I saw my first 2yo under tack show last year at Keeneland.  I have galloped horses and broke yearlings for a living.  I have to admit that it was an eye opener!  They would take them to the top of the stretch and whip them excessively to make them jump off quickly.  It makes me wonder if this is a good thing for future performance.

God Bless You for stating the obvious!  It is a shame to ruin such nice BABIES with this practice.  As you pointed out it is not only physically puninshing, but mentally also. I see year after year the times at the Barrett sales getting faster and faster and the "outs" in the sales growing. I think that some consigners feel pressured to get the fast times to competitively sell their charges, but when you look at what happens to these horses, is it really worth the money?  Then you throw in all the meds these babies are given just to get through the sale, it is another aspect of how we shame ourselves at the expense of the horses and sport we all claim to love.... One consigner @ Barretts had shipped out and the 55 gallon drum trash can nearest his barn was at least half full of hypodermic needles and syringes, subsequently this consigner had alot of youngster with fast works and ended up having alot of "outs" in the sale that year...Shame on us for allowing this practice to continue.  So to all potential buyers, find yourself someone who knows about comformation to advise you, buy slow and maybe your be blessed with a horse that will last until it's 4 or 5.  But I DO think this area needs to be addressed and something done to stop this practice and the sooner the better!!!!!

Sorry but trying to get fast times out of 2 year olds that aren't even 2 is a crock.  They should not be allowed and frankly if they can't tell by confirmation then don't buy the horse, pure and simple.  They may be fast today and slow tomorrow but at least it saves on their development and bones.

Right on!  This is flat-out insanity.  If I spent good money for a young horse, I'd want to buy his potential, not his lifetime best performance.  I'd want to put the miles on him myself, on my terms......not have a youngster that was burned out before he started.  You'd think after the highly-touted Green Monkey saga, the industry would wise up and go back to buying potential, not statistics.

I can't agree with you more.  It's the dirty underbelly of the industry that recoils at the idea that PETA has anything to say about how we go about our business, yet we push these babies too fast, too soon, and then we are there with the bute and the other drugs and the wave therapy machines, and the hyperbaric chambers, blah blah blah.  Hay Oats Water and love, that's what a thoroughbred needs and a trainer and owner that care about the horse.  Thank you for posting this, I would think the sales department of The Blood Horse would disapprove.

I don't know why you are blaming cosigners. The simple reality is that horses that work fast make more money. Can you blame them for wanting to make more money? What needs to stop is buyers paying for those fast times. Once buyers stop paying the big bucks for horses that work those fast times, cosigners will stop pushing them. I am stating a simple fact when saying the best-selling horses at OBS will be those with the fastest times.

What you say is true, Elaine.  Particularly when "ethics" are driven by $$$$$$$$.  

But that is the point.

Elaine is right in her assessment of what's going on, but buying a two-year-old in training?? NO WAY; I'd prefer my horses to last longer than a nanosecond! Never mind that every one comes back to the barn ouchy and needs to rest after the faster than bullet work; never mind that NO two year old is physically mature enough to run that fast without "significant urging" (she said sarcastically!); never mind the damn dollars. This reminds me of the seven month old dog that won Best In Show from the Puppy classes, was shown, and won, heavily for the next few months, then disappeared from the show ring entirely because as a puppy, he was a perfect smaller example of his breed, but as he grew, he "fell apart" as dog people would say. Give me the older, more physically mature animal who will last longer than snow in Florida. SO WHAT if a two year breaks the ten second barrier.....will we ever see that animal race sound again? Possibly, but is it worth it to take that chance?? As mentioned above, you might ask that question of the owners of The Green Monkey....... We really have made a pig's breakfast of racing and have no one to blame but ourselves.

Now I'm back to the BAH, HUMBUG mode......this really is becoming an AARRRGGGHHH day!

