Horse Racing questions and answers

[JBEX]

just want to say with KB DM and WR that str watched the replay of their debuts and agreed they were good follows ..haven't heard unless I'm forgetting lol about HN (headline numbers) so don't want to put him on something without him saying so..the big difference with HN vs the other 3 is she had a flashy,big margin win in her debut..not true of the others (KB and DM won while WR was a close 3rd)





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one other that I skipped but really warrants following is "chancer mcpatrick" ..won his debut @ saratoga a few weeks ago (a 2yo)
..he's more along the lines of the others (how he won) and would be the only one I've added for the meet..big pedigree and ultra expensive and has to be one or the other (or both) to be a follow for me .. it's the other requirement besides how they win* their debut ..his debut is on you tube if you anyone cares to see it (#4)

had him in my thread

*will allow a close loss .. doesn't have to be a win




.

[str]

really does suck as ,like you, wanted to see if he could keep the good run going in the big upcoming races .. but at the same time glad he won't be suffering any significant discomfort ..was fun following his path the past couple of years and you provided some great insight along the way..made it a lot more interesting than it would have been otherwise and appreciate you doing it



will be really interested to see what his starting fee will be and guess something like that might not be decided till later this year
..I'll take a crack at it and say $50k ..if he had run the table in his next two races (latter possibly the bc classic) maybe 75-100k ..look forward (before they race as 2yo's) to see how they sell at the sales but that's 3 and 4 years away


side note..army mule filly went for $300k at the saratoga sale 10 days ago ..won't see the $12.5k fee 2yo's till 2026 ..have a hunch they may do well..$25k's year after that

It's kind of weird but sometimes, and in this case, when we have followed a horse so closely for a couple of years, like this guy, as I type what all is going on back at the barn, that old familiar feeling can creep in out of nowhere. Half way through typing yesterday, it just came back and I can get mentally emotional to some degree. It goes to just how much a trainer that goes all in with their horses, and more do than don't, has to go through with the highs and lows of the game. And if you have a passion for something, the price of the horse is not at all the focus. The focus is all the little things along the way that got that horse hopefully running as well as it could, the management, the decisions, the good stuff, and also the not so good stuff.
But at the end of the day, if you connected with that horse and crawled inside of it's head and were in lock step as that horse thrived, the depth of appreciation, respect, and admiration for that animal who cannot speak to you verbally but can shout to you with body language, facial expressions and with their eyes, seems to stay with you. I don't feel it unless I take a long look at an old picture or explain what is going on behind the scenes, which is like living a version of it from way back.

Climbing into some of these replays and races with the same horses over time, and then trying to explain in this thread, has me relive it, albeit to a very small degree. And don't get me wrong, I really enjoy doing it. But if something goes wrong, that is the part that can get you to thinking.
I was surprised when I felt that way yesterday after and during posting about it. But I did. But it's all good. The horse is just fine. The only lingering frustration is that he had finally , seemingly, turned the corner and was on a path to really climb the ladder. We will never know if he would have fully or not. But that's ok. It just seemed to bother me half way through explaining. Just a little PTSD from all my years of training I guess. Might sound weird but I'm lucky to have that. I can't imagine doing something for close to 30 years and NOT having feelings about it years later. When you go all in, I don't know how you can't have that.

Onward and upward.

[str]

realize KB news dominates but the blue hen stakes for 2yo (probably know of it) @ del is well represented with a lot of your old friends horses



it's at 3pm .. just figure you might want to take a peek afterwards

The chart is gone already but I did see it. Probably forgetting someone but I saw John Robb and Gary Capuano both had horses in there. Both of those guys gained much respect from me over the years with their horsemanship. Good guys and really good trainers, both of them. They would be on a short list of trainers in Md. that I would give my horses to if I had some. Both excellent at what they do for a long time now.

[str]

I enjoy this thread because of things like you guys following KB as I learn a lot through your conversations. I'm sure others do as well.

