Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance : TBA

World Series of Horse Racing?

cdawahare — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:24:00 GMT

By Gene Kershner, EquiSpace

While checking out some of John Daly's funky golf pants the other day, I started thinking about the Skins Game, a made-for-TV golf event, usually held around Thanksgiving which would bring together that year's hottest names in golf. This led me to thinking about how what kind of made for TV event could bring horse racing back into the mainstream again after the Triple Crown Season is put to rest. Also, in my thought process was how can we get Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra into the same race. Golf used to put together its four major winners into the World Series of Golf match that was a made-for-TV event, which is now the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. This got the gears (squirrels) spinning in my head even further. Using Ernie Munick's idea of a race during halftime of the Thanksgiving Day Lions game, which would be the perfect time to produce my dream event called the World Series of Horse Racing, which could be held during the fall meet at Churchill Downs. Can you think of a better time slot for promoting horse racing to the masses?

Here's how a horse would qualify:

1) Must win a Grade I over 8.5 furlongs

2) Must be at least 3 years old

3) Field limited to top 14 qualifiers based on set criteria (i.e, standings, earnings)

Based on the above criteria, here is the list of the top 20 horses through June 30^th that would qualify for the WS of Horse Racing event if we used the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance Standings based on a point system for graded wins:

1	Rachel Alexandra
2	Einstein
3	Pioneerof the Nile
4	Mine That Bird
5	Stardom Bound
6	Life is Sweet
7	Summer Bird
8	Santa Teresita
9	Quality Road
10	General Quarters
11	Seventh Street
12	Hooh Why
13	Macho Again
14	Zenyatta
15	Well Armed
16	I Want Revenge
17	Albertus Maximus
18	Seattle Smooth
19	Jonesboro
20	Magical Fantasy

That's a pretty impressive list of horses vying for the national championship of racing. You've got the Classic winners, you've got the Dubai Cup winner, you've got Zenyatta, in addition to quality 3 year olds like I Want Revenge, Quality Road and Pioneerof the Nile and quality older horses like Einstein and Macho Again. Talk about a monster race that would generate some unbelievable chatter, not only in horse racing land, but in the main stream.

Of course there are a slew of other issues to work out like weight assignments, purse money, television rights, my vig (thought I'd slip that one in there), how it affects the Breeders Cup, etc. Of course, Wayne Lukas will probably put this out there next year as his idea anyway.

Could it work?

This Horse Was in Good Hands; Farrier to Be Remembered at Virginia Farm Where Secretariat Was Foaled

cdawahare — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:45:00 GMT

By Fran Jurga, Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

This photo just showed up in my email a while ago. I thought it was quite beautiful...and even moreso when I realized "the rest of the story".

This horse's toe crack has been patched with PMMA adhesive, which will harden into a shell-like covering that closely mimics the hoof wall. Plastic wrap is placed over the material while it sets and the farrier is smoothing the big patch as it goes through its metamorphosis from a pastey liquid to a solid.

The same procedure is used to build up heels, fill in gaps in the wall or sometimes create a quarter crack patch or cover patch lacing. A similar process was used during the 2008 Triple Crown by hoof repair specialist Ian McKinlay in his work on Derby-Preakness winner Big Brown's separations and crack. The material also can be used to glue shoes directly onto hooves.

By feeling the texture and heat through the plastic, the farrier will know when it is safe to put the foot down. Once hardened, the patch can be rasped and shaped and may be indistinguishable from the "real" wall at the quarters if the job is done with skill.

You can be pretty sure that was the case here; those long fingers that look like they should belong to an artist or musician were Mr. Edgar Watson's, an expert farrier from Keswick, Virginia. Eddie died this fall, and the farrier world hasn't been the same since.

Eddie was a supremely talented farrier and a wonderful man. Many of Virginia's top Thoroughbreds, foxhunters and jumping horses were helped along by Mr. Watson's skilled and caring hands.

I'd like to thank Dwight Usry of Peak's Forge in Hanover, Virginia for sharing this photo.

CAPTION: Architect's drawing of the Britt-Watson Veterinarian/Farrier Facility to be built in Virginia in memory of farrier Eddie Watson.

Be sure to watch for news of Virginia's fundraiser for the Britt-Watson Veterinarian/Farrier Facility to be built in Mr. Watson's memory at The Meadow Event Park, a new horse park and home for the state fair. The 2,600-acre Meadow Stud in Doswell, Virginia was once a legendary breeding farm where Secretariat was foaled on March 30, 1970 and is now owned by the State Fair of Virginia, a 501 c (3) organization that is converting the farm site to an event center.

Dr. Olive Britt, whose name goes on the building with Mr. Watson, was the veterinarian who foaled Secretariat for the Chenerys; she also lived on the farm. He would go on to win the Triple Crown in 1973 and become the most famous racehorse of the second half of the 20^th century.

Farrier Product Distribution (FPD) of Shelbyville, Kentucky has already kicked off the fundraising with a $1000 donation.

If you'd like to chip in, I can fax the donation form to you or click here to send Dwight an email.

Republished with permission of Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Photo of Eddie Watson's hands by Dwight Usry.

To learn more: visit http://www.hoofcare.blogspot.com or email hoofblog@hoofcare.com.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a rich information platform for all types of news and media related to the care of horses' hooves and legs. The related journal, Hoofcare and Lameness, is dedicated to the professionals who specialize in this important aspect of equine care. Visit http://www.hoofcare.com to learn more and to subscribe.

What is Twitter Good For?

cdawahare — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:09:00 GMT

By Patrick Patten, Handride

Well what was once a trickle is now a full blown tsunami. Twitter is here, and whether people know what it's good for or not they are tweeting and clogging up blackberries and phone in-boxes by the millions. (FYI no one really knows exactly what Twitter is good for, hell the people running it can't make a dime off it.) I was not a early convert. In fact, I have had my doubts about its viability and still do. However, let me give it a go and tell you (horse racing fans & industry) what I'm looking for out of your tweets, and how I think it can be useful.

