News and Notes for Ask Eddy

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Starting off with an answer to an earlier question, Clay and I determined that Eddie was about 16 hands high, maybe a wee bit bigger.  Either way, that’s a pretty big horse and he really looks the part when he draws himself up and stands high.

[NOTE: Horses are measured in units called “hands”.  A hand is 4 inches and you measure a horse from the top of the withers (shoulder blade) to the ground.  So, if Eddie is 16 hands high, that means he measures about 5’ 4” from the ground to the top of his shoulder.]

I spent some time with Eddie and Clay the last couple of days and a couple of things for the news and notes page:

-          He developed a small abscess in one of his rear feet which seems to have already resolved itself.  Clay is going to give him today (Sunday) off and then he will go over to the track to start jogging over the surface tomorrow (Monday).  That will give us some time to determine just how he’s doing after a few weeks of R&R and good nutrition.  Even with a small abscess, Eddie still hasn’t so much as taken a misstep or shown any discomfort whatsoever.  If all goes well, he is still being pointed to his first race for us the weekend of May 31st.

-          We are looking to claim again.  If I had to guess a level, I would say $12,500, but it really depends upon where the opportunity is.  Our budget could allow us to go as high as $16,000.  Again, it depends upon where the opportunity is.

-          Eddie has an edge to him.  He isn’t afraid to let you know if he doesn’t like something with a little bit of a nip or a snap at you.  Nothing too harsh, but enough to warn you that whatever you just did – don’t do it again.  That could stem from the way he was handled in the past or just his personality.

-          Eddie already looks very good.  His coat is shiny and he looks to have put on more weight.  A lot of improvement in just 2 ½ weeks in Clay’s barn.

The watchwords going forward are cautious optimism but so far, so good.

Eddy has arrived

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Here is a short video of Ask Eddy.

 

Ask Eddy has been in Clay’s care now for about 10-days.  He’s been walking every day and already appears to have brighter eyes, a healthier coat and even has gained a few pounds!  He’s not outwardly showing any signs of ailing, but the barn is still being careful with him and he’ll be spending some time in Canterbury’s horse pool to keep his fitness level up while letting his legs rest.

He will, of course, be sent over to the track in a few weeks to get used to the surface and see how he is progressing.  If all goes well, we may be looking for a race for him near the end of May!

In the interim, we will be keeping an eye out for another runner as the meet opens our of a higher class level than Eddy (no offense Eddy!).  I will also be working with Jeff to set dates for our backside tours this season.  I’m thinking we will schedule three, possibly one each in June, July and August to give everyone an opportunity to attend one while mixing in summer vacations, etc.  We’ll let you know those dates in a few weeks.

See you next Friday night – Opening Night 2013!

Welcome ASK EDDY

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Welcome ASK EDDY to the barn.  ASK EDDY is a 6-year old gelding by VICTORY GALLOP out to the MATTY G mare STARLINE.  Foaled in Kentucky, he was a graduate of the 2008 Keeneland September yearling sale where the bidding stopped at $33,000.

ASK EDDY started his racing career at Arlington Park where he debuted against Maiden Special Weight company but it wasn’t until two starts later that his broke his maiden in a $25,000 Maiden Claiming race at Hawthorne.  In his career he has had 35 starts with 7 wins, hitting the board just over 50% of the time and earning over $165,000.  He has won races as high as allowance level and has changed hands via the claim box five times including yesterday when Clay claimed him.  Last season he was stakes placed, finishing third in the Wheat City Stakes at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg.  He likes to run on or near the lead which is something that is desirable when racing at Canterbury.  Additionally, Clay felt that this is a horse that he can improve upon both physically and with some training, so we dropped a slip for $5,000 and ASK EDDY was Clay’s when the gates spring open.

As a member of our group, Clay claimed the horse in his name and there he will stay for 30-days until the horse is eligible to be sold to new owners, which will be the Canterbury Park Racing Club.   To expand a little bit, only licensed owners can claim a horse and rules vary considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.  Most jurisdictions do require that the horse remain in the claiming owners name for thirty days before it can be sold or transferred (other than via another claim).  In this case, Clay is part of the group and we will join him in owning the horse as the group after the 30-day period.

Unfortunately, yesterday was not one of ASK EDDY’s best efforts.  He tracked the leaders well but about six furlongs in; he started sliding back and was unable to keep pace.  Clay looked him over this morning and said that “He’s got a bit of an ankle, but he cooled out well and walked well this morning.”

What the horse DOES need is some quality care.  He is a bit lightweight and probably needs to be wormed and have his teeth floated.  His coat was a bit ragged and he appears tired, so he’ll get a bit of time, care and proper nutrition.  A couple of things Clay learned talking to the jock that rode him for both his old outfits was that when the horse is right, he can be pretty good and that during the race he felt just fine under him, no signs of discomfort at all. Cautious optimism are the watchwords.

So he’s going to get a little time off (about 30-days), get some weight back on him and get fit so Clay can have the opportunity to bring him back to a racing level where we feel he belongs – which we’re hoping is somewhat higher than the $5,000 that we bought him for!

As the Canterbury meet gets underway, we’ll be looking to be active in the claim box as well to get Eddy’s stablemate, probably at a fairly higher level than we picked up Eddy.

