Field Notes

Foxfield Races

2014-04-27T12:02:00.001-07:00

Just got back from the Foxfield Races outside of Charlottesville. Fantastic time! Marq Your Bible ran in 2 1/8 mile race over ten national fences. Toughest race to date as the course had a big hill at turn 2 (out of 3 turns). He lost only by a neck and finished 2nd! Even the college drunks enjoyed it! (Then got arrested, only 24 total this year according to the local newspaper.)

A photographer from the Daily-Progress got this picture of Marcus passing
Plated and challenging Harmony Bay after the last jump.

Dispute With Colonial Downs-It Could Be Worse

2014-04-15T05:55:00.003-07:00

From the "It could be worse" files of history, comes this story of horsemen at the Tulsa Fair Grounds in 1914 trying to conduct a meet. Well, somebody do gooder who thought gambling was a sin, or would increase crime or increase traffic (all real reason given by modern day horse racing haters) or whatever, sued and successfully convinced a judge to place a restraining order on the meet. Well, the Fair Grounds basically told the judge to stick it and went ahead with the meet. Somebody then told the Governor about the defiance and well, I will let you read the newspaper article from here about what happened next...

Ian Stewart's April 8, 2014 Letter to Virginia Horsemen-Annotated

2014-04-11T09:53:00.001-07:00

President and CEO of Colonial Downs Ian Stewart has been a waging public relations war with Virginia horsemen over the current dispute over racing dates and purse levels. He somehow believes this will win us over by making the public put pressure on us. I am not really seeing the Paris mob outside my farm. His latest letter (published online and in public for everyone to see) sounds like his "final offer," if you will, as he done dealing the VHBPA. Here is the letter, he wrote and I will warn you, it is long and boring. So, for your pleasure, I have annotated Mr. Stewart's letter because he left a few things out (typos I am sure). The executive summary of his letter is this: Mr. Stewart and his team knows nothing about horse racing, the business of horse racing, and are trying to place blame on the people who stand to loose the most. Click the image to enlarge the letter (in two parts).

At the Aiken Steeplechase Meet

2014-03-22T15:06:00.001-07:00

A few pictures from the Aiken Steeplechase meet. Marq Your Bible ran in a maiden special weight. He ran two miles and finished fourth. For a first time over jumps, we are pleased. If nothing else, he was the most handsome horse as he got the "best turned out horse" award!

I will say also that the people at the meet were awesome. It was a great experience all around.

PETA "Investigative" Video

2014-03-20T08:46:00.002-07:00

If you haven't already already heard, PETA has released a heavily edited video that accuses trainer Steve Asmussen and his assistant of ill treatment of some of his horses. The video come via an undercover investigation. Of course the video comes out now, and to lay people, its the most SHOCKING THING EVER.

If I understand correctly, the accusations made are A) Steve Asmussen's team allowed a sore horse to race that led to him colic that led to his death; (His team cusses alot! *OH MY!*) B) a jockey was given an electric shock whip and C) Barn workers are illegal aliens making less tha minimum wage (implying slavery exists in horse racing). And who better to adequately inform the public of these accusations? Why the New York Times horse racing "reporter" Joe Drape of course! Before we go through the accusation, it should be said that Mr. Drape does not attempt to question the charges himself. Every one of PETA's accusations is taken at face value. It is unclear who he works for: one of the world's great newspapers or an organization that kills dogs and cats on purpose to make a point about shelters.

But lets work backwards- the workers making less than minimum wage: believe or not that's normal for all agribusiness, which is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act. This why there is such a demand for migrant workers. No American citizen is going to pick strawberries at $6/hour. Is it right? No. But Mr. Drape does attempt to educate people on this fact? No.

The electric shock whip issue-I am dismissing this out of hand. It has been proven time and time again that electric whips do not make a horse run faster. Again does Mr. Drape educate people about this? No.

The horse running on a sore hoof and being over medicated-The only thing Mr. Drape does is refer to a horribly written article he published in 2012 about drug use in horse racing. Now that horse racing has severely curtailed drug use (see Mid-Atlantic Uniform Drug rules) does Mr. Drape report this? Of course not.

