This blog is going to be used solely for information regarding thoroughbred racing/breeding. I have over 30 years experience in most aspects of the industry. My mission is to bring in more owners/breeders/fans into this wonderful industry. So ask away.
Thank you,
Vita aka wind
About Me
- wind
- I've been in the Thoroughbred Racing/Breeding Industry for 30+ years. The picture is of my 4 mo. filly by Request For Parole/It's All Good named Beverly's Spirit. She's to be sold next year at the MidAtlantic Fall Yrlng Sale.
48 comments:
I'm here to help newcomers into the wonderful world of thoroughbred racing and breeding. With over 30 years experience and having worked with champions and millionares (horses that is) I feel I can guide you into a fun enjoyable time with the thoroughbred.
Weaning season is upon us, especially for the foals born in Jan/Feb.
Are there any questions about the process? Feel free to ask.
Any comments about Barbaro?
Well, let me explain what I do with small foal crops during weaning. Instead of taking the mares from the foals, I take the foals from the mares.
I managed a small private farm in N Va and at the most we'd have 3 foals. Before I came back to the farm at it's new location, the previous manager took the mares from the foals and the foals jumped the fence.
Taking the foals from the mares and putting them in new surroundings gave them something new to explore so they didn't miss their dams near as much. The weaning process went much smoother and it was less traumatic for both the mares and the foals.
Our foals were shed raised, but I worked with them on a daily basis. I taught them how to stand while being groomed, picked up their feet and used a hoof pick on them. Even taught them to let me do it from one side. And of course taught them to lead. Most of all they learned to trust people.
I like to wait and wean when the youngest foal was 6 months old. I'd watch the mares making sure they weren't being dragged down by the foals, but the mares basically weaned them by that age anyway.
I find that they were more mature and well adjusted after weaning because it was less traumatic on them. They were easier to train at "breaking" time.
Any comments?
All indications so far this year is we have a strong market for yearlings. The July Fasig Tipton KY sale was strong and the opening session at Saratoga is strong.
From what I have read and heard the yearlings in the July sale were fine horses. Nicely balanced, good conformation along with pedigree. There also was a strong market for the middle horses and some new players for the lesser horses. Very well balanced all around.
Need to keep this up.
Please sign this petition to start some reforms within the industry
http://www.petitononline.com/reformhr/petition
If it doesn't come up as a link copy and past it in the address and click go.
Let me try that link again
http:www.petitiononline.com/reformhr/petition.html
maybe this will work
Today a good friend of mine sold a yearling colt by Royal Academy for 30k, he's out of a stakes winning mare. He said he looked small in the walking ring, so maybe that was a determint. So what he can grow. He's going to England.
What is wrong with Americans? He will be distance and turf, something I love.
He will be sound. Do we not want sound horses?
Today the Gov of NY gave the NYRA the franchise of the tracks, it looks like the contract will be for 30 years.
I'm one of the few who is happy about it. I think that they will be more digilent in how they handle things. Also, I'd rather they have it than the Australians. Supposedly they promised to sink millions of dollars into the tracks. If I remember correctly we've heard that before from a Canadian who never fullfilled his promises.
Our first pinhook won on Sat. 9/15/07 going 6 fur in a MdnClmg 25k at Fairplex Park. It was only her 2nd start. She ran 1x last year (as a 2yr old), she never changed leads and the jockey was all over her coming down the stretch trying to get her to switch leads. She finished 7th that day. She then disapeared for almost a year until a couple of months ago when her works started showing up in my stablemail.
She won by 7 lengths, in hand, the time wasn't that fast 1:11 n change but Fairplex is a bull ring, so she did well and easily.
We paid 1,700 for her in Dec 2004 and sold her in Oct 2005 for 13k. She was then pinhooked in the Ocala 2yr old in training sale, she RNA'd at 45k and was sold privately.
Will keep you updated.
The Breeders Cup was this weekend. What a great day of racing except for the breakdown of George Washington. Many people are vilifying his connections saying they shouldn't have run him in those conditions. He is a turf horse, many turf horses love the slop. He was traveling fine the first part of the race. He started to back up in the middle which wasn't like him and started to struggle. His jockey started to ride him hard. He should have pulled him up. I don't think the track conditions contributed to his breakdown.
That said, Curlin's performance in the Classic was awesome. But the horse I wish I could afford to breed to is Hard Spun. What a hard knocking horse. He danced every dance and tried every step of the way.
He is going to be a great sire.
wind
It looks like Curlin is going to join the ranks of the 3 yr olds going to stud. Why? Because a judge has ordered the 20% ownership of the horse to the plaintiffs who filed suit against the 2 original owners of the colt.
The 2 owners who have an 80% share have decided it is in everyone's best interest to sell Curlin. How do you divide 20% of the expenses to 400 people and if he wins 20% of the winners share of the purse.
So, it is easier to just go ahead and sell him and be done with it.
Well, now NY is on the verge of doing the unbelievable, no more racing in 2008 is possible thanks to politicians.
They are so worried about getting their money, that they are forgetting about taking care of the product that gets them this money - thoroughbred racing/breeding. Do they know how many lives they are affecting by being ineffective? Do they care?
For once I'd like to see politicians putting aside their own agenda's and doing something that is right for their constituents.
The clock is ticking and they are dragging their heels. If time runs out, and no one has the NY Racing Franchise, the small breeders, the people who breed to race, the trainers with those horses will be the ones to suffer.
Come on NY, show why racing in the Big Apple is the best in the world.
Breeding for Sales versus for Racing
If you are on any thoroughbred horse racing/breeding boards or forums, I’m sure you have read or joined in on some conversations regarding stallion fees and there correlation with sales averages. Not stallion fees in correlation with the stallions progeny race percentages, or how they move their mares up, but how well their foals do at the sales. Does something seem wrong here? It does to me.