Ask Eddy Lifetime Past Performances

Final Accounting and Moving Forward

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The final accounting has been done and we reached 178 members this season!  A really nice increase over last season and that means our coffers have $44,500 from our members plus our licensed owner Curt Sampson’s $5,000, gives us $49,500 to start the season with.

I have already been in touch with Clay Brinson and we are actively looking for horses in the $7500 – $10,000 range. We will be looking for two to start and then perhaps even a third depending upon how things go.  I like to have a nice reserve in the bank and make sure that several months of bills are in storage before we go forward to buy another horse.

One of the earliest – and most expensive – lessons that new owners learn is how expenses can mount up and how quickly reserves can be exhausted if you’re not careful.  It’s important not to overextend.  While this is a game supported by wagering and we do make a gamble when we claim a horse, finances are an area where gambling should be kept to a minimum.

So the next step is to get us a couple of swift runners that can carry us to the Mystic Lake Winners’ Circle.  As I believe I mentioned in a past post, we like to claim in a range where there is some room to drop in class if we have to in order to keep the horse competitive.  If you claim at the bottom, there is no room to drop if you realize that the speed isn’t there and then you have a problem.  I also like to see some consistency – not a lot of long layoffs as well as a horse that is nearly always in the hunt. I like to agree with our trainer!  If Clay doesn’t like a horse, for whatever the reason, I will nearly always defer.  The horse is in his care, will be in his barn and he is the professional we entrust to train and evaluate the talent of our runners.  If I could do THAT part of the business, I’d be a trainer – obviously I am not.  And finally I’d like to see a recent 30-day break – or at least a horse that hasn’t been over-raced – which indicates to me that the horse won’t need freshening during our relatively short meet here at Canterbury.

This was a record breaking year for membership and each and every year the Club has been in existence it has grown.  Here’s hoping we break some wins and earnings records as well!

Members’ Questions: Breeding Terms

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One of the goals of the Club is to demystify racing to the best extent that we can.  In order to do this we will answer as many questions as we can from members about racing and related issues like wagering and breeding every few weeks or so, depending upon demand.  This week we received a question about breeding terms.

Here is the question:

Can you explain what “nicking” data is? Also “broodmare and broodmare sire’…
Hopefully others in the club are a little confused on the meanings of these as well

The best explanation I found for nicking was right off the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association website by the esteemed pedigree analyst and author Frank Mitchell from an article he wrote for Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred.

“If it worked for them, it will work for me. That pretty much sums up nicking – the theory of copying the mating of a successful horse to produce another successful horse. Nicking theorists believe there is a benefit to the crossing of certain horses or sire lines and successful crosses can be repeated.”

To relate this a bit to everyday life, we all know of highly successful athletes.  Let’s take a look at the brothers Manning.  Peyton and Eli are both highly skilled and highly successful NFL quarterbacks; same for the sisters Williams in tennis.  Even better examples may be cousins, since they share the same lines but not the exact same parentage.  However, we all know of highly successful people that do not have nearly as successful relatives, so family traits mixed together – nicked, if you will – alone cannot predict success.  Other factors such as physical compatibility, racing styles and temperament also come into play.  Nicking alone will not guarantee you success on the racetrack.

A couple of sites to learn more about nicking are True Nicks and Werkhorse.

A broodmare is, quite simply, a mare used for breeding.  When you look at you past performances, to the right of the horses name you see the color, sex, age and month of birth for the horse (B. f. 3 (May)).  Directly under that you see the sire (father) and then dam (mother).  The dam is a broodmare.

In parenthesis next to the dam is another name.  This is the sire of the dam or, the broodmare sire.  Some sires have developed a reputation for producing mares that produce excellent offspring which is why this information is included.  2012’s leading broodmare sires in terms of earnings were: Storm Cat, Danehill, Deputy Minister, Sadler’s Wells and AP Indy.

I hope this information helps.  Please keep the questions coming, the odds are if you have a question, someone else does as well!

Spring Dawns and Sign-Up Deadline Looms

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The first day of spring dawned this morning over Shakopee with a brisk 7 degree temperature and more snow than should be legal on the ground this time of year.  But you may have noticed that though the temperature didn’t get above freezing yesterday, there was still some melting going on and that’s because the sun is higher and stronger in the sky and that means it’s almost time to go racing!

Indeed, in places as far flung as Arkansas, Louisiana, Arizona, Florida, Illinois and even at training centers here in Minnesota, horses are gearing up and getting ready for the May 17th opening of Canterbury Park.  Horses aren’t the only animals getting ready for the season, we humans at the Racing Club are gearing up as well – and if you or your friends want to be a part of it, there are only 11 days left to get signed up!

I spent some time in Chicago last week visiting with Clay and he’s ready to get rolling as is Bernell in Florida if we end up with enough sign ups.  Currently we’ve eclipsed last year’s numbers (roughly at 150 members) and are excited about the possibilities that this brings: more members means more horses which hopefully translates into more starts and more shots at the winners’ circle – and more fun at Canterbury all summer long!

So if you haven’t signed up yet and have meant to or have friends that have been saying they are but haven’t, don’t delay – time is running out.  As we say at the track: “Don’t get shut out!”