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.