As a person who has always loved horses and fell in love with thoroughbred racing when she was in the third grade after reading about Man O’ War I find it very disturbing. This is not the industry I fell in love with all those many years ago. I didn’t come from a horse racing family, so anything I knew early on about racing I had to read about or be lucky enough to catch horse racing on Saturday afternoon on television. I guess you can say my first impression of racing was romantic. My ideas didn’t change much when I first started working in the industry, I went to work on a nice size farm in Northern Virginia owned by a man that did everything right for his horses. He also was on the cutting edge of new ideas within the industry. His farm had a four horse whirlpool, and a manmade pond with a floating dock to swim horses. He also had a permanent scale to weigh the horses, along with a ½ mile track with a working 4 stall starting gate. He had a stallion that we used to breed some of the maiden mares with and we also used him as a teaser. There was a foaling barn with two foaling stalls and an observation room in between. When his horses got sick at the track, they came home, if they were injured they came home, if they just needed time off they came home. He ran what he bred, and he did buy at the sales, one or two yearlings a year.
Thirty years ago when you went to the sales the yearlings didn’t have shoes, and when they came to the farms, they looked like yearlings, no growth hormones, no conformation surgeries, just the yearlings. The stud fees were well in line with allowing a breeder to have a chance at making the stud fee back if they ran the foals or if they sold them a person could afford to buy a well bred yearling to have a chance at also making the purchase price back on the racetrack.
Somewhere along the line things changed and it hurt racing. I have no problem with people trying to make money, that is the American way, but if what you are doing in your breeding practices hurts the industry in which you make your money, that’s not right. If you look at the top stallions you will see that they haven’t moved up their mares, they have one or two marquee horses with which you’ll see plastered in all the trade magazines as advertisement for the stallions. If you breed commercially you want to catch a rising star, so in order to make money ( or win the equivalent to the lottery) you’ll breed to that stallion or any of the new stars retiring to the breeding shed in the hopes that you can cash in on them in three years selling yearlings.
Does anyone check to see if the match works conformationally or by doing pedigree research? How about the stud farms? Do they check the pedigrees of all the mares going to the stallions? Or do they just want quantity instead of quality? I don’t mean just the quality of the mare, people won’t pay a huge stud fee for a lesser mare, but if the quality mare matches up to the high price stallion. The breeder and the stallion manager aren’t worried about if they are breeding a racehorse, they are thinking about how much the resulting foal ( or the mare in foal to the stallion ) will bring at the sale. The stallion manager figures that somewhere in the pedigrees of all the mares going to the stallion, someone will come up with a very good racehorse to capitalize on in the future.
Now, lets go to the other spectrum of breeding, those that do breed to race. These people are truly the pedigree experts of the industry. They spend hours on the computer going over stallions pedigrees, race records and stud fees. They know a good value, they have to because they have to carry this foal while in utero, as a foal/weanling, yearling and beyond. They have to pay for the breaking and training of the foal. In the meantime the mare has to be bred back every year and they have to carry the resulting foals. Their expenses, even if they have their own farm are great. They want the best stallion for their mare that will give her a chance to produce the best racehorse.
Most look for stallions that have had a good long and durable race record, but they also look at the female side of the stallions pedigree. They want a strong racing record within the female side of the stallion. All of this will give them a good advantage at a good racehorse. You notice I’m not saying a great racehorse, they want a horse that can run more than 4 to 7 times a year and for more than 1 or 2 years.
This is the way all mares should be bred, the mare owners should be looking for stallions that will compliment the mares to produce good racehorses. This is the way it used to be done, by everyone and I’m hoping that it revert back to those practices.
I’d like to see stallion fees back to normal, I think things changed in that respect with Northern Dancer. He was siring very good racehorses and was in demand, so Winfield Farm capitalized on it. But since then stud fees have escalated to the extreme. Now even stallions that are just retiring to stud have astronomical stud fees. Of course then every one at the sales are paying huge prices for their yearlings and the stallion hasn’t even proven to sire good racehorses yet. That doesn’t make since to me. If their yearlings are big and good looking, then they will command big prices at the sales. Just because a horse is good looking doesn’t qualify it to be a good racehorse.
I don’t mind seeing big stud fees, especially for stallions that have proven they produce good racehorses. But, I also like to see a high percentage of their foals making it to the races, winning races and I’d like to see higher than 10% of them being stake horses. All of these should be the criteria of commanding high stud fees. But because the horse was a champion racehorse doesn’t mean he will be able to sire very good racehorses.
This industry needs to turn back the clock in regards to it’s breeding practices. For the survival of the breeding industry and the racing industry.
Vita Licari
11/23/07
Breeding To Race
You would think that everyone is breeding to race, even those that want to sell. However, and unfortunately that's not the case. Now don't think that all people who breed to sell don't do the research to produce racehorses from their mares. I'd have to say you have a good chance of finding that at regional sales. The reason is most breeders that sell at the regional sales can't afford high priced stallion fees, they have to get the most bang for their buck. They do the research.
What do you look for when you breed to race?
1)Know the value of your mare. I mean the REAL value of your mare, not the emotional value. If you don't have a clue, then hire an expert to come in and give you their expert findings. They will be able to tell you by checking what her sisters have brought at sales, or what their siblings have produced. Family. Now if your mare has produced runners or have had foals go through the sales, you should have a pretty good idea of what she's worth.
Do what it takes to breed her right.
