Field Trips Archives - Page 8 of 8

July 3, 2015July 3, 2015

Birthday, Breezing, Betting and Backside

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One week ago today I got a little older. So what does a Thoroughbred blogger do to celebrate her birthday? She spends her time with the horses! I had a great time at The Thoroughbred Center, Churchill Downs, and again at Churchill, to visit the backside.

The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, KY is owned by the Keeneland Association. This property is the home for up to 1,000 horses. The facility has 32 barns and 10 paddocks. I went out early Saturday morning to meet power couple, Mr. and Mrs. V. They took me to meet with their friend’s horses and trainer Geoff Mulcahy. Mulcahy Equine has been in operation in Lexington for 10 years and is a premier equine operation. Mulcahy Stables has a barn on the property. There I met 2 year olds Ma’am and Tidal as well as several other beautiful horses and a barn cat. Ma’am and Tidal went onto the track and got their 2nd ever turn to run. I watched the exercise riders work the horses on the track. It was a great time and I plan to return. The Thoroughbred Center offers tours as well. Tours

That same evening, I got dressed up and headed to Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY, home of the Kentucky Derby. My friends and I sat in a nice box to watch the Night Racing and by great fortune we were sandwiched between the famous trainer, D. Wayne Lukas and his exercise rider, Jessica Sheffield. Sheffield was excited that my friends and I were spending my birthday following the Thoroughbreds so she invited us back to the Lukas barn on the backside in the morning. We took in all 11 races that night including race 8 where Skyring ran for Lukas. When that race concluded Lukas left promptly. He awakens daily at 3:30 a.m. and heads to his barn, which is located on Churchill’s property.

Somehow, my group and I struggled but after three and a half hours of sleep we woke at 4:45 a.m. to get to the backside by 5:30 a.m. These horse people start their days way too early. It was pitch black outside but Churchill’s backside was busy with horses, horsemen, and barn cats everywhere. My weary but excited group seemed to be the only tourist that morning. We were taken by Sheffield directly to be introduced to Lukas. He was very welcoming as his busy barn had the horses up and training. D. Wayne Lukas is a top trainer. He is a Hall of Famer and an Eclipse Outstanding Trainer. He has trained 26 world champions, 20 Breeders’ Cup champions, 4 Kentucky Derby winners, 6 Preakness winners, 4 Belmont winners, has 14 world champion training titles and has had 3 horse of the year champions. In his barn we met Take Charge Brandi, Hillbilly Style, Mr. Z. and more. We watched the horses be exercised in the barn and on the track. The track kitchen has direct track side views as well as biscuits and gravy. We walked all over the backside and it was a very good time. Hillbilly Style will race today, July 3rd 2015, at Ellis Park and he looked great to me Sunday morning.

My birthday weekend was wonderful and I am glad I got to share my experience with all of you as well. If given the chance you should check out The Thoroughbred Center and Churchill Downs. I hope you all get to watch some good racing this weekend and enjoy all the 4th of July festivities!

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June 27, 2015June 27, 2015

Mother Goose

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I am horsing around today for sure. I got an early start this morning at the Thoroughbred Center watching the horses breeze and petting them and a barn cat. Tonight, I am attending Downs After Dark at Churchill Downs for some live racing, including some graded stakes. In between, I am watching the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park. It is a busy day for this blogger and I will share some trip photos and stories later but now let’s focus on the Mother Goose Stakes.

The Thoroughbred Center

Downs after Dark

The Mother Goose Stakes started in 1957 and was named for Mother Goose, herself. She had the distinction of being the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Futurity in 1924. The Grade 1 stakes race is 1 and 1/16 miles on dirt. It is currently held at Belmont Park in New York, where we recently saw American Pharoah win the Triple Crown. The Mother Goose is for 3 year old fillies. The purse is $300,000. At different periods, in our nation’s history, this race has been considered part of the filly triple crown or triple tiara. The other legs were usually the Acorn and the Coaching Club American Oaks. Those two races and the Alabama Stakes are currently considered the New York Triple Tiara. The fastest and largest margin to win the Mother Goose was Rachel Alexandra. She also won the Kentucky Oaks and the Preakness. She holds the record for the largest win at the Kentucky Oaks too. She was the first filly to win the Preakness in 85 years. She has the record for speed at the Mother Goose and was less than a second from Secretariat’s speed record. Tonight at 5:28 pm, the Mother Goose Stakes will be race 9 at Belmont. The Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks won’t take place until late July and August. It has only been 3 weeks since the Acorn. Curalina won the Acorn Stakes and she will not be participating in the Mother Goose. In fact, only one horse in this stakes race was entered at the Acorn. The 10 featured horses are:

