Thoroughbred Racing 2023

[skipaway]

Churchill Downs Suspends Racing due to Equine Deaths

and I missed the news that Fusaichi Pegasus died at 26

 

[sk8pics]

Thanks @skipaway. I had heard both these things. First, I saw Fusaichi Pegasus a bunch of times. Gorgeous horse as they all are! Second, what the heck. They're suspending racing but letting it go ahead this weekend? Including training on the track since they made the announcement? If there's a problem with the track, none of that should be happening. From what I've read, others don't think there is a problem with the track and they're doing this only for PR reasons, so they look like they're doing something. Bizarre.

I hope they do identify a cause or serious contributing factor, but just closing the track is not going to cut it.

 

[skipaway]

FOX Sports will be broadcasting the Belmont instead of NBC this Saturday. They also have pulled Tom Dunkin’ out of retirement to call the race.
I’m hoping the broadcast will be less “entertainment “. NBC’s had become unwatchable over the years.

 

[sk8pics]

Uh oh, I wonder if I will be able to watch it. Have to check since I don’t have cable any more. Usually Peacock has the races.

I figure there will be a lot of Secretariat stories this year since it’s the 50th anniversary of his other worldly run in the Belmont.

 

[nylynnr]

Uh oh, I wonder if I will be able to watch it. Have to check since I don’t have cable any more. Usually Peacock has the races.

I figure there will be a lot of Secretariat stories this year since it’s the 50th anniversary of his other worldly run in the Belmont.

This is a great story:

For 50 years, this image has defined Secretariat’s famed Triple Crown. Who took it?

It's been fifty years since Secretariat won the Belmont to seal the Triple Crown. But the iconic photo of that moment is far from settled history.

sports.nbcsports.com

 

[Vagabond]

This is a great story:

For 50 years, this image has defined Secretariat’s famed Triple Crown. Who took it?

It's been fifty years since Secretariat won the Belmont to seal the Triple Crown. But the iconic photo of that moment is far from settled history.

sports.nbcsports.com

A view from the other direction:

Rivals Had a Different View of Secretariat's Belmont

Racing fans of all ages are probably familiar with the sight of Secretariat rocketing through the stretch of the 1973 Belmont Stakes (G1), wrapping up a Triple Crown sweep with a lopsided 31-length victory.

www.bloodhorse.com

 

[sk8pics]

Yeah, I read that article and enjoyed it. I wonder what the other horses thought about what was going on. I know Sham did not run again; he was injured in the Belmont and perhaps his heart was broken. I don't know about the others.

So often horses give a herculean effort, win or maybe finish second, and then they're never the same. And yet Secretariat went on and won other big races before being retired.

 

[skipaway]

Zenyatta foaled a filly last night according to Bill Farish of Lane’s End!

 

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Zenyatta foaled a filly last night according to Bill Farish of Lane’s End!

Finally!

 

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Great races today at Belmont Park! Cody’s Wish was a satisfying Met Mile winner. It’s his 6th win in a row and 4th Grade 1 stakes in a row, I believe.

And how about Arcangelo, winning for Jena Antonucci as the first female trainer to win the Belmont. I was proud of Forte, not giving up and closing hard to get 2nd after it looked to me like he was done for. The sire of Arcangelo is Arrogate, who seems to have thrown some nice babies. So sad that he died so young. I got to see him once at Juddmonte Farm. At the time, you could just call the office and ask to see him. I love visiting there because in the office they have a plaque commemorating one of my boy Tinner’s wins.

Last news I heard today is that Zenyatta is being retired from being a broodmare. Makes sense. She’s 18 or 19 now and had this foal so late in the year, they’d have to give her a year off anyway. I wonder if she’ll be more available for visitors now. I also kind of wonder if Ann will put her in her backyard as she originally (jokingly) wanted to.

ETA: I forgot to mention that Arcangelo’s winning time in the Belmont was more than 5 seconds slower than Secretariat’s record!

 

[skipaway]

Funny Cide died today. He was 23.
Funny Cide

 

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You beat me to it, @skipaway. I can't believe he's gone just like that.

I had 2 close encounters with Funny Cide. One was about 10 years ago in Saratoga Springs at Old Friends Cabin Creek. Funny Cide had been at some festivities at the racetrack and was resting up from his sugar hangover (from all the carrots and peppermints,LOL) before the drive back to Kentucky. My friend and I got there and there was no one in the barn to take us on a tour. So we wandered around and I saw this nice, pretty, chestnut horse who sniffed us inquisitively. Funny Cide! Eventually someone came around and took him out of his stall and we got to pose with him and pet him.

Second time was a few years ago. I was at the KY Horse Park and he had not been part of the parade of champions that day, so I walked into the barn to see him and say hello. There was a guy who worked there, who showed Funny Cide to us, and he opened the stall door wide so we could all get a good look. Then for some reason he handed me several cookies to give him, which I did, and which he accepted graciously. Too bad I don't have a picture of that, but I do have a picture of the first encounter we had.

