The second Thoroughbred drops from the Kentucky Derby trail because of injury. Is this happening even earlier than last year, and are more horses doomed to follow?
The Blood-Horse reports:
Darley Stable’s Out of Bounds, winner of the Sham Stakes (gr. III) in only his third career start, suffered a condylar fracture of the left front cannon bone in a workout at Hollywood Park March 5, said trainer Eoin Harty.
It was his final work before the March 10 San Felipe (gr. II), in which he likely would have been the favorite or second choice.
“He is resting comfortably and is fine,” Harty said. “He will have surgery within the next few days. I’ll expect him to be out for at least 90 days. His prognosis is excellent.
“I did not notice anything wrong with him until after 20 minutes into his cool out. He had an exceptional work this morning—a very good work. We all had high hopes for this horse. We are all very disappointed—not only for me and my staff but for the Maktoum family as well, for he is a homebred.”
Why this breakdown?
My initial reaction is, it is not the breeding because Out of Bounds is Darley bred. My next thought turns to the ground. California tracks have a reputation of being fast but not sympathetic to racehorse soundness.
The standard excuse is “that’s racing”, but I weary of this response. Unless in using “that’s racing” meaning there are major problems within it and that need to be remedied.
HORSE RACING REPORTS
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Tuesday's Horse 
oops..meant foal crop..not drop.
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There are no great stats on Thoroughbred racing, or Quarterhorse racing which is just as bad, if not worse. I have a photograph of a 2 year old Quarterhorse filly called ‘Miss Pretty Promises’ who broke both of her knees in a race and had to be put down at the track. She barely made 1/8 of a mile let alone 1/4 of a mile before she collapsed.
The Standardbreds are the only racing group that do not use Nurse Mares. I called them as I lived down the road from the second largest Standardbred Stud ever, Lana Lobell Farms. Alan Leavitt bred both Trotters and Pacers. Those horses were treated like gold and even the studs were friendly. I have films of some of his horses racing; Joie de Vivre and Speedy Somali. These horses are like locomotives and when they are retired the Standard industry tries extremely hard to not let their horses go to kill.
They can’t get them all as sometimes they end up at auctions and they are slaughtered. 2 Standardbreds were slaughtered at Brave-o Packing. One horse, whom I was trying to pull out of that hell hole, actually was brought there by someone who raised a lot of money to buy him and she kept the cash and then dumped the horse, He was covered with rain rot and I called him ‘Rob Roy’ instead of ‘rain rot boy’. He died by falling in a ditch at the Packing plant. Amanda Sorvino’s video shows that horse in the meat locker.
It is a rancid, revolting industry. They want to bring slaughter back as the beef consumption has gone down. People are becoming more aware of the steroids they are given daily, and that some slaughter house workers are contracting MERSA which is easily transferred from animals to Humans. They think that people will actually eat horse meat in the United States! Will never happen. I recall my mother telling me when there was a Meat Boycott in the 1970’s that horse meat literally rotted off the shelves. People would not even buy it for their dogs.
Elle
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I am getting my information from my own personal knowlege, not second hand. I PERSONALLY know breeders who send ME the horses who are not going to cut it. I PERSONALLY know trainers of both cheap and fancy horses who care more about their animals than most folks do about their kids. I PERSONALLY have taken hundreds of horses from the race tracks and some after injury to find them new careers. I PERSONALLY have been in the barns and talked to the trainers. I have judged specialty Thoroughbred horse shows FOR FREE in order to try to promote the show horse industry to accept and admire Thoroughbreds again. I PERSONALLY created a Thoroughbred page on the popular website http://www.judgemyride.net where 50,000 unique visitors worldwide visit monthy to discuss horse sports. My vet is the track vet at Los Alamitos Race Track.
My husband and I also own a commercial horse transportation company and we ship race horses from track to track. I will tell you that with very few exceptions, horses we see daily at very close quarters have excellent care and if an accident happens, those trainers are devastated
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Kudos to you and your TB enterprise. I’m glad you PERSONALLY have taken care of it all.
