Monthly Archives: September 2012

Five Furlong Work Posted, Plan for the Week

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Great Bam was on the track again this morning in preparation for his anticipated race next Saturday. Clay had him go out and put in a sharp drill, which is his typical procedure in the final work before a race. Bam covered the five furlongs in 1:01.40 which ranked as the fastest of nine workouts recorded at the distance today.

The plan is still to put him in the $5,000 N2L on Saturday. Entries for Saturday will be taken on Wednesday; thus, at that point we will know whether or not he will race on Saturday.

Clay told Jeff today that the plan is to use jockey Seth Martinez. That name may be familiar to some of you, Martinez was Canterbury’s leading rider in both 2002 and 2005.

More information to come as the week progresses!

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Great Bam Works Out & Plans

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Great Bam had his first timed work in Chicago yesterday when he went four furlongs in 50.80 seconds. The work was one of three at the distance for horses trained by Clay. Schillerthekiller and Aikman, both impressive winners at Canterbury this summer, went the same distance in 47.80.

Clay talked to Jeff earlier in the week and indicated that he hopes to get Bam ready to go and run him in a $5,000 N2L on opening weekend (October 6). Obviously, that will require him to train well and for the race to go.

With that in mind, a couple of group members have indicated they are planning on making a trip down to watch him race and wanted us to post about it on the blog. (Additionally, October 6 is a big day at Hawthorne including two $100,000 races and the Grade II Hawthorne Gold Cup).

Janet and Kathy are flying down to see the races and wanted to be sure to connect with any other club members that might be planning to make the trip. Kathy asked anyone that may be making the trip to give her a call at (763)-370-3633 so that everyone can meet up at the track!

Interesting Trainer and Owner Statistics

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Thought that we would pass along a link to a rather interesting analysis of trainers and owners that raced during the 2012 racing season at Canterbury Park.

This information is put together by a owner/breeder in Minnesota that likes to look at things a little bit differently. A pretty impressive season for our trainer who ranked third by the metric of earnings per start.

Check out the information by clicking here.

As owners, we didn’t have enough starts to qualify for the owners category. However, if you want to follow along with the chart and the math we earned just a touch over $2,300 per start.

Great Bam Arrives in Chicago

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Great Bam – and the rest of Clay’s string – has made it to Chicago in good order according to Clay. He has 16 stalls at Hawthorne right now and plans to stable there both through the coming fall meet and the spring meet which starts up again after a short winter hiatus.

As pointed out in the comment section of a previous post, there is a $5,000 N2L with an $11,000 purse on the second day of the meet – October 6. This is the most likely spot for him if he continues train well. The race is six furlongs and that is the distance Clay would prefer to race him at.

Entries for that race will be taken on October 3, so he has some time to recover from his past race and get ready for the Hawthorne meet.

Racing Club Financial Update Through August

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We’re back at the track today and it’s always a weird feeling when the live race meet ends. It’s quite a ride during the season and it’s an odd letdown when it all comes to an end. This year, it’s quite a different mood here as the cooperative marketing agreement between Canterbury Park and Mystic Lake Casino ensures that racing will not only be here in 2013, but it will be here in a big way.

Here’s a look at the club’s finances through the end of August.

Final Balance as of 7/31 – $17,122.90

Earnings:

Lovely Tak 3rd Place Finish 8-17: $1,080*

High Spirit 3rd Place Finish 8-18: $1,210

High Spirit 1st Place Finish 9-2: $5,400

High Spirit Claim: $3,500

Sale of Lovely Tak: $1,500

Total Racing Club August Earnings = $12,690

Expenses:

Lovely Tak Day Rate (31 Days at $60 per Day) – $1,860

Great Bam Day Rate (31 Days at $60 per Day) – $1,860

High Spirit Day Rate (30 Days at 60 per Day) – $1,800

Lovely Tak Shoes (8/10) – $120

Great Bam Shoes (8/23) – $175

Lovely Tak Pony to Post (8/17) – $25

High Spirit Pony to Post (8/18 and 8/30) – $50

Equine Retirement Fees – $2 per Start – $6

Jockey Fee to Nik Goodwin for Lovely Tak (8/17) – $65*

Jockey Fee to Denny Velazquez for High Spirit (8/18) – $75

Jockey Fee to Adolfo Morales for High Spirit (8/30) – $540

Trainer Fee to Clay Brinson for High Spirit (8/18 and 8/30) – $661

Coady Photography for High Spirit Photos – $1,092.27

July Veterinarian Expenses:

Great Bam

Equine Pain Medication – $53.58

Thyroid Supplement – $22.75

Lovely Tak

Raceday Medication – $103.58

Electrolytes, Vitamins and Enzymes – $176

Thyroid Medication, Joint Lubricants and Supplements – $510.25

High Spirit

Floating Teeth – $80

Raceday Medication – $35

Electrolytes, Vitamins and Enzymes – $85

Thyroid Medication, Joint Lubricants and Supplements – $458.25

Total August Training and July Vet Expenses – $9,853.68

Total Remaining Balance – $19,959.22

* Lovely Tak originally finished fourth in her race on 8/17. However, Royal Gamble (the second place finisher) was disqualified for a positive test following the race. Therefore, we were awarded third place money.

You’ll note that this statement does not include September racing transactions which would include a second place finish for Great Bam worth $2,600 before expenses or the August vet bill. These will be reflected on the next statement.

Clay’s first group of horses will ship Saturday. Not sure if Bam is part of the first group yet or not. We’ll let you know when we find out more.

Lovely Tak Arrives at Her New Home

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Lovely Tak (I call her “Lovey”) came to her new home yesterday at 12:30. She loaded and unloaded from the trailer like the pro she is. She has a lot calmer personality than Crown the Cat did when I first brought herhome. The llamas frighten her a bit (probaby has never seen one before) and she has spooked her ownself a couple of times already.