I have been in this game for over 25 years and I cannot remember ONE two year old who worked 10 seconds or faster EVER winning a Triple Crown race or a Breeders Cup race.  Most of the blazing fast works come from sires who will do nothing for the breed....The Green Monkey's sire included....Speed in a Thoroughbred is a wonderful thing, but stamina has to be there also or that horse will always be a sprinter and nothing more.  Breeders who know what they are doing, very rarely breed just for a sprinter.  Look at Kona Gold's pedigree and you see stamina all over the place.  His physical make up is what made him a sprinter.  There is a market for speed, but it is in Florida....where the Green Monkey stands at stud....and not Kentucky.  I run as fast as I can away from the 10 second 2 year olds.  I am not interested in a horse that can go 1/4 mile.  If I was, I would be in the 1/4 horse business.  Breeders need to wise up and start gelding more and not breeding everything under the sun.

It would be interesting to keep track of these babies as they make their way past the sale ring and onto the track. As Scott said, one fast work is not going to turn them into the next Kentucky Derby winner. I'd like to see how they fare when put up against other runners that have been given the opportunity to mature and grow before being asked for their all.

Look at the race results once in a while and you will see that many great horses graduate from the 2yo sales to become high level racehorses. Last years champion 2yo Stardom Bound worked 10.1 at Barrets and Big Brown the Kentucky Derby winner last year was a 2yo sale grad who worked fast. Educate youselves before you start to disparage a very important facet of the horse industry. Research shows the concussion that these young horses recieve from working fast early in life actually helps to develop a sounder stronger horse.

Obviously there are always some unscrupulous people in every business but do not attempt to put everyone in the same boat. Most consignors are honest hard working people who care a lot about the welfare of the horse.

• Scot's reply:  Dr. Larry Bramlage of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital is perhaps the world's most renowned Thoroughbred racehorse veterinarian.  His research supports what you say -- training and concussion in the 2-year-old Thoroughbred actually aids its development.  Here's a great article by him:  The Racing of Two-Year-Olds.  (This ran in The Blood-Horse earlier in 2008.) ... While I personally prefer to wait until a horse is at least 3 before racing, I respect Dr. Bramlage's point on racing 2-year-olds.  However, I do not believe that 220- and 440-yard sprints when the animals are 21 to 26 months old are in their best interests, and are not the type of training that has been used on 2-year-olds over the past centuries.

I have clients who tell me to go down to the 2yr old sales and find the best horse for the money. I watch every horse work and I throw away anything under 10.1 because I know I can't buy them practically.  I'll look for the immature horse that gallops and pedigree, and physical suggest a 2 turn horse with soundness in the family.  I've had great luck buying out of 2yr old sales and bringing the horse to a farm in KY and not putting it back into any type of work until mid June. My clients have the patience for this type of strategy and it has payed off as the first horses I bought for them are now 6 yr olds and while they aren't graded stakes horses, they have all made over 150,000 in earnings and are still running competetively in small stakes and allowances throughout the country.  These owners love the game, and most of all love to watch their horses run once a month.  I feel like I would be doing a disservice to my clients if I bought them a horse that ran only through it's 3yr old season.

Interesting Dr. Larry Bramlage's article mentioned here. I was infuriated at the pre-Preakness broadcast when he defended this idea of 2 year olds who ran having more starts than horses who started later than two. Hate to say it but no many people in the industry choose not to race their horses at two. If they are not racing at two it is because they *can't*. The reason they can't is because they are not sound enough. So what it boils down too is that horses that are not sound enough at two to make it to the track, will inevitably make less starts. I was awestruck that it was spun a different way. This is a big problem and we need to recognize it. Thanks for bringing it up!

Three words. The Green Monkey. Ran a blistering pace under 10 seconds, only to be a dud at the track before injuring himself bad enough that he had to be retired. If these buyers want insane speed fractions over short distances, they should start looking at Quarter Horses, not Thoroughbreds.

Novice Investors, who are the current market, need to turn their portfolios into profit today. $$$

I hate the idea of pushing these horses to run so fast when so many of them are not even literally two years old yet. I'm all for racing two year olds in the second half of the year; let them continue growing the first half.

I've read that the fastest working horses from the two-year-old sales earn more money and stay sounder.  I've been to most two-year-old sales in the last six years, and attribute this year's times to a very fast racetrack.  They've changed the rules about stick use, and sitting in the bleachers for this year's event, I was struck by the lack of stick work.  Almost without exception, horses were not being hit at all, but were running full speed because they're generous and compliant creatures of habit.  Breeze shows may not be the ideal method for sorting out talent levels in young horses, but what I've read above doesn't jibe with what I saw on breeze day.  Incidentally, Stardom Bound didn't work 10 1/5 at Barretts.  She worked in 33 and 3/5 at OBS on a track that was probably a couple of ticks slower than this year's.

