With the end of the month upon us, we will have a look at your horseman account as soon as the bills arrive. Yesterday the purse was $7,000 so $4,200 (60 %) went into the account and $420 went out to pay the rider. Tammy will also receive her 10% and that will be reflected in the end of the month statement and will be paid from the account. The groom, Jose Marquez, should also be taken care of again. He has done a nice job with this filly especially in the paddock. She seems a bit high strung and he has kept her calm and focused throughout.

It is best to find a trainer that you trust to make the decisions about where and when a horse races. But it might be interesting to have input from the group on the next race. The next logical step is a non winners of three claiming race. This filly is good at the $7,500 claiming level but there are $15,000 races in the condition book. The $15,000 races at the non winner of two level have not filled though. Look for a poll posted here mid-week where you can weigh in on what level you would try this filly at.
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I spoke with the track photographer and the best route to getting a win picture, if you choose, is to simply stop by her office during racing hours. We have the same arrangement as last time for pricing. DVDs of the race are also available. They are priced at $10. If you also want the first win you can get both for $15.

Signing off for now, your favorite filly

A Parade of Winning Owners Enter the Winners’ Circle
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TQ Before and After the Race
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Signing off for now, your favorite filly

In the paddock before each race, identifier Tom Hagdone can be seen looking under the upper lip of each horse. Tammy explains why in this video.

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Signing off for now, your favorite filly

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This morning Tammy talked about Saturday’s race and why this was the best place to run.

Saturday, May 30
Race 1 Post Time 1:30pm
Tahitian Queen 2-1 morning line

Horses will be in the paddock at about 1:10.

Signing off for now, your favorite filly

Tahitian Queen has been entered to run in the first race on Saturday. See the entries HERE. Jose Ferrer will ride.

The race is a six furlong sprint for $7,500 claimers that have not won twice, the logical place to spot her. It is a field of six fillies.

Anytime you enter a claiming race there is a chance that you will lose your horse to another owner.
If you handicap a lot, you will encounter horses that are habitually entered where they have no chance to compete. One aspect of being a successful trainer is entering your horses where they have a chance win. This is why Tammy chose this spot for Tahitian Queen. She won a maiden claiming race and this is the logical progression.

For those of you not familiar with how claiming works, here is an explanation. I went to Claims Clerk Carmen Bish for the details.

Any horse entered in a claiming race can be purchased from that race by a licensed owner or trainer with sufficient funds on account.

The owner, trainer, or authorized agent must complete the claim slip and enter it in the claims box located in the horsemens’ book keepr office no later than 15 minutes prior to the race. That office is located on office level of the grandstand.

The claim slip must be completed accurately or the claim is void. The box that the slips are dropped into is sync’d with the tote system and locks itself at exactly 15 minutes to post.

If there is only one claim, that person becomes the new owner of the horse once the starting gate opens. The purse money earned plus the claiming price go to the former owners. If there are multiple claims for the same horse, a shake is held to determine the new owner.

The horse’s papers are then transferred to the new owner.

If you are awake later this evening be sure to listen to Dark Star on WCCO 830AM. Randy Sampson, track president, will join Dark at 9:30pm and then at midnight Kevin Gorg and I will join in for A Night At The Races.

Signing off for now, your favorite filly

First, let’s congratulate Tammy on winning the Honor the Hero Turf Express on Memorial Day with a horse, Moralist, she claimed for $10,000 this past October. The owners, Miracle Logistics led by Bill Kroska, had Tammy claim their first horse last summer at Canterbury and doubled their stable in the fall at Hawthorne. Bill was a Canterbury College member in 2008, got interested in the ownership side of the business, and brought his business partners into the game with him. They all attended CBY College this year. Congrats to all involved.

As for Tahitian Queen: Tammy is looking at a race Saturday. Entries for Saturday’s races will be taken Wednesday. This would likely be a $7,500 non-winners of two races lifetime claiming race. Keep an eye on Canterbury’s Live Racing page for entries and on this page for an update. Also look for more video on Thursday afternoon.
jm

Signing off for now, your favorite filly

Tahitian Queen was featured on Playin’ In The Park, Canterbury’s weekly magazine show that airs on channel 45 Saturday’s at 11am.