The easiest thing you can do to your Twitter is turn it into an RSS. The TBA uses twitterfeed. I like the idea of putting out the TBA stories out there via Twitter, but I wouldn't want to put a huge RSS on Twitter. Something that would post more than 25 stories a day might just turn into noise and as a follower I'd probably stop following. The truth is there are many ways of getting an RSS feed and Twitter is not the easiest. So, tread lightly on this front: Maybe just your favorite stories, or the "hot" stories of the day, headlines etc.

Make Twitter public. This is probably the biggest hurdle for the racing industry. Yes I can log on to Twitter and see your tweets but how does that benefit anyone else? It doesn't. The TBA grouped together to form the Twitter tab on the homepage. Now someone who doesn't have Twitter can see what we're talking about and follow our links. Take your Twitter feed and display it somewhere. Not every post will make sense or be "topical" but it does add personality. The back and forth a twitter feed can have with another member might look confusing to a person who can only see one side, but it is what it is, people can figure it out.

Horse racing information is probably THE perfect fit for Twitter. Things like scratches, carryovers, and changes are a good start. However, I would love someone to twitter from the rail about what horses look like, action on the tote board, a funny pic of something happening at the track right then and there. I'm not sure you can call this news, but it does have value. The way a horse looked before a race after the race is run is worth $0, before the race is run is a different story. Twitter allows that value to come out because it is real time and short. Imagine a day where virtual stable tweets you your stable workouts. Image a clocker just putting out little comments about workouts. You could have the same thing at sales.

Twitter is all those things, but it can't stand alone. Don't expect anyone to get a hundred thousand Twitter followers unless you have a name like Shaq or Brooke Burke. I think of Twitter as a public Instant Message conversation w/ everyone at the same time. That idea can't possibly stand alone, it has to be leaning on something. For the TBA it's inside our homepage and adds a little character to our TBA feed, and some members post their tweets on their site. This "conversation" might be more difficult for industry folks. Are they willing to share a conversation?

To all the tracks out there I'd encourage you to collectively come together somewhere (maybe the TBA homepage email me: contact@tbablogs.com) and everywhere, and I'd include and encourage the writers to do the same thing. A conversation is only as good as those partaking, if you're talking to yourself you know you're not a good Tweeter.

Consider some of these Tweeters as Industry: BloodHorse, TTimes, NYRAnews, NTRA1, Beulah Park, Johnleemedia, NYRAComm

And of course the one you need to follow: TBAblogs

And And you can follow all the TBA members who Tweet over at the homepage 2nd tab.

Why Can't Racing Generate America's Next Great Hero?

cdawahare — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:57:00 GMT

By Gene Kershner, EquiSpace

I'm thinking the timing is right.

A-Rod (I refuse to call him A-Fraud) is campaigning for forgiveness for taking performance-enhancing drugs. Michael Phelps has potentially lost millions for his recent appearance with that piece of equipment that rhymes with "wrong". The NFL is a daily police blotter, this week alone, Marshawn Lynch, Ahmad Bradshaw and Super Bowl winning kicker Jeff Reed were in the news for being on the wrong side of the law (and the law won). Lest we forget to mention what Michael Vick has done to his fans. How 'bout the Plaxico fiasco? Basketball is not exactly unscathed, I've run out of fingers to count the number of paternity suits currently pending. The closest we can come to the Great American Hero out of the four majors is Lebron James, and we'll see what the King does to his hometown Cleveland when the Big Apple comes a callin'.

So with all of the bad news out there in sports lately, isn't the timing perfect for a horse to capture a nation and propel our sport back on the front pages? The question we face annually, is whether there is a horse out there that can corral the Triple Crown, one of the most challenging feats out there over a timeframe from May 2nd to June 6th. When I googled "Triple Crown Hero", the horses who show up, first and foremost, are Secretariat, Affirmed and Seattle Slew. Horses that did the trick back in the 70's. So who is it? Old Fashioned? Not sure he can go the mile and a quarter, especially if he gets hooked into another speed duel up front (highly likely) in Louisville. What about one of the SoCal horses (The Pamplemousse, Pioneerof the Nile or Chocolate Candy)?

How about a jockey? When I googled hero above, the only jock that showed up was Stevie Cauthen. That's right, the 1977 Sportsman of the Year who has four SI covers under his belt. Can you believe it's been 32 years? With the new Animal Planet series bringing jockeys to the forefront of reality television, is there any chance a jockey can capture the hero role this year? Garret Gomez will most likely be on Pioneerof the Nile for Bob Baffert, can the two time Eclipse winner grab the spotlight by winning his first Derby? Last year Desormeaux and Big Brown had it within reach, only to pull up short, but the major sports weren't on the downer they are mired in the controversy they are in today.

Our pal Ernie Munick has suggested many times in the past a big race at halftime or intermission of a major sporting event (i.e. Curlin vs. Big Brown match race on Thanksgiving Day??) could generate a new hero or rooting interest for our sport.

The Vacancy light is ON, I just hope, for our sports sake, there's a horse or jock out there that flips the switch. Whaddya think?

What's In a Name?

cdawahare — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:39:00 GMT

By Frank Vespe, That's Amore Stable, LLC

When True Quality (Elusive Quality-Louve Mysteriuse, by Seeking the Gold) snuck off to win yesterday's Grade II General George at Laurel, he not only earned his first graded stakes victory but also struck a blow for that hoary old chestnut of name type: the aspirational name.

There are several common name types, and the aspirational one -- a name possessing qualities we hope our horse will, as well -- is perhaps the most common. Yesterday's General George featured no fewer than three such names (four, if you consider Lord Snowdon's life one to which you might aspire): Fabulous Strike (Smart Strike-Fabulous Find, by Lose Code), Eternal Star (Five Star Day-Retsina's Princess, by Eternal Prince), and of course, True Quality. These are the sorts of memorable names that look so good on the win photo after a stakes win.

The problem with aspirational names, of course, reveals itself when the horse doesn't live up to them. True Quality is a fine name for a stakes winner; it might not look so good on, say, a lifetime maiden. In fact, names like this are almost an advertisement for the horsemanship and prescience of the namer; a good horse with an aspirational name is a way of showing the world you had it pegged from the start. A bad horse with an aspirational name? Not so much.

Names are on my mind these days as we name our juvenile filly (Peace Rules-Zaylah, by Pulpit). With that sort of pedigree, there are many directions you can go. Decisions, decisions.