I hope people do learn from this thread. It's kind of what it's all about. I always wanted to try and explain what is going on to fans that watch the same thing I do but don't see some things.
I was that fan when I was a kid and while I was a groom. I saw it. But only saw things I knew. Years, hack decades later, after learning from some of the best and brightest in the game, I was able to expand my vision to see subtle things before they happen. That is the view I try and show fans.
If you watch a football game with a former NFL quarterback for instance, a starter, and a successful starter, maybe even a Super Bowl winner, half way through the QB cadence of each play, when the motion starts and they have seen the defensive setup, they can tell you the play and who will be open and just as cool, NOT be open, before the snap. That blows me away when I hear that.

It is that stuff, I am trying to pass along to horse players. It opens up a whole new view of what is going on. And a whole new appreciation as well. I would have loved to have had that back when I was betting in high school. But that did not exist. So, I try and give it, what little I can, to you folks who obviously enjoy the races.
I get no greater pleasure than when someone sees something I talk about for the first time or understands "why" things happen when they do.

Happy to help and I appreciate your posting in here Jelly.

[str]

thanks for the good word jelly..
have learned a lot along the way from str covering KB and thought it was a fun exercise besides .. you kind of look at the game from the connections perspective rather than capping an individual race ..although betting opportunities do happen along the way

have high hopes for the other two we're following and think one other "headline numbers" will be a real good one also..she'll probably be running again soon ..cat's out of the bag with the way she broke her maiden so it's more of a "see if she develops into a good one" kind of thing ..besides the obvious .. trained by chad brown and has a great pedigree

I never followed up on this one I don't think. I was pretty sure I did miss a firster you mentioned and did not see the race or replay. Think it got lost in a flurry of posts. Probably this horse. Anyway, before that horses next race, please let me know and I will go back and watch that 1st race and let's see what we see.
Thanks JBEX !

[BOA12]

I hope people do learn from this thread. It's kind of what it's all about. I always wanted to try and explain what is going on to fans that watch the same thing I do but don't see some things.
I was that fan when I was a kid and while I was a groom. I saw it. But only saw things I knew. Years, hack decades later, after learning from some of the best and brightest in the game, I was able to expand my vision to see subtle things before they happen. That is the view I try and show fans.
If you watch a football game with a former NFL quarterback for instance, a starter, and a successful starter, maybe even a Super Bowl winner, half way through the QB cadence of each play, when the motion starts and they have seen the defensive setup, they can tell you the play and who will be open and just as cool, NOT be open, before the snap. That blows me away when I hear that.

It is that stuff, I am trying to pass along to horse players. It opens up a whole new view of what is going on. And a whole new appreciation as well. I would have loved to have had that back when I was betting in high school. But that did not exist. So, I try and give it, what little I can, to you folks who obviously enjoy the races.
I get no greater pleasure than when someone sees something I talk about for the first time or understands "why" things happen when they do.

Happy to help and I appreciate your posting in here Jelly.

You make being a student for life like going back to high school or a nonstop flowing fountain of youth.

[JBEX]

while not being able to understand or feel it on your level I definitely get a sense of what you mean ..and I can see why it would apply from a $5k claimer to a multiple graded stakes winner like KB .. when you make adjustments,maybe in addition to making them better runners but also sometimes happier in general has to be a good feeling

we both felt the layoff after the mth race was a good idea and even thought it may potentially be a long one ,which it was..came back as a really nice 4yo which we thought there was a chance for .. at least we got to see him win a grade 1 as an older horse and would have hurt more if this happened after the pimlico special ..was a fun ride and think down the road going to be a solid stallion ..great bloodlines will contribute to the consistent and impressive race record
..hopefully deterministic and world record will have similiar success .. will be cool following along as we have been

[Madison]

Hey Str,

If you've got nothing to do, I have a couple I'd love to get your thoughts on.

Thur 8/15 DEL R6 #9 Winning Streep. This one is one for the ages. My friend had $50 win on her at 5-1. Nothing quite like 2 yr old females.

Wed 8/14 Mount R6 #2 Track Light. I've been following this guy for 4 or 5 starts. I gave up on him thinking he was just shy in traffic. This race is somewhat indicative of his PP. Do you have any ideas what his issue might be and why they haven't tried something different with him? Also, very curious that he comes on late in a somewhat tight finish on the rail?