 

[Sarah]

Funny Cide hit me hard this morning

 

[sk8pics]

{{{ @Sarah }}} Me too. Can't believe it.

 

[skipaway]

Stronach’s group is shutting down Golden Gate Fields in NOCAL at the end of the year. They are consolidating California racing to Santa Anita.
Feel terrible for the locals who are losing their livelihoods and the local horsemen/women who no longer have a nearby track to train or race.

 

[Vagabond]

Stronach’s group is shutting down Golden Gate Fields in NOCAL at the end of the year. They are consolidating California racing to Santa Anita.
Feel terrible for the locals who are losing their livelihoods and the local horsemen/women who no longer have a nearby track to train or race.

Not quite.

Cal Expo move likely for soon-to-be-evicted Golden Gate Fields trainers

With Golden Gate Fields closing in the fall, the California Authority of Racing Fairs hopes to minimize the effect by expanding the calendar at Cal Expo.

www.sfchronicle.com

I do wonder what this will mean from the horses.

First, Golden Gate Fields has both Tapeta and turf surfaces, whereas Cal Expo, I believe, has just a dirt track at the moment.

Second, and perhaps more significantly, Sacramento can be colder than Albany with a lot of ground fog in the winter and significantly hotter in the spring and summer -- by as much as 30 Fahrenheit degrees or more.

 

[skipaway]

Servis Sentenced to 4 Years for Drugging Scheme

Authorities said Servis gave Maximum Security a performance-enhancing drug called SGF-1000, recommended it to another trainer and conspired with a veterinarian to make it look like a false positive for another substance.

 

[sk8pics]

Glad he was caught and is no longer in the business.

I felt so sorry for Max and his other horses. I met Max last month at Ashford and he looks great!

 

[sk8pics]

Sad, sad news.

Breaking: Art Collector is euthanized with case of laminitis

Winner of 2021 Woodward, 2023 Pegasus World Cup is euthanized after developing laminitis.

www.horseracingnation.com

 

[skipaway]

Jerry Moss, owner of Zenyatta Passed Away

 

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Another sad death from laminitis, this time as a post surgical complication.

Cave Rock Succumbs to Post-Surgery Laminitis

Two-time grade 1 winner Cave Rock died recently of complications from emergency surgery for an inguinal hernia, his trainer Bob Baffert said Aug. 19 in a statement.

www.bloodhorse.com

 

[Sarah]

I hate laminitis.

 

[sk8pics]

I hate laminitis.

Me too.

 

[sk8pics]

Travers is today! Post time is 6:15 pm local time. Will Saratoga be the graveyard of champions again? You have Forte, Mage, Arcangelo, and Tapit Trice. I like Forte but not his owner. Arcangelo‘s trainer is a woman with a small stable, first female trainer to win a triple crown race. Tapit Trice, well, I like Tapit, so….

I have no way to watch it without cable. I will probably ask one of my friends if she will livestream it on Facebook.

 

[Sarah]

Arcangelo!!!

 

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But two more fatal breakdowns today at Saratoga....

 

[Sarah]

But two more fatal breakdowns today at Saratoga....

this has been an awful year for the major tracks.

 

[skipaway]

Rainbow during the Travers

 

[sk8pics]

this has been an awful year for the major tracks.

Yes. It’s hard not to think there’s a problem with the track surfaces or some sort of systematic issue with the horses. Certainly there have been devastating high profile deaths. But what is the overall rate? Is it higher than “normal” at those tracks? About the same?

I feel like these recent deaths are all in sprints, but maybe I’m mistaken. Are the horses’ legs not able to keep up with their hearts? Their will to run fast? Horses are fragile and apt to injure themselves in so many ways. I remember the devastating death of Zenyatta’s filly Z’Princess several years ago; she broke her back in a paddock accident. So sad.

I especially feel for the horses’ connections, in particular the grooms, who go back to the barn empty handed, just carrying a saddle and blankets rather than leading their charge. Devastating.

 

[Sarah]

I feel like a lot of horses are bred for speed and not soundness. Modern thoroughbreds are so much more dainty in bone structure than thoroughbreds in years past (10-20+). Subi had so much bone. So many now? They’re just delicate. Nay is definitely way more delicate though I know Tiznow wasn’t so a couple generations later…

I’ve heard from friends that there is an effort to change this, but it takes time.

You get a popular stallion/line and keep breeding and… I just remember this with storm cats years ago. They were super popular, could be super fast, but also fragile, injured, etc. Then they went to the breeding shed and produced more unsound horses (or became unsound sport horses with bad attitudes — or so I’ve heard). Yes, the track plays a role, but breeding does too. I do worry about the tapit lines too…

But yeah, just me.