2) Decide then what your stud fee range is going to be. Remember you don't want to overbreed your mare, so the fee should be less than 1/2 to 1/3 of your mares value. Also, you have to decide what region you're going to breed in. Why does that matter? You also have to consider the costs of breeding out side of your region. Not only is there the stud fee, but you have transportation costs, boarding costs, vet etc.
3) Once you have made those two decisions, next comes finding a stallion that fits your other critiera. What are those? Next you have to research the pedigrees of the stallions within your stud fee range. It's up to you if you want to linebreed or out cross. Do you want to put speed in your mare's progney or do you need to add stamina and distance? This is when you weed out the stallions that will not help your mare.
3b) I'm hoping that before the above step you did research the stallions and what their progney have done. How many winners they have per foal crop, how many black type winners they have, what broodmare sire lines they have done well with etc. You are breeding to race, these things are important.
4) Now you have to make appointments to see the stallions you're interested in. Do they have the same conformational weaknesses as your mare, or will they help in those areas? You need to check how they were retired, if they were sound or injured. Now if the stallion had 50 starts and got hurt, I think he can be forgiven. But check the limb. If your mare has offset knees and so does the stallion, your chances of begetting a foal with offset knees is great. So, do the leg work and go to the farms and check the stallions legs. You also want to check how balanced they are. Now, you know that if the stallion ran for more than 1 year he had to have abiltiy and was a good racehorse. Hopefully he can reproduce himself.
Know that these are just quick thoughts that I've posted. If I work for you, I'm going to go much deeper.
WERK NICKINGS and other statistical " PEDIGREE RESEARCH TOOLS "
There are many Pedigree Research tools available to the professional pedigree consultant, the large breeder or the small breed to race breeder. The most famous is Werk Nicking which has been around for a several decades. Of course there is also the writings of Tesio, most famous for being the breeder of the great Ribot, undefeated winner of the Arc de Triomphe, sire of full brothers His Majesty and Graustark.
Tesio wrote about his successes but also told about his failures. He learned from his failures, and tweaked his breeding practices. His research took decades to formulate and he had his own horses as proof of his success or failure. Throughout, he wrote his findings and thoughts to pass on to any other breeder who wanted to try and duplicate his pedigree/breeding practices.
Go forward several centuries and what do we have in the way of modern tools to use and follow? Statistics.
Well you say, several of these nicking practices offer proof that using their ideas (at a price) they can give you the probability of your breeding Y stallion to X mare will give you a better chance of producing a stake horse.
What is wrong with that you ask? If people didn't take these as pedigree gospel there is nothing wrong with using them as tools. The problem I have with statistical programs is, well, the statistics. As everyone knows, statistics can be played with to do what you want them to do. Also, if you are basing your breeding decisions on these statistics, what do you do if your broodmare sireline hasn't been bred to the sireline you are interesed in? There are no statistics to back up either a yes or no.
Statistics don't take into fact race records, durability, speed or distance, turf or dirt and of course conformation.
Many stud farms now have available for use the Werk Nicking on their websites for the stallions standing at stud on their farms. You can use them for free, but what if you really like what the stallion has to offer, but the nicking isn't up to par? Do you forget that stallion and go on to the next one? I wouldn't.
I managed a small farm for a NY breeder who had a mare from a very nice female family. He had the chance at foal sharing with Majesty's Prince early in his stallion career. I looked at the pedigree of the resulting foal and liked what I saw. So, we went ahead and bred her to him. Then we went back to him the following year. We had the chance to do a Werk Nicking and the breeding turned out to be an F nick. Then the two foals ran. Both turned out to be stake horses. They both won a stake race and were stakes placed, the second one was a Grade II stake winner. After these two, the breeding became an A nick.
If you are a breed to race and have the time to do your own research, do it. Take into consideration your mare's conformation and the stallion's. Find a stallion who ran for several years, who sprinted but could rate and win at a distance. Find one who ran and won on different surfaces. All of this will enhance your chances of getting a very useful racehorse. Check the female side of your mare and find her strengths and weaknesses, then do the same with the stallion. There is more to pedigrees than just the sirelines.
If you have any questions feel free to check out my website at:
www.stablewind.com , or e-mail me at: stablewinds@comcast.net
In the meantime:
HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Vita
The Foaling (and Breeding) Season is upon us...........
Not that your mare is going to foal in Jan. This is a 5 month season, so when ever your mare is due is your breeding season.
The excitement and anticipation makes even hardened experienced people shake and cry. I know it does me. Most people will send their mare to big farm to foal. If there is a problem during the foaling, the bigger farms are set up for any and all emergancies. It is worth their $300 foaling fee, especially if it helps save your foal and mare's life.
As with anything research the farm you are sending your mare to. If you are sending her to the farm where the stallion you are sending her to stands, talk to some of their other clients. If you don't like their foaling set up, find other farms close by who have a good working relationship with the stud farm.
Another aspect you need to check is the foal's after care. Or rather the beginning of life care. Even if mom and baby are only staying a month or two, first impressions of humans is important.
I like to put a halter on them within the first 24 hours after foaling. This way it becomes a natural part of their life. It's not a big deal for them to have it on. It would be nice if they teach the foal to lead, and get some handling. You don't want a foal to come home that is afraid of people. You want a curious, trusting foal.
I like to shed raise my babies. When the foal is old enough to be turned out 24/7 with mom and a few other mares and foals, turn them out. A few times a week I go out into the field with a rope shank, hoof pick, soft brush and a rub rag.
When out in the field you just stand there and let the foals come up to you. They'll sniff you, nuzzle you, chew on you, pull at your pant legs, tug on your shoe laces etc. They will surround you. Letting them do this shows trust. Then slowly you put the shank on the one closest to you, and start to walk the foal just a few steps. If no resistance, walk a little bit more, just in a circle or two. Then stop the foal, and start brushing, etc. Don't spend to much time on the foals, keep the lessons short and move on to each foal. Make everything a postitive experience.