Trust you and yours are all well,

[JBEX]

" R7 #3 army proud (5-1)*
4WP @ 4:23
* an army mule..like besides "

spa

[str]

" R7 #3 army proud (5-1)*
4WP @ 4:23
* an army mule..like besides "

spa

Going to try and watch this one live.

Things to like for sure.

My man Tony has one in there. Firster with last 2 works out of the gate. Hmmm? Maybe broke a step slow in that previous one. Has the 1 post so we shall see.

[JBEX]

Going to try and watch this one live.

Things to like for sure.

My man Tony has one in there. Firster with last 2 works out of the gate. Hmmm? Maybe broke a step slow in that previous one. Has the 1 post so we shall see.

cost a good amount relative to pedigree,jose ortiz and rail has been good in turf sprints (understand it's a debuter)..some decent things going on imo





.

[str]

Hey Str,

If you've got nothing to do, I have a couple I'd love to get your thoughts on.

Thur 8/15 DEL R6 #9 Winning Streep. This one is one for the ages. My friend had $50 win on her at 5-1. Nothing quite like 2 yr old females.

Wed 8/14 Mount R6 #2 Track Light. I've been following this guy for 4 or 5 starts. I gave up on him thinking he was just shy in traffic. This race is somewhat indicative of his PP. Do you have any ideas what his issue might be and why they haven't tried something different with him? Also, very curious that he comes on late in a somewhat tight finish on the rail?

Trust you and yours are all well,

Winning Streep: Very green first time starter. Just a shame that that happened but it was the horse looking around too much. Hard to believe she did not do this stuff at least to some degree in the morning when she was clear but maybe she never was.
The first tell of possible problems was just as she went into the far turn. She is still last at that point but watch her duck out hard just into the far turn and the jockey have to correct her. That's not cool at all.
Once regathered, she runs fine around horses but once she gets a clear lead, she is looking all over the place again. She must hear the noise from the grandstand as she reacts seconds before her last screw up. Again, straightened away, she re switches her leads to the left side, surprising the rider, and even though he reacts, she is too busy thinking for herself at that point and lugs in badly, having the rider lose his balance and to show you how when horses get scared they will run through a wall, she runs right through the inner rail. I will say that the Delaware Park inner rail at that chute has always been something I hated, but I don't recall seeing that there before. I just worried about it.

Anyway, looked like the horse was somewhat ok but still loose from last I saw. Hopefully she is. I would expect blinkers on next out and after PLENTY of practice in the morning. If she was mine, I would nominate her to a stake so I could gain turf access in the morning, and work her past that gap with blinkers multiple times before running her back. Probably play with the bit as well so she can think about that instead of looking around so much.
That filly went from being worth 6 figures to basically worthless in a matter of seconds. I know your friend lost his money. Didn't deserve that, but the connections lost much more unless she can shake that nonsense quickly and for good. She has 2 strikes against her already. Man that is tough. Glad the rider was ok. Could have been killed if he wasn't as far inside as he landed. I wasn't expecting that when I watched the replay.



Track Light.: This horse without seeing his form, looks like a one paced horse that does not really have another gear but does seem to try hard. He dropped back down the backside because the pace went from 24 and change down to 23 and change and he did not speed up when the others did. That is ok though, as he kicked as best he could when asked and it looked to me like he tried but is simply slow and lacking of any real talent. No knock on the horse, and I applaud the horse for trying. He runs inside, outside, does everything asked of him, he's just kind of slow. But he is who he is. He will win this race, and probably the nw /2 and 3 but unless he can improve his overall performance, he is simply a hard trying slow horse. Honestly, I would almost rather have him than a horse that works in 59 and change in the morning but can't outrun me in the afternoon.
I think you will probably get about the same effort every time from him so see when that effort looks best and play him accordingly.

Hope those helped.

[str]

" R7 #3 army proud (5-1)*
4WP @ 4:23
* an army mule..like besides "

spa

Ran a decent race. Tried, got a little tired but that is to be expected. Probably win his next start or two if there are no monsters.

