     What if every kindergarten kid had a horse racing coloring book featuring all of the jockeys on famous horses? If kids grew up with racing, then racing stands a better chance of keeping them as fans when they become adults. And adult fans pass their likes onto younger generations. 

     What if horse racing was used to teach math in schools? If a horse runs a quarter mile in 24 seconds, what is his fps and what does that convert to in mph? 

     Most newspapers no longer carry handicapping selections. What is stopping racetracks from buying ads in newspapers listing the handicapping selections? In New York, what is stopping OTB's from doing the same thing, especially since most money in New York is bet at the local OTB rather than at the track. What is stopping the breeders from advertising the top ten sires in their own state or the horse racing industry advertising the top ten jockeys at each track?

I think that the industry is not trying hard enough and is in danger of becoming part of the gimme world. "Lets not promote ourselves and lets get help from other forms of gambling." 

Joe Hirsch

     There was a memorial service for Joe Hirsch at Belmont Park this morning. I got to know Joe over the last eight years of his career with the DRF. I was his landlord in Saratoga Springs each year during the meet. I had originally rented a place to his good friend the late Joe Durso of the New York Times. He asked if I had a place nearby for a friend of his who he needed to keep an eye on. That friend turned out to be Joe Hirsch. He was a character. One year he informed us he was arriving on Wednesday afternoon (this was when the meet began on Friday.) He called me on Monday afternoon demanding to know why noone was there to meet him. Fortunately the place was ready for him two days early. Another year he said he was arriving on a Monday. By Wednesday morning there was still no sign of him. DRF sent out an APB on him and located him sleeping at a rest area on the Thruway. Apparently, the drive was so tiring to him, he had to stop at every rest area to sleep. From then on, he was provided with a driver by the DRF. At least once a year he locked himself out of his condo. Fortunately, we left an extra key for him with his friend. 

The first year we rented to him, we splurged and fixed up the rental extra nice for him, giving him a new showerhead with a hose to make it easier for him. He did not like it and went out and bought a different one which we still use to this day. Another time he did not like the microwave so he bought a toaster oven. In every case, whatever he purchased, he insisted on leaving behind.  Another time, he did not pay his phone bill before he left, he couldn't be more apologetic and insisted on paying the bill based on what we told him over the phone. 

All in all, he was a unique and classy individual. 

Belmont Stakes

I think that the Belmont will have a more contentious pace than most people are considering. There are three or four horses that will vie for the lead and I think that the pace will be a fairly good one. That said, I am also not convinced that Mine That Bird will have the same kind of kick at a mile and a half that he had at a mile and a quarter. I think that this race is between the #2 Dunkirk and the #4 Summer Bird ( the other Birdstone). You should get good odds on both horses. 

I am betting both horses to win with slightly more on Dunkirk. 

Bets:

$12 win #2

#8 win #4

$1 superfecta 2,4/2,4,8/2,4,7,8/2,3,4,7,8

$1 superfecta 2,4/2,4/2,4,6,8/2,3,4,6,8

If Mine That Bird wins, he will have won the triple crown for male horses. He has yet to be beaten by a male in the triple crown races to date.  

A Case For Specialization

     One of the complaints I hear often about horseracing is that one has to wait 20-25 minutes between races. (Obviously that person has never been to Saratoga--the wait is 35 to 40 minutes). However, with the advent of full card simulcasting that is a thing of the past. At any venue that you go to, you can wager pretty much as often as you wish on tracks around the country and overseas in some cases. 

     However, it is possible to over do the betting and run through your bankroll in the blink of an eye. It might be the time to become a specialist. For instance, say you are strong with sprint races. You can just handicap sprints because there are so many races each day to choose from. Maybe, you prefer grass races. There are plenty of grass races to bet, even in the winter. 

     By limiting your bets to races you know you do well on, then it is also easier to move on after a tough loss. It is tough to handicap that many races so it pays to develop shortcuts. Or you can use a good software program. I happen to use RDSS which is a continuation of the old Sartin Methodology. It downloads the cards for me and will even select pacelines if I want it to. However, I handicap by first selecting the probable pace and seeing who runs well against that pace. That is a quick and easy way to narrow the list of contenders. I can handicap a large number of races in a relatively short period of time and minimizing burnout at the same time. 

Beyer revisions

Andy Beyer has announced that speed figures for synthetic tracks are being revised because they seem to be off when compared to dirt tracks. Wonderful news for all those people who rely on Beyer figures to help with their handicapping. Maybe this will make people realize that there is no point in relying on speed figures as a handicapping method, especially when there is a change of surface involved. That is why I am more convinced than ever that every race is a separate handicapping puzzle. Each race is as a famous handicapper once said, "one horse gets the lead in  the race. If he does not get caught he wins and if he gets caught he loses." Handicapping is more complicated than just looking at one final speed number. It is important to look at how that number is obtained. And that is a problem with horse racing. With the dumbdown of America and its increasing laziness, it is much more preferable to be a slot machine zombie than to  spend the time to analyze the dynamics of the pace of a race. 

Strange case of Kentucky vet

The case of Dr. Rodney Stewart is a strange case. The vet has been suspended five years after cobra venom was found in Patrick Biancone's barn at Keeneland. Is this a case of an innocent vet taking the fall for a crooked trainer or does it go deeper than that? Biancone has a history of drug violations in every jusrisdiction he has raced. Stewart is a respected vet. Stewart at the time also treated harness horses. Cobra venom was okayed for use on harness horses in Kentucky. Stewart was suspended for possession of a drug that is harmful to horses. Apparently it is harmful to thoroughbreds and not to harness horses. For a drug that was not physically in his possession at the time of the incident. I just don't understand this case at all. Biancone was suspended for a short time and is back training in Southern California.   I just don't understand this case at all.

Aqueduct Racino

Maybe it is time to just let an Indian tribe build it and run it. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the New York State Government is too inept to get the job done. Rather than continue to be the laughing stock of the world, the state government (Paterson and Silver and Smith) should step aside and let competent people handle the problem. And we expect the state government to solve the OTB situation? Gimme a break. 

OTB subsidies

There seems to be a growing movement on the part of the off track betting entities in New York State to eliminate their subsidy to the harness tracks. In their words, why subsidize Yonkers raceway when Yonkers has the most successful racino in the state? Good point. Yonkers no longer needs anybody's help. So why not eliminate  the money paid to the harness tracks from OTB and use some of that money to help support the breeding industry in New York State.?

Smooth Air

Smooth Air ran a strong second in the Met Mile, one of racing's premier races. In fact, he ran so well that the horse has been switched to the barn of Chad Brown and will now be stabled at Belmont Park and probably at Saratoga during that meeting. The owners wanted to run the horse more in the Northeast and this will cut down on the travel. This has probably been in the works since Smooth Air developed colic after being shipped to Texas for a race. Bennie Stutts did a great job with this horse and his loss is our gain. This bodes well for New York breeding as Smooth Air's sire, Smooth Jazz, stands at Amy Boll's Buckridge Farm in Kinderhook. We personally have two Smooth Jazz weanlings and are very excited about them.