Maybe someone (Scot...hint hint), could do a study to find out what kind of success, or lack of, "All" of the under 10.0 sales grads of the past, have had in their careers at the Track ???

A where are they now and what did they achieve kind of thing.

Maybe a study like that can prove just how good or bad it is to attempt ???   And or whether it's worth the higher purchase price.

Something along those lines anyways.

• Scot's reply:  Thanks, CRob.  I would actually approach it a bit differently.  I'd group all 2-year-olds that worked one or two or three furlongs, regardless of whether they hit a fraction over or under the bullet standards.  I would compare this group to two other groups of 2-year-olds:  those that were galloped or truly breezed ("breeze-up" vs. "work" is probably a whole new discussion...), and those that went on to a 2YO campaign without having gone through early pre-sale training.  Don't forget that the "slow" hips that run 10-3/5 or 11-0 are still *trained* the same as the sub-10 horses, and might themselves turn in a sub-10 work under slightly different conditions. 

When will this end?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this format does not work and cannot continue to exist.  

It would be refreshing to hear that a sales company voluntarily changes its format to end this practice and its abuses on both the horses and the unwitting buyers. End users/trainers get real.

Clearly buyers of two year olds have lost confidence in many consignors and their used up product.  Along with the global eco meltdown, two year old sales and their practices are causing a major market upheaval.  

Why not do the right thing in the first place and protect the industry as a whole.

I saw a 2 1/8 mile GIII race here in Japan this past weekend. We need more big money stamina races. Get this focus off of speed. A sub 10 sec furlong is great... but if the horse can't go the next 8 furlongs what is the point?

it's practices like this that cause a 6 figure yearling to show up in a maiden claimer claimer for 40 grand! and as for the green monkey, what a fraud of a pedigree. other than discreet cat, who flamed out as a three yr old,what has he done as sire. green monkey sold for that outrageous price based off of that work and the fact that discreet cat was thought to be a star in the making-not! those 2 things(especially that 1 furlong "blowout" concealed the truth. and despite what they say he wasn't retired because of injury. he was retired because his resume looks better as 4 race maiden than it would as a maiden claimer. breeders should be beware!

Just off the top of my head, I'd like a lot more info surrounding that study.  LIke WHO buys horses that don't start at 2, and why didn't they start, how are they managed (stalled?), etc.  There may be a bias that has nothing (or only partially) to do with horses racing at 2.  

You are absolutely right. What is even more disturbing is the industry (ie.the sales companies and so called professionals that are there to monitor the welfare of racehorses) even allow that much pressure on the limbs of such young horses. We were always taught that a young horse should not be asked to go working speeds until their knees are closed. What 2 yr olds in these sales (in Feb.) have closed knees? At the very least, why is this not made a requirement by the sales company. If your racehorse's knees are not at least a B or an A, then you cannot work, only gallop. The buyer would likely appreciate the asset (racehorse) not be ruined physically, let alone mentally.

I just wanted to point out that, at the Breeze Ups in Europe, they do not officially time the workouts for the sales entries, though individual buyers may time the horses themselves.

There is much less emphasis on speed here in Europe and, from what I understand, the consignors here are very anti the idea of introducing official work out times.

The lack of horsemanship is astounding!  If you are not able to watch a horse gallop and tell if the stride looks like what you would want in a race horse, well maybe you should try something else.  The blazing fast furlong is not a race or even the length of a race.  The horse has to be able to continue to go further.

i couldnt the atical more i think that pushing a 2yearold is a wrong move its a good way to break bones and i think if you noticed over the past several years we have had more horses brake bones what ever happen to a hore with some longevity that could run longer instead of runing 6-7 races adn having to quit i think this is what we havent seen a triple crown winner since the 70s and thats why we see good horses like barbaro and eight bells get killed i m npot saying that was the cause of them getting killed but that may have been part of the problem and i have been noticing the field have been getting weaker and weaker by the year and i think this year especially

Before spouting off about this, why don't you check out the fact sheet published on the OBS website? It refers to a Jockey Club study that categorically proved that horses prepared to work at juvenile sales outperform every other group in terms of quality, longevity, and soundness.  You don't have a clue about the level of care and professionalism that is inherent to the 2-year-old in training industry.  Why else would the world's leading buyers participate like they do?

