Barbaro Updates: 588

Update 3485: Wow. That was impressive. Big Brown dominated what was likely a weak field. But dominated. The Belmont will be a short field, but with Casino Drive potentially an interesting horse race. Big Brown has done nothing but win, and win convincingly. The Triple Crown may be won this year.

Update 3484: Steve Klesaris trained Roman Ruler eaked out a win in the Barbaro Stakes this afternoon at Pimlico: Barbaro Stakes Ruled by Roman Emperor.

This morning the Preakness horses completed their final preparations, which included a short work for Big Brown: Final Preparations for the Preakness.

We had a winner in the first this afternoon at Woodbine. I was over there helping school the two horses in the paddock during the second race. Now returning to Woodbine to see our horse run in the seventh, and then watch the Preakness!

Update 3483: As part of ESPNs coverage of the Preakness this afternoon, they will be airing a roundtable discussion on safety issues, 4 pm this afternoon.

Update 3482: A little wet this morning at Woodbine, but not too bad. Its still not too warm yet however. We had eight sets. Sadly the main track was closed at one point, I believe a horse broke down. We ventured over to the training track (dirt track) while the main track was closed. The rest of the morning went with too much trouble although I did see a loose horse gallop by our barn. No one seemed too worried about trying to catch it! We have a couple of runners this afternoon, and will also be schooling a couple in the paddock during the second race so I will have a little busy afternoon before settling in to watch the Preakness.

Update 3481: Steve Haskin's assessment of the Preakness: Haskin's Preakness Analysis: Vroom!

Friday's activities of the Preakness contenders: Final Preakness Preparations.

New York Times has an excellent article this morning on the fate of racehorses after they have finished running: Saving Horses One at a Time.

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Barbaro Updates: 587

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Update 3480: As expected, Eight Belles tested negative for drugs: Eight Belles Tests Negative for Steroids.

Update 3479: Bloodhorse on Student Council's come from behind win: Student Council Grinds Out 'Special' Win.

Update 3478: Wow! Nice win by Student Council in the Pimlico Special this afternoon. I galloped him my last day at Sam Houston Race Park.

Update 3477: Behindatthebar is out of the Preakness with a bruised foot: Behindatthebar out of Preakness.

Update 3476: A pleasant morning this morning at Woodbine. We had seven sets. Four of which went to the gate (which does not open until 8:30 am) so there was quite a bit of waiting around to get to the fourth set. During that time I did manage to pull a horse's mane. I galloped her earlier and I noticed the mane was getting too long.

The four I took to the gate all stood nicely. One of the riders from another barn saw the HBO slaughter videos last night (thanks to Jen's blog which is widely read by horse people at Woodbine). She was horrified and said she could not sleep. We chatted about ideas to raise some funds. I am very glad conversations are occuring that were not occuring a few months ago!

Update 3475: The Big Brown stud deal was due to be announced yesterday and was postponed: Big Brown Stud Deal Will Have to Wait. This is what I had to say about it: The Sport Vs. The Business.

Please keep calling and writing.

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Barbaro Updates: 586

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Update 3474: Nothing unusual in the Necropsy report of Eight Belles: Eight Belles' Necropsy Report Released.

Not too sure what to make of this: Safety Panel to Serve as 'Bully Pulpit'. One of my concerns was the lack of teeth such a panel will have (Safety Panel Needs an Independent Voice) and this piece seems to admit it!

Update 3473: Thursday's Preakness update: Preakness Update: Thursday.

From The York Dispatch: Horse racing industry must try harder to reduce on-track deaths.

Update 3472: Part of the stakes-rich undercard of the Preakness is the second running of the Barbaro Stakes, won last year by the Michael Matz trained Chelokee: Roman Emperor Gets Shot in Barbaro
.

Update 3471: A chilly windy morning this morning at Woodbine, but once the sun came up it started to warm up a little. What happened to spring around here ? We had eight sets, four before the break and four after the break. Three of those after the break went to the gate for some gate schooling. All my horses went nicely. No dramatics for today which is a relief after the last couple of days!