These short out in the field lessons develop a bond of trust and friendship. This will help you farther on down the road when other more indepth lessons are to be taught and learned.
Some people will say it doesn't make sense, that the foals need to be worked with in a stall on an individual basis. But think about it, they are in the field with their buddies and for a short time, they are concentrating on you. Their trust and respect for you is so strong that for a few minutes YOU are the only one they are listening to and concentrating on. That should make you feel unbelievable.
Remember, keep the lessons short, foals have a short attention span. In doing this both you and your foal will both gain trust and a bond for life.
wind aka Vita
We have one mare, she was given to us by her previous owner because she slab fractured her right knee. He had her operated on, it was a displaced fracture, and will never be sound for racing. He's not in to the breeding end, hence that's how we acquired her.
She's by a NY stallion, Wheelaway - Unbridled out of a Hermitage mare. She has Mr. Prospector and Northern Dancer in her pedigree. Looking at her conformation, and her pedigree, she looks like she wanted grass and distance. However, she ran on dirt and sprinted. The fact that she won in NY and placed in 4 out of her 8 starts speaks volumes about her heart and ability.
She also has a very kind and intelligent eye. We went to NJ to see her, I loved her pedigree when I saw it on line, not a bad family at all. But it was when I went and saw her that convinced me I wanted her. Even though she was free, I wasn't going to take her sight unseen. I've worked with her type of conformation before, slightly offset knees, ok bone, good shoulder, small feet, etc.
I'm sure some of you are asking yourselves, if she has small feet, why would you think she likes the grass. Some very good turf horses I have worked with in the past, had small feet. So, that's not a determent.
We don't have much capital to work with, so we aren't going to run her babies, BUT we are going to breed her to race and sell the foals as yearlings. We are in a regional market, and most everyone at our sales are looking for racehorses. I consider the buyers at the regional sales (especially the MidAtlantic) to be the most astute horsemen in the country. They also have smaller budgets than those that go to Keenland or Saratoga.
We are breeding *(as long as he passes my inspection) to Request For Parole. This goes against one of the rules I've lived by most of my career, with a couple of exceptions, breed a maiden mare to a proven stallion. However, I like what I see for the hypothetical foals pedigree, it is a complete outcross until the 5th generation. He ran and won at sprint distances, and classic distances (and everything in between), he won on dirt and turf, he was very versatile. A horse for every breeder. Plus, his stud fee I can live with.
Because he is a new sire, there is the possibility (if the yearling is a nice specimen) that because of no preconcieved expectations by the buyers, the foal might bring more than if by a proven stallion with poor sales numbers.
We had to take in all considerations. Now, we are talking 3 years down the road, here's hoping.
Vita (wind)
I am sure that if you have been reading the online horse racing/breeding magazines, blogs or forums, you will know by now that Santa Anita is having problems with it's cushion track.
Who is to blame? Do we blame the CA Racing Board? How about Santa Anita? Or does the blame rest on the manufacturer of the Cushion track?
How about all three? That's where I'm laying the blame. First, the CA Racing Board jumped the gun when they made putting in a synthetic track mandatory. Why not ask the tracks to make their dirt tracks safer? Why not ask them to slow their tracks down and add more cushion? This isn't rocket sience.
Next we have Santa Anita. Did they not research all of the synthetic tracks available? Did they not ask, we don't get freezing temps, but we do get extremely hot temps, which base is best and will drain easily during these hotter temps? In other words, will your base hold up to the hot temps?
And finally, Cushion Track management itself. Did they not know how hot it gets in S.California? Did they not do their own research and make changes to which type of base to put down so there will be no melting of the plastics in the track?
What gives with these three endities? Why couldn't they figure any of this out? If one person had asked any of these questions, we wouldn't be having any of the problems Santa Anita is experience right now.
Finally, regarding all of the breakdowns on all of the synthetics, I have to blame the horsemen. First, if the tracks are playing extremely fast, why aren't the horsemen complaining and insisting the tracks make them slower. Do they believe that they can run horses with physical problems and the synthetics will keep them sound and alive? If a horse is too sore to run on a conventianal dirt track, then it is too sore to run on a synthetic track.
So, I started out with asking if 3 entities are responsible for the problems Santa Anita is having, but I added with all the problems horses are having with the synthetics are the horsemen responsible too.
I think all four are responsible.
Vita
Now begins the time of hope and disappointment, the races leading up to the Triple Crown. Not only do the horses have to run and finish 1,2 or 3 to gather graded points but also serious money earned. This is also a time of calculating where to place your horses to have them ready for the most important race of their life, the Kentucky Derby.
But is it really? I mean it is important, it would be great to have a Triple Crown winner. But what about the Handicap races when they are older? No one really thinks of those anymore, not unless you have a gelding who is talented enough to run in Grade I races.
What I hope happens is that a grassroots effort starts, and I think it will with breeders that breed to race and owners who want to see this great sport return to it's dominance as in the past. Now I'm not naive thinking that it will become the number one sport again, but I'd love to see it in the top 10.
I want to be able to pick up any local newspaper across the country go to the sports page and be able to read at least one article about horse racing, any day and everyday of the week.
If the fantastic 3 year olds run at 4 or 5 where they will have a fan base following them and keeping the sport interesting. I think it's wonderful that Curlin is running this year. Now we know that it is only because of the legal problems that 2 of his owners are having, but it is a good
thing for the sport.
Now, we have to think of someway for other owners, who don't have legal problems, to run their horses rather than retire them at the end of their 3 year old career.