• Scot's reply:  Thanks for your comments, Jerome.  I see a Quick Facts sheet about the success of OBS select 2YOs but I haven't found the study by The Jockey Club that you refer to.  Please send the link!

I would NOT say that the leading buyers participate. Rarely do you see Demi O'Byrne or John Ferguson participate in the 2yo buying.  They tend to buy yearlings and mares.  The one instance that comes to mind is a poor example in The Green Monkey.

Wrong Again.  Demi has always been a strong believer in the 2-year-old market. He's just very selective.  Ferguson has been the leading buyer at many juvenile sales, as have Jess Jackson, Bob Lewis, Zayat, Satish Sanan, Mike Ryan, Puglisi, etc.

When it comes to $ spent, yes.  But, do they ALWAYS pick the fast ones?  I think that the top buyers pick the ones that they think will be good on and off the track.  Potential breeding stock.

I am not in the market to buy at this time.  However, my first choice would be a yearling that I could prepare the way that I wanted to.  My second choice would be a 2 year old that was going a quarter in about 25 or 26 right now.  Blazing fast is not the way to go, perhaps that is why so many top 2 year olds don't pan out as 3 year olds.  I still think that a stallion that is a one or 2 year wonder should not be bred from.  In order to promote longevity stallions should race a minimum of 3 years and retire sound and RACE UNMEDICATED!  We may lose some speed, but we would be breeding sounder horses.

So, if so many people agree that this is a bad idea, and the industry as a whole is trying to show more concern for the welfare of the horse and do damage control of its tainted image, WHY ARE WE STILL DOING THIS?

Lion Heart was a fast worker who was sound a durable, we can all find examples of horses that were sonund and horses that were unsound based on their early training. Barbaro did not go through a 2yo sale neither did Eight Bells. These are the two most visible breakdowns in the industry in the recent past. Maybe they woyld still be alive if they had the conditioning that the fast 2yo sales horses had early in their lives.

If people are going to make coments on this industry they should educate themselves a little before they start making claims about things that they know very little about

I know most of us on here think that a sub 10.0 time is a bad idea, BUT...

In light of Dr. Bramalage's article, The (supposed) Jockey Club study and the Quick Fact from the OBS...i'm not exactly sure what to think about it now.

At least not untill we can see a full Report of the Numbers (Total Lifetime Wins, Starts and Earnings) of these sub 10.0 runners.   And even the true technical ages of the horses at the time of the sale.  In case that makes a difference.

I believe when Dr. Bramlage said that training two year olds does help strengthen their bones,  he meant in gradually increasing gallops, followed by controlled breezes - not making them go as fast as they possibly can down the stretch on a specific day.  I also read that a large percentage of the " big" horses are homebreds, who don't need to perform before they're ready, and can be prepared  for racing appropriately and in a timely manner.

Great article and I too don't like seeing these babies put under so much pressure to clock fast times either.  

It is good that these blog sites tackle so many controversial issues and give anyone a chance to air their views and if change is needed then to lobby for it.  

Well done to  The BloodHorse for allowing controversy and strong views on so many topics. I for one enjoy the blog sites very much and have learnt so much from those who contribute.  So many thanks.

I hope an end can be put to making two year olds go so fast in the breeze ups and that it is possible to go back to the traditional way of "judging" a horse's capability.  I agree with what you say in this article and with many of the comments.  

Have registered with the horse racing fantasy game but not yet had chance to play but am looking forward to doing so!  It sounds really great so thanks for that too!

God Bless

Best wishes

Abbie

While I know this blog is probably dormant, I just read a report from the OBS that there were five crop violations during the works for buyers........well done. VERY well done, folks. Seems a point has been made from an unexpected quarter! The thought of EVER buying a two year old in training at one of these sales makes me dream lovingly of having my lungs removed with a spoon...a real choice?? NAH, give me the spoon every time........YE GODS!

I knew there was a reason, other than the fact shes going to be a great horse for the price, we made our purchase of a 2 year old in training from Adena!