Embellish the Lace
Include Betty
Hot City Girl
Munasara
Chide
Pleasant Tales
Money’soncharlotte
Danessa Deluxe
Eskenformoney
Wondergal

Embellish the Line won both of her 2 starts this year. This will be her 1st stakes race. Include Betty came in 8th at the Kentucky Oaks and 2nd in the Black-Eyed Susan stakes. She is the horse with the experience to win this, having 9 career starts including 4 graded stakes, 1 of which she won. Hot City Girl is one of only 2 New York bred horses in this race, the rest are from Kentucky. She has 7 starts but just 1 win, back in January, and none of her races have been graded stakes. Munasara is my favorite. She is undefeated but she has had just 2 entries. The last win was at Belmont Park. I like her tainer Kiaran McLaughlin and her jockey John Velazquez. Her jockey won the Mother Goose last year on American Champion 3 Year Old, Untapable. Chide has won 2 of her 3 starts. Her last two races were at Churchill Downs. Pleasant Tales has been in a total of 4 races at Churchill, of her 8 starts, and she won her last race there. Moneysoncharlotte came in lucky 13 in the Kentucky Oaks. That was her last race of 7 career starts. Danessa Deluxe was 4th in the Black-Eyed Susan when she had John Velazquez for a jockey. Tonight, Manuel Franco will ride her. She has not won in 2015 but she has 7 lifetime starts, with the last 3 being graded stakes. Eskenformoney came in 10th in the Kentucky Oaks. She has had 10 starts with 3 of them being graded. In those graded stakes she was third and then 2nd before her Kentucky Oaks race. Finally, Wondergal is considered the favorite. She is the other New York filly. She was 3rd in the Acorn as well as the 14 Hands Winery Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies race. 5 of her 6 starts were graded stakes.

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June 3, 2015June 3, 2015

A Night For Noor

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In the midst of preparing for the upcoming Belmont Stakes it was fortunate timing that I took a stay-cation from my day job and I had time to attend the latest presentation in the Keeneland Library Lecture Series. It was refreshing to take my mind off all of the anxieties of what may occur in this weekends stake races and pay attention to a little less known horsey history. Last night I learned a lot about Noor.

Author, Milton C. Toby spoke about his 5th book on horses in the presentation that I attended. His latest book is, “Noor: A Champion Thoroughbred’s Unlikely Journey from California to Kentucky.” Noor was, according to Toby, perhaps “the best horse no one remembers.” This Thoroughbred was born in England in 1945 and died in California November 16, 1974. He had a great pedigree. His sire was the 5 time leading sire, Nasrullah, and his dam was Queen of Bagdad, by the 1935 English Triple Crown winner, Bahram. Noor had a good racing career in England and even showed in the Epsom Derby there but he really started to prove his worth when Charles S. Howard bought him and brought him to California. Howard had owned the amazing Seabiscuit, who passed away in May of 1947. Howard was looking for another special horse, and he found that in Noor. Unfortunately, Howard died in June of 1950, before he could witness all of Noor‘s successes.

In his racing days, Noor, set 3 world records and 3 track records. He beat U.S Triple crown winner Citation in 4 of 5 races. He also beat U.S Triple Crown winner Assault twice. This makes him the 1st of only 2 horses to ever win against 2 Triple Crown winners. Does anyone know who the name of the other horse that can claim this feat? Noor, also beat out the 1950 Horse of the Year, Hill Prince, and the 1949 Kentucky Derby winner, Ponder, passing both of them in the 1950 Hollywood Cup. Noor was named the 1950 U.S. Champion Handicap Male Horse and in 2002 was inducted into the U.S. National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

There are some reasons Noor flew under the radar. His owner’s declining health and death kept him from being well publicized. The Korean War began in 1950 as well, which shifted the focus off racing somewhat. Noor had been sent by train to the East Coast to race but had not done well and that kept his wide spread notoriety down. He retired to stud in 1950 creating 139 winners from 256 foals. Thirteen of his foals were stakes winners including Noor’s Image who produced 1968 Kentucky Derby winner, Dancer’s Image, who later lost the title to a drug scandal that was fought for a hard 5 years.