Vita
Breeders Cup Moves All Filly/Mare Races to Friday...Ladies Day?
Anyone that thinks the thoroughbred racing industry is in the 21st Century was taken aback with this weeks Breeders Cup announcement. They are moving all the filly and mare races to Friday. You read it right, all filly/mare races are to be run on Friday.
How much media attention do you think these races are going to garner now, being that they are all on Friday? Do you think that the everyday media will even care? I don't. It's unfortunate that even in this day in age females have to ride on the coat tales of males. It makes me so angry I can't see straight. I was hoping that because of how competitive the Distaff has been EVERY YEAR of the BC that finally the female division would be on equal standing with the males.
I forgot who is running this industry, men. Not just men but males that are late in their lives and who haven't moved with the time. Men who would probably wish women weren't even in racing/breeding.
Until things change within those ranks racing will be hurting and might disappear.
There is a chance to use the filly and mare races and the races leading up to the BC to teach women about racing. How to bet, how to get into the industry, the thrill of owning a winning horse, the wonder of watching your mare foal, then watching the foal learn to walk etc.
Do you have any idea what the outcry would be if they seperated the males from the females then moved the male races to Friday and the filly and mare races to Saturday? You know that that if this had been the decision it would have been changed immediately.
These are the same people who didn't think they needed television because racing was the number one sport in the country. Forgetting that you need to stay on the cutting edge to get new fans. So, how is this going to bring new fans in?
Once again, the men in charge have dropped the ball to the determent of racing.
Vita
Horse-racing industry cares about its animals
Daily Record/Sunday News
Article Last Updated: 06/20/2008 11:34:45 PM EDT
I've been in the thoroughbred breeding/racing industry for 30-plus years. I have watched many changes develop within the industry throughout the years. Some were good, many were bad.
One development that really has disturbed me is the lack of coverage in regular newspapers' sports sections regarding horse racing or breeding on a daily basis. We've also lagged behind with television coverage, but that's a different letter.
I know that our industry magazines send out daily to regular newspapers articles of interest regarding thoroughbred racing/breeding, either about the horses or the humans in their lives.
Do the papers publish the positive stories of the great human-interest stories that are a daily occurrence? No. But let there be a negative article written, and then it is published on the sports section front page.
I'm writing about the article titled "Racetrack deaths: 5,000 since 2003" (York Sunday News, June 15, 2008).
There is no one that gets more upset about watching horses break down than the horsemen themselves. Unless you're in the industry you have no idea what we invest in our horses, and I'm not talking just about money. Horses have their own personalities and varying degrees of intelligence. We invest our time, our blood and tears. We grow to love each and every one in our own way. They become our children.
We do not want to see them give their lives on the track, at all! We do everything we can to assure a safe trip not only
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for our horses but also for the humans sitting atop these magnificent animals.
Are there some within the industry that don't care? I'd have to say, of course. It's human nature to have some bad people within any industry. Is it the norm? No. Most everyone who work in the industry is in it for the love of the horse. Thanks to the tax laws that President Reagan instituted, it had to become a business. It was after this law was implemented that the industry started to change for the worse.
Now, instead of owners bringing a sore horse home, they instruct the trainer to "patch" it up and get it claimed away. It sickens them when they have to do this. If they didn't have to show a profit so as not to be classified a hobby, more horses would go home to the farm for R&R.
Of course, that's not the fault of all the breakdowns. As with anything, there are a multitude of reasons for these fatalities. I do believe that our breeding practices are a major contribution. Everyone is breeding for the sales instead of the racetrack. This practice has us developing massive horses with brilliant speed who can carry it for over one mile and only last for a few races. If they are brilliant enough, they'll win several graded (I, II, III) stakes, make a few million and be whisked away to stud before they turn 4.
Unfortunately, for the horses that are average, they don't have that luxury. They are patched together and continue running.
I've been lucky in my career. I've worked for owners/breeders that believe in the "old" way of doing things. They breed for racehorses -- horses that could run for several years, staying sound and productive. More like a blue-denim type of horse rather than a blue blood. Not that they weren't breeding to develop "graded" horses. They were, but they wanted them to last well past their 3-year-old season. They were successful.
Coming up under horsemen and women that learned and practiced true horsemanship was the best lesson I could have learned. Because of that, I'm not a big proponent of drug usage. I'm still not convinced we should stop using Lasix, not because I think it weakens the breed, but more because of how pollution affects the horses. I do believe there need to be more stringent rules, though. As far as steroids and every-month-use for all a trainer's horses, it should be banned. It can and does affect a young horse's reproductive organs if given on a regular basis. I have used Winstrol, but only on an older horse who was gelded. He had been injured and I was bringing him back from his R&R. He was at a point of his training where he was getting body sores and backed out of his feed tub.
I asked my veterinarian for his advice and he suggested Winstrol. All I needed was two doses, one each month for two months. He didn't become studdish and his appetite came back, so it did what I needed.
My point is that there is a time and place for steroids, but not all the time. I would like to see a ban on all young horses 1 to 2 years old getting any steroids except for rehabilitation -- and never with fillies.
As I stated earlier, as with any industry there are some bad seeds. These people want to win at all costs and will try to use any/all drugs. I believe drug usage probably plays a part in weakening the breed, but it's not the only culprit.
The industry as a whole is trying to rectify the wrongs that have accursed these past few decades. But to think that if we make all these changes, it will completely eliminate horses breaking down -- well, maybe that happens in a perfect world, but it won't be a reality. They are flesh and blood. Breakdowns will happen, to the extreme sadness of all involved.
It would be nice, however, if regular newspapers would published some feel-good articles that are at their disposal on a daily basis.