The show is archived on Canterbury’s Race Replays page each week.

Signing off for now, your favorite filly

Several good questions have arisen in the comments to the previous post and I will address them here.

The life of a racehorse owner always seems to involve bills. When May comes to a conclusion we will receive one from Tammy for the day rate ($50 per) as well as any feed supplements and also a charge for 10% of the purse for the win. There will also be a vet bill for race day medications and any supplements that must be administered by the vet.

More about those that work with the horses on a daily basis: most grooms are paid a weekly flat rate by the trainer. The trainer also pays those who gallop and exercise the horses in the morning. The second level of the barns on Canterbury’s backside contain dorm rooms where grooms and hotwalkers live. Canterbury does not charge for those living quarters either.

Canterbury owns the stalls and allots them to trainers at no charge. We do not have a full stable area so anyone that wanted stalls was given what they asked for. But at some tracks where the demand is high or there are fewer stalls, the racing secretary looks through the horses and assigns stalls. It is not rare for a trainer to ask for 15 stalls at a track and only be granted 10.

The feed, hay and bedding are also paid for by the trainer. You can see where much of that day rate goes. The trainer is also responsible for carrying workers comp insurance. So having horses ready to run well, and receiving that 10% cut of owners’ share of the purse is where a trainer really gets paid.

Signing off for now, your favorite filly

Winners’ Circle Photos
I will send an email to each member of Tahitian Queen Stable about ordering a winners’ circle photo from last Friday. Because of the expected quantity, we will get a very good price. I still do not have all 60 email addresses so if you read this and do not receive an email, please contact me so that I can add you to the list.

Update
Tahitian Queen walked again today but Tammy plans to send her to the track tomorrow. The race took a lot out of the filly and she does have a bruise on her front leg, so some extra downtime was decided upon by the trainer. Tammy is looking at races the following week. In the condition book (found here) I notice both a sprint and route for $7,500 claiming fillies that have not won twice. We will check in with Tammy soon to see what she has in mind.

The Account
Here is a rundown of the Tahitian Queen Stable horsemen account.

60 members @ $250 each= $15,000
Licensed owner 10% + $600 = $15,600
Purchase of horse – $6000 = $9600
MRC license -$50 = $9550
Winners share of purse +$4200 = $13,750
Jockey fee -$420 = $13,330
$1 per start for horse retirement -$1 = $13,329
Shipping from Chicago to MN -$240 = $13,089
April training bill (4 days @ $50 per) – $200 = $12,889

The purse last Friday was $7,000. The winner receives 60% or $4,200. The jock receives 10% of that or $420. Each owner or ownership group contributes $1 per start to a fund that is used to support organizations that help place retired racehorses. That dollar is matched by Canterbury Park. Last year the horsemen and Canterbury donated $12,000 or which went to Second Chance Ranch and the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue.

I also suggest, in light of the victory, that the ownership group tips the groom who cares for Tahitian Queen each day. He obviously did a good job as she ran her best race ever. Please post comments below so that we can come to a consensus.
Soon we will have an inside look at what grooms do seven days a week.

Each month we will receive training and vet bills. Tammy charges $50 per day plus 10% of purse money for any top three finish, which for Friday would be $420. There are additional items such as supplements and shoeing. When the May bill arrives in early June we will have a chance to break it down for educational purposes. Those bills are paid out of the account just as the April bill was. We had a $240 bill in April for the shipping of Tahitian Queen to Canterbury as well as $200 for four days of training. Those were paid today out of the account.

Your group is off to a great start. As I have emphasized to many, it is not rare for a horse or an owner to go an entire meet without a win and this filly got you to the winners’ circle on day one! There is still a lot to learn along the way and we will continue with new items soon.

Signing off for now, your favorite filly

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Signing off for now, your favorite filly