Horse Racing
“And they’re off!” Horse racing of all types is found in our racing section, including Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, Harness, Steeplechase and Arabian racing.
Want to get lucky? Take a look at the Wagering to help guide you. Keep track of upcoming horse races and racing events in our Calendar of Events for Horse Racing.
Want to live the dream of owning a racehorse? Check out the Breeding, Partnerships, Sales & Bloodstocks sections where you can help yourself be a force in the Sport of Kings.
Need a place to train your baby and help develop his successful career? You will find both training facilities and professional racehorse trainers in our Training section. See you in the winners’ circle!
Two Top American Champions Meet
Champion American Racehorse California Chrome and Champion American Polo Player and captain of the US Polo team Nic Roldan stood next to each other at Gulfstream only a few days before the Pegasus World Cup
Nikki Walker, granddaughter of Gulfstream Park owner Frank Stronach, is an advisory board member of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) and an accomplished equestrian, was also present. Fan favourite professional polo player Kris Kampsen, who also specializes in retraining OTTBs (Off-the-Track Thoroughbreds) to polo, was also in attendance. Additional Polo Players: Julian de Lusaretta, Luchino Ortiz de Urbina & Mia Cambiaso, and Polo Pony trainer Martin Phagouape.
Nic watched California Chrome train and then had a “meet & greet” with him afterward, including a photoshoot opportunity at Barn 2, Gulfstream Park, Ft. Lauderdale
To highlight the fact that over half of Nic’s string of polo ponies are “Off-the-Track Thoroughbreds,” and that this is a essential way these two regal disciplines can work together to provide a wonderful future for OTTBs.
Sport of Kings meets the Game of Kings
From January to May, the focus of the international polo world is on Wellington, Florida; and on Sunday 8th of January one of top American polo player Nic Roldan’s mounts was chosen as the Best Playing Pony of that game. The mare in question is a chestnut mare called Cubana, an “Off-the-Track Thoroughbred” (OTTB). In fact, over half of Nic’s current string are OTTBs. His horses Tulsa, Ducati, Cohiba and Cubana are all OTTBs. In all facets, Argentina has the monopoly on polo, and players breed copious amounts of polo ponies on the pampas plains. However, Stateside, people often look to the racetrack as an essential source of their ponies.
Read more: Racehorse California Chrome meets Polo Player Nic Roldan
PLEASANTON, CA — Sand Victor was all by himself as he circled the racetrack at Alameda County Fairgrounds early Wednesday morning for one last workout before the horse flew to Abu Dhabi to compete in the richest Arabian horse race in the world.
All other horses had cleared the oval for the handsome 5-year-old grey stallion — one of the best horses ever to come from the Pleasanton stables — so he could learn to run clockwise, the opposite direction of American equine races, for his international contest. Read more here...
Nick Ratings (or why nick ratings are the bane of my existence), by Anne Peters
It's important that people understand what a nick is, and the difference between a nick and a nick rating. Nicks are a fact, but nick ratings are a statistic, and we all know statistics can be very misleading. Unfortunately, ratings are what people want nowdays because it's easier to read a score and blindly accept it, than to reason out the intricate process of properly mating your mare.
The word "nick" has become distorted in breeding jargon due to the proliferation of the ratings, so that many people have come to use it as a verb. "What stallions nick with my mare?" or "I want you to nick my mares." When I hear that, my skin crawls. The nick ratings have created this quick and dirty method of matching stallions and mares to the demise of well rounded matings. I don't think this is what the creators of either popular nick rating system intended, but that's what has happened. Nick ratings have done more to take down real mating analysis than anything I've ever seen.
What is a nick? In my article "Nicks or Not," I explain that a nick is a real live genetic term describing a cross of two bloodlines that produces superior results a surprising amount of the time. It's not guaranteed, but it has a serious track record. The A.P. Indy/Mr. Prospector cross is a good modern example. Some of A.P. Indy's most important offspring are the result of this nick including Horse of the Year Mineshaft, and his good sire sons Pulpit and Malibu Moon, all sons of A.P. Indy out of mares sired by Mr. Prospector. That's a nick. It's rare, and it's very specific.
A.P. Indy on a mare by Mr. Prospector represents a very specific pedigree alignment accounting for 75% of the same pedigree on paper. If the mare is not by Mr. Prospector, we're not talking about the same nick. Bernardini is by A.P. Indy and out of a mare by Quiet American. Quiet American, by Fappiano, by Mr. Prospector, is a male line grandson of Mr. Prospector. It's a similar cross, but technically, it's not the same nick, because Mr. Prospector's influence is diluted 2 generations further back.
Since we know full siblings in actuality share only about 50% of their genes, theoretically, the chances of genetic similarity based on three-quarter relatives, relatives with 75% similar parentage, are half of that, or 37.5%. A.P. Indy crossed with a mare by a son of Mr. Prospector reduces the influence of Mr. Prospector by even more, down to 62.5% on paper, or 31.25% in terms closer to probability. The further back the key ancestor is along the mare's male line, it's potential influence decreases dramatically every generation.
Read more: Pedigree Theories and Selection Techniques: Nick Ratings
EquineInfoExchange.com strives to present revolutionary platforms which leverage technology to benefit equine business owners. Here, we introduce you to TLore , an equine software management service.
Like many of us who have worked around horses, especially race horses, we have experienced a few scary moments. TLore founder Tracy Attfield has had a lifetime of such moments - starting at the age of 10.
Nothing equaled the exhilarating feeling she got when sitting astride racehorses every morning for over 20 years. A close second were those extreme highs when watching those horses win races. Those were fun, exciting, electrifying and sometimes frightening moments which solidified her obsession with horses and horse racing.
For those in the business of training racehorses, the ‘other’ scary moments rear their head. This includes a long list - make that a very, very long list - of day to day "panics."
