I watch on average two horse races a year, usually a couple of the "Triple Crown" races. Beyond the obvious- the fastest horse wins, I have no idea of the rules of the sport--- (ie) Age requirements of the horses why 3 year olds why not 5 year olds or a 2 year old? Why can't they keep racing the same races wouldn't a 4 year old horse do just as well or how about the 20 year old veteran coming out for one more race? What is a Gelding? I know female horses race, but is it prevalent? Any of the basic facts you could give me would be greatly appreciated. BTW- I have never watched a bad horse race (I have never watched one live either). The betting I understand well. If for no other reason I love horse racing because of Sea Biscuit (and not because of the movie coming out).
Ok ----"Funny cide" wins the Preakness Stakes and can now be the first gelding horse to run for the triple crown. Does gelding = neutered?
For breeders, the change from long distance racing to sprints meant focusing on new genetic characteristics. The champion racehorse of 1750 had stamina and power to endure through the grueling match races. But by the end of the century, it was quick speed and agility that would mark a successful Thoroughbred. Breeders, as they developed the fast sprinter, were also being faced with an economically driven demand. Owners had traditionally raced their Thoroughbreds at five and six years old, but were realizing that financial resources were stretched too tight before they saw any return on their investment. By training horses to race at two and three years old, stables could see a profit earlier. For breeders, the end result was a horse that was not only fast, but also matured early. http://www.racing-horse.com/thoroughbred-racing.htm
Whoever cut the balls off Funny Cide has to be hating themselves now. The money that they have lost because he now can't be put out to stud will be stagering. Way to pay'em back Funny Cide!
There is one obvious reason for the 3 year olds---- Why would someone cut (geld?) a race horse? Is that why all the rich people wear funny clothes? Are they too "wild" if left uncut---- do they grow fast enough- too fast-- this is a real mystery.
Only Funny Cide regrets being gelded Seller who had it done, trainer and owners OK with it -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jennie Rees jrees@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal Some 221 geldings have competed at Churchill Downs this meet. Only one has caused people to ask why the horse was castrated. Of course, Funny Cide also is the only one who won the Kentucky Derby. Funny Cide became the first gelding to win the Derby since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929 and the eighth overall. Until this year, the closest geldings have come in recent years were runners-up Best Pal in '91 and Prairie Bayou in '93 and third-place Perfect Drift last year. ''I make the same decision tomorrow if I have to,'' said Tony Everard, the horseman who had Funny Cide gelded as a yearling. Young male horses such as Funny Cide are gelded for a variety of reasons. The law of averages suggests a horse has a better shot to make money by racing than breeding, though the money can be great for those horses who hit home runs with stallion careers. And being gelded enhances the chances of being a better racehorse, many believe. Everard, owner of New Episode Training Center in Ocala, Fla., has made the decision to geld hundreds of horses in preparing them for racing careers. He bought Funny Cide for $22,000 in August 2001, going in partners with his brother Joe. From the first crop of the Forty Niner stallion Distorted Humor, the colt had one undescended testicle, a condition that was uncomfortable when he ran. Tony Everard had both the undescended and descended testical removed, rendering the horse a gelding. ''My experience over the years is, if a horse is a ridgling and it didn't descend by that age, chances are it's not going to,'' Everard said yesterday. ''When they change leads on the turn . . . they don't stride out as well. They can't give to the top of their capacity.'' Everard could have made the decision to remove only the undescended testicle, but he thinks Funny Cide might not have had the same stride as present. Also, he knows the market for such horses at stud can be dubious. ''This horse has just an average pedigree,'' he said. ''. . . He probably would not be the horse he is today if not for gelding. He may not have been any more than just an ordinary allowance horse, and maybe he wouldn't have even won a race.'' Horses sometimes are gelded because their temperament is such that they are going to hurt themselves or someone else, or because they are so ornery they refuse to train. Some can't focus on the business of being a racehorse until being gelded. Generally, it's a difficult decision to geld only if the horse is particularly well-bred. Everard also gelded Fourstardave, who went on to be a multiple graded stakes-winner and won a race at Saratoga for eight straight years. Everard said Fourstardave wasn't worth 20 cents until he was gelded. He also gelded Sten, who went on to beat John Henry in Belmont's Grade II Bowling Green Handicap in 1980. A strong endorsement for gelding comes from Barclay Tagg, trainer of Funny Cide, who was looking for a nice race horse in the $50,000-$75,000 range for the Sackatoga Stable. ''I'm all for geldings,'' Tagg said. ''Probably 98 percent of them should be gelded. I just think they focus better; they make a better racehorse. Some of the greatest racehorses we ever had were geldings. Kelso, maybe the greatest, was a gelding and five times Horse of the Year. John Henry won the Arlington Million when he was 9 years old. Forego was a magnificent gelding. They were all strong and all successful and all stayed sound late in their careers. ''I think gelding them also keeps some of that bulk off their front end, which makes it a little easier on their front legs for what we ask them to do. I wouldn't want to pay a half-million dollars for a horse who was a gelding. But in the price range we were searching for horses for, I didn't think it made any difference.'' Jack Knowlton, managing partner of the 10-person Sackatoga syndicate, said his group has no interest in commercial breeding anyway. But they are very much every-day race fans. ''To be honest, yeah, if he were a colt right now, we'd be getting multimillion offers for him to be a stud,'' Knowlton said. ''. . . But we have the opportunity just to have an awful lot of fun with this horse. We're getting a sense that he may become the people's horse.'' Knowlton has no regrets that those multimillion dollar offers won't be coming. ''Just look at the money people spend to have a nice horse,'' he said. ''We've got one. There's nothing that would tell me, even if we had millions of dollars, that we're ever going to find one as nice as this. So why don't we enjoy him? ''There's good purse money out there, certainly not the kind of money you're going to get through syndicating a horse (for $17 million) like they did War Emblem last year. But we're certainly going to enjoy divvying up a good portion of that check we're going to get from Churchill Downs.'' With Funny Cide's post-race drug test clearing yesterday, Sackatoga is being sent a check for $713,798.40 -- the $800,200 winner's purse minus jockey Jose Santos 10 percent commission and city taxes.
Thanks for the link---- its really interesting. I had no idea that thoroughbreds were a specific breed. I had always thought that just meant they were a fast horses. Geldings keep racing after the age of 3 don't they, along with some stallions/ phillys?