[str]

while not being able to understand or feel it on your level I definitely get a sense of what you mean ..and I can see why it would apply from a $5k claimer to a multiple graded stakes winner like KB .. when you make adjustments,maybe in addition to making them better runners but also sometimes happier in general has to be a good feeling

we both felt the layoff after the mth race was a good idea and even thought it may potentially be a long one ,which it was..came back as a really nice 4yo which we thought there was a chance for .. at least we got to see him win a grade 1 as an older horse and would have hurt more if this happened after the pimlico special ..was a fun ride and think down the road going to be a solid stallion ..great bloodlines will contribute to the consistent and impressive race record
..hopefully deterministic and world record will have similiar success .. will be cool following along as we have been

Ah, we all feel the same thing JBEX. Mine just has some old faces and names along with it. But, it's much better today. He will be fine and that is the main thing.
Now the question becomes, will he throw horses that will relax or do we have to see this same trait carry over?
Million Dollar question. The ability is not the issue. Will be fun to watch.

[str]

cost a good amount relative to pedigree,jose ortiz and rail has been good in turf sprints (understand it's a debuter)..some decent things going on imo





.

Only thing I know is Tony has much respect for the horse at this point. If not, he runs anyway. That's a real good thing at this point.

[JBEX]

Ran a decent race. Tried, got a little tired but that is to be expected. Probably win his next start or two if there are no monsters.

fact he did some running in an off the turf is enough for me ..as you said think he'll get it done in a turf sprint in the next few starts

[JBEX]

Only thing I know is Tony has much respect for the horse at this point. If not, he runs anyway. That's a real good thing at this point.

yes that's certainly the main thing..like some of the other things from a capping perspective..look for him next out

[JBEX]

Ah, we all feel the same thing JBEX. Mine just has some old faces and names along with it. But, it's much better today. He will be fine and that is the main thing.
Now the question becomes, will he throw horses that will relax or do we have to see this same trait carry over?
Million Dollar question. The ability is not the issue. Will be fun to watch.

yes that's another nice thing about these horses we've followed..army mule and now kingsbarns will be stallions and I expect deterministic and world record will be also (at minimum one of them)..enjoyed seeing AM's run when I caught them and he had a real nice freshman year

look forward to seeing what KB does a few years from now

[Madison]

Winning Streep: Very green first time starter. Just a shame that that happened but it was the horse looking around too much. Hard to believe she did not do this stuff at least to some degree in the morning when she was clear but maybe she never was.
The first tell of possible problems was just as she went into the far turn. She is still last at that point but watch her duck out hard just into the far turn and the jockey have to correct her. That's not cool at all.
Once regathered, she runs fine around horses but once she gets a clear lead, she is looking all over the place again. She must hear the noise from the grandstand as she reacts seconds before her last screw up. Again, straightened away, she re switches her leads to the left side, surprising the rider, and even though he reacts, she is too busy thinking for herself at that point and lugs in badly, having the rider lose his balance and to show you how when horses get scared they will run through a wall, she runs right through the inner rail. I will say that the Delaware Park inner rail at that chute has always been something I hated, but I don't recall seeing that there before. I just worried about it.

Anyway, looked like the horse was somewhat ok but still loose from last I saw. Hopefully she is. I would expect blinkers on next out and after PLENTY of practice in the morning. If she was mine, I would nominate her to a stake so I could gain turf access in the morning, and work her past that gap with blinkers multiple times before running her back. Probably play with the bit as well so she can think about that instead of looking around so much.
That filly went from being worth 6 figures to basically worthless in a matter of seconds. I know your friend lost his money. Didn't deserve that, but the connections lost much more unless she can shake that nonsense quickly and for good. She has 2 strikes against her already. Man that is tough. Glad the rider was ok. Could have been killed if he wasn't as far inside as he landed. I wasn't expecting that when I watched the replay.