Some aspirational names are also emblematic of another common type: the clever combination of elements of the sire's name and the dam's name, or the damsire's name. Funny Cide (Distorted Humor-Belle's Good Cide, by Slewacide) was one example of that approach.

Some combinations work better than others, though. In our case, I'd suggested Concordat; it's fair to say that our partners responded with a resounding shrug. Not so clever after all. Similarly, Gift From the Sea (Stormy Atlantic- So Generous, by Fly So Free), a nice enough young filly that ran yesterday at Laurel is saddled with a name that calls to mind a sort of equine version of Botticelli's "Birth of Venus," also known as Venus on the Half-Shell.

Then there's the martial approach. Racing history is dotted with successful military horses: Man O' War, War Admiral, War Emblem. These names seem to generate a "love 'em or hate 'em" response, depending, I suppose, on the tenor of the times and the predilections of the individual.

Many names are all but indecipherable to the outside world but have great meaning to those doing the naming. We own, for example, a filly named The Big Four Oh (Parker's Storm Cat-Nora Dancer, by Runaway Groom). Why The Big Four Oh? A fortieth birthday present, of course.

Ultimately, a nice thing about animals is that they're unaware of the baggage we attach to names. My old, female dog is unaware that she has a male's name and is named for a muppet; sorry about that, Grover.

Likewise, a good horse can outrun a bad name. It's not the horse's fault he's named The Pamplemousse; fortunately, he's faster than a grapefruit. And Capt. Candyman Can should be fine, as long as they don't ask him to take a sunrise and cover it in chocolate. Or have Sammy Davis, Jr. ride him.

We'll have a name chosen soon enough. And then we'll see whether she's good enough to live up to it. Or run from it. Whatever it takes.

Reversal of Fortune: Hirsch Jacobs's Searching

cdawahare — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:31:00 GMT

By Teresa Genaro of Brooklyn Backstretch

This Ones for Phil's victory at Gulfstream in the Sunshine Millions Dash over the weekend has occasioned much conversation about the horse's massive improvement. How could this horse have run this race? What's with the trainer change? Oh, that Dutrow again-look what he's done.

On websites and bulletin boards, the chatter, the accusations proliferate, detractors and defenders rushing to promote their views.

What, I wonder, would folks have made of Searching?

At age two, Searching (War Admiral - Big Hurry, by Black Toney) made thirteen starts but never made it to the winner's circle. She finished second once and third six times. William Robertson tells us what happened next:

As a three-year-old (in 1955), she resumed her frustrating pattern. Seven straight times she was in the money without winning the main part, and after she finished second five successive times owner Ogden Phipps sold her to Hirsch Jacobs for $15,000. Naturally, Searching won first out for her new owner.

Not too long before this, Jacobs had made headlines when he claimed Stymie for $1,500 and subsequently trained him to a Hall of Fame career, during which Stymie won over $900,000. Apparently for Hirsch Jacobs, lightning did strike twice.

Fourteen months after Jacobs purchased Searching, there was no trace of the 0-20 maiden of the previous year, as noted by James Roach in the New York Times:

There's a new pet in Hirsch Jacobs' barn. She's a 3-year-old filly, and her name is Searching.

When a visitor goes to her stall, she lifts a front foot in greeting and then shifts her weight and lifts the other one. It's a pleasing bit of business.

Also pleasing to members of the Jacobs family is the way Searching has learned to pick ‘em up and put ‘em down in a race. In today's Saratoga feature...she won for the sixth time since Jacobs bought her for $15,000 last June.

At the time of her purchase, Searching was a nonwinner...For the Jacobs family...she has collected $22,650 in a little more than two months.

Before too long, trips to the winner's circle in major stakes races became a matter of course for Searching and her connections: At three, the filly won the Vagrancy and the Gallorette; at four, the Diana, the Maskette, the Top Flight, and the Correction; at five, the Distaff and the Gallorette (again); at six, the Diana (again), the Molly Pitcher, the Matriarch, and the Correction (again).

On her first victory in the Diana, in 1956, James Roach wrote:

As every racetracker knows, Jacobs is the man who holds the international record for being lucky as a horse-purchaser. He claimed Stymie for $1,500 and won more than $900,000 with the old boy.

Slightly more than a year after being purchased as a perpetual loser, Searching had fifteen wins, including five stakes races, to her credit.

Two years later, Searching won her second Diana, and by this time turf writers were acknowledging not only her astonishing record, but her personality:

Searching, a little mare with a streak of gameness, became the twentieth winner of the $27,250 Diana Handicap today...Searching weights only 950 pounds and stands fifteen hands high. She won the race in 1956 and was beaten a head by Pardala last year. (Conklin)

Searching carried the top weigh of 123 pounds, giving seven pounds to the runner-up Endine, and eleven to Rare Treat, who finished third.

Between the ages three and six, Searching hit the board in twenty-five stakes races, making a total of 89 lifetime starts and compiling a record of 25 - 14 - 16, earning $327,381. She bore eight foals--seven winners, three of them stakes winners-and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1978. Not bad for a horse who broke her maiden in her 21^st start.

An 0 for 20 filly moving from one well-known trainer (Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons) to another (Hirsch Jacobs), utterly reversing her winless form and beginning a career that would land her in the Hall of Fame. Imagine the conversations if that happened today...

Sources:

Conklin, William R. "Searching Defeats Endine by Half-Length in Diana Handicap at Saratoga." New York Times. 21 Aug 1958. 16 Jan 2008.

Roach, James. "Searching, 5 - 1, Saratoga Victor." New York Times. 10 Aug. 1955. 16 Jan. 2008.

Roach, James. "Searching Triumphs By Two Lengths in $28,000 Diana Handicap at Saratoga." New York Times. 23 Aug 1956. 16 Jan 2008.

Robertson, William H.P. The History of Thoroughbred Racing in America. New York: Bonanza Books, 1964.

Teresa Genaro writes regularly about New York racing at Brooklyn Backstretch.