Here is another quote taken at total face value, from PETA's press release: "Nehro was a magnificent horse. He came in second in the 2011 Kentucky Derby, but what race enthusiasts and reporters never knew was that just a few years later, Nehro was racing and training on chronically painful hooves with holes in them. One of the hooves was, at one point, held together with superglue. Nehro's assistant trainer, Blasi, told PETA's investigator, "I know the f***** hurts"―yet Nehro was kept on the track and forced to participate in workouts. Just two years after that Derby finish, Nehro developed colic and went mad from pain. He was euthanized at Churchill Downs on the day of the 2013 Kentucky Derby."

Since when does colic occur because of hoof discomfort? The two issues are completely separate. And guess what, if a horse get an impaction colic, putting him down is THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO. Does Mr. Drape explain in his article? No.

Ironically, I am not mad at PETA. They are just doing what they think is their job. If Mr. Asmussen is abusing his horses, he needs to be thrown out of the business the way Richard Dutrow and Patrick Beicone were and I will applauded PETA for it. At the end of PETA's article about the video, they ask people to support the Horse Racing Safety and Integrity Act. I agree. Of course then they go and demand a boycott of horse racing. Whatever, now you lost me. That helps no one, including the horses.

However, my anger is at Mr. Drape and his 100% acceptance of the video and his 100% damnation of the whole industry as a result.

The only people dumber than Drape are the comments I am reading on newyorktimes.com that accompany the article. "I AM NEVER GOING TO ANOTHER HORSE RACE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!" Never went in the first place I image.

Marq Your Bible's 2014 Campaign Begins This Saturday!

2014-03-19T08:31:00.002-07:00

We are beginning the 2014 racing campaign much differently than we have in previous years. Marq Your Bible has been training as a steeplechase horse for the last few months and first test is this Saturday in Aiken, South Carolina. We are quite excited.

Steeplechase meets are a whole lot different than flat racing. It is still thoroughbred horse racing. Except, A) the horse has to go two miles at a minimum (some races are three); B) over jumps; C) carry twenty to thirty pounds more than he would during a flat race; and D) WITHOUT LASIX (not a rule, but look at the entry chart below. Most horses, including ours, are not on lasix.)

Keep all this mind during the Triple Crown season. Steeplechase shows what a thoroughbred can do (and did) if trained properly.

Colonial Downs to install new statue in honor of Virginia horsemen

2014-03-12T17:59:00.001-07:00

Yeah the meeting went that well. Last ditch effort to salvage something is this Monday at 10 am at a VRC meeting (at colonial downs backstretch).

In all seriousness, Colonial refused to bargain in good faith. They came into the meeting with an already ridiculous proposal of twelve days of racing. They doubled down, stating six day/$500,000 per day purse at the mediation. $3 million, sounds like alot of money to be walking away from, right? Wrong.

Here is the problem with six or twelve days. Lets say our horse, Marq Your Bible, a certified Virginia-bred horse is ready to race. Guess what? Under a six/twelve day meet, he will get to race once and what if he flops as horses tend to do. He will need another race. For stakes horses this is not a problem, they race one or two stakes races at the meet and leave. For allowance and claiming horses like ours, frequency of racing is just as important as the purse itself. Hence, why the VHBA proposal of stretching out the number of days was important.

Now, we hear that Colonial is looking for ~~scabs~~, another horseman's organization who will bow down to Ian Stewart (President of Colonial Downs) every demand.

Colonial Downs and VHBPA Heading for Meditation

2014-03-07T08:11:00.002-08:00

So has to come to this. The Virginia Racing Commission is telling (not asking) Colonial Downs and the VHBPA to submit their arguments to a professional mediator. This is the latest attempt to end the impasse on the number of racing days and amount of money to dished out each, that each side must agree to. There is no word on whether or not this mediation is binding or just another way talk things out. If it is binding, the horsemen are going to get screwed.

Here is Colonial's argument in a nutshell: we are losing too much money horsemen and we want you to pay, among other things, for cleaning up your horseshit (no, really, manure removal is one of the things they want horseman to pay for).