Track Light.: This horse without seeing his form, looks like a one paced horse that does not really have another gear but does seem to try hard. He dropped back down the backside because the pace went from 24 and change down to 23 and change and he did not speed up when the others did. That is ok though, as he kicked as best he could when asked and it looked to me like he tried but is simply slow and lacking of any real talent. No knock on the horse, and I applaud the horse for trying. He runs inside, outside, does everything asked of him, he's just kind of slow. But he is who he is. He will win this race, and probably the nw /2 and 3 but unless he can improve his overall performance, he is simply a hard trying slow horse. Honestly, I would almost rather have him than a horse that works in 59 and change in the morning but can't outrun me in the afternoon.
I think you will probably get about the same effort every time from him so see when that effort looks best and play him accordingly.

Hope those helped.

As always your time and insight is greatly appreciated!!! Many Thanks!

[str]

I had dinner last night with Chris Mac. and his girlfriend, his brother Greg Mac. a former jockey in Md. for years and his wife and Greg's son Matt, who rode steeple chase, was excellent, and is now the asst. starter on the Md. gate crew.
Really great to see them as it had been about a year and a half.
As Chris said, "We told some old tales, and made up some new ones". Lol.

Lets take a pole:

When asked who the best horse he ever rode was, Chris had three at the top of the list. And he wavers a bit as they were all great. Who do you think he finally put on top... in a photo finish. I'll leave it open about a week so most have a chance to vote if they want to.

1. Sunday Silence
2. John Henry
3. Alysheba

Here are the results of the poll as to Chris Mac,s " best " horse he ever rode. Do remember he said that it really is a photo finish in his book as all three were great.

He said that for years in the past when asked, his answer was all three but having to put one on top, he went with ....... Alysheba. His reasoning he said was because Alysheba gained the spotlight the traditional way. He won the Kentucky Derby and then went on from there. He said he assumed that doing that put Alysheba in a special place in history so it was really difficult for him to go against that. But that was before and I will attest in a much smaller scale of course, that as we get a little older, our sentiments might be altered just a bit. I did not get into that depth of detail but that is what it sounded like to me.
So he continued on and said, that while he had said Alysheba for years, he has changed the order and if asked now, his answer would have to be... John Henry.
His rationale was pretty simple. John Henry did things that 99.999 horses just cannot do. He got better every year and was still moving forward at the age of 8, and 9 years old. In his last year of racing, at 9, he earned 2.35 million and that was 1984.

By contrast, and to show what purse sizes looked like back then, below is a years worth of work for a full stable of typical horses.

1984

357

74

33

51

$407,608

$1,142

21%

44%

Also keep in mind, that John Henry was a late scratch into the 1st running of the Breeders Cup Classic. Had he not hurt himself 3 days beforehand, John Henry would have been roughly 1-2 to win the Classic.

So congrats if you guessed John Henry. But if you didn't, Chris said you only got beat a nose or two.

Thanks for playing along.

[JBEX]

think sunday silence was a poor guess considering he only rode him once..alysheba won the first two legs of the triple crown and the bc classic as did SS but McCarron was the formers regular jock..if you weren't going JH then alysheba made more sense

[Jellymancan]

think sunday silence was a poor guess considering he only rode him once..alysheba won the first two legs of the triple crown and the bc classic as did SS but McCarron was the formers regular jock..if you weren't going JH then alysheba made more sense

Honestly, I thought it was a trick question because JH seemed so obvious. That's why I went with SS as the wildcard lol

[batt33]

Here are the results of the poll as to Chris Mac,s " best " horse he ever rode. Do remember he said that it really is a photo finish in his book as all three were great.

He said that for years in the past when asked, his answer was all three but having to put one on top, he went with ....... Alysheba. His reasoning he said was because Alysheba gained the spotlight the traditional way. He won the Kentucky Derby and then went on from there. He said he assumed that doing that put Alysheba in a special place in history so it was really difficult for him to go against that. But that was before and I will attest in a much smaller scale of course, that as we get a little older, our sentiments might be altered just a bit. I did not get into that depth of detail but that is what it sounded like to me.
So he continued on and said, that while he had said Alysheba for years, he has changed the order and if asked now, his answer would have to be... John Henry.
His rationale was pretty simple. John Henry did things that 99.999 horses just cannot do. He got better every year and was still moving forward at the age of 8, and 9 years old. In his last year of racing, at 9, he earned 2.35 million and that was 1984.