Managing Expectations

cdawahare — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:17:00 GMT

By Lisa Grimm, Superfectablog.com

While there is much excitement in certain quarters over the upcoming debut of brother, Barbaro's brother Nicanor, it's a good idea to temper expectations with a bit of reality. Most horses never compete at racing's highest level. Some show early promise that suggests they have what it takes - but more often than not, things don't pan out. Let's examine the case of another horse bred and (formerly) owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson - the once-promising filly Sweetest Kiss. They were quite high on her in 2007 (Roy, himself, expressed great enthusiasm for her at a work event and I've been tracking her ever since). Unfortunately for the horse and everyone's bank accounts, she has never quite lived up to those early expectations.

Things began well; an auspicious turf debut at Laurel under the tutelage of Barclay Tagg, followed quickly by an allowance win on the Preakness undercard led to her inclusion in Globeform's 50 to Follow list of 2007 (along with the likes of Curlin, Einstein, and Rags to Riches and Wait a While). Tougher allowance company did not seem to suit her in her next race, but she still managed to hit the board in two subsequent races with comparatively easier competitors.

2008 did not prove to be the highlight of her career; she did earn a little money at Gulfstream Park, then after another disappointing effort at Keeneland, she won her first claiming race. She was then claimed for $35,000 - and stopped winning (so far) altogether.

New owner Barry R. Ostrager (owner of Questroyal Stud in New York) first tried her at Saratoga with trainer Carl J. Domino, but she was a gate scratch in August (I don't have details on why). He then moved Sweetest Kiss from the New York/Mid-Atlantic circuits to Suffolk Downs and into the care of trainer Michael J. Collins. She began there at the $20,000 claiming level, but didn't get a share of any purses until her third race at the track - she finally picked up a show spot in late September, six days after her previous race. However, even sticking at the $16,000 claiming level did not seem to suit her talents; she lost her final three races of the year.

Sweetest Kiss was back to try her luck again in early January, this time entered at Beulah Park in Ohio, with a new trainer, Melinda Johnson, listed and at a new claiming price. Here were the details of that race:

Sweetest Kiss is entered to run on January 10, 2009 at BEULAH PARK.

Race: 4 Distance: Five Furlongs Surface: Dirt Age: 5 Sex: Mare
Race Type: Claiming Purse: $ 5,100
Jockey: Edgar Paucar
Trainer: Melinda Johnson
Race conditions: FOR FILLIES AND MARES THREE YEARS OLD AND UPWARD. Three Year Olds, 114 lbs.; Older, 124 lbs. Non-winners of a race since December 10, 2008 Allowed 2 lbs. A race since November 10, 2008 Allowed 4 lbs. Claiming Price $7,500 (Races where entered for $6,250 or less not considered In Weight Allowances) (Ohio Registered Foals Preferred).
Last Raced: 11/08/2008 at SUFFOLK DOWNS in Race 8
Finish Position: 9th
Last Reported Workouts:
12/15/2008-MOUNTAINEER CASINO RACETRACK & RESORT-Four Furlongs-Dirt Muddy-54:20 Breezing
08/18/2008-SARATOGA-Five Furlongs-Turf training Firm-1.03:00 Breezing
07/30/2008-SARATOGA-Four Furlongs-Turf training Firm-48:44 Breezing

Running against Ohio-breds for a share of a $ 5,100 purse was probably not what her breeders hoped for Sweetest Kiss, but there's nothing unusual about her career - she's just proven to be a typical racehorse, not a star. While her winnings are certainly respectable (over $84,000), she's still not making good economic sense; her sire, Thunder Gulch, stood for $65,000 the year she was conceived (he's down to $15,000 now), and of course there have been expenses for feed, vet visits, training, etc. - but at least she made it to the track in the first place.

In the end, Sweetest Kiss was scratched from that January 10^th race; so her yearly debut is now on hold. Here's hoping her first race of 2009 can get her back on a winning track - at least as a confidence-builder if not a money-spinner. And as for Nicanor, we'll just have to wait and see - at least he is actually preparing for a racing debut, which is considerably further along than his older half-brother, Man in Havana, ever got in the racing game.

Signs of the Times

cdawahare — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:00:00 GMT

By George Doria, The Saratoga Sire

The Keeneland January 'Horses of all Ages' sale ended with a drop in gross of 53.4% from last year. The steady and steep drop in prices, that started to make itself evident late last summer, is no longer surprising or really even "news," merely a reality of the times. And, I will argue, the best thing that can happen to the industry.

One of the problems in racing is the cost of keeping a horse in training. At many of the best tracks that dollar amount is already at, or edging toward, $100 dollars a day. That's before vets, cost of meds, shoes, entry fees etc... That's roughly $36,000 a year before the aforementioned added expenses. Yes, it is 'The Sport of Kings' but we need more than just kings to supply our sport. Kings don't have any interest in running $5,000 claimers, they want Derby horses and can afford to pay for them. The problem that has created, however, has caused a trickle down effect that has hurt the industry.

Let's look at it in terms of the current sub-prime housing market mess. In the Hudson Valley, where I live, on the heels of 9/11 there began a mass exodus out of the city and into the suburbs. White collar workers from the city that could afford to pay much more for houses than they traditionally sold for did just that; they paid more, much more. As a result houses that may have been valued at $x dollars quickly escalated to two or three times their true value. Also to accommodate this boon more and larger houses (fashionable pedigrees) popped up out of the ground on almost every available piece of real estate. That had the effect of escalating housing costs even more (think auctions). And, of course, property taxes went up to reflect the newly assessed housing prices as well as to accommodate services for the ever growing population. Many that had lived in those areas either moved (predominantly just a little farther north) because they could no longer keep pace with the taxes or because they could now sell their house - at record amounts - and buy more house elsewhere also at inflated rates. Or, they borrowed money against their newly valued pot of gold. Of course the result of 'trading' real estate as though it was a commodity, not a necessity and long term investment, was that for all intents and purposes (in my estimate) the market sapped about 20-25 years of appreciation out of real estate within 5 years. This left many with the glum reality of paying to eventually own (hopefully) what they already possess without much, or any, hope of appreciation. How does this compare to racing?

