Triple Crown Trends

American Pharoah wins the one and only Grand Slam!
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Justify, our 13th Triple Crown winner!
Justify, our 13th Triple Crown winner!

This week brought the disappointing news that no one wanted but many had already suspected.  Our 13th Triple Crown winner, Justify, retired from racing.  Justify achieved more than I ever would have expected but his 111 day racing career ended sooner than I anticipated.  There are several more races I would have enjoyed seeing him participate in but tragically that won’t happen now.  This got me to thinking,  what are our assumptions about a triple crown winner?  Thus, I set out to examine the triple crown trends.

 

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Jumping for Joy over Justify

Justify races for home in the Belmont Stakes to the 13th Triple Crown victory!
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Justify comes into view as the clear leader of the Belmont Stakes!
Justify comes into view as the clear leader of the Belmont Stakes!

I waited most of my life to witness a Triple Crown victory.  Seattle Slew and Affirmed did it back to back when I was a toddler and the great Secretariat won shortly prior to my birth.  I was raised on the stories but I did not know what it was like to see it with my own eyes.  After following the career of champion California Chrome, I wasn’t sure if I would ever see a Triple Crown winner race.  Then, in 2015, my dream came true.  American Pharoah won after a 37 year drought.  It was emotional and something I knew would always stick with me.  I also thought it may never happen again in my lifetime.  Then, to my surprise a great horse won the Kentucky Derby and once again there was hope for another Triple Crown winner, the hope was in Justify and he did not disappoint.  Justify left me jumping for joy with his win in the Belmont Stakes, our lucky 13th Triple Crown winner!

 

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Basics of the Belmont

Free Drop Billy and Blended Citizen raced in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland!
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Free Drop Billy and Blended Citizen raced in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland!
Free Drop Billy and Blended Citizen raced in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland!

It seems like everyone has their own opinion on this year’s Belmont Stakes and I could not be happier to read and learn about all of the varied perspectives on this race.  There is a wealth of information available if you have the time or the interest.  For those craving a refresher or the simple facts ahead of this weekend’s race, here are the basics of the Belmont Stakes.

 

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Derby Digest

Banners in the silk colors of the 12 Triple Crown Winners
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Secretariat, KY Derby winner, 1973
Secretariat, KY Derby winner 1973, museum wall mural

Welcome to the 143rd consecutive running of the Kentucky Derby!  We have waited a long time to get to this historical moment and the time is upon us this weekend.  Who will win The Run For The Roses?

 

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Yearning For Yearlings

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The official start of the yearling sales season kicked off yesterday, 7/12/16, at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, KY.  This sale came one day after the Summer Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale.  I was especially excited to attend day 2 because it marked the first time I part owned a Thoroughbred at an auction.

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I was not on hand, due to my day job, for the horses of racing age sale.  That sale was quite a success.  Compared to last year, more horses were sold fetching a higher overall price, a higher average price and far fewer unsold horses.  72 horses sold versus 65 the prior year.  The total sale brought in over $5 million dollars compared to less than $4 million in 2015.  The average price per horse rose by over $8.5 thousand dollars.  Finally, only 19 horses did not get sold this July, where as last year 31 did not sell.  The sale topper was the 7-year-old mare, Storm Lucy at $575,000.  Malibu Moon and War Front sired 5 Thoroughbreds each in that sale making them the top sires by numbers in the sale.  Taylor Made Sales Agency was the top consignor.

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The July Selected Yearling sale did not exceed 2015’s results.  The number of horses sold declined, as did the total price as well as the average price while the number of horses that failed to meet the reserved price increased.  The 2016 sale sold 183 Thoroughbreds versus 205 the year before.  Last year’s sale made over $20 million dollars while this year brought just over $17.6.  On average horses dropped from $97 thousand dollars to $86 thousand each.  This year 110 horses were not sold versus only 83 the prior Summer sale.  Seen above is the sales ring screen showing an Uncle Mo filly bringing in $250,000.  A colt sired by Curlin, hip 222, was the sale topper at a price of $475,000.

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Wearing hip 235, pictured above, is a horse that I part owned thru a pinhook partnership I bought into last Fall.  He came in with a 4 way tie of top selling horses.  This colt, sired by Graydar, brought a price of $200,000.  He sold to Twin Creeks Racing Stable, LLC.  I loved his unique coloring, best seen in the sunlight.  I can not wait to see how well he does on the track later in life!