I sat out with her for a couple of hours yesterday and watched her as she pawed the ground wanting to roll. If I could put her actions into human words, it looked like she was saying, “Man, I’ve always wanted to try this rolling thing in the dirt ‘cuz all de udder horsies’ say it feels so good…” so she kept pacing around her paddock, pawing, pacing, pawing and when she finally went down to do a roll, she spooked herself and jumped straight up from her back and then started pacing and snorting and looking all fearsom and firey… she’ll settle down soon and figure things out though…

Crown the Cat and Cayenne Pepper are establishing their dominance over the fenceline. The New Kid in town always seems to get picked on when they first move in… they’ll become friends once Lovey knows that the Cat wears a crown and rules the place.

Lovey has a different conformation than the Cat… Lovey has a shorter back and is more square and the Cat is longer and has a scopey stride… it’s interesting to compare their different looks but they still were winners for our club and I thank Jeff and Canterbury for the opportunity to own a real live race horse. I plan to breed Lovey to Shot of Gold who was the fastest horse in MN in 2006 and stands at Dove Hill farm with Matt’s Broken Vow.

I’ll send pictures when I can!
Kathy and Crown the Cat and ‘Lovey’
I Kin Ye Farms
Monticello

Great Bam Finishes Second

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As was our concern, Great Bam simply came up short in his first race in the past 145 days. He looked good early in the race, maybe moved a touch too early around the turn and then didn’t have quite enough gas left in the tank in the final furlong.

It’s a classic example of why horses typically don’t run their best race first time back off a layoff. Clay said he came back tired but that is to be expected with that kind of layoff.

As was outlined in the group agreement at the beginning of the year, the hope was to run the club through December unless it became prudent to cease operations at an earlier date. With that in mind, Clay told us that the plan is to ship to Chicago early next week and get him ready to run when the Hawthorne meet opens up in early October.

We’ll have a post updating the finances later in the week. We hope you enjoyed coming out to watch your horses run this summer. It was nice to get a couple of win photos for the group. We’ll obviously continue to keep you updated via the blog!

High Spirit Picture and Great Bam Race Preview

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First of all, the photo of High Spirit is available now at the THIRD FLOOR information booth. You can pick up these pictures any day of the week. The information center is open seven days a week typically from 10AM – 6PM… later on weekends.

Please be sure to pick up your photo, they are already paid for. Some of you still have not collected your Lovely Tak photo. We have photos for all members of the club for both races.

Reminder, Great Bam is entered tomorrow, closing day in the second race of the afternoon (approximate post 2:04pm). If you are going in the paddock, meet us outside of the paddock shortly after the conclusion of the first race. Here’s a look at the field:

#1 I’m L W (15-1)

Quite honestly, this is one of the stranger entries I have ever seen. The horse hasn’t raced since 2007 (at a track that is no longer open). The nine-year-old has ten career races, showed works at Emerald Downs last summer but never raced, and now is entered here on closing day. Quite frankly, 15-1 is ridiculously low… should be 50-1… or more.

#2 British Fleet (5-1)

One of five in the field that made his last start at Prairie Meadows, this guy has run five consecutive second place finishes, albeit it against Iowa-bred company. Has some gate speed and should be a part of the pace. A definite contender.

#3 Shadow Edge (6-1)

The leading rider ends up here – on another Iowa invader. Has a touch of speed but not as quick as a few of the others in here. Probably slightly below British Fleet in terms of ability.

#4 Big Kenny (10-1)

Yet another Iowa-shipper, this one recently out of the maiden ranks. Butler takes the call here but this one seems to be a tad overmatched. A closer that tried open company maidens at the bottom here last summer and was beaten by thirty lengths. Outsider.

#5 Derby One Thirty (30-1)

A North Dakota bred whose only career victory came in a Yellowstone Downs in 2011. Another that should be closer to 50-1. Would be a complete shock.

#6 Eyeseeyou (8-1)

Man, 35W got a good amount of traffic from this field. Another Iowa-shipper, this one an open company runner that has struggled in his last two starts, beating only three horses. Prior to that he ran off four consecutive second place finishes. Pace factor?

#7 Cape Town Dancer (12-1)

The last of the Iowa invaders, this guy is still a maiden. Not likely to be a major factor in the race.

#8 Jolly Boat (20-1)

A Minnesota-bred facing open company on the final day of the meet. Connections likely wanted to get one more start in this guy. Another that would be a surprise.

#9 Kalico Cowboy (8-1)

An Iowa-bred that broke his maiden in career start number four, he is 0 for his last 11, only hitting the board twice in that stretch. No clear running style, have to guess that Trimble tries to send him a little bit.

#10 Hwy Onetwentyeight (9/2)

Recent maiden-breaker comes back at today’s six furlong distance after a route win. Has been on the pace going longer, may not be able to do that today going six panels. Arroyo needs to work a good trip, but this guy figures to make some noise.

#11 Great Bam (4-1)

Obviously, you all know Bam. Great to get him to the track, now we need to hope for the best. Post shouldn’t be an issue, Goodwin needs to get him out of the gate and secure a good position either on the lead or sitting just off the pace. Good enough to win if he’s fit and if everything goes right.

#12 Indy N Mission (20-1)

Still a maiden that has faltered three times at the bottom already this summer. However, this horse does have speed and could be a factor in making our trip difficult if we don’t get out of the gate. Need to be sure he doesn’t shut off our running lane.

Hope you all have a chance to come out to watch this race. Festival of Champions gets underway today in one hour! Come on out and join us if you can.