Think of taxes as the equal of day money, that $100 a day + expenses that is necessary to keep a horse in training. This cost can't be avoided and doesn't go down. The first thing that happens when someone can't afford to pay that is that they move. In the industry that means they either move their horses to another, less expensive track or get out of the business. But if the price of purses is a reflection of the racing stock at a track, then it is already a losing situation to move one's horse from an A track to a B or C track where purses will make it most unlikely that owners can ever break even or better on their investment. We're already lucky in that most people in this business love it enough to endure losses.

I also think we can equate the cost of horses at the sales over the last decade and a half very well to the escalating price of houses caused by people over paying or speculating on houses as short term investments. Many of those in the industry were forced to purchase stock at ever increasing prices just to keep up with the Jones'. This trend was caused predominantly by two forces, as I see it: the wildly escalating cost of the top end of the market dragging all prices upward, and speculators- pinhookers- in the horse industry, gambling on fashionable stock as a short term investment. Also, the "fashionable" market has had the result of over-breeding stallions. When a horse (especially a new stallion) covers 150-200 mares two things result. The new fashion will demand more money at the sales but when they fail at the track the depreciation is dramatic because there are so many of the same model.

The elements that in the country at large are slowly turning the landscape in many areas into ghost-towns will have, in my opinion, just the opposite effect in the horse industry. While many breeders are going to take quite a hit for a while, or be forced out of business, those breeders that always had an eye toward producing racing stock are going to see their way out of the woods. And, the easing of prices to reflect understandable, reasonable levels of risk will allow many that would have been forced out of racing the ability to continue. A 53.4% (48% avg. 44.1% median) decreased cost at the sales translates to a lot of day money. Of course the top end stock is going to remain out of reach for most. However, many horses that at one time may have been out of reach for many will now become available. Also the escalated risk of speculation will keep pinhookers from buying as high or as many, and that also will have the same result. I think this is a winning situation for the industry.

I know I'm going to get a lot of flack from pinhookers for painting them as part of the problem but to some extent they are. To some extent every middle-man in every industry are both good and bad. Good in that they provide a necessary service, bad in that the price rarely truly reflects the benefit of the service.

The only way owners have to mitigate the cost of racing is through purses. In a time when handle is slumping and as a result purses, the return to reasonable prices at market is a welcome recipe for health in the industry.

While I'm hopeful that what some see as a downturn in business will actually result in renewed health more is necessary to keep the industry healthy. And that something is transparency. In the horse industry that means disclosure of any and all procedures a horse has received. Even the car industry has a lemon law! Buyer beware is not good enough when the price and risk of success is already so high. Transparency coerces integrity. It forces honesty when that is not being offered. And this has to be present in this industry more than any other because the sport's very existence is based on the good faith belief, by the players, that all is legitimate

It all begins in the breeding shed and at the auctions. That is where the cost of racing starts adding up. If all the (possible) appreciation is taken out of a horse before it gets to the track what is the upside of racing? Many have put forth ideas for monetary remedies such as a cap on stallion fees, limiting crop size, minimum standing age of stallions (one of mine read here), among others and combinations of those ideas. The reality may be that there are too many tracks, too many horses and not enough money to support them all. All businesses go through cycles of boom and bust. Some are not going to make it through this retraction. Most that will fail probably deserve to. The continued health of any business is dependant on having a quality product, foresight and good planning based on realty, not speculation. When speculation holds sway the majority lose. For the health of the sport everyone involved in the industry has to view it as a inter-dependant enterprise, not as a piece of real estate that can be fought over and dominated. That means horsemen, tracks, ADW's, breeder's, fans, and governments. Perhaps even the secondary and tertiary businesses such as trucking, farming etc... When the sport is healthy everybody benefits. After the chaff has blown away I think the industry will experience a healthier future from the results of the perceived downturn. Not everything is always as it appears.

The Legendary Football Team That Horse Racing Built - Part II

cdawahare — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:10:00 GMT

By Robert Marks, They’re in The Gate

A outstanding post by Valerie at Foolish Pleasure on Steelers founder Art Rooney and his 2 day killing in 1936 at 2 New York Race Tracks has inspired me to write about my favorite football team and last year's Super Bowl Champs the New York Giants.

For when you mention The Football Rooney Family, thoughts about the Football Mara Family are not far behind. Art Rooney was very close friends with Tim Mara, the original owner of the New York Giants, whose family still owns 50% of the Giants.

Just like Art Rooney, The Mara Family ownership of the New York Giants would not have existed if it were not for Tim Mara's entry into the Horse Racing industry.

After dropping out of school when he was thirteen, Tim Mara became a runner for Thomas "Chicago" O'Brien, a major New York gambler. Mara delivered newspapers and worked in a book bindery by day; by night he made pickups and deliveries for O'Brien. Mara later opened up his own book bindery company, which fronted for his own bookmaking operation.

Soon, Mara worked his way up to his own enclosed space at Belmont Park and became a member of the local racing association. He handled as much as $30,000 in wagers in a single day, a large sum back in the 1920's.

Joe Carr, the NFL's President, wanted a showcase franchise in New York and offered it to fight promoter Billy Gibson. Gibson declined but introduced Carr to his friend Tim Mara.

At the time Mara bought the Giants, he had never even seen a football game. But the promoters of the NFL knew that bookmakers were a type extremely "susceptible" to new forms of investment. They offered Mr. Mara the franchise and he accepted. The then 39 year old Horse racing Bookmaker Tim Mara paid $500 for the New York Giants in August 1925.

Mr. Mara also continued his bookmaking activities at the racetrack.

obituary on Rooney, by day's end he had taken in more than $100,000. The next day, he went up to But his good friend Art Rooney would not bet with Mara. One Saturday, Mr. Rooney went to the old Empire City race track in Yonkers in 1936 and asked his good buddy Tim Mara to pick a winner for him. Mara gave him a 14-1 shot in the 1st race which Rooney reportedly bet $500 on and got back more than $7,000. His run of luck continued,and according to the NY Times Saratoga, and on Monday, parlayed his $100,000 into more than $300,000. Exactly how much he made, as described in detail in Valerie's Blog, depends on who you ask, but rest assured it was a lot (and this is depression era dollars we are talking about !).

Rooney once told sports columnist Red Smith,

"I had Tim Mara's figures but sometimes I'd see something the charts didn't see, like a change of jockeys or post position, and I'd use my own judgement."