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Hips 338 seen at top left was sired by Speightstown and sold for $350,000.  On the right is hip 326, another horse sired by Curlin, who sold for just $90,000.  He is in front of the walking ring screens as hip 324 by Stay Thirsty who sold for $260,000.

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Touring the grounds a bit I saw some interesting reminders of the exciting sales graduates that Fasig-Tipton has sold before.  On July 19, 1975 the Lexington location of this great auction company sold the amazing Seattle Slew for just $17,500.  He went on to win the Triple Crown in 1977.  He has a whole building complete with art named for him as seen above.  Below, we see a reminder of American Pharaoh, our last Triple Crown winner.  He was featured as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale in New York in 2013 and bought back by his owner.  This is where the next major yearling sale will take place on August 8 and 9th, The Saratoga Sale.  My group has several horses in that auction so I will be following it closely.

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I hope you all enjoy the yearling auctions.  Check back with me weekly for more Thoroughbred news or adventures.

 

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Equine Illuminations

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I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.  Mine was wonderful.  I enjoyed a lot of family time which included a trip to the Kentucky Horse Park to experience Southern Lights.  Tours will continue until December 31, 2015.

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Southern Lights is an annual event at the park with over 4 miles of light displays.  I like the horse themed lights the best.  Above I included pictures of Keeneland and Churchill Downs.  There are all sorts of displays including the Wizard of Oz and the 12 Days of Christmas.  Views of the lights are most accessible by driving.  Once parked they also have a craft market, gift shop, visit with Santa, train displays, a train ride, camel and pony rides, part of the museum for touring and a petting zoo.

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I really enjoyed feeding carrots to all of the animals at the zoo.  I am surprised the animals could still eat with so many people eager to feed them. The kangaroos were not eager to eat or allow themselves to be petted.  They were ready to snooze.

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I believe I was most excited to pet the llamas.  A camel tried to eat my brother’s hat and I took a selfie with the happy and hungry camel.

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On the grounds near the visitor center the Secretariat statue had a horse light display and the Man O’ War had the Wizard of Oz scene behind it.

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I did not recognize any changes in the museum since my last visit in June but I included these pictures for your enjoyment.  John Henry, Secretariat, Affirmed, and Seattle Slew were some of the featured Thoroughbred displays.

It was odd being at the Horse Park without getting to see the horses but still a great time.  If you ever find yourself in Lexington, KY around Christmas time I would recommend visiting Southern Lights.  This is one of those stories that are better told with pictures although photographing light displays is most difficult.  I hope you enjoyed my pics and that you might see it in person some day.

For Christmas I was gifted a few new equestrian themed items too.  I got boots, some horse shoe art and a horse hair bracelet.  Feel free to comment with pictures or details about the horsey gifts you received this year.

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Thoroughbred U turns 1 on this coming Friday!  Thank you for following along with me.  Wishing all of you a happy New Year!

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Ceremony for Cigar

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A week ago tonight, on 10/27/15, among all the preparation and anticipation for this year’s Breeders’ Cup, a gathering of people assembled at the grave of Cigar to honor him with a new memorial statue.  Gone but not forgotten, Cigar won the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 1995.  This Sunday I paid my respects to his grave site once again.

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Being the lucky Lexingtonian that I am, I have had the treat of making multiple trips to the Kentucky Horse Park, in Lexington, KY,  over the course of my life.  I have had the pleasure of meeting Cigar as well.  He lived at the Horse Park from 1999 until his death October 7, 2014.  I saw his grave at the KY Horse Park Memorial Walk of Champions this past July.  Last week, Kentucky artist and former horse trainer, Douwe Blumberg, revealed his statue depicting Cigar’s Breeders’ Cup race.  Cigar’s trainer, Bill Mott, and his jockey, Jerry Bailey attended the unveiling of the new statue.  Many kind words were spoken and memories shared at the presentation.  Cigar is remembered as charismatic and an ambassador with spirit and determination.

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History remembers Cigar as the Thoroughbred who won 16 straight races in a row.  Only Citation and Zenyatta have done as well.  He was sired by Palace Music and his dam was Solar Slew by Seattle Slew, 1977 Triple Crown winner.  He was a late bloomer.  He didn’t race at all until he was 3 years old and he didn’t stop racing until he was 6.  Cigar was born April 18th in 1990 in Maryland and owned by Allen Paulson.  By 1995 he won the BC Classic going 1 and 1/4 miles in 1:59.58, a record.  He went on to be Horse of the Year and American Champion Older Male Horse each in 1995 and again in 1996.  He also won the internationally famed Dubai World Cup.  He retired as the leading Thoroughbred in earnings at over $9 million dollars.  Cigar is the American Horse of the Decade for the 1990s.  In 2002 he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.  Blood-Horse ranked him 18th in the U.S. Thoroughbred Champions of the 20th Century.  There is a life sized statue of Cigar at Gulfstream Park in Florida where he won the Donn Handicap.  The Cigar Mile at Aquaduct Race Track in New York is named for him.