By contrast, and to show what purse sizes looked like back then, below is a years worth of work for a full stable of typical horses.

1984

357

74

33

51

$407,608

$1,142

21%

44%

Also keep in mind, that John Henry was a late scratch into the 1st running of the Breeders Cup Classic. Had he not hurt himself 3 days beforehand, John Henry would have been roughly 1-2 to win the Classic.

So congrats if you guessed John Henry. But if you didn't, Chris said you only got beat a nose or two.

Thanks for playing along.

many many moons ago..... my Grandma(lived in Reno) got to go see the races at Santa Anita...... Now she followed "John Henry" when they use to show races on "the wide world of sports" I'll never forget the guy going off the big hill ski jump...) anyways they allowed John Henry to work between races ...... and she just gushed..... when the crowd was cheering and the announcer said "here come John Henry" she said you could just see by his ears and the way he bolded up ...he just knew he was "The horse" as he was gliding down the track.... That's her story and I still believe it!

[batt33]

updates on a couple of horses.... fire season is busy....
[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Visceral Update
[/COLOR]
Unfortunately, we do not have great news to share on Visceral. Everything was continuing perfectly with his throat treatment, but within 24 hours after he was cleared from the hospital and arrived at TriFecta Equine Athletic Center (sister farm to San Luis Rey Equine Hospital), he was found to have a significant case of cellulitis (swelling/infection) in a hind leg. The colt was treated and responded well at first, but this afternoon we received a call from Dr. Korin Potenza that an abscess had surfaced. The good news is that the abscess doesn’t seem to be interfering with the joint or tendon sheath and hopefully that will not change.
The bigger concern and focus is on determining what is causing his current symptoms and treating him accordingly. Dr. Potenza and her staff are arguably the best in Southern California, but do not have an answer for us at this stage. They report that our colt is in clear discomfort and their team is doing all they can to get to the bottom of it. In Dr. Potenza’s opinion, Visceral’s immune system is not handling the antibiotics, and he’s shedding the bacteria out in different places. Additionally, when a horse’s immune system weakens like this, colic is a fear. While we hate to mention that as a possibility, we have to be prepared as they have no choice but to continue treating him with fluids and antibiotics for what he is dealing with currently.
We can assure you he is great hands and getting the best care. In situations like this you just never know which direction a horse is going to go—hopefully for the best in Visceral’s case. We’ll be back with any additional information as we receive it.

[batt33]

[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Seize the Grey Update
[/COLOR]
“The Coach" gave us a call this morning following Seize the Grey's five-furlong breeze (1:01.44 over the Oklahoma) to let us know that he would like to target the G1 Pennsylvania Derby. Since STG has been doing so well, Lukas was still thinking the Travers was worth considering, but after looking at the potential field and assessing the risk of retirement due to the "performing" clause in our stallion deal, he believes the PA Derby will be the best spot for your colt. D. Wayne always thought the track configuration at Parx suited Seize the Grey’s style best when we first discussed "the big three" race options, which included the G1 Travers, G1 Pennsylvania Derby, and G1 California Crown.
The last option we discussed was the G1 California Crown, but Lukas believes a race against older horses on the West Coast will be tougher than the straight 3-year-old option in the PA Derby. While there's no "top dog" in the older category in Southern California, with the new purse upgrade, it would not be surprising if this race attracts various shippers. Although the potential $5-million bonus is alluring to everyone, we need to make sure we put him in the best spot to perform, and right now, Lukas favors the PA Derby. Things can always change, and we have Gainesway's support on either race, so it really will come down to what Lukas thinks is best for STG as we get closer to the PA Derby. This a major decision for his career and we want to make sure we evaluate each option and place him in ultimately what we all believe will give him the best chance to win.

[batt33]

[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Straight No Chaser Update
[/COLOR]
We are pleased to report that Straight No Chaser’s PET scan came back about as positive as we could have hoped for. There were some notable minor changes from his last scan in December of 2023, but Dr. Spriet--who is considered the PET expert--and has followed your colt’s case since May of 2023, considered him at low risk.
Dr. Spriet believes there is no reason Straight No Chaser shouldn’t remain in training while monitoring him as usual. He has recommended a follow-up PET scan in three months to monitor any further changes.
Straight No Chaser will jog for a few days before doing anything further but we are thrilled to have him receive the green light to return to training.