When Mr. Rooney came home that day in 1936, he told his wife, Kathleen, who was pregnant,

''We don't have to worry about money again.''

In Mara's honor, the Rooneys named their next child Tim. Chris Mara, a grandson of Timothy J. Mara, is married to one of Mr. Rooney's grandchildren, Kathleen.

Sources:

Mark Maske. War Without Death (Penguin Group, 2007) p. 15

Roberth H. Boyle. It's Just One Man's Family Sports Illustrated 09/25/72

Gerald Eskenazi. Art Rooney, 87, Founder of NFL's Steelers, Dies. (NY Times 08/26/88)

The Legendary Football Team That Horse Racing Built

cdawahare — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:14:00 GMT

By Valerie Grash, FoolishPleasure

On February 1, the Pittsburgh Steelers will attempt to become the first professional football team to win 6 Super Bowl titles-the "Six-Pack" as folks are calling it here in Western Pennsylvania (personally, I think "One for the Thumb" had a much better ring to it).

Since the Golden Era of the 1970s, when Hall of Fame players like Terry Bradshaw, "Mean" Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Franco Harris, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann and "Iron" Mike Webster played, the Steelers have enjoyed great success, but that hadn't always been the case.

The fifth-oldest NFL franchise endured over 40 years without a championship season, yet its team founder Art Rooney Sr.-"The Chief," as Pittsburghers know him-and his family never gave up, committed as they were to their hometown. However, many folks don't realize that the Pittsburgh Steelers may never have existed, or at least survived all those hard financial times (pre-network television contracts, sold-out stadia, and merchandising), without...horse racing.

On July 8, 1933, Art Rooney Sr. paid the $2,500 NFL franchise fee founding the Pittsburgh Pirates (they were renamed the Steelers in 1940), allegedly from racetrack winnings. Being raised above his father's saloon on Pittsburgh's North Side, Rooney was no stranger to bookies and horse players, and apparently demonstrated significant prowess as horse player. The franchise fee story has become legend, but it was a much bigger score in August 1936 that allowed the team to remain in the black (and gold).

The Chief's son Art Rooney Jr., in his 2008 self-published book Ruanaidh (Gaelic spelling of "Rooney"), discusses those two fateful days in 1936:

"AJR was born to play the horses...in 1936, in two days at two tracks in New York, he made a killing that people talked about for years. Talked about and wrote about. Joseph Madden, a New York saloonkeeper with literary aspirations, was the first to record the details. They appeared in his book of memoirs, "Set ‘Em Up." Under the caption "Rooney's Ride," John Lardner re-told the story in his Newsweek column. Other accounts followed, all describing how AJR picked as many as eleven straight winners in that two-day spree and won an indeterminate amount of money which may have totaled upwards of $380,000. Roy Blount, in his book about the Steelers and the Rooneys, said it was ‘probably the greatest individual performance in the history of American horse-playing.' Nobody since has disagreed." (p. 37)

Art Rooney's winning streak began on an August Saturday afternoon at the Empire City track (later Yonkers harness track, which his sons purchased in 1972), and ended upstate on Monday at Saratoga. Rooney's first bet was $8,000 on 8-1 longshot Quel Jeu (the then-six-year-old 1932 Remsen Handicap winner eventually won 25 races in 140 lifetime starts) who won in a photo finish, and it was the first of five long-shots he hit among his seven (on an eight-race card) winners. Exactly how much money Art Rooney won that day hasn't been revealed, although every source agrees it was in excess of $100,000. In his book My Turf, Bill Nack quotes Saratoga bookmaker Reggie Halpern who claims, "Art Rooney won six straight races here and walked out of the betting ring with $105,000. I know. I took some of the action." (p. 25)

However, in his book Art Rooney Jr. says:

"Madden and Lardner wrote that AJR cleared $256,000 at Saratoga that day. AJR told me it was more, but did not say precisely how much more. A friend of his, the director of racing at our Yonkers track, put the figure at $380,000. Other estimates are higher. Whatever he won, and the officials at Saratoga offered him a Brink's armored truck to carry the money back to New York City, he won it at a time when working men were supporting wives and children on as little as twenty dollars a week." (p. 38)

It wasn't to be the last of Rooney's big scores. As Gene over at EquiSpace noted recently, Time magazine reported on a $100,000 score at Aqueduct in September 1937 (although the Temple University Libraries Urban Archives reports the figure was $300,000-a photo of Rooney at the track is viewable here.

With his race track winnings, Art Rooney kept his financially-struggling football franchise afloat-the 1930s Pirates never had a winning season, and it wasn't until 1974 that they won their first championship. In his essay on Rooney, sports historian Bob Ruck mentions that the Steelers' early difficulties may even have been attributable in part to The Chief's love of horse racing, as Rooney admitted:

"Although I understood the football business as well as anybody in the league, I didn't pay the attention to the business that some of the other owners gave it. I was out of town a great deal of the time, at the racetracks. With me, the racetrack was a big business. And generally I'd have a head coach who was like me-he'd like the races." (pp. 256-257)

The quintessential Irishman-who also loved boxing in addition to horse racing-Art Rooney had a wonderful sense of perspective and good humor. The Post-Gazette article relays the following example:

"According to one story, a priest came and asked Rooney for money to help start a Catholic orphanage. Rooney peeled off $10,000 and handed it to the priest, who asked, ‘Are these ill-gotten gains?'

‘Why no, father, I won that money at the race track,' Rooney said."

A regular attendee at the Kentucky Derby and Irish Derby, Rooney scaled back his betting on thoroughbred racing when the pari-mutuel system replaced bookmakers, according to his son. However, he and his family continued their involvement in the sport, as breeders and owners since 1948 of thoroughbreds (until the 1980s) and standardbreds through their Shamrock Farms in Woodbine, Maryland, and their ownership of Yonkers Raceway, where The Chief's third son Tim has served as president since 1972.

Sources:

William Nack. My Turf: Horses, Boxers, Blood Money and The Sporting Life (Da Capo Press, 2003) p. 25.

Rob Ruck. "Art Rooney and the Pittsburgh Steelers" in Randy Roberts, ed., Pittsburgh Sports: Stories from the Steel City (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000) pp. 243-262.