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When he retired to stud he went to Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky.  This is the same place American Pharoah moved to yesterday.  Unfortunately, Cigar proved to be sterile.  He retired again to the KY Horse Park Hall of Champions where he lived out his days.  He developed osteoarthritis and at 24 he needed surgery.  Following surgery he died in recovery from a vertebral fracture.  At the KY Horse Park he is buried near Alysheba, Forego, Bold Forbes, Kona Gold and John Henry.

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Near his grave healthy and happy lives go on for the other champion Thoroughbreds, barn cats and visitors but no one can forget our great, Cigar.  As his statue and stone state, Cigar is incomparable, unconquerable, invincible and unbeatable.  Please, share and read along about all of my Thoroughbred posts and look for a Keeneland November Sale story coming soon!

 

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Firsts, Favorites, Famous and Fun

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Breeders’ Cup 2015 was held for the 1st time ever in Lexington, KY at Keeneland this past week.  The track featured a Prelude to the Cup on Thursday with 9 live races followed with 2 more days of graded stakes races with 4 Breeders’ Cup races on Friday and 9 BC races on Saturday.  The dates spanned October 29th thru 31st of 2015.  I was present for all 3 days.  The events were wonderful!

For the Prelude to the Cup the weather was gorgeous.  I walked the grounds and marveled at the sea of purple that had taken over and all of the new and temporary structures.  It was a quiet event and a good day for mingling with my friends, old and new.  All the photos above except for the program and lanyard collection were taken that day.

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The BC Juvenile Turf was the 6th race on the 30th but the 1st BC race of the series.  Hit It a Bomb, #14, won the race.  He is seen above as is the 7th place finisher, Manhattan Dan, in his coat.

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Race 7 was the Las Vegas BC Dirt Mile.  Liam’s Map shown in the top picture above won.  Two of my personal favorites ran this race as well.  Mr. Z, #4, I met and petted following my birthday, earlier this year.  I shouted out my love to him from the rail pre-race and I got his attention.  #8, wearing pink, is 4th place finisher Wicked Strong.  He was the barn friend of  Twitter’s favorite horse, JubaWicked Strong has now retired to stud at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, KY.

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Catch a Glimpse, #4 above, won the 8th race.  This was the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf.  Last year’s winner was Take Charge Brandi.  I petted her too this past summer at D. Wayne Lukas’ barn at Churchill Downs.  She is for sale at the Keeneland November Sale that starts today.  I hope she has a long happy life as a broodmare.

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Friday’s BC races wrapped with race 9, the Longines BC Distaff.  Stopchargingmaria won.  She is wearing #4 in the picture above.  She is trained by Todd Pletcher and has had an amazing year winning multiple grades stakes.  This was her third Grade 1 stakes win in a career of 16 starts.  There was one more stakes race that day as the sunset.

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On the final day of the BC the 1st BC race was  race 3, the 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies race.  This race was won by Songbird, #10 above.  I fell in love with Rachel’s Valentina, # 9 in the above photo, who placed 2nd in this race, when she won both of her only other races at Saratoga this summer.

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Race 4 was the Twin Spires BC Turf Sprint.  This race was won by Mongolian Saturday.  The rail made it hard to see him wearing #14 in the photo above.  His connections were dressed out and seated in the loge box behind me during the BC Classic. They were having fun with a selfie stick in the middle photo.  Lady Shipman placed 2nd.  She was a pretty girl as seen from the Enclosure, a temporary spot near the walking ring.

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Wavell Avenue wearing orange #7 managed to fight her way up from middle of the pack, as seen above at the turn, to 1st place.  She was ridden by Joel Rosario.  Race 5 was the TwinSpires Filly and Mare Sprint.

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In the 6th race, the BC Filly and Mare Turf, a local favorite won.  #11 Stephanie’s Kitten is owned by Sarah and Ken Ramsey, Keeneland’s leading owner award winners.  This is the third BC win for Stephanie’s Kitten.  She is seen in the paddock area and winning her race above.

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A new track record was set by Runhappy when he won the TwinSpires BC Sprint.  This was race 7.  He is shown about to cross the finish in the green #5 above.  Runhappy won a graded stakes race at Keeneland the same month for opening weekend of the Fall meet.

