Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

onechaser — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:31:38 GMT

Jennie, I agree..and If you want to send mares to a quality facility..expect to pay around 30 dollars a day for a mare and foal. Add that to the shipping, vetting etc..and the current market value of Pa foals. Its not worth the effort. Thats why Kentucky does so well. They have much better Stallions to offer with many facilities at affordable prices with compitant vets and handlers. You have to look hard for a marketable Stallion in Pa. Where in KY they are stacked 4 high everywhere. Florida is running out of good stallions too. All the big outfits are leaving to either Ky or Canada.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

Jennie — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:16:17 GMT

This article makes it sound like the Pennsylvania program is Nirvana, when actually there is trouble brewing beneath the surface. Its ill-conceived Stallion Series program was a failure, having failed to attract sufficient nominees to fill two Sire Stakes at Presque Isle recently. Pennsylvania's Day at the Races at Philly Park in September wasn't really a day devoted to Pa.-breds and only offered four stakes worth about $525,000, far less than even one year ago, and shared the card with the Philadelphia Park horsemen's group. Now the state is dipping into the Breeding Fund to the tune of $2 million or more a year because of budget woes. Purses at state racetracks will also take a hit. The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Assoc. and other industry factions are powerless to stop lawmakers from dipping into slots revenues intially earmarked for horse racing, and what happened this year could happen again. Finally, the author mentions Northview as a boarding facility that has all the mares it can handle, but it is one of only a handful of top-notch boarding farms in the state. This is where Pennsylvania lags far behind Kentucky - it lacks quality boarding facilities. If you were to take a random sample of farms in Pa., you'd find that they are basically mom-and-pop operations that lack qualified personnel and other amenities. Perhaps in the future more will be built, but in this depressed real estate market, it won't happen anytime soon. My point - Pennsylvania isn't all that it's made out to be by this article.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

Elaine — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:30:26 GMT

To Onechaser..O.k...I undertand your point, but the article addresses horse breeding now trending to move largely outside the state of Ky. So now Pennsylvanians are shifting the demographics of the industry. Doesn't that mean MORE people are getting into breeding horses? In the state of VA there is a huge trend away from horse breeding as the old line gentry in VA is fading. Doesn't this story speak to how Ky may no longer reign as the horse breeding capital? Then there's NY and Maryland breds,...still strong in the industry. My take on the article is that the effort to breed or take the first steps in the business is simply moving to other states. Fine by me as long as the standards don't drop: people taking on horse breeding et al., MUST do this safely and honestly.

My complaint as you may have seen in my comments, is that people apparently now show up at the racetracks for the purpose of just killing an afternoon. I would rather be elbow to elbow with people who appreciate the horses. I am just saddened when I hear on the radio that my local track,"Will offer face painting, clowns for the kids and moon bounces for the kiddies." Then I say the track isn't around to entertain kids! Parents can get a sitter. I understand all that has come with that horse as I KNOW each horse has an entourage of people that got him to the track in the first place. If more people are undertaking the monumental task of rearing horses by TB standards then God bless them as long as they do it right. Won't jobs be created in their locale? If I began breeding TB horses I would need to have suppliers locally, though I KNOW where those pockets exist in VA as any native Virginian knows where "horse country" is located in my state.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

Kim — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:25:57 GMT

Exactly!

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

Linus — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:56:48 GMT

Horse racing is dying because the industry as a whole has a crap advertising scheme. There are no heroes in the game anymore for fans to rally around anymore (thank the connections of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta for keeping them racing instead of sending them to the breeding shed after their 3 yr old years). This industry is steeped in tradition and that tradition has always been an insiders gig, it has never sought to bring in the younger generations. But guess what? The folks that saw Bid and Slew and Secretariat are getting older and disgusted with the mediocrity that is being passed off as graded material. If any other industry tried to operate with such a pitiful advertising campaign they would have failed long ago. Racing is fortunate to have the aura of elitism so the rich still dabble in it. However, without the fans there is no industry and that is something which has been taken for granted for too long. The powers that be need to wake up to the smelling salts of real world business principals.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

onechaser — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:49:43 GMT

Elaine, I am guessing from your comments that you know nothing about the Thoroughbred industry. If breeders stop breeding...because their will not be enough profit in it ( not to mention the effort it takes to breed, transport and care for a broodmare for the term of her pregnancy and weaning)the tracks will be forced to close because they will be be in a finacial loss. No horses to race..no money passing to the track..no track. It effects everyone in this business right down to the hay man and the workers who clean the stalls.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

