As the Oval Turns: News & Notes from the Horse Racing World

AS THE OVAL TURNS: News & Notes from the Horse Racing World

By Tracy Egan, Executive Director NYTBDF

 

NEW YORK-BREDS AT THE OBS SPRING SALE APRIL 21 – 24

There are 145 NY-breds listed in the OBS April sale catalog. As I was going through each one in order to provide a link to the NY-bred hip numbers in the sale for posting on our homepage at NYBREDS.COM, I noticed that one horse has been named. Here’s the name: Ineedmyheadexamind. Can you guess the sire of this horse? (Answer at the end of this column.)

COLD WEATHER COPING

WLEX-TV turned to Stone Farm in Kentucky for advice on caring for horses in extreme cold. Some people may be surprised by this:

When the temperatures dip to below freezing, many folks may start to worry about their horses, whether they are warm and if it’s safe to keep them outside.

At the Stone Farm in Bourbon County, workers say it is best to let them stay outside and herd together for body heat. Keeping them in a stall by themselves actually works against keeping them warm.

“They will naturally herd together. They are herd animals and that generates a lot of body heat for them,” says Paul King.

If they are not doing so well, King says to blanket them, but most seem to enjoy this season.

I would add to the above that in New York State most Thoroughbred farms I’ve visited also have run-in sheds to protect the horses from wind, rain and snow. Nonetheless, I’m always amazed to find horses, their backs to the elements, standing in the rain or snow instead of taking shelter.

NY-BRED STALLION SUCCUMBS IN S. KOREA

Sharp Humor, the Distorted Humor stallion that finished second in the 2006 G1 Florida Derby and won the G2 Swale S., the Bertram F. Bongard and the Sleepy Hollow S., has reportedly died in an accident on Jeju Island in S. Korea, where he stood at Let’s Run Farm. New York breeder Patricia S. Purdy and her husband Chris remember Sharp Humor as “a scrappy little horse we had a good time with.” Chris related that Sharp Humor was tough on his somewhat diffident dam Bellona, and that after dealing with such a tough little customer, Bellona became a kind and attentive mother to her offspring. They are proud that their colt went on to sire the earners of more than $19 million and that he was booked to 90 mares (full book) in South Korea this spring. The stallion’s first Korean-breds are two years old this year. The Purdys have not yet heard how the fatal accident occurred in Sharp Humor’s rain-soaked paddock. But they, along with Korean breeders, are deeply saddened by his passing. RIP Sharp Humor.

PAULICKREPORT.COM ASKS DERBY TRAIL QUESTION

I noticed that Paulickreport.com is polling its readers today on which of these races will produce the Derby winner:

Arkansas Derby

Blue Grass Stakes

Florida Derby

Louisiana Derby

Santa Anita Derby

UAE Derby

Wood Memorial

Being a confirmed jingoist when it comes to NY-breds, I hope it’s either the Florida Derby, where NY-bred Upstart finished second over a deep and tiring track, or the Louisiana Derby, where NY-bred International Star scored last Saturday. I hope most of you have seen the ad the Fund ran last week, in which we noted that NY-breds were first and fourth according to the Derby points system, and that NY sire Big Brown’s big colt Dortmund was 6th on the list. If you haven’t seen it, be sure to check out ThoroughbredDailyNews.com where the Fund ran the ad on Sunday and Monday. Dortmund will likely be the heavy favorite in Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby. At 17 hands, I’m told he looks like a man among boys. The trio of 3-year-olds mentioned above has helped spread the word that today’s NY-breds are not your father’s NY-breds. Quality is the new standard.

Quiz Answer: NY stallion Freud is the sire of Ineedmyheadexamind.

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