Noor had a second chance at recognition after his death. In 2011 he was exhumed and moved 2,300 miles from California to Old Friends Hall of Fame cemetery in Georgetown, Kentucky. Old Friends has properties in KY and New York for retired Thoroughbreds. I had the pleasure of meeting owner Micheal Blowen and volunteer and tour guide John Bradley at the lecture. I am looking forward to taking a field trip there soon. If you want to assist them in helping Thoroughbreds click here Old Friends.

I hope some of you got the question right, Does anyone know who the name of the other horse that can claim this feat? It was Exceller! Exceller beat Triple Crown winners Affirmed and Seattle Slew in the same race, The Jockey Club Gold Cup and Belmont Park in 1978. Now back to Belmont Stakes prep.

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February 11, 2015February 11, 2015

Winter Wonderland

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As expected, my maiden voyage to Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky Winter Mixed in Lexington, KY was amazing! I headed out to the auction house property early Sunday afternoon to walk among the stables and see all that I could take in. Fortunately, it was relatively warm for February. With 3 cameras and a smart phone in hand I snapped up some pretty pictures. Then I took a seat, right in the middle of the bar and restaurant area, so that I could watch the horses make their final showing, in the paddock area, before entering the auction floor. Large televisions everywhere and the nice speaker system let me view and hear the auction room. I did go over, for a bit, and peer through the glass, but I don’t dare to enter, because I’m afraid my wiggle may indicate an offer.

When I arrived, I made a bee line to the stables looking for Polar Foxx, the very rare white Thoroughbred. She was as beautiful as I had hoped. I spoke to her owner’s son for a while while I checked her out up close. I inquired if she would make a race horse or a movie star? He said she could run. She is a 2 year old filly that was sold day two at this auction for just $25,000 from Sundance Thoroughbreds of Indiana to Calumet Farm of Lexington, KY. Her dam, Snow Drift, is white as is her only other foal, whom is older. Her sire is Silver Mountain, who has won several races. I wonder what Calumet has planned for her? I would like to see more white Thoroughbreds but I would love to watch her race first! Such a pretty girl.

Sitting with one of my favorite horseman, we watched the sale of Gamay Noir. Born in Kentucky, in 2010, she sold for just $15,000 at Keeneland in 2013, but he knew her story and that she was worth so much more. Gamay Noir brought the highest price of the day at $375,000 selling from Taylor Made of Nicholasville, KY to agent Justin Casse of Florida. She is sired by Harlan’s Holiday, now deceased, who had multiple grade 1 stakes wins and ran in all legs of the triple crown. Her dam was Uncork, sired by Unbridled, also deceased. He won the Kentucky Derby and ran all three races of the triple crown as well. Gamay Noir may still race or be used as a broodmare.

As hip 165 finished I had to call it a night. Sunday night ended at hip 200. Monday started early at 10 am. They sold all the way up to hip 616 to finish. Hips numbered 535 to 616 were late entries, placed in the supplemental catalogue. Last but not least rang true for this sale. The highest bid of the race went to Rose to Gold number 614. She is a 5 year old that sold to WinStar Farm of Versailles, KY for $450,000. She has a great pedigree including Tabasco Cat and Storm Cat. I love cat and kitten named horses! Seattle Slew and Mr. Prospector are in her lineage too. I could write a whole blog on just her family. Rose to Gold had a nice winning history herself. Now retired, she will be bred to Tiznow.

I had a great time on my last field trip. I can not wait to go to another sale. Maybe, I can learn to sit still and get in the ring? Until then, I am enjoying the freedom of making new friends, and learning more about the great Thoroughbred race horses.

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February 7, 2015February 8, 2015

Sunday Funday!

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I am making my first trip to Fasig-Tipton, at its Lexington location, for the Kentucky Winter Mixed sale tomorrow. This two day sale will offer over 600 horses. I am very excited, and I look forward to sharing my experience with all of you.