Elaine — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:01:54 GMT

Here's the problem with the horse tracks-far and wide-across the country, Ky, NY or Timbucktu:

Horse racing MUST stick to it's roots. Throw out slots. Who needs them? Not me....that's why God invented Las Vegas or even Atlantic City. Hey when I go to my local VA track in the TB season all I see is management tripping over themselves to bring in moon bouncers and face painters ??!!

Wow...don't kiddies have somewhere ELSE to go?? I hang out at the rail (a "rail bird") to actually watch the action ON THE TRACK. If you want your kid's face painted there must be a carnival or even a Sunday afternoon b-day party out there somewhere. I go to the track to see THE HORSES. Not to text, or phone up my buddies or bounce my kid on a moon bounce. My kids know that Mom is there to watch the race, what a novel idea!!

If my kid doesn't want to do the same then his butt is left at home.

I don't need a slot machine to help me pass the time (Atlantic City is north on I-95 at all times). Horse race fans need to stick to horse racing for the sake of horse racing. Leave the distractions at home and go to the track to watch the equine action. One can catch up on the cell phone action (like the bleach blondes I've seen strolling around the apron of the track) when they get back in their GMC Yukon. Remember that we went to the race track for what reason? Oh yeah...the horses. As for Churchill Downs, at least go for the historic ambience of the place...it's a

sacred place to me when I'm there, just thinking of all the fine equine talent that has passed through that place humbles me every time. It was Pimlico for my Dad. Nothing like a day at the races. As for what state the TB's hail from I couldn't care less.....the economy is adjusting many things these days.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

onechaser — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:12:20 GMT

Why can't your mare be bred in PA and be called a PA bred? If you live in Florida and send your horse to KY why isn't it a KY bred? If the foals were registered as the state where the stallion stands, maybe Pa, Ny Md and other states would stand more stallions. After all, the breeder is taking the mares to the stallions and they expect us to keep our mares where the incentives are best? Seems a bit lop-sided. This way, other states will have a better chance with the foal crops without having to board out their mares ( which by the way cost a small fortune.) The logistics of transporting and boarding your mare in another state vs keeping them with you is night and day. The breeder should be able to breed their mare to the stallion they like and bring the mare home to whatever state they live in. Where the stallion stands is where it should be registered. Does any of this make sense?

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

Gzornenplatt — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:02:33 GMT

I agree with some of the complaints about the, perhaps unintended, restricted view of the publication. If you really want to help everyone, consider an article studying the efforts of ALL states to help the racing/breeding industries and consider objective measures covering maybe the last 5, 10, or 20 years. I wonder where Maryland would land?

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

Alina L. — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:00:47 GMT

I thought The Bloodhorse was a publication for all Thoroughbred breeders? Your About Us page doesn't say anything about Kentucky only.

Instead of the non-stop whining about Kentucky, how about some articles celebrating other breeder's successes, such as the "booming" Peach Bottom, PA facility? I'd like to know much more about their operation, rather than just a side note about them in a "poor hapless Kentucky" article.

If you really want to educate the general public about the depth of the industry, then embrace ALL breeders instead of only those in one failing state.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

twtman — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:19:46 GMT

Be careful Evan, one might think this publication is turning into the Ky Blood-horse whinny Journal. Some of us out of state people would like to here some bad news about our TB industry. Here in Kansas, the home of a Kentucky Derby winner, we don't even have a race track to run our kansas breds. We got our slots past and a month later they closed our last meet. Are you KY boys going to have a Kansas bred derby for us if your slots pass??