Art Rooney Jr., with Roy McHugh. Ruanaidh: The Story of Art Rooney and His Clan. (Self-published by Art Rooney Jr., 2008) pp. 36-38.

Gary Tuma. "From the PG Archives: Steelers' Art Rooney in Retrospect" (reprint on August 26, 1988 obituary story). Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 14, 2007. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07287/825373-66.stm

Caryl Velisek. "Shamrock in Winfield One of Top Maryland Breeders" from Horsin' Around, A Special Supplement to the Delmarva Farmer Newspaper. June 24, 2003. http://www.americanfarm.com/horsin6-24-03c.html

Chance to Pat Myself on the Back

cdawahare — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:23:00 GMT

By Patrick Patten, Handride

You think I'd miss a chance to pat myself on the back? Just read Alex Waldrop's new blog post And read this quote: "And a plan for the next 100 days will be presented to the Alliance Board in late January".

Is there a chance Mr Waldrop read this fine piece of writing that I posted earlier here at Bloodhorse? Yeah, probably doubtful. Chalk it up to great minds think alike. - No, he really did, read the comments on the post.

Now I gotta figure out how this machine works and hope Mr Waldrop likes the LLC idea.

Something Missing

cdawahare — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:15:00 GMT

By Frank Vespe, That's Amore Stable

Here are a few articles that were in Sunday's Washington Post:

A quarter pager on an area high school track meet;
Another quarter page article on a local high school basketball game;
Snippets on World Cup skiing, English Premier League soccer, and a hockey all-star game played in Russia involving players in a European league;
Summaries, including box scores, of four local men's college basketball games that drew crowds of less than 2800;
Summaries of numerous women's college basketball games from all over the country;
A long article about a Maryland player who evidently hates Maryland's fans and spent much of Saturday's game cussin' at them; and
A big chunk of space devoted to predicting the tournament field for the men's college NCAA basketball tournament (!), which won't be decided for more than three months.

Here's what wasn't in Sunday's Post:

One word about horse racing nationally or locally. Not one word about, for example, Laurel's What a Summer Stakes, in which young filly Access Fee ran her record to four-for-four at Laurel and punched her ticket to next month's Grade II Barbara Fritchie.

There are many reactions one could have to this curious editorial decision. But it's pretty hard -- no, make that impossible -- to argue that Washington area sports fans have more interest in the outcome of a Russian hockey game, English soccer, or Swiss skiing events than they do in good quality racing at Laurel. Or, for that matter, what Post basketball writers predict the tourney field will be three months from now.

You can't help but surmise that the editorial meeting that resulted in the scrapping of race coverage went something like this:

Editor 1: I don't like horse racing.

Editor 2: Neither do I. None of my friends likes it, either.

Editor 1: Neither do mine. Why don't we get rid of it?

Editor 2: Done.

On the bright side, at least we won't want for information about the Bundesliga next season.

Who's Writing About Racing?

cdawahare — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:21:00 GMT

Courtesy of Teresa Genaro, Brooklyn Backstretch

Last August, Jessica Chapel of Railbird and I were invited by Seth Merrow of Equidaily to appear on his show on Capital OTB to discuss how the Internet is affecting the relationship between racing and its fans. Among the questions he asked: "Do you consider yourself a journalist?"

The answer, of course, is no. Journalists are professionals, trained in a craft, adhering to practices and ethics and standards. Journalists are usually paid for their work.

A blog is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer." I'm not particularly fond of the word "blog"; it sounds ugly, for one, all those hard consonants, and it seems to me that it's becoming an increasingly inaccurate way to describe the various sites about horse racing, most of which are hardly personal journals but are, rather, stories and analysis and reporting, along with those reflections, comments, and hyperlinks to which Merriam-Webster refers.

And it's here where the lines between blogging (for lack of a better word-maybe "Internet reporting," a term suggested to me last summer?) and journalism begin to blur. Traditional journalism is abandoning racing; I am lucky to live in a city in which two newspapers cover racing daily, but most people can't find anything about racing in their local-or national-papers. More and more, racing fans are turning to the Internet, to the uncredentialed writers, to get their news about the sport they love.

And that's both good news and bad news. It's good news because racing is being covered in ways that traditional journalism can't; there are sites dedicated to specific tracks, to racing overseas, to equine hoof care, to handicapping, to history, and no newspaper is going to fund that sort of coverage. If you're a racing fan, chances are you can find a site-probably several--that suits your needs and your tastes.

It's good news because people like me don't have to worry about editors telling us what we can write about. If I want to write 1500 words on a race run a hundred years ago, I can. If I want to take a few days off, I can. If I want to post three times a day, I can.

There's a lot of bad news, though, too. Most of us don't have the investigative journalistic chops or connections (or the time, as most of us have full-time jobs) to dig deeply into the stories that laid-off journalists would cover; we don't have the credibility based on experience that would encourage those in the racing industry to talk to us; we don't have editors to keep us on track and make sure that our stories are accurate.

I was recently at the track on a day when two horses were injured. I knew that inquiries to vets and stewards and other officials at the track weren't going to get me any answers, so I watched and waited as the two reporters in the press box worked the phones and visited the jocks' room to find out the status of the horses and their riders. And when they found out that the jocks were all right and that the horses weren't, they shared their information with me.

They could do what I couldn't: get reliable, confirmed information from official sources. I could do what they couldn't: post that reliable, confirmed information immediately, so that fans watching from home, wondering what had happened, could find out right away, not having to wait until the next day's papers. The situation was, it seemed to me, a promising example of how journalists and bloggers can work together in the service of providing important information about this sport.

Bloggers differ from journalists in another important way: for the most part, we don't get paid for the writing that we do. Many of us have benefitted from the blogs begun by mainstream media, such as the Blood-Horse's Blog Stable or The Rail at the New York Times, but that benefit isn't financial, at least not directly. The publications get a variety of voices writing on a variety of topics, without having to pay them; we get opportunities, exposure, and a larger readership.

