Dynaformer, sire of Barbaro, dies at 27

Dynaformer Close Up. Image by Three Chimneys.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Dynaforma, who sired Barbaro, died April 23rd, the date Barbaro was foaled.

The Daily Racing Form reports:

Dynaformer — sire of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, multi-million-dollar earner Perfect Drift, and three-time steeplechase champion McDynamo — has died two weeks after an aortic valve rupture prompted Three Chimneys Farm to pension him. A 27-year-old son of Roberto, Dynaformer was euthanized at about noon Sunday, the Midway, Ky., farm announced.

Three Chimneys president Case Clay had said earlier this year that the farm would limit the popular stallion’s book to 40 mares this year, but he was abruptly pensioned April 14 when the heart problem became apparent.

Three Chimneys veterinarian Dr. Jim Morehead said: “Dynaformer told us when it was his time to go. Amazingly, he had been comfortable after his initial crisis on April 14 and had been able to go to his paddock daily, A normal horse would not have survived his initial cardiac episode. He did everything in his terms, including deciding when he’s had enough.”

Three Chimneys announced that the public is invited to pay respects to Dynaformer during the Annual Three Chimneys Kentucky Derby week open house on Thursday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. A memorial service will take place at 12:30 p.m. that day in the stallion cemetery.

Read full report >>

Image Source: Three Chimneys. Not filed with source report.

Synchronised and According to Pete killed in the Grand National

Synchronized riden by Tony McCoy, centre, wearing green silks with yellow bands, falls after jumping Becher's Brook. (Photo: AP/Scott Heppell)

Last update 8:33 pm

The Daily Telegraph reports:

It is the second time in two years that two horses have died in the Grand National. The deaths will reignite the controversy surrounding the sport.

Millions of television viewers saw Gold Cup winner Synchronised and According to Pete fall at the sixth fence – Becher’s Brook.

It came after Jockey Tony McCoy had earlier been unseated by Synchronised, this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, in the moments leading up to the start of the race.

The incident packed 165th Grand National was one of the most dramatic in history. Only fifteen of the 40 runners who started the race managed to finish.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/9204833/Grand-National-2012-sadness-as-Synchronised-and-According-to-Pete-die-at-Aintree.html

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THE HORSE KNOWS BEST

Synchronised did not want to race today. The start was delayed when he unseated jockey Tony McCoy. Or was it the hijinks of an excited racehorse? Perhaps. Race organizers said Synchronised was “thoroughly checked” by a veterinarian before allowing him to line up in the 40-horse field.

When I hear reports like these, I always think of Barbaro breaking through the gates at Pimlico, and veterinarians allowed him to run anyway. After all, a Triple Crown was on the line (see video). The same with the horses who were killed in the re-running of the Dubai Gold Cup. They were “thoroughly checked” and allowed to race again.

Then there is the beautiful and tragic George Washington who had to be literally dragged out to race in the Breeders’ Cup in the slop at Monmouth. He did not want to race that day either. Gorgeous George died minutes later when he was put down; his leg shattered (see images).

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:: Tragedy and insensitivity overshadow Grand National as two horses die >>

Thoroughbred aftercare: a new legacy for Barbaro

Ray Paulick writes the following in a post for the Paulick Report:

On Friday, I suggested that time is running out for the industry to act on the long-neglected issue of Thoroughbred aftercare. On almost a weekly basis, our industry is being smeared, deservedly or not, by heartless cruelty to horses by what I can only say are evil people.

The new world of instant communications and social networking spreads these stories like a fast-moving virus, and whether or not the Thoroughbred industry is at fault, all of us are cast in a shadow. Thoroughbred racing is, like it or not, a poster child for the equine world. The lack of response to animal welfare crises from the Thoroughbred industry, borne out of resistance to collaboration or centralization, only makes these matters worse. Our image is getting killed, because people everywhere love horses, and the message we are sending them is, “We don’t really care.”

Paulick is the one who broke the story that went viral about Kelsey Lefever, the Pennsylvania woman who reportedly sent Thoroughbred racehorses to slaughter instead of rehoming them as she promised their owners she would do.

He adds:

Can Thoroughbred industry leaders stop the abuse of horses or provide for every unwanted equine for the rest of its life? Of course not. But it would be reassuring for the industry to have a program that says, “We are doing everything we can.”

Now that would be a great legacy for Barbaro.

Ray Paulick is that rare racing man who speaks out against racehorse abuse and slaughter, and we are grateful for his voice.

A big reason the public feel negatively about the Thoroughbred industry is highlighted by the very story that Paulick broke.

Where were the spokespersons for the major horse racing organizations, of which there are so many who make money off the backs of these horses, stating their outrage and denouncing what Lefever did? There were none to be heard that we came across.

The reason for this appears to us — and most likely to quite a few others — that it is because these organizations are well aware that Thoroughbreds are routinely sent to slaughter, backhanded or otherwise, and simply condone it.

In my opinion, central to it all is the way the horse racing industry generally thinks about the racehorse. To breeders, agents, owners, trainers and more than a few jockeys, the horses are seen as a commodity, an ego booster, but more than anything else, a money spinner.

In countries where the treatment of Thoroughbreds is at least taken into some sort of consideration, horse racing is doing more than just managing to stay afloat in challenging economic times, it is actually growing.

Read full post at the Paulick Report >>