JC / Railbird

Missing Out

Bill Finley on why Kentucky Derby runner-up Nehro, apparently sound and in form, should be running Saturday at Pimlico:

Since 1984, a horse that has started in the Derby has won every Preakness but three…. Fresh horses don’t win the Preakness. Horses coming back two weeks after the Derby do.

With those kinds of odds, passing up a million-dollar purse looks foolish.

Posted by JC in Racing on 05/19/2011 @ 7:27 am / Tagged Coddled Colts, Nehro, Preakness Stakes, The Way We Train Now, Triple Crown / Follow @railbird on Twitter

Lasix, An Expensive Habit

Arthur Hancock in the May 18 issue of TDN:

As owners, we are paying a minimum of $100 million a year just for the use of Lasix alone, not counting the money we spend for “jugs” to revive the horses after they have had this powerful diuretic. If you add butazolidin and all of the other veterinary charges to the list, I calculate that we are shelling out at least $150 million a year.

That works out to an average of $359.55 in veterinary charges per start in 2010. Considering the expense, owners should be clamoring to eliminate raceday drugs; even cutting Hancock’s estimate in half would be a boon.

Posted by JC in Racing on 05/18/2011 @ 2:20 pm / Tagged Drugs in Racing, Owners, Raceday Medications / Follow @railbird on Twitter

The Rule Breaker

The latest example of why the rules don’t matter: Animal Kingdom. Although Team Valor’s Kentucky Derby winning colt did run as a 2-year-old, he was only the second to win with four or fewer career starts, and he was the first since Needles in 1956 to win off a six-week layoff. He’s the fifth straight Derby winner to prep with only two starts as a 3-year-old, neither a Grade 1, and his Beyer speed figure of 103 is the lowest since Giacomo was given 100 in 2005. Animal Kingdom was also making his first start on dirt in the Kentucky Derby, coming off a win in the Spiral Stakes over the Polytrack at Turfway. I’ve argued here before, sometimes with stats, that synthetic surface-prepped horses are viable Derby contenders. Next year, such horses shouldn’t be throw-outs for anyone on the basis of surface.

Some photos from Saturday at Churchill …

Mucho Macho Man leaving the barn for the Derby.

Cheering for the Derby starters as they exit the gap.

Midnight Interlude and Shackleford waiting to begin the walk over.

The clubhouse crowd.

Animal Kingdom in the post parade.

Dialed In, the 5-1 favorite, after finishing eighth in the Derby.

Steve Asmussen and Corey Nakatani discussing Nehro’s second-place finish.

Animal Kingdom heading to the winner’s circle.

Posted by JC in Racing on 05/08/2011 @ 1:31 pm / Tagged Animal Kingdom, Churchill Downs, Kentucky Derby, Photos, Synthetic Surfaces / Follow @railbird on Twitter