OT -Kentucky Derby - Page 3

I can't believe that after spenidng 9 years as a jockey, and probably 15 years of having a Derby Party  BBQ evey year, I actually missed it (again) this year, cleaning up the yard in prep for the trial next weekend. Shows how one's priorities can change over a lifetime.
Gotta love an under dog. :-)))) 
You guys think the GSD world is $-driven? they don't call horse racing "The Sport of Kings" for nothing! I could probably live comfortably for MONTHS for the price of a few of those bizarre, custom-made ladies' hats sacheting through the Turf Club!
SS

I LOVE it!! Jackie's right--this will be a great movie! I hope someone can explain something for me. Why a gelding? Wouldn't the idea be to stud the horse out, once his racing career is done? Another query-- why are they always 3 year olds? As long as horses live, are they really washed up so early? Why wouldn't they be in their prime at 8 or so?

my horse came in 3rd......lost some money....but what an incredible story and ride down the final stretch,the way the jockey and horse hit those holes

Thoroughbreds start training & racing as 2 year olds, way too young to my thinking, as their bones are not done growing. By the time they are 3, they are still long legged, lightweighted youngsters, big adult muscles on almost completely developed frames. It's when they are at their fastest. Also still pretty vunerable to injury, but this race has been around a long time, this was the 235th running, & at it's inception the horses were not as finely bred & slender as they are now. After 3 years of age horses gain just a little more height, & bulk up a little, even with intensive traning. So they aren't usually as fast, although there have been some notable exceptions.
 The Kentucky Derby is open to horses, mares, & geldings, although most often horses are run because of the expense incurred, it makes sense to have a horse that can be bred later, to preserve the bloodline & to recoup the intensive costs of training. However, if a young horse is gelded, because he didn't look to have the right stuff, or whatever reason, & blooms late, or comes to the attention of a trainer who thinks he can bring this horse up for that race, & the horse can qualify for it; there's no reason a gelding can't run. Other geldings have won it, before....Exterminator comes to mind. I think that the huge field in this race, horse races are usually only 6-10 horses--this derby had 20----makes the race more of a wide open thing.....even with the best rider, horses can & do get boxed in by other horses, & most would rather not risk their million dollar stud prospect on reckless, even if brilliant, riding; so in a way, they had less to lose than the others. Could have made a difference! jackie harris--Shelley could tell you more! 

Kalibeck,

I see trainers start horses at 18 months.  I think that it is a mortal sin to do it, but when 2 mil is on the line I guess their moral fabric is stretched.    The biggest problem that I see is that as of January 1st your foal is a yearling.  This means that if you foal is born in August it is still legally a Yearling as of January 1st of the next year.  This means that for the horses that are born later in the year, they still have to compete against other horses that may be close to a year older than them.  There is a HUGE difference in a year.  I think it is a real problem in the system and should be changed because when millions are riding on the line people will do unsafe and unhealthy things to their animals.  Does anything similar happen here in the GSD community?

 

W

wlpool- I do remember, now that you've mentioned it, that thoroughbreds all have the same birthday, Jan 1. And no, it's not fair, but I think most breeders plan to have their foals drop as early in spring as possible. Late fall foalings happen! The Jockey Club should shhot the foals born in the last 2 or 3 months of the year into the next years foal crop, but of course every else would cry foul then, too.
GSDs are registered on their actual whelp date, so there is no age pressure in that way, however the dog world has it's problems as well, you have only to read these threads regularly to get an idea of some of them. I have not entered (yet) into the dog show or Schutzhund competitive world, so I can't begin to offer an opinion about that, but again, if you read some of these threads, you know there are issues. But, nothing's perfect! And what you bring to any sport tends to color your experience, so remain positive & keep it fun, & you may avoid those issues altogether! Regards, jackie harris