Fasig-Tipton is the first North American Thoroughbred auction company. It was started in Madison Square Garden in New York City by William B. Fasig and Edward A. Tipton in 1898. The original auction included road and carriage horses, Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds. In 1917 the Saratoga yearling sales began, and the following year Man O’ War was sold there. That particular sales pavilion is named for auctioneer Humphrey S. Finney. He got his start there in 1937. His son, John, ran the company as well. John Finney and Fasig-Tipton are featured in the book I am currently reading, Rascals and Racehorses: A Sporting Man’s Life by W. Cothran Campbell. I am really enjoying the short stories in this book. Fasig-Tipton now has additional auction houses in Kentucky, Maryland, Texas, and Florida. In 2008 the company was bought by Synergy Investments Ltd. from Dubai.

The Kentucky location became permanent in 1972 and is located on Newtown Pike in Lexington. The first Fasig-Tipton sale in KY took place in a tent on Keeneland’s race track property in 1943. World War II made it too hard to fly horses from everywhere to New York so the action house came to the horses. This current location has sold many winners worldwide. In 2008 they sold Better Than Honour for 14 million dollars. That is the world record price for a broodmare.

This Kentucky Winter Mixed sales will offer a little bit of everything. It takes place Sunday and Monday February 8th and 9th. The sale starts at 3pm tomorrow and 10 am the next day. Monday will have the extremely rare white Thoroughbred available. She is hip number 293, Polar Foxx.

I can not wait to tell you all about my next field trip! It is sure to be a great time.

http://www.fasigtipton.com/…/…/Kentucky-Winter-Mixed-new.asp ‪#‎FTFeb‬

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February 3, 2015February 3, 2015

Book Babe

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Today’s field trip was to the famed Keeneland Library in Lexington, KY. The current building was built on the same property as the race track in the summer of 2002. It is gorgeous and made to look like it has always been there. The library was founded in 1939. The collections inside date back to the 1800s. It is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday, open Saturdays during lived racing and sales, but closed on Federal holidays. Nothing may be checked out but there is wireless internet and plenty of space to enjoy your selection while you are there.

This building is equal parts library and museum. Inside there are many paintings, art, sculptures, antiques, blown glass, labeled horseshoes from the greatest of horses, metal and glass trophies and gifts, photos, scrapbooks, etc. Then there are precious collections of books, journals, newspaper clippings, cassettes, videos, and film negatives. The building is open, well lit, with tall ceilings and windows, and plenty of quiet spaces to sit and experience something wonderful.

The Keeneland library is the world’s best source for Thoroughbred breeding and racing information. I will definitely be visiting again. Until then, I collected a load of photos which I can not wait to share with you, and expand upon the relevance of each item, in the near future.

On a side note, Book Babe is a 20 year old mare who was sired by Alydeed (whose dam was Bialy, whose sire was Alydar). Alydar ran second place in every leg of the Triple Crown to Affirmed. Alydar lost by a length in the Kentucky Derby, a head in the Preakness Stakes, and just a nose in the Belmont Stakes. This is the only time a horse has ran second in all three races. Alydar is buried on Calumet Farm in Lexington, KY.

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January 29, 2015January 29, 2015

Pony Pub

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Yes, another field trip! Following my morning workout today I visited the Coffee Pub, with a friend, for a smoothie. The smoothie was delicious but I was so much more surprised by the history of this place, and the dedication the owner has towards honoring the building’s equestrian past.

Not to far from my favorite racetrack in Lexington, KY sits this breakfast and lunch restaurant. It is located in South Elkhorn Village, named for a nearby creek. The old stone building became The Coffee Pub in 2005. The stone house was constructed in the late 1800s. The former occupant used this building as a tack shop business. The shop carried all the various gear needed for horses from 1985 until the early 2000s.

The restaurant is best noted for its breakfast menu. I was excited by the sandwiches. They are called Thorough-Breads. Most are named for famous race horses. They offer the Seattle Slew-Rueben, the Sea Biscuit, the Ruffian, the Secretariat, the Funnycide, the Big Brown, the Mr. Prospector, and the Easy Goer. The interior is very shabby chic with a lot of horse decorations. My curiosity was peaked and I had to dig deeper.

The South Elkhorn Village was a community that started in 1783 around the end of the Revolutionary War. At the time, it was part of Virginia. The city became Lexington in 1775. The name, Lexington, came following The Battle of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. In 1792, this area was no longer part of Virginia when it became the state of Kentucky. Shortly after that, this stone building was erected here.

