The Inside Track

Update

2004-04-21T14:52:00.000-04:00

So it looks as if New Orlean's Fair Grounds Racetrack will be filing for reorganization.

Bankrupcy proceedings should begin in about 90-120 days.

Church Hill Downs was set to purchase Fair Grounds for the amount of $45 million, with $33 million going to the horsemen.

The remaining $12 million is not going to be a substanital amount to pay off the debt owed to Fair Grounds' debtors.

Another point of interest is the fact that Fair Grounds was reluctant to waive any outstanding court appeals.

The $45 million offer is the second one made by Churchill Downs.

A New Purchase

2004-04-13T22:05:00.000-04:00

Just heard...Church Hill Downs has made an offer to buy financially troubled Fair Grounds, located in New Orleans.

The offer was made for $45 million, which help pay off the track's creditors.

Church Hill Downs has given Fair Grounds until 4 p.m. on Wednesday to make a decision.

If you ask me, I think it's a great investment for Church Hill Downs and it helps Fair Grounds. All in all, a good plan.

Aintree

2004-04-07T15:13:00.000-04:00

One of the most prestigious races, The Martell Cognac Grand National was a smashing hit.

Held in Europe at Aintree Race Track, this year's winner was Tiutchev who was 6-1 shot upset.

Champion trainer Martin Pipe retained his title by having Tiutchev win the race.

The colt has recently been in doubt about his stamina and many viewers thought he would not sustain during the race.

Martin Pipe
Taken from http://www.racehorsetrainers.co.uk/MartinPipe/Martin.htm

Big Winner

2004-04-04T22:43:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was a big weekend for the little Irish colt, Castledale. The colt took the win in Arcadia, Calif. in the Santa Anita.

How unbelieveable a horse to win with only 30-1 odds!!!! Santa Anita is the same place that Seabiscuit ran his most notable races.

Now the track does tours through the areas most affiliated with Seabiscuit.

Anyway, back to Castledale. How crazy is it that this colt, the second-longest shot on the board, ended up out running six rivals including Rock Hard Ten in a final thrilling furlong.

Watch out Read the Footnotes...here comes some Derby contenders. While Footnotes is off the circuit and frolicking around in his pasture, other contenders are taking the spotlight, leaving Footnotes looking like a sitting duck.

We'll soon find out though...

Athens Bound

2004-03-31T12:38:00.000-05:00

This year the Equestrian Olympic Team will travel to Greece to perform in the 2004 Olympics.

While the teams have not been determined yet, the USA will have full team and individual berths in each discipline.

The Equestrian trials will be held the next three months for each discipline.

For eventing trial will take place on April 22-25 in Lexington, Ky. The trial for show jumping will be in May 14-15 in Del Mar, Calif., as well as May 22-23 in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The last trial, dressage, will be held June 11-13 and 17-20 in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

This year I'm hoping to see some Gold medal hopefuls like ones that we had in past Olympic games like Karen O'Connor.

To keep up with Olympic news check out http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/front.htm

No Conditioning for a Potential Derby Winner? WHAT!!?!!

2004-03-23T22:58:00.000-05:00

Read the Footnotes, a contender for the Roses on May 1, may not race at all in April. This is baffling news!

I know that keeping horses in warmer weather (Footnote is being stabled in Florida at Gulfstream Park) helps them in their training schedules, but not racing a potential Kentucky Derby winner could be disastrous.

Read the Footnotes' trainer Rick Violette, Jr. thinks the colt will over extend his winning ability if he is run too much between the time of the Kentucky Derby. He wants to keep him in Florida until only days before the Kentucky Derby and then ship him to Churchill Downs. All the colt will be doing in Florida is exercising. I think it's a completely risky idea.

If Footnotes does not run in April, he will be the first colt since 1956 Derby winner Needles to not run in any races in April.

I think this is a risky situation for Violette to keep his colt from running because it could go either way. Violette thinks that Footnotes will lose his urge to win. I think he may get rusty legs and not be well prepped for the big day.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see...

The article:
http://espn.go.com/horse/news/2004/0322/1765556.html

New Things

2004-03-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

Churchill Downs has just announced they will be putting up video-display screens. I personally think this will highly benefit the track, since it will allow instant replays, live video and statistics.

This will allows viewers at the track to see from all areas, including the infield (or inside of the track).

Bad Things

2004-02-24T23:08:00.000-05:00

Yet another young horse is retiring. The owner and trainer of With Anticipation, a 9 year old, five-time Grade 1 winner, have decided that a second injury was all they needed to decide the colt needed to stop racing.

The colt has earned over $2.6 million in purse money. Not too shabby with only 15 victories in 48 starts.