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Maybe I am a bit slow. Carol, why do you refuse to believe that Thoroughbred Race Horses from your state are indeed crossing the border to Mexico for slaughter? Again, you work with a small minority of people throughout your vast state. Despite your blog, web site, and all the truly admirable things you do, THOROUGHBREDS from California are going across the border to Mexico and are being slaughtered! I am at a loss as to why you flatly refuse to believe this. Sorry Jane, I intended to post to Carol…
Elle
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That, is the absolute truth Vivian! Carol is clearly in a state that has a minority of owners that truly do care about their race horses. Did you see the document put out by Americans Against Horse Slaughter? They have documented via records from the USDA that slaughter of our Thoroughbreds in Mexico, Canada, and Japan has increased. Now tell me, please Carol, how do you explain that? I am not trying to be insulting, however, your data is definitely for a very small minority of owners and horses, Jockey Club be damned. They should be shut down by the RICO Act.
Elle
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I live in Southern California, where there are 3 major race tracks within a 40 mile radius. I deal with small barns who only have one or two horses to huge barns where the owners just spent in excess of half million dollars at the Barrett’s 2 year old sale. These folks have sent me hundreds of horses over the years when they finished racing or were too slow to make it. I have seen injuries, including condylar fractures as the one who was just out of the Kentucky Derby trials. To a man, they have spent tens of thousands on radiographs, nuclear scans, surguries and treatment because they care about the horses. They love receiving photos of these horses years later, performing in their second careers. I seriously question the source for your statistics. Also in terms of drugs: first, they get drug tested in every race (winners, beaten favorites and random). There is an absolute insurer rule, so horses who turn up a positive create big trouble for the trainer. I have never yet had one “pumped up” on drugs, but they do get pretty charged up from the high energy foods and need some time after leaving the track to settle down into a more “sedentary” life style.
Regarding ages of perfomance: for the European warm blood stallion licensing, they are required to go through a 100 day test where they have to jump big courses of jumps including cross country. Warm bloods mature much more slowly than Thoroughbreds. I don’t see anyone complaining about that. Show horses get injured too!
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In any given year anywhere from 10% to 20% of the more than 100,000 horses shipped to slaughter are Thoroughbreds. In 2010 according to the Jockey Club the NA foal drop was 30,000 of which only 7,000 were sold to auction in 2011 representing a mere 24%. Where do the rest end up? The Jockey Club is not divulging those figures. The horse racing industry is notorious for their lack of proper record keeping and omission of anything that will cast a black mark upon them.
While you may have “heard” that warm bloods mature less quickly than Thoroughbreds this is simply not true from a physical aspect. All horses of all breeds mature skeletally at the same rate. http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf And I am not trying to justify anything there just pointing out a fact.
You are indeed very fortunate to know the good side of the racing industry and I applaud these people and wish everyone would follow their lead. But you are sadly mistaken to paint such a rosy picture of the state of horse racing in NA.
As for our statistics, where are yours?
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I can tell you that many of our clients breed horses who never go through a sale. They race their own home breds and if they aren’t going to cut it on the track, they send to me to find different careers. Plenty of tb’s who are registered every year are slated for other careers like eventing or polo in addition to show horses.
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I do not know where you are getting your information Carol. You cannot refute the statistics which have been pulled from transport records. Horses in CA cross the border for slaughter in Mexico. Christy Sheidy got that information and we know that the law in your state is not being enforced. Your state is so huge and densely populated that there is neither the funds nor people to enforce the Law. The ONLY state where it is illegal to consume horse meat is California. Horse meat must be USDA inspected, so if some creep cares to dine on a horse steak, they are violating a Federal statute. Make no mistake Carol, Thoroughbreds from California are being shipped to Juarez or whatever is closest and being brutally slaughtered with that damn Puntillia knife in the spine. Please, investigate what we are all telling you, It is fact.
Elle
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I agree that the breeding and yearling etc.sales are what drives the TB horse racing industry these days. Very sad. The value of a horse is now determined at the age of two and if deemed unworthy shipped off to slaughter at some point.
I think that 2 is too young but at the same time agree that they shouldn’t be sitting idle in a stall and forced to race at the whim of the trainer/owner.
