Comments on From the Ring to the Racetrack: Reporting from Ocala

Sam-Thoroughbred Times Editorial Director Don Clip...

2009-02-17T14:51:00.000-05:00

Sam-

Thoroughbred Times Editorial Director Don Clippinger is undertaking just such a study, and he will publishing it in an upcoming issue in his Viewpoint column.

I'd be happy to mail you a copy or reprint it here on the blog.

Twenty-one horses worked one furlong in less than ...

2009-02-17T13:52:00.000-05:00

Twenty-one horses worked one furlong in less than ten seconds!

I suppose it was too much to hope this nonsense would stop with the downturn in the market.

I still feel this borders on abuse. It's FEBRUARY. There is no logical reason to work 2yos that fast this early, especially not for a sale. While I'm not one who believes the breed as a whole is more unsound than horses who actually raced as 2yos in February like 60+ years ago, I also feel this particular practice is counter-productive. Horses have a finite number of races in them, why burn them in flashy workouts, especially as a (barely) 2yo?

Out of curiosity (since I never bothered to get the OBS book this month), how many of that 21 are truly 2yos and how many of them are from the same consigners?

When was the last time someone did a comprehensive study of 2yo-I/T sales and found out what became of the fastest workers, most notably, those who broke the 10 second mark?

How many of them raced/raced at 2?

How many of them broke down/broke down at 2?

What was their highest/final racing level (IOW, how many of them wound up with guys like Baffert who got an early win out of them and immediately jumped them to stakes level rather than run through their conditions, only to watch them slide back into obscurity)?

What was their ultimate fate post-racing career?

I'm thinking there are more Green Monkeys/Mr. Sekiguchis than we realise.

As for manual inspection, I look but don't touch

You really should put things on a T like that, Pete. ;^)

~~Sam

It is far from the total picture, but based on thi...

2009-02-17T10:35:00.000-05:00

It is far from the total picture, but based on this breeze show alone, I'd put an arrow going up next to Purge and Consolidator. I'll have a new post up shortly that highlight a few of the videos.

Have you seen any 2-year-olds that have swayed you...

2009-02-17T09:56:00.000-05:00

Have you seen any 2-year-olds that have swayed you one way or the other when it comes to the freshman sires?

I start with the workout videos, then I inspect a ...

2009-02-16T17:06:00.000-05:00

I start with the workout videos, then I inspect a smaller group at the barns.

As for manual inspection, I look but don't touch.

Do you get to manually inspect the horses?Warren

2009-02-16T16:31:00.000-05:00

Do you get to manually inspect the horses?

Warren