I'm not saying don't publish the negative articles, but a nice balance would be greatly appreciated.
Vita Licari lives in York.
On May 1st at 8:45 pm our mare It's All Good foaled a beautiful dk bay filly.........by herself. Vicki and I stayed up every night from 11pm to 6am to help her when she foaled. We left her around 6:30am that morning and she was calm and chewing hay. The owner of the farm checked on her in the middle of the afternoon and she was calm and eating hay.
Her husband was at home and luckly their neighbor heard mom and baby nickering to one another, mom foaled out in the paddock and somehow baby got under the fence and was on the other side. Matt went out and picked up baby and brought her to the run in shed then went and got mom, closed the gates so they were in a huge stall.
The foal who we are naming 'Beverly's Spirit' is beautifully balanced has looong legs, is very spirited and curious. We like her so much we're sending the mare back to Request For Parole. It sounds like he is stamping his babies and to me that is the sign of a good stallion.
Beverly has a great shoulder, beautiful hip is extremely smooth when she gallops, switches leads effortlessly....I guess I'm gushing. Sorry.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know what she looks like.
Vita
We wanted to wait and see what the foal looked like before we decided who to send It's All Good to. Because we like the baby so much we're going back to Request For Parole.
I'm choosing stallions that are a complete outcross at least up to the 5th generation and he fit's the bill to a Tee. There are a lot of breeders out there, sucessful ones who believe in linebreeding or inbreeding. The only way I would do that is to a strong female line. Why am I going against "the standard"?
Because I believe it's that practice that has hurt the breed. I'm looking to produce a racehorse, something that will go out and run and win for more than 2 years. Don't I want a champion? Yes, I'd love to breed a champion however they have to be a good racehorse before they can become a champion now don't they?
If you recieve The BloodHorse magazine or read it on line ( or both ) you will notice a trend that is starting when you look at the stake winners pedigrees you will see that they are complete outcrosses. It took some time but it shows that starting at least 4 or 5 years ago that breeders started this quiet revolution. All I can say is Thank God.
Vita Licari
We wanted to wait and see what the foal looked like before we decided who to send It's All Good to. Because we like the baby so much we're going back to Request For Parole.
I'm choosing stallions that are a complete outcross at least up to the 5th generation and he fit's the bill to a Tee. There are a lot of breeders out there, sucessful ones who believe in linebreeding or inbreeding. The only way I would do that is to a strong female line. Why am I going against "the standard"?
Because I believe it's that practice that has hurt the breed. I'm looking to produce a racehorse, something that will go out and run and win for more than 2 years. Don't I want a champion? Yes, I'd love to breed a champion however they have to be a good racehorse before they can become a champion now don't they?
If you recieve The BloodHorse magazine or read it on line ( or both ) you will notice a trend that is starting when you look at the stake winners pedigrees you will see that they are complete outcrosses. It took some time but it shows that starting at least 4 or 5 years ago that breeders started this quiet revolution. All I can say is Thank God.
Vita Licari
On the Blood Horse on line there is an article by Steve Haskin's with a quote from D.Wayne Lukas regarding shortening the distances of the Triple Crown races. One of his quotes states that no one remembers Belmont winners. That they end up in other countries because American breeders don't want to breed to stamina... uh huh.
Has he not looked at the pedigree of Mine That Bird or Rachael Alexandra? Does he not look at the back of The Blood Horse where they have the pedigrees of that week's stake winners?
I said earlier on another post that it looks like silently breeders have been going away from line breeding and inbreeding. That if they do line breed or inbreed they are doing it more on a strong female line. Why? To infuse more stamina into the breed.
Please read Mr.Haskin's article, I agree with everything he says.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/50933/haskins-belmont-report-leave-crown-alone
Above is the link for his article, it is a great read.
Vita
We went to see Beverly's Spirit today and her mom It's All Good. It's been over a week (had an operation last Monday out of the hospital on Friday ).
Foals are amazing, she's grown at least 1 inch at the withers. Of course she's in a growth spurt since her hind end is taller than her withers. They'll catch up in about a week.
Watching her run around she floats over the ground, changes leads easily and loves to buck and kick. She's eating grain, hay, grazing and drinking water.
She is so athletic and you can see it when she walks. She has a nice short back, great shoulders, great hind end, correct legs and good bone. I'm thrilled with what the breeding to Request For Parole to It's All Good has produced.
As I've said earlier we're sending her back to him. I'll see if I can post some pictures if possible.
Vita
Here are some pictures of Beverly's Spirit at 1 month
[IMG]http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/stablewind/BeverlysSpiritandItsAllGood005.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/stablewind/BeverlysSpiritandItsAllGood011.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/stablewind/BeverlysSpiritandItsAllGood009.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/stablewind/BeverlysSpiritandItsAllGood008.jpg[/IMG]
Well it didn't work, I'll have to figure this out. Sorry.
Well, I wrote earlier that we were sending It's All Good back to Request For Parole. Unfortunately, he is already in quaranteen bound for Argentina. So, we had to do more research and have decided to stay with the same farm, Fox Tale Stud in PA. They have another nice young stallion named Capitano and that is who we are going to.
Capitano is by Belong To Me out of Heavenly Cat, by Tabasco Cat. There is an added Mr. Prospector but he is back far enough (5th generation) to not worry me. But what I like is that Northern Dancer is added, even though he is in the 4th generation I'm really happy for it.
This hypothetical reads like a who's who of the thoroughbred world and still is a good enough out cross close that I'm thrilled.
If "Goody" get's in foal to him I can't wait to see the results. Her first foal is very nice and I'm expecting the same for the second.