To minimize these moments of anxiety, Tracy created TLore. As an internet based management program, accessible by phones, tablets and computers, TLore is an organizational tool that shares data with employees and owners, powers information on trainers' and owners' websites and enhances communication within the business.
TLore is an online business solution for training professionals and can help:
- Organize your racing stable quickly and efficiently
- Manage day-to-day operations of your stable
- Save valuable time and yet maintain a high level of communication
- Manage billing and invoicing, record and document training and set lists, racing history, health records, Lasix history, inventory, stakes nominations and more.
EquineInfoExchange.com sits down with Tracy as she shares more about herself and how her product is a tremendous asset to trainers.
Read more: Leverage Technology for Better Business - EIE Introduces TLore Equine Management Services
August 20, 2016 - California Chrome wins the 2016 TVG Pacific Classic Saturday at Del Mar.
by Patricia N. Saffran
In April, I called Mary Jo Slonaker, the Cambridge City, Indiana authority on the horse Single G, who many consider to be the greatest Standardbred pacer of all time. He was born nearby on a farm in Centerville, Indiana, and Ms. Slonaker is the secretary treasurer of the Single G Association. I told her that I was going to do an article on him.
A few days later she said, “The whole town is excited. They’re going to plant new flowers around Single G’s monument so that we can take a better photo for you.” (The monument gives the horse’s dates, foaled 1910 died 1940, so the town is still honoring a horse that most today have never seen. The town marked Single G’s centennial on his birthday on April 4, 2010.)
Ms. Slonaker continued, “We used to have a Single G float, last seen in 1993, to mark the annual Indianapolis 500 Festival parade downtown, but now we just have the sign left, which I gave to the Richmond Museum nearby for their Single G Room.” I told Ms. Slonaker, “I don’t think there’s any European or American town that honors a horse in the way that your town does. I found out that you even have a mural devoted to the Single G on the side of the US Bank building downtown that was done very recently in 2010.” “Yes,” Ms. Slonaker said, “That mural is a big draw for tourists. It’s called ‘Single G in his Time’ by Pamela Bliss. People come from all over and drive to our town to see it. The honoring of Single G even extends into some of our residents’ homes. They have called me to say they have old wallpaper or hand painted décor of Single G that they refuse to redecorate or cover up. The town also has a thriving downtown with really good restaurants and shops, while other towns nearby are fading.”
The advancements in data and content sharing are tremendously valuable for anyone who handicaps a horse race. The world of technology makes the availability of wagering on races, via phone or computer, a dream for the horse player who remembers the days of running to the track, finding a bookmaker or searching for other "creative" alternatives.
Handicapping tools and publications abound such as Timeform, Thoro-Graph and The Ragozin Sheets all compile data to help a horseplayer gain an edge against a less-informed public.
There are great places where you can find today's horse racing events so both the serious punter and occasional player can enjoy convenience and data from tracks around the world.
Although websites accurately capture information such as odds, changes and track conditions, there are factors in handicapping which cannot be measured. For example, a track bias. There are some tracks which on some days may favor a closer. Other days, a speed horse. Sometimes, horses from the inside win. Other days, there is a "dead rail."
So, one day a horse on a speed-favoring track wins easily. A bettor who follows the racing game closely may remember that particular day where speed won. If the next day, the track favors closers, the sharp bettor may look elsewhere. However, this "speed track" favoring data is not easily quantified.
Other data that can't be measured is a bad trip. Sure, we can read in a past performance if a horse was checked repeatedly or swung five wide in the stretch, but no quantifiable number can be assigned to a bad trip - whereby 10 would be an excellent trip on a "golden rail" and one would be checked and bouncing repeatedly off that same rail.
Jockeys play a critical factor too as he/she has a key role in the outcome of the race. There are no statistic for "bad rides" or controversial trips such as grabbing a speed horse or sending a closer early in the race. Likewise, a rating of a 10 would reflect a rider who has a Midas touch and chemistry with this horse while a rating of a one would reflect a ride that's rubbish.
Some data is measureable - but perhaps not necessarily accurate. For folks who have never been to the backside on a busy morning where scores of horses are training are truly missing out on one of the most beautiful experiences in this game. There are mornings where so many horses are training, there is an opportunity for confusion and inaccuracies are bound to happen. For example, if a horse has a published work for three furlongs in :38, one hopes that this is correct. But, having owned race horses where a timed work in the morning is sometimes different than a published work in the Form leads an owner to scratch their head. People wager on this published data, often trusting its accuracy.
Fortunately, there is a lot of data available and with social media there's great transparency. Bettors can look at the same set of data and interpret it differently. Many smart players watch for trends and pick their spots. But, when playing a multi-race pick and one leg is just a bit too tough, there's always the ALL button!
The Editorial Team of EquineInfoExchange.com
There are lots of informative articles in our section on Horse Racing.
Exaggerator previously lost four races to Nyquist who entered the Preakness Stakes unbeaten. However, Exaggerator turned the tables on Nyquist on the sloppy track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD. Longshot Cherry Wine closed well finishing second and nosed out Nyquist who finished third. Interesting note: Exaggerator's sire, Curlin, won the Preakness Stakes in 2007.
Nyquist wins the 142nd Kentucky Derby and remains unbeaten after holding off Exaggerator in second with Gun Runner running third. Watch it again here!
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- American Pharoah Upset in Travers
- American Pharoah is coming to Saratoga
- Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund "Shake it Off" (Video)
- Saratoga Race Course: Field of Dreams
- International Horsewoman and Award Winning producer Amanda Roxborough
- American Pharoah Wins Triple Crown
- Winning the Belmont Stakes Won't be Easy
- New Sgt. Reckless Race Comes to Pimlico for Preakness Week