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

Greg R. — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:49:37 GMT

What goes around comes around..

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

aspradling — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:16:36 GMT

SJ: Very true that the entire industry across the US will need to adjust costs, rates and budgets. The great Supply/Demand principal...However, the boarding rates will now grow in the states with the boarding demand. So less desire here, cheaper boarding, but you won't have to worry about boarding here, because PA would be "where it's at" so to say.

It may be more constructive to provide ideas and dialogue to reach solutions to why Kentucky horse racing has "lost" it's pristine...because it is a symptom of the larger issue. The US in general is having Thoroughbred racing problems.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

dhussey — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:39:37 GMT

I don't believe Pennsylvania is either the villian or savior for a Kentucky breeder. The Oct.1st residancy rule probably chases away more business than it creates. If your mare foals on April 1 you're a looking at quite a large board bill (180 days x $20.day = $3600 plus vet, etc). You'd be lucky to get out of PA with less than a $5000 bill not including your shipping and stud fee(at least another $5000-$20,000)and your foal is 1 day old. Now check the results of the "yearling" sales and you can say I could have bought an 18 month old Pa-Bred for $10,000 and picked the one you wanted and been a year and a half ahead of the game. PA shot itself in the foot with their residancy mare rules. It only helps the wealthy who own the big farms(Northview).

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

DB — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:05:21 GMT

Kentucky politicians suffer from the same diseases the rest of them have....too sheltered from reality, a belief that the gravy train will last forever with no investment, a sense of entitlement to any and all revenue and profit, allegiance to political donors, and an unwillingness to change. The world is no longer coming to central Kentucky....there are better mousetraps elsewhere.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

Richard_R — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:22:48 GMT

Article is long on hyperbole and short on substance. Kentucky is not all things to all people. Never was. Never will be. Neither is Pennsylvania. Some breeders will ship to PA and benefit. Others will ship to PA and regret it. No silver bullets in PA or anywhere else. If Kentucky breeders' really need handouts, I'd suggest a bigger tin cup.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

rice — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:11:29 GMT

Seb- Did you read the same article that I just read?? The point of this story is that mares are shipping out of state, which is hurting small boarding operations, not just racetracks. I believe PA was used as just one example of where they are going(I know of quite a few that have gone to Indiana).

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

SJ TRIPPER — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:09:42 GMT

Kentucky has done theirself in. Getting fat by over charging for boarding, over charging for breeding, over charging for training. Now we're suppose to feel sorry for them. The lure of Kentucky horse racing is gone. Take Churchill Downs for instance. Since their deal with Magna and you can only bet through Twin Spires their racing has gone down hill. The purses are smaller, the size of the fields was pathetic this year. Horse players wait for Churchill Downs to start up each year and now the product is pitiful. Turfway Park is an embarrassment to Kentucky period. I never seen a race track where they seem to be so concerned about who comes in third and who comes in fourth. Turfway Park is basically 10 Cent Superfecta Park. Kentucky, you're better than this! Clean up the mess you made.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

CRob87 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:05:51 GMT

IMO...

Kentucky being viewed these days as a "Seasonal" place to breed (only for the physical mating itself), just adds more justification for the implementation of A.I.

Also...now that the Kentucky Stud Farms are losing the year round boarding dollars (as stated above), I think this would give them the perfect opportunity to "Offer" 2 different Stud Fees.

One price for the A.I. "Option". And a second "Lower" price if your going to board the mare at their Farm for the whole year. As an "Incentive" to do so.

re: Moving Day - By Evan Hammonds

seb — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:02:17 GMT

The PA program will experience cutbacks in their cut of the gaming monies allocated to the Race Horse Development Fund sanctioned by the recently approved budget for the state--a story this magazine covered. However many mares come to PA, breeders will not necessarily see the same payouts you highlight in this column, unless handles and slots revenues rise to underwrite these payouts. While the political stance of this magazine toward Kentucky Legislators has at last come out in the open, the suggestion in this piece seems somewhat half baked. Do your homework.