In the old days horses were allowed to “find their legs” run and exercise to build stamina. Today it is all a sham and a money-centered “industry”.
I always think of industry in terms of inanimate objects…widgets, parts, not living.
The human race is in a downward spiral that continues to prove itself far removed from anything worthwhile.
I for one do not fit the mold. There has to be something better.
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Breeding and yearling sales have determined value throughout history. Very few get “shipped off to slaughter”. The Jockey Club has established an incentive fund to promote the use of Thoroughbreds in horse shows.
Race horses never “sit idle in a stall” and forced to race. Runners are inspected carefully the morning of the race. They have to be certified for gate work and their regular workouts are carefully charted. The tracks don’t want any unsound or unfit horses attempting to run in races.
Race horse trainers and owners that I know love the animals and watch them much more carefully than the average back yard horse owner.
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My experience with rescuing off track Thoroughbreds has been one of heartbreak as I witness these horses detox from the drugs. They run their stalls frantically, and they do not know how to interact with other horses. They are kept separately to avoid injury from other horses. This is common practice throughout this ‘industry.’
My 21 year old Quarterhorse gelding has always been my ‘baby sitter’ for the new rescues. When he was younger he could beat them on the flat on a 1/4 of a mile and boy did those Thoroughbreds get confused. He is now a Senior Gentleman and he still takes it upon himself to watch over his current ‘harem’ to be sure they are acting ‘properly’. He teaches them how to be ‘okay’ with other horses.
I have some photographs of him watching as my now 11 year old Mare ‘Maddie’ who was so thin and off the truck from New Holland and my Gelding’s eyes are wide open and he has a look of horror on his face. It is amazing how much compassion he has for these new horses. They rarely have vices (although my favorite type of horse is the so called ‘rogue’ horse who allegedly wants to ‘kill’ you but really doesn’t) and he is a very calming element in their transition from the unmitigated madness of their existence as ‘failed’ track horses. You are apparently in an area of the US where the horses are properly cared for at all stages. Most of them are not. The Florida Circuit is the worst; I have had three Floridian horses who were so messed up physically and psychologically that I left them alone for a solid year so that they could learn how just to ‘be.’ They gain weight (usually unless they have ulcers from the tubing which my 11 year old mare has) and become more assertive and less guarded. It is like watching a rose bloom. That is what happens when you let other horses teach them how to ‘be.’
I still think that two is far too young. I will always know that and nobody can change my logic for that. They are not fully developed and who cares if we let them grow up before we start trying to get the fastest ‘payback’ on the so called ‘investment.’ We will never see another Triple Crown Winner in our lifetime. Jane has done some incredible research as has Ellen Parker. We have two lines left and they are so inbred that they are a really messed up gene pool.
WE made the breed and now we are destroying it.
Sigh.
Elle
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Thanks Elle,
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You are quite welcome Jane. I do not care what anybody says but to start these equivalent of Human ‘toddlers’ is just too young. Nobody will ever change my mind about this. Your studies and Ellen Parker’s as well, prove that this man made breed is now so inbred that we are literally destroying them. I want to conserve the breed. Zenyatta had her foal and she is a fantastic mare! If we could get her owners to allow us to let her have a foal by an Arabian stud, that is how we get strength back into the gene pool. These horses are only 97% ‘pure’ anyway! I really don’t care if people says it can’t be done, I say that is folly! Of course it can but we would need a stud from Ireland or the UK to start breeding back into the breed. Our studs are now so weak, it is terribly sad.
I have always felt the Irish breed the best horses on the Planet due to the Limestone in the grass. I used to pick up extra money riding Irish Thoroughbreds for their owners who were petrified of them. I would take them over a cross country course at 6am so they could ride their horses in the Hunt. We do not hunt for live foxes in NJ anymore, so I had no objection to making their horses a bit calm before they would mount and go on for their Sunday morning ride through the Forrest.
I had a Secretariat Grandson and he was the Huntmaster’s horse; when he grew bored of the hunt my friend Lynn had to find homes for these horses. Callie was a very tricky horse, he ‘picked’ his people and he picked me. He wanted to Jump as he thought it was expected of him and I always knew when he was going to sail over the 6 foot fence in the riding ring. He took care of me and I took care of him. We were a great team.