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Tepin was a fast filly that beat out the males to win the BC Mile.  She is seen taking the title above, in race 8.  She won a grade 1 stakes race at Keeneland on the opening weekend of this last Fall meet at Keeneland too!

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Nyquist, #13, barely beat Swipe, #12, to win the the 9th race.  This race was the Sentient Jet BC Juvenile.  Neither horse had the lead from the start, in fact they were plenty behind but Nyquist held out his nose to win.  Look how close they are in the photo above!

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Found is the beautiful Irish filly that beat her male counterparts to win the Longines BC Turf.  She is definitely an international champion.  Race 10 had a $3 million dollar purse.  She is one lucky and talented filly.  See her two paddock pics above.

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Then, in Race 10, the BC Mile, I’m pretty sure we all know who our star is, above.  That is American Pharoah.  I gave him his very own BC story in my post Grand Slam? Yes, Ma’am!

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Plenty of celebrities were on hand to witness history in the making as well.  I got photos of Jean Cruguet (top right), Seattle Slew’s Triple Crown jockey, and Ritchie Sambora (middle left), the rocker from Bon Jovi.  I also saw Bobby Flay, famed chef and caught word that Kate Upton, a model, was there too.  My parents recognized Kenny Mayne, from Dancing with the Stars (top left).

Finally, I just want all of you to know that there were no break downs and all the horses, their connections and the fans really had a lot of fun at the Breeders’ Cup.  I will always remember my time at BC 2015.  I have literally thousands of pictures and so much to share but this is a blog post, not a novel.   Keep following for an upcoming post on my Kentucky Horse Park visit from yesterday.

 

 

 

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Money on my Mind

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It is day 2 of a long Keeneland weekend for me, 10/17/15.  I am having a great time as usual.  I met up with Jean Cruguet, Triple Crown winning jockey, here this morning to talk about an upcoming project.  Cruguet rode Seattle Slew in all 3 legs of the series!  It is almost race time now and our handicapper has another tip to share with us.

The tipster says, “Race 6, (horse) #3, Great Minds, ran well here in the Spring but may not have enjoyed the speed, favoring a turf course in upstate New York in July.  Al Stall (trainer) is very good with horses coming off a 61 to 180 day layoff.”  Great Minds is a 4 year old gelding, bred in Kentucky at Claiborne Farms.  He has had 12 career starts.  He raced at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky on April 17th, 2015.  His last race was at Saratoga this July.  Today at 3:51 PM EST he will race on the turf and once again he is at Keeneland.  His jockey is Miguel Mena.  Mena is from Lima, Peru.  He is a multiple graded stakes winning jockey and won the Breeders’ Cup Las Vegas Marathon Stakes last year.  Great Minds’ trainer is Albert Stall, Jr.  He has also won multiple graded stakes and has 2 Breeders’ Cup wins.  One was the Classic in 2010 with BlameGreat Minds is owned by Vince Wilfork. He has 14 career starts.  Four of those are 2015 races.

Enjoy the tip!  Thank you for following and sharing.

Update:  Great Minds finished fifth.  He ran most of the race as last in the group. Then he came around wide and with an increased speed at the races end but it was too little too late.

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Horsey Homeschool

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Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone!  What will all of you be doing with your time off?  I will be spending some of my time in Horsey Homeschool.  I thank each of you who is following me along my journey to educate myself on the Thoroughbred industry.  I enjoy my live learning best but the rest of the time I read and read some more. I have accumulated so many papers, journals, forms, books etc. that I feel like a pack rat at times.  I am real happy that September, for me,  brings more local opportunity to learn.   IMG_20150905_123341-1