It is so nice to see a place rich in heritage find modern purpose and still remember and share its place in Thoroughbred history.

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January 19, 2015January 19, 2015

Hamburg Place Horse Cemetery

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Today’s field trip took me to Hamburg Place Horse Cemetery. This is perhaps the final resting place of 18 great horses. I say perhaps, because the horses were buried between 1908 through 1995, but they were moved to the current location in the summer of 2005. These horses belonged to the Madden family. The property where they are now buried stands where the great farm Hamburg Place in Lexington, KY once was, and within view of the former cemetery, where there is now a Wal-Mart.

John Edward Madden was born in 1856. He made his way to Lexington in 1889. By 1896 he had a great Thoroughbred named Hamburg. He sold that horse a year later and with that profit he bought the farm which he named Hamburg Place in 1898. He was a top trainer and breeder from 1901 thru 1928. Madden had many fine horses including Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds. He had 5 Kentucky Derby winners, including 1 Triple Crown Winner, 4 Belmont Stakes winners and many other famous winning horses. Sir Barton was the first ever Triple Crown winner. He created his horse cemetery in a horse shoe shape in 1908. In my opinion the current layout is more beautiful. Madden died in 1929.

The 5 Standarbreds on the property are: Nancy Hanks, Silicon, Major Delmar, Hamburg Belle, and Siliko. Nancy Hanks is the horse buried in the center with the large horse moment marking her grave. She was a Harness Racing Hall of Fame horse that ran undefeated and carried a record for speed. Hamburg Belle held several world records herself.

The 13 Thoroughbreds on the grounds are: Ida Pickwick, Ogden, Imp, Plaudit, Star Shoot, Lady Sterling, Sir Martin, Miss Kearney, Princess Mary, Springtime, T.V. Lark, Pink Pigeon, and Bel Sheba. Plaudit was a Kentucky Derby winner. Madden’s grandson bred a Derby winner, Alysheba, using his grandfather’s dam, Bel Sheba. Each of these horses were great.

If you are local to Lexington, or if you are lucky enough to visit, come see the horse cemetery. It is free and quite peaceful. A small park with stone walls, a lighted path, and a bridge over a creek surrounds the graveyard. You will recognize that many of the roads, in the area, are named for the property and the horses. It is nice to have such a sweet little sanctuary in the middle of a shopping center to take us back to where the great bloodlines once grazed.

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January 15, 2015January 19, 2015

Luck O’ The Irish

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This week I made some field trips to Keeneland. This is my field trip follow-UP. I was present for the 57th annual January Horses of All Ages Sale. The event ran from Monday thru Thursday (the 12th thru the 15th). 1,610 Thoroughbreds went up for auction. Historically, Keeneland is the world leader auction house for Thoroughbred sales. The January Sale is one of three sales held there annually.

The weather was cold, the horses were beautiful. Hot chocolate and burgoo , as well as layers of clothing, kept me warm as I walked among the stables and paddock. I encountered some fine horses. Surprisingly, I did not spy any celebrities. However, the people were pretty amazing. It was a diverse crowd of local, national and international buyers and sellers. I had the privilege of speaking with some experienced and knowledgeable Thoroughbred experts.

Each day featured about 400 horses. Of all these horses, 948 sold. The price ranged from eight horses going at $1,000 each to one selling at 2.2 million dollars. The gross amount generated was $35,305,500. The average price was $37,242. The big seller was Up, an Irish filly. She wore hip #537. Her first foal was sold next for $800,000, the highest price of this session for a yearling. Up is a Grade 2 winner. Her sire is Galileo, also Irish. Up is pregnant by War Front. Her yearling was the only foal of War Front at the auction. War Front lives at Claiborne Farm in Paris, KY. He was ranked the #44 sire by earnings last year. Galileo was ranked #1. Both sires have multiple stakes winnings. Up and her foal were sold by Four Star Sales. Up went to a married couple in California with Ran Jan Racing. The yearling went to LNJ Foxwoods.

Keep a look out for this bloodline. It will be interesting to watch the foals race. Will big money mean big winners?

I am looking forward to my next sale field trip on February 8th and 9th at Fasig-Tipton. Hope to see you there.

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