The argument that Colonial is losing money therefore they need to change the business model is an old, old, old sports owner's arguments. Given that Colonial is owned by a privately-held company, they do not have to open up their books to show how much money they are loosing. NFL, NHL, and Major League Baseball clubs do this all the time when negotiating collective barraging agreements with their players' union or when they claim they need a new stadium and want the public to pay for it. They whine about their loses, when in actually they are making money hand over fist. Its only when you take deprecation into account that their balance sheet looks bad.

So Colonial, in my opinion, is doing the same thing. They of course, attempted to put public pressure on the horsemen by shutting down the OTBs in the western part of the state, stating we were to blame. Now they are saying their balance sheet is worse. Why? Because of the OTBs shut down out west.

There is one thing about racing in the Mid-Atlantic that Colonial management should remember. We can take our horses elsewhere. There are six tracks within driving distance. In our case, we have decided to prepare for the worse. Marq Your Bible is currently in South Carolina training to be a steeplechase horse.

Back and Cynical As Ever: Behind the Gate Movie

2014-02-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

I thought I didn't have time to maintain the blog. But after what I saw on You Tube today, my healthy dose of cold cynicism is necessary. Today's victim is one particular horse racing media project: Behind the Gate. (There are a lot of other things going in the industry that have brought me out blog hibernation, but one thing at a time) I just watch the trailer with "Dubstep Mix," which in itself is a knock off from the Rocky theme After some clips from interviews with some pretty big name people, there are two big tag lines "SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE SPORT" and "ITS TIME TO FIX IT." HELL YEAH!!!

But, what, huh? I'm confused. Are you trying to glorify the sport or trash it? My take away is the latter.

So whats wrong with the sport? According to this trailer two things: "We didn't take care of the customer" and "You don't fire a coach right before the Super Bowl," proceeded by "I mean look at Tiger Woods." The first comes from a guy attending Santa Anita. This is a line I have heard a lot and I still don't fully understand it. Every time I heard Andy Beyer say it, it mean that the takeout on the Pick Six was too high. That is for the state to decide, not the track.

As for the second and third lines, I don't know what the guy is talking about. I think, and I don't want to put words in his mouth, he means that the industry has this tendency to retire successful racehorses too soon, thus the public doesn't catch on. If this is what he is talking about, I agree with him. But his examples are poor.

After those choice comments, the film maker shows horses out of control at Santa Anita. The takeaway here in answer to the "WHATS WRONG THE SPORT" is "HORSES ARE DANGEROUS, MAN EATING KILLERS."

I don't know, see it for yourself industry. Is this you?

Would the Real T. Pletcher Stand Up?

2013-03-10T09:26:00.004-07:00

Todd Pletcher is one of the great trainers in thoroughbred race horse industry. On camera, he seems very modest about his victories and always is the best dress person at the track. So....whats up these Twitter remarks? http://www.twitter.com/notthetoddster

OK, maybe its not really Todd Pletcher writing these remarks. Don't you think one would want to get this under control? Particularly statements like "Moving like a tremendous..." That is a sacred statement.

2013 Ok....and we're back...

2013-03-05T06:31:00.001-08:00

We're back...and in 2013, Marq Your Bible has a new trainer. We wish the old trainer the best of luck. We did win an award in 2012. No, no, no, not Eclipse award. We won this....

Marq Your Bible Race #4 @ Laurel #2

2012-10-03T12:15:00.001-07:00

Pictures from Marcus' second race at Laurel Park in Maryland, fourth race overall.

Ever since the storm incidents at Colonial, Marcus has needed a pony horse to keep him calm during saddling. It has worked wonderfully. I can only imagine what words pass between the two. We have been very pleased with all of Laurel's staff, including the gate crew and pony horse riders. They don't get paid enough for what they do.

No Delay (eventual winner of race) didn't delay the race this time.
In Marcus' last race, No Delay didn't want to go in the starting gate.

His race line read "steadied at first turn." I think this is what the racing secretary meant!

Eight of ten, not good, but not bad. He got up as close as third before better horses passed him. He finished only seven lengths back from first. So that's encouraging.

Joe Drape-You Sir, Are A Dope

2012-09-22T17:23:00.002-07:00

The New York Times' Joe Drape is at it again, accusing the thoroughbred industry of drowning in drugs. This time its a video presentation on the front page of nytimes.com. (Here it is, for your viewing pleasure.)