Currently, the racing action is taking place a little bit too far away from me.  I am developing quite the bucket list of tracks that I consider a must see.  Saratoga Race Course has had a wonderful meet this summer.  Last week we witnessed American Pharoah’s disappointing second place finish at the “Graveyard of Champions”.  Saratoga got that nickname after Upset beat out Man O’ War in 1913 and Jim Dandy beat Gallant Fox in 1929.  Both of those races were considered surprising losses.  Saratoga will wrap up its summer meet this Monday, September 7th with one final Grade I stakes race, the Hopeful, won by Secretariat in 1972.    Today,  September 5, 2015  Saratoga has two Grade I stakes, the Woodward and the Spinaway.   This is the 62nd running of the Woodward, to be held at 5:47 P.M. EST and televised by NBC.  The race was named in memory of Belair Stud owner, William Woodward, Sr.  He was chairman of the Jockey Club from 1930 to 1950.  His Belair Stud is responsible for great horses such as Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox and Omaha.  He had Thoroughbreds in every major stakes race in America.  The Woodward began at Belmont Park in 1954.  It has been held at Aquaduct too but is now a Saratoga race course.  Today the purse, for this race, is $600,000.  The dirt race of 9 furlongs, 1 and 1/8 miles, is for horses, 3 years old and up.  This race has featured many of the greatest Thoroughbreds.  Secretariat lost to Prove Out in 1973, which was also huge upset.  There are plenty of big named winners of this race as well.  The champs are 3 time winner Kelso, 4 time winner Forego, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Alysheba, Holly Bull, 2 time winner Cigar, Curlin, Rachel Alexandra and more.  Who will win today?  By post position we have…

  1. Wicked Strong
  2. Liam’s Map
  3. Commanding Curve
  4. Bay Of Plenty
  5. Mylute
  6. Coach Inge
  7. Effinex
  8. Protonico

Todd Pletcher is the trainer for posts 2, 5, 6 and 8.  He won this race in 2007 and 2010.  James Jerkins trains posts 1 and 7.  Wicked Strong is a speed horse and the 3rd favorite at this moment.  He has not won a race in 2015 but he won the Jim Dandy Grade II last year and he was 4th in the 2014 Kentucky Derby as he was in the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga less than a month ago.  Liam’s Map, another speed horse, is today’s favorite.  His jockey, Javier Castellano, won the Travers last week.  In 6 career entries Liam’s Map has always placed first or 2nd and was 2nd in the Whitney this year.  Commanding Curve is trained by Dallas Stewart.  This horse has had 12 starts with his last win happening at Churchill Downs in May.  He raced in the KY Derby there too in 2014.  Last month he was 7th in the West Virginia Governor’s Stakes.  Bay of Plenty is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, who won the Woodward in 2013.  This speed horse was 1st place at Saratoga this August in the Alydar Stakes.  Mylute is the oldest horse in this race.   This 2013 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes runner has 20 career starts including a second place finish in last month’s Alydar Stakes.  Coach Inge has been in two Grade II stakes this year finishing 1st and 3rd both at Belmont.  He is Kentucky bred but has never raced at home.  Effinex is the 2nd favorite today.  He last won in July at Belmont.  He is a New York horse with Saratoga experience.  Finally, Protonico has raced lately in my neck of the woods.  He won 1st at Grade III and II races at Keeneland and Churchill this year.  Good luck and good health to all of today’s horses and jockeys.

With Saratoga’s season wrapping up we are just about to enter Louisville, Kentucky’s racing season.  Churchill Downs will begin live racing on September 11th that will continue thru the 27th.  I will be attending their Downs After Dark racing on the 19th.  I am very excited about that.  I’m also thrilled that American Pharoah may live and train there again, hopefully in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup. In fact, several contenders may do the same.  I may have to make another visit to Churchill.  The first Lukas Classic will be held there on 9/26 and it has been rumored that possibly American Pharoah could run in that race.

Also this month, the sales return to Keeneland.  September 14 thru the 26th will feature the Yearling Sale.  I will be going often.  Buyers from around the globe will be there to buy the babies that will be the next Thoroughbred greats.  I am very excited to get back on Keeneland’s beautiful grounds and see how the preparations for the live racing October meet and the Breeders’ Cup are coming along.

Finally, September brought back the return of Night School, the Thoroughbred racing industry’s official on-line program for fan education.   Started in 2011, this semester began on 9/1/15 at 8:30 P.M. EST.  This program is streamed live on-line and on SiriusXM for 90 minutes.  This is the 27th of 40 weeks for 2015.  The downloadable materials are available on-line as well.  So if you can’t watch or listen live you can make it up later.  This week they covered trainer, D. Wayne Lukas.  He turned 80 this week and has quite the Thoroughbred history.  He is who the Lukas Classic is named for.  Pletcher, McLaughlin and Stewart, training for today’s Woodward, were all his assistants.  Lukas still trains many of the best horses.  Next week, they will cover Speed Figures and Sheets Angles.  This is free and perfect for anyone, like myself, looking to learn about the industry.  Night School

Welcome, September!  I am looking forward to sharing my own photos and experiences with you soon.  Please, feel free to share your news and pics with me too.  Have a great holiday weekend.

Update:  Liam’s Map won, he was followed by Coach Inge, in 2nd place and Wicked Strong showed in third.

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