This is not likely a model that can sustain itself; writers won't always work for free, and there will be too many stories that require the skill, experience, and expertise of professional journalists. And racetracks need to figure out where they want bloggers to fit into their landscapes. A number of tracks credential bloggers-some internet writers get full press credentials, others partial. I don't know how individual tracks make decisions about whom they credential, but it would make sense for track press offices to establish some criteria, so that they're not making ad hoc decisions every time a blogger requests a media pass. Racetracks have a valuable opportunity to increase the coverage of their sport, and they should figure out how to take advantage of that opportunity while making sure that the coverage is responsible and reliable.

For now, mainstream media and non-traditional writers seem to be forging a fragile affiliation, one that can probably work for both parties in the near term, while racing, journalism, and new media figure out just exactly what the landscape can and should look like going forward.

Teresa Genaro writes regularly about (mostly) New York racing and racing history at Brooklyn Backstretch

Gratitude

cdawahare — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:08:00 GMT

Courtesy of Ryan Patterson, GradedStakes.com

Finding an industry that has friendlier and more helpful people than horse racing would be quite a task. I can remember when I first gained interest in racing, and decided to start a blog. Mike Tynan from Curb My Enthusiasm was there to help me every step of the way, and Patrick Patten quickly welcomed me to the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance. I'm truly grateful for them, and they are not the only ones who have aided me in the past. I'd like to use this post to thank those who have been integral to my success as a blogger and my future success at the track.

I can remember being greeted by Ed Meyer as I entered the River Downs marketing office for the first time. He swiftly offered me a spot as an intern in spite of my age (I couldn't legally wager at the time). He was there to help me improve my handicapping skills and teach me how the racing works from a business aspect. While it might not be a big thrill for most, I'll never forget when he allowed me to call the horses on the track at River Downs. Ed also let me talk on his weekly radio show several times, and give on track selections over the intercom. I recently had a chance to catch up with Ed at Turfway Park, and he informed of his new internet radio show. Click here to check it out!

John Englehardt is President of the Turf Publicists of America, and Publicity Director at River Downs. I'd also like to thank him. Knowing one of my ambitions is to become an anchor for TVG or a similar horse racing broadcast, John allowed me to appear on his on track handicapping show, The Regular Guy. While I must admit I was a bit nervous, it was a fun experience. My only regret is not picking more winners! When and if I make it to a place like TVG I'll look back fondly at my appearance on The Regular Guy.

I've only met Nick Hines once in person, but he is easily one of the nicest people I've ever met- horse racing industry or otherwise. "The Sarge" as regular viewers of TVG know him truly loves horse racing. I've discussed derby prospects with him on countless occasions, and he has been an endless wealth of information when I need advice. Coauthoring the Breeders Cup Sprint article for HorsePlayer Magazine with him was my first chance to appear in a print magazine, and I'm very thankful for that. Nick has an excellent eye for horse flesh, and when I buy my first horse he will be the first person I consult.

I don't know if I would still be interested in racing if these people had simply blown me off. At the age of 18, I can say with authority that I will be a racing fan for life. These people are largely responsible for that. When I achieve success in the way that they have, I will think back at how they helped me and do all that I can to give back. With caring people like Mike, Patrick, Ed, John, and Nick involved, horse racing has a bright future on the horizon.

Image is Everything

cdawahare — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:50:00 GMT

Andre Agassi is the perfect poster boy for image trumping reality. He was the rock star of tennis from the moment he set foot on the court in 1986, but he didn't win his first Grand Slam event until 1992. Anna Kournikova might be example #2 as she did the same thing in 1999, being the #1 searched item on Google, but only reaching #12 as a singles player that year. These were the faces of tennis, but weren't the champions of the sport.

There will always be a disconnect between what people perceive and what is the truth. Sometimes it doesn't really matter as in the above tennis example. However, it's not always as benign. The most recent examples are Sara Palin who was portrayed in a not so flattering light on Saturday Night Live or the American car industry fighting its own image.

It is image that is holding back horse racing. First, the exceptions that proves the rule: What is the image of horse racing at Keeneland, Del Mar, and Saratoga? For Keeneland horse racing is a way of life. At Del Mar horse racing is stars and glamour. At Saratoga racing is history and a backyard setting. The images of those individual tracks out weigh the negatives associated with our sport on a national level. Admittedly, those tracks are successful for many reasons, but the foundation for all their success is that beginning perception. A quick example would be Keeneland last year when Teuflesberg brok both seasmoids in the Phoenix and Dream of Angels flipped in the paddock and was euthanized. Both events were on national TV and happened within an hour of each other. What controversy did it create? Now imagine the outcry had they occurred at Aqueduct or Hawthorne? What are the images of those tracks? No, don't answer that.

Las Vegas is the home of legalized gambling. If an alien landed and watched TV they'd never know that to be the case. Las Vegas on TV is sunshine, vacation, excitement, and freedom. When you arrive in Las Vegas they stop selling that and switch to selling the casinos: "Loosest slots in Town" "Poker Tourneys every Hour" "Free Million Dollar Pull." The NFL publishes enough information to choke a donkey on injuries, and updates them daily even for the third string TE. However, ask anyone in the NFL to talk about the bad call in the Pitt/SD game when it comes to the spread and they'll look at you like you're the alien; what's a spread?

When Barbaro and Eight Belles broke down people didn't suddenly realize that horses broke down because of quirky surfaces or because of an overuse of drugs. (Personal note: I don't believe either were the cause). That image was already out there in small pockets and when those events occurred those thoughts became mainstream, and "fact." Going back to the Sara Palin example, some people thought she was "colloquial" only to have SNL hammer that point, negatively, home. SNL didn't create that idea, it just pushed it, and it became factual.

The image of horse racing is gambling. And, gambling doesn't sell in this country. Thank the Puritans for that. People will protest a new track or racino coming to their town because gambling is bad. However, these SAME people will participate in a fantasy football league for $200, will put $100 into a NCAA bracket pool, or go to bingo on Friday night. Are they hypocrites? I really don't think so. The images of all of those sports outweigh their negative aspects. Those people are just participating in something bigger than gambling.

Racing should continue with efforts like the Safety and Integrity Alliance, but do more to get the message out that horse racing is NOT gambling. Horse racing is a sport, business, lifestyle, outdoor activity, safety conscience, livelihood, green spaces and oh yeah you can gamble on it too.