With Anticipation injured his pastern training for the Sword Dancer in Saratoga last summer. The colt reinjured the leg during training for last Sunday's Gulfstream Park Breeders' Cup Handicap.

Even though the injury is only a minor tear, With Anticipations' trainer Jonathan Shepppard doesn't want to push the horse and cause greater injury.

Even though injuries occur everyday on the racetrack, it is unfortunate to hear about an aspiring, young horse having to sacrifice his career due to injury. Racing is such a hard life for horses. It's a wonder that most horses don't retire sooner.

On another tragic note...

I was reading The Washington Post today and noticed a story about a barn fire in Montgomery County, Maryland.

The fire killed 25 Western reigning show horses and took firefighters over an hour to extinguish. The cause is still unknown.

Unfortunately, this kind of misfortune happens all the time. Damages so far are atleast $500,000. With this kind of money involved, many times these unknown disasters are the result of arson.

There are people out there who will do anything in the competitive show circuit to win. If burning down the barn where the favorite horse is stalled means their will not longer be competition, then some people take the opportunity. This is a sad thing to see helpless animals pay the price.

Now, I'm not saying this was an act of arson. It may have been as accidental as a boarder leaving faulty equipment on. There are many things that could have caused the fire, but many people don't realize there are individuals in the horse industry who participate in these kinds of scandelous acts.

Here's another good link about fire safety tips for the barn.

Fire Safety Tips

A Little Color

2004-02-20T21:36:00.000-05:00

I thought I would mention some of the different types of colors associated with horses. Many people get the color you see on the outside confused with what the color name actually is.

Colors are determined by the dominant and recessive genes, just like in humans.

Bay: This color is brown with a black mane and tail. Bay horses usually have black points, meaning their muzzle, mane, tail, legs and ears will be black.

Chestnut/Sorrel: Mainly a reddish brown coat with no black points. The mane and tail usually are a lighter or darker version of the coat. There may also be white markings on the legs and face.

Gray: This is the color that most people confuse with white. A gray has dark pigment and their coat contains traces of both black and white hairs. Gray horses usually are born darker and lighten over time.

Palomino: Most people are most familiar with type of horse. The basic color is gold with a lighter mane and tail.

Appaloosa: This type of color is most like a Dalmation dog. Appaloosa horses are spotted, but not all spotted horses are Appaloosas. There are many types of Appaloosas including the blanket Appaloosa. This horse will be a solid color near the head and be spotted only over his rump (like a blanket).

Black: These horses are solid black with no brown traces whatsoever.

Roan: Roan horses have a solid coat with white hairs mixed evenly throughout. This type of pattern doesn't show up as a spot though since the white hairs are single hairs are just mixed with the dominant color.

Buckskin: Buckskin horses are a light sandy color, but not quite golden like the palomino. These horses have black points like the Bay horse, but they do not have a dorsal stripe down their back like a dun will. My horse, Astrid, is a buckskin.

These are some the more basic colors that you see horses have. There are definitely more, but to go into more detail might be confusing to the average person.

This is a good example of what a bay looks like. They are one of the most common colors.
Taken from http://www.equusite.com/cgi-bin/pictures/potdArchives.cgi?year=2004&month=01

This is an example of a gray, a buckskin and a bay.
Taken from http://www.equusite.com/cgi-bin/pictures/potdArchives.cgi?year=2004&month=01

An example of a chestnut or sorrel.
Taken from http://www.equusite.com/cgi-bin/pictures/potdArchives.cgi?year=2004&month=01

Fountain of Youth

2004-02-16T12:19:00.000-05:00

For all those horse lovers out there drooling over Read the Footnotes, the speedy three-year old colt from New York, this little guy has done it again. With a big win under his girth from Gulfsream Park, the little colt with a big heart took the fans on a wild ride at Saturday's Fountain of Youth.

Taken from http://www.courier-journal.com

This little colt ran with Second of June, another pre-determined favorite from Saturday, head to head. In the final seconds on the backstretch, jockey Jerry Bailey asked everything of Read the Footnotes. The three-year old responded immediately, barely passing Second of June to take the win by a nose.

Read the Footnotes is the only New York bred colt to win the Fountain of Youth except for Funny Cide, a horse who won the Kentucky Derby months after winning the Fountain of Youth.

Funny Cide is pictured below in his Kentucky Derby win.

Taken from http://www.drf.com/tc/derby/2003/news.html#story3

The Fountain of Youth win for Read the Footnotes was an essential step toward a Triple Crown win or even a chance to wear the roses.

To read more about Read the Footnotes and follow his progress go to
The Courier-Journal Online
ESPN Horse Racing Section
Equibase.com
The Daily Racing Forum