[batt33]

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/VIDEO20240809141338_1723230414052/MP4/VIDEO20240809141338_1723230414052.mp4

[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Caldera[/COLOR][COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Caldera Workout Report[/COLOR]Caldera had his second breeze this morning at Oak Ridge training center, covering two furlongs in :26 — galloping out in :39.70. Farm trainer Dave Scanlon and his team remain extremely pleased with your colt who seems to keep getting better each week.
In addition, our team caught up with Caldera’s future trainer D. Wayne Lukas who suggested we wait until he returns to Churchill after the Saratoga summer meet to send him into the track. The Saratoga meet concludes on September 2nd so this will only be a difference of a few weeks and ultimately makes the most sense rather than shipping to Saratoga only to ship to Kentucky a few weeks later.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Got a chance to meet str today. str, thanks for carving out the time. Man, str is a wealth of knowledge.

Boys, str has some great stories. Will leave it at that.

[Easy-Rider 66]

[Easy-Rider 66]

Hey STR want to get your take on the filly taking on the boys in racing. Thorpedo Anna will do just that next SAT in the Travers. I like the move as I think it adds intrigue to the game. What say you and was it something that was done at all much in your era? THX.

[str]

think sunday silence was a poor guess considering he only rode him once..alysheba won the first two legs of the triple crown and the bc classic as did SS but McCarron was the formers regular jock..if you weren't going JH then alysheba made more sense

Honestly, I thought it was a trick question because JH seemed so obvious. That's why I went with SS as the wildcard lol

many many moons ago..... my Grandma(lived in Reno) got to go see the races at Santa Anita...... Now she followed "John Henry" when they use to show races on "the wide world of sports" I'll never forget the guy going off the big hill ski jump...) anyways they allowed John Henry to work between races ...... and she just gushed..... when the crowd was cheering and the announcer said "here come John Henry" she said you could just see by his ears and the way he bolded up ...he just knew he was "The horse" as he was gliding down the track.... That's her story and I still believe it!

I did not ask about it but my guess on Sunday Silence is that while super talented, he was a little quirky, and did not want any part of the whip if memory serves. That might have had something to do with it but not sure. Only riding him once makes a lot of sense as well.


Jelly talked himself off a winner. Man, how many times have we all done that? Lolol.

Being honest and I did not talk to Chris about this, but when he first told me it was Alysheba for years as his stock answer, I was really surprised. I would have bet, and lost, it would be John Henry. Glad to hear he had changed to the old man. Especially as we all start to become one as well. Lol.



Loved the agony of defeat skier. Hahaha.

Funny you mention that story. So the one thing Chris mentioned about John Henry that he said was so cool was that John Henry , when he came back to the winners circle after winning, would pull Chris over to the inside fence at the finish line. He said no horse had done that before. John Henry was basking in the moment. He would wander to the finish line mirror and infield and just stand at attention and take it all in. And if you asked him to go to the winners circle too early, he wanted no part of it. He was the ultimate hambone. Kind of like the rock when he asks "Can you smell.. what the Rock.. is.. cookin?
He knew he was the man, and loved being himself. Such a cool trait that you see in a horse that wins a bunch every now and then. But not to his degree of course.
Your Grandma was exactly right Batt. She nailed it and saw it perfectly! Chris said you could feel the energy coming through the saddle when he did that. It's got to be surreal to feel that.

Very cool your Grandma saw that. Sharp lady ! And now you can say that Chris McCarron verified it.

All the Best.

[batt33]

[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Visceral Update
[/COLOR]
Visceral became uncomfortable on all four legs starting yesterday, but is reportedly a bit better today than he was. He has a really good appetite, but still has low-grade fever intermittently. It’s clear that he has an infection in all four legs at this point, but so far they have not been able to find the inciting cause.
Results from the cultures they pulled should come back tomorrow, so once they have that information they’ll be able to determine which antibiotic will be most effective.
This is certainly still a pretty guarded situation, but Visceral is in great hands and getting excellent and attentive care.