Update 3470: Big Brown who has been put in as 1 - 2 favorite, but will likely go off at shorter odds than that, has post position 7 for the Preakness: Big Brown Draws Post Position 7.

Please keep calling and writing.

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Barbaro Updates: 585

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Update 3469: From The Rail: What to Do With All Those Horses? Of course I responded!

Update 3468: My latest entry on The Rail:

A Call for Consistent Whip Rules.

Update 3467: Must viewing for all horsepeople: HBOs piece on Horse Slaughter:

HBO -RACEHORSE SLAUGHTER

HBO HORSE SLAUGHTER PRT. 2

Update 3466: New York Times article on Nicanor: Barbaro's Little Brother Nearly Ready to Run, excerpt:

"I'm always hoping Nicanor will be as good as Barbaro," Gretchen Jackson said. "I've gone down twice to see him since he got to Fair Hill. It's fun to be down there, fun to be around him. When I see him, there is a certain happiness and sadness combined. It's a very emotional thing for me. When I see him, I like to rub my hands down his legs. It makes me feel like I'm back in touch with Barbaro."

Update 3465: Another relatively quiet morning this morning, with only six sets. I had three go to the gate, which does not open until 8:30 am so we had a little waiting around. I did fall off this morning. I think the horse was as shocked as me, and just stood there and waited for me to lead him off the track. He only jinked a little, but sometimes that is all that is needed when you are not paying attention! We had a few visitors to the barn after we were done work. I showed them around and tried to remember the name of all our horses. It was a challenge that I failed on a couple of occasions! Oh well, I'll be bringing in the glue tomorrow!

Update 3464: Thoroughbred Charities of America has announced a memorial fund to honor Eight Belles in light of all the outpouring of support: TCA Announces Eight Belles Memorial Fund.

Preakness preparations on Tuesday: Preakness Update: Tuesday.

Please keep calling and writing.

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Barbaro Updates: 584

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Update 3463: Hot on the heals of the retirement of Europe's leading sire Sadlers Wells, America's leading sire Storm Cat has retired: Storm Cat Pensioned.

Update 3462: Paul Moran's piece on the Horse Slaughter HBO Special is now on The Rail:

HBO Misses the Point.

Update 3461: Gayego will return for the Preakness on Saturday: Gayego Will Challenge Big Brown Again.

Update 3460: Superfecta here, with your regularly weekly update. Today, we take a look at Preakness history.

The Preakness is named after Preakness, a colt by Lexington, who was owned by Milton Holbrook Sanford and was the winner of the inaugural Dinner Party Stakes. Sanford owned Preakness Stables in Preakness, NJ, as well as a stud farm in Kentucky of the same name; apparently he was more than a little fond of the word.

The Dinner Party Stakes was itself named after (appropriately enough) a dinner party hosted by Sanford in 1868. The race, first run in 1870, was to be for 3-year-old colts and fillies, over a distance of 2 miles.

Presumably a fair amount of alcohol was consumed at this Petronian dinner, for the Governor of Maryland declared that he would have a track built to host this great race, which would offer a $15,000 purse - and so Pimlico was born.

On the day of the Dinner Party Stakes, Preakness himself was one of only two colts in the seven-horse field, and it was his first start (and only start for the year). A $2000 yearling purchase (the top price in that year's 1868 Woodburn sale), Preakness would continue to race through his 8-year-old season and eventually retired to stud in England.

After his purchase by the Duke of Hamilton, however, things got a bit peculiar. Preakess apparently became very difficult to handle (at least for his owner) and the Duke shot and killed him after an 'incident' in his stall. An outraged British public demanded, and received, much stricter laws governing the treatment of racehorses and other animals.

