Did Someone Ask for Distance?

re: Did Someone Ask for Distance?

Kate — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:02:52 GMT

The ideal Thoroughbred should be bred for the Triple S system...

- Speed

- Stamina

- Soundness

Unfortunately, it seems like breeders are focusing more and more on just speed. And while it has worked (producing many of our recent "champions"), ultimately it's going to bring the breed down.

Horses who don't have the stamina and soundness to compete at longer distances just aren't going to contribute to the longterm success of the breed. There's one good thing to be said about racing horses every week like they did in the 1920s...at least it weeded out the weaklings. And did a three-year-old who won a Triple Crown and/or Breeders Cup race retire at the end of that season to go to the breeding shed? No; they went on to race at four, and maybe even five.

We need to bring back the longer distances, and we need to race horses longer and breed to those who are able to last (Lawyer Ron might be a good one to breed to in the upcoming years). Maybe the fact that we're not doing that is why we haven't had a Triple Crown winner in nearly thirty years (and I bet it will be thirty, because none of the current three-year-old crop is impressing me as being Triple Crown winner potential)

re: Did Someone Ask for Distance?

cybertron log — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 06:28:41 GMT

I do wish the tracks started throwing in more routes with good purse money to draw in interested trainers with horses that need the distance. I'm tired of sprinters, and I don't mean to come off as prejudiced or anything but I'm kind of tired of the Storm Cats too.

I felt awful when I found out Street Sense, Hard Spun, and Any Given Saturday were all retired to stud at the end of 2007. We not only need longer races, but we also need longer races with serious standing and money to keep horses like them in training. I've only been in this game for seven years, but I'm already angry that so many good sound horses are being sent to the breeding shed without a chance to strut their stuff as four-year-olds. It also frustrates me how so many horses don't have much stamina anymore. I enjoy watching horses go two-three turns; I consider it the ultimate test of the ultimate racing machine.

It's such a shame we're all for money and quick fixes.

re: Did Someone Ask for Distance?

i h — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:51:08 GMT

as a trainer, i have been able to find decent quality horses given up on because they are bred to run in races that are not available for these type of races. Horses that want to go long and modest ability on the turf end up running cheaper and cheaper in the only races available, only short or a mile and a sixteenth on the dirt.

A true mile and a half dirt horse will never get the maiden races, the allowance races, even 25 to 75 claiming are not available to them, so the run at distances that they are not really good at and they end up cheap or broken. A 20,000 turf horse usually never gets the chance to break his maiden because so few places will run the medium level horses on the turf. These horses are not early two year olds, and the demand declines as the owners cannot make money with them. Racing secretaries really need to encourage owners own more long horses or the breed will lose its diversity. The industry has become too focused on speed and early 2 yr olds with this trend both damaging to the breed and to the industry itself. Unfortunatly, there is no answer because as long as the money is there near term, the economics of the business makes it a self perpetuating cycle. Any answers that cannot change the money flow, are as useless and the drug problems. As long as trainers are rewarded with more success then suspensions, medication issues cannot be resolved.

I'd love to hear some realistic solutions.......

re: Did Someone Ask for Distance?

Jak — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:54:12 GMT

To summarize racing like you have is difficult. As a racing group, we really don't have an overall meeting of the minds EXCEPT in GRADED RACES where its hard to find sprints. Russia has a better chance to be reunited than racing in the USA. Its going to take NY another 20 years just to sort out their jackpot.

Instead of wrapping all of racing up by saying breeders aren't shooting for stamina or soundness is inaccurate. The outside influences such as too much racing & too many expenses are huge factors. If you have a mare that won one of the marathon allowance races in NJ, PA, MD or DE that you are talking about and then retire her, do you breed her to a source of stamina like AP Indy to give her more stamina or give her some cheap speed in MD so the foal can run a flat mile?. Either way you lose. No one will pay you the value of an overbred AP Indy from an allowance mare at an auction. There is no value in a Cheap Speed sire unless he (for example) can bring on serious 2 YO's in his freshman year like Malibu Moon or City Zip and how many of them are there?. That is a short window of opportunity. If you are that lucky then bet the lottery or take a short on Bear Sterns.

It takes real money, real pastures, water, feed, straw, hay, labor and care plus real time to breed an animal that needs 11 months and 5 days to have a foal and then more than 2 more years to race it.

It starts with too many states that allow too much racing and then goes to the ownership of the track right to the racing office to the pressure from owners to break even to the quality of trainers to their need to make a profit and so forth. For example, this summer alone, Philly Park, Prescott and Penn National are all going to be open at the same time in one state. Add Charles Town, MD/VA, NJ and Delaware; and a 6 horse field may be big this summer. The sprinter doesn't stay as sound because of the all out effort, to build up a horse to run a marathon takes incredible stamina within its blood as well as time to condition between races.

When they are injured, we can't throw them in a pit to change a tire; a micro fracture takes as long to heal correctly as a chipped knee, again, surgery and a round pen must be added to the cost. If you want to be a breeder, one has to remember, its still farming and without major incentives for future family members to stay on, its nearly as difficult to keep it going as a dairy. North Ridge, Spendthrift, Calument, to name a few were enormous operations that have been sold or absorbed. When you have a choice of a new car for the wife or a better stallion fee in KY, hello MD or PA!!

Immediately you are in the trap. Honey, here are the keys.

With the increase in racing the bettor needs to adjust their approach. Its still entertainment and instead of looking at it on a race by race basis, we need to look at it as a Double or Pick 3. Even if there are 3 seven horse fields in a row, that is still a matrix of 7x7x7 which means there are truly 343 possibilities with reduced take outs vs straight races.

If you wish to continue the discussion, I would be happy to do so but I'm out of time; I have to check the mares on birth row.

Best of luck.

re: Did Someone Ask for Distance?

Hagan — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:22:41 GMT

As a breeder. Thank you for telling the real truth. Great blog.

Did Someone Ask for Distance?

The Five-Cross Files — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:38:35 GMT

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