Pedigree Query

KAL, I agree--the committee is firmly straddling the fence on steroid use. The good old boys wouldn't have it any other way. Apparently they didn't address the hormone issue, either. Use of Human Growth Hormone in racehorses is one of the newest tricks on the block in California; of course, our wond...

[quote="BJ"][quote="Michael"]
Then wish the bucked shins on the OWNER & trainer. Throw in a labotomy for good measure, IF you must![/quote]\

Apparently the labotomy has already been performed on the owner. He won't be around for long.

Sorry you feel that way. That is exactly what I think. Bucked shins can be the saving grace for many young horses whose connections don't have the common sense to move slowly with them. It's too bad you're not as outraged at the senseless greediness of 2yo owners who push them beyond what their bodi...

Sam, I don't know anything more about this issue than what I've read,
except that the mare in question was GIFTED to this woman by Russell Drake of River Edge Farm. So much for a $100,000 value.

*****

I keep most of my horses at a farm about two miles from where these horses were killed. This area is one of the most fertile growing lands in California--it is also known for lots of drive by shootings as well. People and animals. When visiting my horses two weeks ago, the manager showed me a horse ...

As usual, Louis, you are right on! Watching the Keeneland 2yo sale preview was as good an advertisement for your point of view as any I've seen. It wasn't a preview of racing's future stars; it was a body builder competition wherein many, if not most, of the contestants were so clearly dipped in ste...

Seems to me you should be less interested in the correct shade of blue and more concerned with the probable adverse effects of running a 27 month old Comic Strip baby down the chute. Doesn't this filly have a half sister by High Brite who broke her maiden early last year, only to disappear a few mon...

I drove down to the farm where I keep most of my mares and young horses last night, and spent today going over them. Talk about "you never know"--a good mare of mine who came home barren last spring suddenly delivered a big strong colt this week! We didn't know until last week that she was in foal, ...

Did he give you any references to contact? How safe is his rig? Is he more concerned with speed than safety? How often does he stop to water and unload the horses? What shape do they arrive in? How large are the stalls?

Sometimes a deal too good to believe shouldn't be believed!

Thanks, I guess I have become somewhat hardened over the years about the inevitability of losing some horses before their time. Of course, not living on a farm anymore makes the losses a lot easier to handle. I guess the most important thing for me is to always try to learn something from the experi...

Thanks Henthorn. Always interesting to play the numbers game. As you may have gathered, I take these and most statistics with the grain of salt. That's primarily because we're dealing here with measuring the performance of animals, not machines. So many hidden factors impact these numbers that IMO t...

Yes, J.O. Tobin was a huge disappointment for everyone. When he was retired to Spendthrift he joined the other newly retired stallion there, Seattle Slew. I must admit that, as a Californian, I was terribly biased in favor of J.O. Tobin as a potential sire. When I stopped by to look at them, my hear...

FOS, While I certainly respect and admire Mr. P for his superior achievements, I also recognize the limitations he often transmits to his kin as well. Chief among those limitations is unsoundness, no doubt inherited from his sire, Raise a Native. Mr. P. not only raced in the same style as his sire, ...

Got word today that one of my mares, as well as her foal, died during birth yesterday. The farm manager, who's been foaling mares for 30 years, said the foal was the biggest one he had ever seen. He didn't even make it all the way out. What's interesting is that the mare--who had three previous foal...

You're 100% correct. And I'd bet a high proportion of the mares bred to these horses are from the Mr. Prospector line! More unsoundness, all in the name of fashion and early speed.