Vita
[IMG]http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/stablewind/BeverlysSpirit017.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/stablewind/BeverlysSpirit015.jpg[/IMG]
These are photos of Beverly's Spirit at 3 months. We're selling her next year at the Fasig Tipton Mid Atlantic Fall Yearling Sale at Timonium. She's by Request For Parole out of It's All Good.
http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/stablewind/BeverlysSpirit017.jpg
http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/stablewind/BeverlysSpirit015.jpg
Here are links to my photo bucket account, these should help
Watched a great filly beat some nice colts in the Haskell. Would love to see her against older colts, and Zenyatta, now that would be a race for the ages. Who would win? Don't know, right now Rachel Alexandra seems untouchable, but the mare has carried more weight. Zenyatta however has not faced males like Rachel, in doing so, Rachel though I understand the reasoning behind it carried less weight than the colts, 5 pounds less. It would be interesting to see her in a Handicap where more than likely she would be the highweight. But then again if she's against Zenyatta they might be weighted the same. I don't see Jess Jackson going for that and I wouldn't want to be Zenyatta's connections and give Rachel any weight either. So the dilemma, will we ever see these two great females run against one another? Time will tell.
Yesterday we saw Greatness again in Zenyatta. This mare had it all against her, not her best distance, slow early fractions, taken way wide when she started her move and she still got the job done.
I've noticed alot of people saying it wasn't that impressive of a win, she wasn't against much, she only won by a nose etc. But what they forget is she did the last 1/4 in 22 and change, she had to reel in the field, they didn't come back to her and she still got the job done.
What more can you ask? She is perfect, 12 for 12, no she doesn't win by Rachel Alexandra's margins, she doesn't need to, she gets the job done and why expend any more energy? She does just enough to get the win.
Perfection, nothing wrong with it or how she does it.
Majesty's Prince
My old buddy has been put down due to infirmities of old age. What a great ride I had with him early in my career. First I foaled him, he was an abnormal presentation. He had one leg bent and his head was turned sideways, so I had to go in and straighten him out. Finally got him straight and mom stood up. That was fun.
Move on to his yearling year and it was time for breaking. He did nothing wrong, in fact he was so easy to train and smart that I was able to put my greenest rider on him. He did everything right.
I left the farm when he was a 2yr old but followed his career throughout. When he was standing at stud a friend/boss of mine asked me if we should breed to him. Only if you can get a deal, which he did and we got Majesty's Time out of that. We bred Torelia back to Majesty's Prince and Dr. Kiernan was the result.
Good times........Rest in peace dear boy, you deserve it.
Majesty's Prince
My old buddy has been put down due to infirmities of old age. What a great ride I had with him early in my career. First I foaled him, he was an abnormal presentation. He had one leg bent and his head was turned sideways, so I had to go in and straighten him out. Finally got him straight and mom stood up. That was fun.
Move on to his yearling year and it was time for breaking. He did nothing wrong, in fact he was so easy to train and smart that I was able to put my greenest rider on him. He did everything right.
I left the farm when he was a 2yr old but followed his career throughout. When he was standing at stud a friend/boss of mine asked me if we should breed to him. Only if you can get a deal, which he did and we got Majesty's Time out of that. We bred Torelia back to Majesty's Prince and Dr. Kiernan was the result.
Good times........Rest in peace dear boy, you deserve it.
Rachel Alexandra is going in the Woodward, against older horses. Why haven't we heard about Zenyatta being entered in this race? Now I know it's going to be at Saratoga this year and Zenyatta's connections expressed that they would rather run at Belmont but this is a unique opportunity to kill 2 birds with one stone...beat older males and Rachel Alexandra. What makes this race perfect is it will be a field or horses, not a match race. Front runners usually have the advantage in match races, so there the older mare is at a disadvantage.
I hope that her connections are seriously considering running her in The Woodward.
I am fortunate to have stumbled onto your blog. I am a first time breeder and wish that I had read all of your informative posts, prior to breeding, prior to obtaining broodmares for that matter.
I used Werk and G1 goldmine. I have a Stormy Atlantic mare that produced multiple high caliber hits with a particular stallion. In turn, the stallion owners contacted me and offered a foal share. This mare had previously been bred for sport horses, and she herself was too slow on the track. This is probably the best thing I could have done with her, since the risk is now shared. What is your opinion? I bred my Running Stag mare to Suave, a newcomer, and will keep my fingers crossed that his first crop (2009 yearlings), do well on the track. Again, thank you for your insight. I will follow you closely.
Kimberly,
E mail me with your mare's name so I can research her, see her pedigree etc. Also, foal sharing is ok, are you going to sell the foal or run it yourself? So many questions. Here is my email address: stablewinds@comcast.net
I also have a website Stablewind.com so check it out. Don't let it scare you, this is free.
wind
We witnessed greatness today, Rachel Alexandra was tested every step of the way in the 1 1/8th mile Woodward and beat older males. The first 3 yr old filly in the history of the race to do so. She was amazing. You can take credit for breeding them, but only God can get the credit for the greatness.
Kudos for all involved.
Every year the Saratoga meet gives us some nice horses to watch the coming year. This year it's Dublin by Afleet Alex who won the Hopeful. He made it look easy even with a stumble at the start he showed a maturity throughout the race. Except coming down the stretch when he'd duck from the whip, no matter what side he was hit on, but he'll learn with more seasoning not to do that. This was only his third start. I'm happy that he's an Afleet Alex, I love that horse. The grit, determination and talent he showed when racing was amazing, yet he seemed to be an easy horse to work around.
Saratoga is also the graveyard of champions, but Rachel Alexandra wouldn't let that deter her and she held on with the class of all the champions in the past to win The Woodward. What a race, what a filly. The first quarter was an amazing 22 n change yet she hung on at the end of the 1 1/8th race to win by a head. The older males kept coming at her, never giving her a breather and they were falling by the wayside, it took all 7 of them to take her to the bottom of the well and she still won.