[str]

[COLOR=rgba(77, 76, 76, 0.9)]Visceral Update
[/COLOR]
Visceral became uncomfortable on all four legs starting yesterday, but is reportedly a bit better today than he was. He has a really good appetite, but still has low-grade fever intermittently. It’s clear that he has an infection in all four legs at this point, but so far they have not been able to find the inciting cause.
Results from the cultures they pulled should come back tomorrow, so once they have that information they’ll be able to determine which antibiotic will be most effective.
This is certainly still a pretty guarded situation, but Visceral is in great hands and getting excellent and attentive care.

I'm not going to mince words for you Batt. This is not good news at all. He is on shaky ground and the next couple of days are crucial.

And for right this minute, the next 12-24 hours. I am surprised he has an apatite at all with pain in all fours and a fever. Maybe they are feeding him just hay, which without fully understanding what is going on, would make sense. If that is what they mean, then great. But the infection in all 4 legs is not cool at all. Foundering is my greatest fear without seeing him. And that doesn't mean if you start to founder you die. But it is certainly deadly which all involved are well aware of.
I am sure they are competent horsemen and vets involved and that is crucial. Keep us posted as word comes down and good luck with this guy. They are so damn strong and yet so fragile. Here's hoping for good news.

[str]

Got a chance to meet str today. str, thanks for carving out the time. Man, str is a wealth of knowledge.

Boys, str has some great stories. Will leave it at that.

Chucky, it was nice to meet you. Sorry for the seemingly nonstop interruptions. Funny how so many of those trainers worked for me when they were real young. My whole crew was young. Heck, I was so young. Good times, great people. We had a many a fun time along the way but when it was time to work, those people were all business. They knew what was expected of them and they rarely disappointed. I always tried to lead by example. With the success so many of them have had and the friendliness shown many years later, I think it worked.

Hope you enjoyed the day Chucky.

[str]

Hey STR want to get your take on the filly taking on the boys in racing. Thorpedo Anna will do just that next SAT in the Travers. I like the move as I think it adds intrigue to the game. What say you and was it something that was done at all much in your era? THX.

I will want to see the form but going in, you can feel the excitement building can't you? Back in the early 70's, the battle of the sexes was front and center. When Billy Jean King beat Bobby Riggs it was HUGE ! That is a must google if you are not familiar.
The slogan, " You've come a long way baby" was everywhere. That carried over to horse racing in the USA. It was really refreshing EZ. Different for sure. But when Ruffian was hurt, it kind of took the wind out of it. It was still around, but not with the same joy, at least for me that was the case.
But it is always intriguing and an exciting thing to watch. And you really have to applaud the connections for taking the swing. They , in my mind, gave up an almost assured Alabama win to try this. That's a big deal EZ. It's good for the game, the fans, everybody. Every jock not riding in it will be watching, everywhere they possibly can. Racetracks would be well served to space their own races around the starting time so everyone throughout the country could stop to see it. Probably won't happen with some of today's ownership but I guess we can hope.

As you said it adds intrigue and if built up correctly, A TON, of intrigue. So yes, it was really catching a fan base when the Ruffian thing hit. And I pause typing that because it still takes my thoughts away for a moment when I think back on it. All I remember was, I watched it in the next barn over at Bowie, John Tammaro's barn on a small black and white TV with about 6-8 people. Think it was about 5:30 or 6pm when it ran. All the horses had been fed an hour earlier and just becoming an asst. trainer for Dicky, I was sticking around to water off ( top off of refill the 2 water buckets after the horses ate dinner). Once it was apparent that the severity of the injury was what it was, I walked out, went back to my barn and watered off all 48 horses. Schooo. Hard to think of that EZ. That was incredibly tough, especially what Ruffian had meant to me from Monmouth Park earlier. Something very few people know but man that was tough.

OK, enough about that stuff, yes EZ, let's get the form and talk about this some more. I think it is very cool it is happening. And who wouldn't want to see her win?

Thanks EZ. More later this week for sure.