Filed under: Blogs
Curlin winning the 2008 Jockey Gold Cup
Yesterday, the crowd at Belmont Park witnessed an historic event. By winning the $750,000 Jockey Gold Cup (G1), Reigning Horse of the Year Curlin broke the all time North American earning record by reaching a total of $10,246,800 in career earnings. Curlin dethroned two time Horse of the Year Cigar (1995, 1996) whose earnings totaled $9,999,813 as the most money winning horse. Curlin has won 11 of his 15 career starts and has been in the top three in all of his starts. Curlin has had an amazing year so far, winning the $6 million Dubai World Cup, the Jaguar Trophy Handicap, the Stephen Foster Handicap (which yours truly got to witness!), and the Woodward Stakes. He looks to be on his way to becoming one of only a few horses to win Horse of the Year honours two years in a row for their three year old and four year old seasons.
Curlin is sired by the Canadian stallion Smart Strike. Smart Strike was bred and raced by the Canadian Sam-Son Farms (where I am fortunate enough to spend my weekends working). They are still his majority owner with a ten percent share in the horse. Smart Strike initially stood for near $10,000 but Curlin and others successes have boosted Smart Strike’s stud fee to $150,000. He stands stud at Lane’s End near Versailles, Kentucky. Smart Strike is a half sibling to Canadian hero and Canadian Triple Crown Winner Dance Smartly. Smart Strike was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame this year for his impressive stud career so far. In the future, it will be amazing to see how influential Smart Strike’s bloodlines could be once Curlin retires from racing and starts his career at stud.
Filed under: Blogs
In recent months, the United States has experienced economic troubles. There have been significant downturns with foreclosures, banks experiencing bankruptcy, and the stock markets taking a turn for the worse. These problems have affected almost all stratospheres of American society; from the low income family to the wealthy business executive. Since there is generally less disposable income floating around, the Thoroughbred industry has also been affected. Horse racing is sometimes called “the sport of kings”; requiring huge amounts of initial investment, no matter what level of racing one might be involved in. Trainers have fees, Thoroughbreds have needs, vets have never been cheap, and race entries can cost an arm and a leg! There is no end to how much you could spend on any given horse. The most noticeable result of the economic downturn has been its’ effect on Thoroughbred sales.
Thoroughbred auctions are the main market for commercial breeding farms. These farms breed to sell and breed according to market preference and buyer demand. Bloodlines, conformation, and movement are the most important considerations for buyers. Stallions and certain crosses go through phases of popularity based on horses currently racing and past results, but there are always the horses at sales with mediocre bloodlines but that sell for a good chunk of money due to their physical attributes. There are different sales all across the United States and Canada; some for younger horses such as weanlings or yearlings, mixed sales for horses of all ages, or older horse sales. The recently passed Keeneland September yearling sale saw a marked decline in prices. The sale has yet to finish but the numbers are definitely lower: after the first 10 days, a 13.9% decline in totals was seen from the previous year. The average has dropped from $141,958 to $125,636, an 11.5% tumble. (www.theBloodHorse.com) The worst has yet to be seen some fear, since the “select sessions” featuring the highest caliber horses are over and the remaining horses are from the lower end of the scale. The buyers feeling the pinch the most are those who traditionally would buy several mid to lower range horses, not those looking to spend millions. The right horse will still fetch a decent price though, with this years’ sale topper, Hip 147- a filly by AP Indy, selling for a lovely $3.1 million.
The true effects of the US economic downturn on the Thoroughbred industry have yet to be fully realized. The following months will soon tell how much horse racing will suffer from the lack of capital coming from the US. Fortunately, horse racing has gained many Middle Eastern fans, especially from Dubai and Saudi Arabia, so until the price of oil starts to drop, we should not be worried about an all out Thoroughbred market collapse.
Keeneland September's $3.1 million sale topper by AP Indy
Filed under: Blogs
Thoroughbred racing is a worldwide sport with racing centers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, South Africa, Dubai, Argentina, Hong Kong and Japan as well as Canada. Races range from the allowance race level, to stakes, and the highest level graded stakes races such as the Kentucky Derby. The system of quantifying race difficulty allows for more equally challenged races and worldwide standards to measure the merit of winning. Many people in the industry do not view racing in all countries as equal. The Canadian Triple Crown races consisting of the Queen’s Plate, Prince of Wales Stakes, and the Breeders Stakes are not Grade 1 stakes like the American Triple Crown races of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes but ungraded stakes races instead. So, the caliber of Canadian horses is lower than those produced in the United States.
It is not surprising or discouraging that Canadian horses are not as fast as their American counterparts are. Canadian bred horses may not be as expensively bred as American horses (though some are), encouraging the “average joe” millionaire to become involved in horse racing. The risks might not be seen as quite as big and cost of running a racing operation may be cheaper if the stallions you use have only $15,000 stud fees instead of $300,000 stud fees. There is less risk and more reward because you can still win big on Canadian soil. There are enough races to make it worthwhile and the best Canadian horses can also move up to American races for even bigger purses. To win at home is always more of a thrill, although American racing seems to carry a bit more glory and glamour than Canadian racing. Breeding horses to race is a game of chance and by keeping the breeding on the cheaper end, you are not really losing out on all the chances to win. Breeding is tricky business and just because you may cross two very perfect and expensive specimens, it does not mean you will get a great racehorse! There is always a certain percentage born as “duds”: horses that just do not want to race or do not have the conformation to. Some of the best horses come from the lesser known sires and dams. So breeding Canadian horses lets you enjoy the fun, without the higher price!
I was always fascinated with horse racing as a kid, watching the Kentucky Derby every year and naming my model horses after racing superstars such as Secretariat and Thunder Gulch. I never got really into racing though, probably because there was never an outlet to: Thoroughbred racing in Ontario took place at only two tracks in the South Western region; I lived across the province. I rode hunters and was involved in the Pony Club, but horses were pets to me and nothing beyond a pricey hobby. Loving my horses as I did, I decided that I should become a veterinarian and live the dream of working with these fabulous creatures every day. So I shipped out to university, keen to pass everything with flying colours and to be accepted without hesitation by the admissions committee. University turned out to be just too much fun, and volunteering at every opportunity with animals and vets just not fun enough. Becoming a vet just wasn’t as important to me as having a life was. So I was left with the dilemma of what to do with a degree in animal biology and with no aspirations to sell feed, drugs, or semen to dairymen for the rest of my life like a good portion of my contemporaries.
I decided to take a chance and after meeting a track manager at a school career night, I decided I should just jump into the deep end and see what happens; I applied to all the big Thoroughbred farms that I had heard of in Kentucky. And then I waited with fingers crossed to see if any would hire a girl who’s resume included only one real job for the entirety of her working life to date: working at a fancy golf course. I guess all the volunteering I had done trying to get into vet school paid off because I heard back from two farms and ended up landing a job and accomodation for the summer between my third and fourth year. And the rest is history. I fell in love with the horses, the society,the glamour, and the publicity. I loved everything that I saw and everything that learned; I just ate it up! Now I can’t imagine aspiring to work in any other industry!