I then decided when he was 16 that he was going to be a Dressage horse. He loved that and never felt the urge to jump again. I had that horse for 8 years, he passed at the age of 23 from a tumer on his palate. The gal I free leased him to wanted surgery, but I said no, and the Vet agreed. We euthanized him and that was one of the saddest days of my life. He was Jet Black and people accused me of coloring his coat! I would say ‘show me the roots!’ as black horses are rare in Nature and black horses comes from a recessive gene. Their skin is pink!
Two years is way too young!
Elle
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I meant slaughter at some point for some of them. There is a lot of bad in the TB racing industry despite some of the good. Unfortunately, loads of TBs go to slaughter every year, some right of the track after a bad race.
And I realize they don’t sit in a stall all day and obviously they need to train but its not like it once was, that’s all.
In terms of a track not wanting any unsound or unfit horses running…it happens. Drugs, need I say more.
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From my experience of horse racing in the US and abroad, I do not recognize the statements you make as being true, except in a very small minority of owners and trainers. Even the anti slaughter tracks will look the other way insofar as the condition of the horses, unless a corrupt situation comes back to bite them. I realize you are trying to speak for that minority, but it would not be right for us to let others accept your view as being what it is “really like” for these horses.
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Hello, I actually am so disappointed that this happened to Out Of Bounds. Such a big beautiful horse with such promise. I know accidents happen regardless, but I’ve wondered about horses breaking down, NOT because they start too young but because they don’t start enough. Trainers and horseracing are so worried about the value of a horse as a stallion or broodmare (especially stallion) that they don’t race like they used too. Its all about the value and sales ring price, as opposed to racing. I don’t want to speak too soon, but it seems that Union Rags and all the races he has run is doing a lot better than lightly raced horses. And, one last thing, this almighty dollar and stallion value, I will always wonder what Secretariat would have done as a four year old and where is Meadow Farm now? Anyway, I am sorry this happened, it was VERY disappointing for me I can only imagine what the owners feel.
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I must disagree. They start too young. Their joints don’t fuse until they are four years old. Secretariat, like the greatest Thoroughbred Race Horse to ever grace a track – Phar Lap – was a ‘freak of nature’ and he would have been amazing at Four years old. Phar Lap was foaled in New Zealand but raced for Australia. He died of an accidental overdose of Arsenic which at the time was used as a ‘tonic’ for their coats. Phar Lap raced over 50 races and lost maybe 3. His name means ‘Lightening’ in Maori. He was the best race horse that ever lived with Secretariat coming in at distant second.
Meadow Stables is no more. They are at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky. Secretariat’s sons did not get his greatness, his daughters were better. The talent skipped a generation. They are so terribly inbred now the breed must be conserved. I have in my rescue a great granddaughter of Secretariat and this horse is a mess. She was milkshaked every day and she suffers from gastric ulcers which I am treating homeopathically at this point. I have had her for five years! She will not have a saddle on her back until she reaches 1200 lbs. She has 200 more lbs, to go!
It is very sad.
Elle
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I say again check the amount of calcium and Vit-D the mare was being given in her feed before this foal was born. Human babies are born everyday with low Vit-D and Calcium counts.
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They are started TOO YOUNG! That is the main reason, their joints are not fused and their bodies can’t carry the weight at high speeds. Their joints do not fuse until they are Four years old. Any Veterinary Manual says that about this man made breed which I adore. Guess that is why I get so many of them. They find me.
Elle
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Time out on bashing Hollywood Park. They have the synthetic track surface which is SLOWER and cushier than dirt. California Horse Racing Board required all tracks to go to synthetic several years ago at the cost of MANY millions. Santa Anita replaced their synthetic surface twice as they had trouble getting the formula of sand, fiber and binder right. The climate is dramatically different than Del Mar and even Hollywood Park. Santa Anita finally went against the rules and ripped up all the synthetic to go back to dirt. They gave the stuff away to stables all over southern California.
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You may find “Ground Matters”, one of our horse racing reports interesting reading. http://www.horsefund.org/horse-racing-ground-matters-part1.php .
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