Now that is greatness.
The yearling sales have started and the Saratoga Sale was a rousing success, then came the NY Bred sale and reality set back in. Down in all aspects. This is the time to buy a yearling if you have the money. Except for the cream of the crop you can find some nice horses at reasonable prices. The Keenland Sept Sale will be the test, you have the best in the first 4 days of the sale, books 1 and 2, then it goes down from there. Books 3 and 4 are decently bred horses with some minor conformational or pedigree faults, then the rest of the sale you're looking at more faults. But you know, not all conformational faults or pedigree faults are all that bad.
If you know what you can live with, what has worked for you in the past then you can find a diamond in the rough. It has been done before. Do your homework, if you're a novice bring in an expert, whether it's your trainer or an agent, they have the experience and knowledge to help you find a racehorse.
Know how much you can afford, and don't forget the next few years of upkeep. Have an idea of what type of horse you want, distance, sprint, early 2 yr old, turf, dirt, synthetics, tell your expert. This will help them in whittling down the catalog (s) to find exactly what you are looking for. Don't tell them a Kentucky Derby horse, everyone wants one of those, but you can tell them a dirt horse that can go a distance. Then they can look for that conformational type of horse with the pedigree to back it up.
Sales are fun, this is what dreams are made of.
Keeneland sale starts Monday, September 14th. Happy bidding!
The Fasig Tipton MidAtlantic Fall Yearling sale is going to be an interesting sale. There is going to be some adjustment, like there has been in all sales but the Saratoga Select Sale. Is it going to be a bloodbath, I don't think so. If you have a nice horse you'll make money. You won't see the high priced stallions represented here either, so without the major investment people will be able to set their reserves more conservatively and still make money. Not a homerun, but in the black rather than in the red. It will be interesting and I'll be there to see in person how this sale pans out. More to come.
Which lady for HOY?
Since Zenyatta crossed the wire first in the Breeders Cup Classic the debate has raged on, is it Rachel Alexandra or Zenyatta? My pick, Zenyatta. Why? you ask.
First, yes Rachel started 8 times at 7 different tracks beating the boys 3 times. First let's talk about the fillies she beat, not much. This was an ordinary year for 3 yr old fillies bar one. She was allowed to run on an uncontested lead except for one race where the 2 other horses in the field went out on a suicide pace and she was able to swoop down and pass them. The other races she was on the front with no pressure, able to gear down and save something for the end.
Second, the times she met with the boys she did it at 1 3/16 mile and on a slopppy track. The first being the Preakness, I'm not taking anything away from her win, it was great. I was screaming for her every step of the way, but it was close and another step or two and she'd have been beaten. She was all out for that win. But she got it. The next race was the Haskell, on a sloppy track were if you like slop you'll out run every horse there. ( Now I know that they scratched Zenyatta from a sloppy, sealed track but that would have been her first start and I don't blame them. ) Take nothing away, she did win against the same 3 yr old colts.
Third, she won the Woodward, they could have gone in the Beldame and faced Zenyatta, her people were willing to race in it if RA showed up, but she didn't. At the time all the pundints were saying she opted for the easier race against sub standard older horses for the Woodward. She was all out to win that by a nose against Macho Again who was coming on like gang busters. Again, another jump and she's beaten.
My point, she never went 1 1/4 miles and her compitition was suspect at best except for the 3 yr old males.
Now Zenyatta, her first two races were handicaps and she was highweight, she ran on a track she dispizes and won ( Del Mar). She beat Life Is Sweet who went on to win the BC Ladies Classic and the best,she won the Breeders Cup Classic against one of the best fields of older horses and 3 yr olds all year. The pace was slow, and she had to make up over 15 lengths. She was going 1 1/4 miles the first time ever going that distance and still beat the best of the world.
I'm not saying that what Rachel Alexandra did is anything to sneeze at, she was awesome, but you can't take anything away from Zenyatta either and the top race is the Breeders Cup Classic. You can't take that away from Zenyatta either like most RA supporters are trying to do. She danced the dance and won. She gets the nod for HOY in my book.
We ended up not selling Beverly's Spirit. She went to the sale, but we didn't sell her. So we brought her home and tried to sell her privately. That didn't work either. But it's not a bad story. We ended up giving her to a trainer, Charles Simon, who used to be an assistant to none other than H. Allen Jerkens himself. Wow, what a stroke of luck for Beverly.
Charles has two incredible women Christy and Ashley who have been working with Beverly and doing a magnificient job with her. She went to the track ( to walk around it ) for the first time after only having been ridden 16 times. That's un heard of in the thoroughbred racing world. To follow Beverly go onto You Tube and put in Beverly's Spirit and the videos of her "breaking" process should pop up.
It's been awhile since I posted anything. But after this weekend and I'll Have Another winning the Preakness after having won the KY Derby I feel I have to post something. Wow! I thought that with the 1/2 being 47:3 that Bodemister was going to run away with the Preakness. I'll Have Another wanted none of that and has a turn of foot that is just amazing.
Looking at his dam's side of his pedigree, I see that he has a ton of stamina in his. I don't see anything that would stop him from possibly winning the Belmont as long as his rider doesn't do anything to hurt his chances.
It's been awhile since I've been on here. Things have sure changed. I'm on a fixed income now since I'm disabled and can't really afford to be in the breeding business anymore to my deep saddness. So, both my mare and her suckling are for sale.
You can go to Pedigreequery and go to the breeding section. My post is " Looking to get out of breeding " for more information.
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