Preakness had some notable offspring; his son Fiddler won the Alexandra Plate, whose entry conditions at that time are worth considering (and if you've never looked through the New York Times Archives, you should):

The Alexandra Plate, 1000 sovereigns, added to a sweepstakes of 25 sovereigns each, 15 forfeit, for 4-year-olds, to carry 9 stone; 5, 9 stone 6 pounds; 6 and aged, 9 stone 7 pounds; mares and geldings allowed 4 pounds; winners of any sweepstakes or price worth 2,000 sovereigns in any country in 1881 or 1882, or the Ascot, Goodwood, or Doncaster Cups or Alexandra Plate in 1881 or 1882, to carry 5 pounds extra; maiden 4-year olds at the time of starting allowed 7 pounds, 5 and upward, 10 pounds; pure Barbs and Arabians allowed 28 pounds, and no other allowance; the second horse to receive 200 sovereigns out of the stakes and the third horse to save his stake; to start at the new mile post and go once around; about three miles, 21 subscribers.

It certainly makes the graded stakes shuffle for the Derby look simple and orderly.

But back to the origins of the Preakness as a race; the Dinner Party morphed into the Dixie (and so it remains today) - now America's 8th oldest stakes race. In 1873, Pimlico created a new stakes race for 3-year-olds to be run over a mile and a half in honor of Preakness, and so the second jewel of the Triple Crown came into existence (although it would not be so known until the 1930s).

The race was not always run at Pimlico, however - between 1890 and 1909, it was run at Morris Park and Gravesend in New York. The distance changed not infrequently as well - it only settled on its current 1 3/16 in 1925, and it has been as short as a mile and as long as its original 1 1/2 at various points in its history.

Today, there's even an indie band called The Preakness; I would suggest that the story of their namesake would make a great twee-pop ballad.

Update 3459: Paul Moran assesses HBOs feature on Horse Slaughter that first aired last night: HBO expose falls short of the mark, excerpt:

Above all, the piece failed to place blame on the owners of horses sent to slaughter or confront those ultimately responsible. Ownership of an animal comes with the responsibility to provide proper care and feeding. Selling a horse -- any horse -- for a few hundred dollars with full knowledge that it will be vanned to Canada or Mexico, slaughtered, butchered and ultimately eaten somewhere in Europe of Asia is appallingly inhumane.

Update 3458: We have improving weather! Very cool. Another relative quiet morning this morning for us at Woodbine. Only five sets. However one of my horses was very fractious coming off the track this morning. I had a feeling this was going to happen. As I was walking to the track I said so to another rider coming back "This may be the closest for me to falling off, if I don't fall off" ... sometimes you just know! As I came off the track my horse knocked our assistant trainer out of the way and just went nuts going towards the tunnel. Bucking (I lost my neckstrap twice he bucked so high) rearing and plunging. At one point I was half off. He seemed to know it and relaxed and waited 'til I was set and then went at it again! Anyway, once I got him back in the tunnel my left styrup leather had come lose. That was it, time to dismount and lead him home. Phew, I survived. The others went well.

Update 3457: Sadlers Wells, 14 times Europe's leading sire has been retired due to declining fertility: Sadler's Wells Pensioned.

Monday's Preakness activities: Preakness Updates: Monday.

Please keep calling and writing.

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Barbaro Updates: 583

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Update 3456: Chelokee remains 60 - 40 as things remain positive for his recovery. A cast change will occur about May 26: Chelokee On the Improve.

Update 3455: The Preakness loses a key contender to the Canadian Triple Crown: Harlem Rocker To Skip Preakness, excerpt:

"We really believe the horse has a bright future, and (Mr. Stronach) decided to take a step back right now," Adena Springs Farm managaer Dan Hall said. "Our next main objective will be the Queen's Plate. Todd (Pletcher) is very high on the horse and wanted to run him in the Preakness, but we almost always take the conservative approach, so we're going to be patient and stick to our program."

Update 3454: A quieter morning this morning which was very pleasant. We had a few workers and I only had four to ride. I also went up to watch a few of the workers and just generally hung out. It was nice not going a million miles an hour just trying to keep up with things! Anyway, a pleasant and easy morning's work!

Update 3453: Sunday's report for the Preakness contenders: Preakness Updates: Sunday.

HBO is releasing a story on Horse Slaughter today: HBO Horse Slaughter Story May 12th.

Please keep calling and writing.

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