My problem with Mr. Drape is that he (and others...hi Deadspin.com!) is speaking out of whole ignorance. He is pushing this issue in a direction that he hope will get him a medal, not correct the problem.

Peanut Gallery: "Excuse me, what about Doug O'Neil and his suspension?!?!?!"

The California Horse Racing Commission by its own admission, stated that Doug O'Neil's horse (that' s one horse, not horses) was never found to have illegal substances in it. They stated that they THINK that it had an illegal substance.

Peanut Gallery: "Fine, but, but, but...what about the 2012 Triple Crown horses...we are sure they used drugs....surely some of them got busted!"

No, not one, including Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I'll Have Another was found to have any illegal substance in them. Mr. Drape, of course, states only that no one was busted for frog venom.

Here are two other problems Mr. Drape's narrative:

Mr. Drape (and I assume its him narrating) states that drugs are being used to make horses go faster. Then proceeds to talk about pain killing drugs. Different drugs, different problem. Steroids are used to make a horse go faster. The pain killing drugs is a different issue. That is just outright cruelty.

Mr. Drape starts at the video in Kentucky, so I assume he is going to focus on the thoroughbred race industry. He then proceeds to talk about a quarterhorse...in Louisiana..... Mr. Drape (and others), here is you racing education 101: quarterhorses and thoroughbred racing are two industries with a Grand Canyon size worth of differences. Nit picky? Maybe. But it would be like saying their are recruiting violations in the NFL. I would expect someone who works for the New York Times and allegedly covers horse racing full time to point out and know the difference.

Peanut Gallery: "Umm....the NFL doesn't recruit like college football....oh that's the point. Never mind."

Now, I always have to say this. I abhor trainers that abuse horses with drugs. I believe the rules should be tougher. I believe people like Rick Dutrow should be thrown out of the sport forever. However, that's all Mr. Drape ever writes about horse racing: drugs. Its like we don't even run a sport. Just a the biggest drug lab this side of the jungles of Columbia. Is the NFL or MLB covered this way? No, of course not. So, lets just give Mr. Drape an Eclipse Award and get it out of the way. That's what he wants and it will make him go away.

I fully expect Sally Jekins of the Washington Post to do story on the issue this week.

The Good Old Days of the Thoroughbred

2012-08-13T12:10:00.002-07:00

I just read a very good blog post on Statford Hall's web page written by one of their collection's interns. She has been investigating the horse tack in the plantation's stable. Through her research she discovered that Stratford bred a horse named Time O' War, a grandson of the great *pause, wait for it* Man O' War. (one must always take a deep breath before mentioning the name Man O' War. See the orginal Seabiscut movie starring Shirely Temple for reference.)

Anyway, one thing many thoroughbreed breeders are notorious for is looking back at the way the horse racing and breeding industries were run in the days of long ago. Here's why: Time O' War raced 225 times! TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE TIMES and was in the money 37% of the time. All without lasix, modern supplements, or anything else. The writer also discovered this piece of breeding wisdom from Stafford's first resident superintendent:

“The object is not to attempt breeding on a large scale, but to make horses, and good horses at that…So that a visitor to the Northern Neck may see them in the flesh and be reminded of the time when every gentleman of this section had a horse which he was willing to back for a reasonable amount against all comers.”

*sigh* the good old days.

Colonial Meet Over

2012-08-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

Marcus finished 10th out of 11th, wrapping up the Colonial meet with a grand total of $330 earnings! (insert rendition of Stars and Stripes Forever here). Normally, I would not blame the weather for a horse performing poorly, but in this case, I am going to blame the weather. Marcus made four trips to Colonial and only got actually run twice. He is being checked over by the vet today at the trainer's farm to see if he can race again towards the end of the month.

Second race, Try #4

2012-07-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Marcus is go for second race today...hopefully no storms! Race #9, post 14...30-1....ACK! :0 No word yet from Colonial about protest/whine fest.

Now, excuse me, I have to go figure out how Marcus' sister, Prepare the Way a.k.a. Glory, ended up in a field that was closed off to her by a locked gate and a five foot fence.

Between Heaven and Hell

2012-07-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

So, after the drama that ensued that last week at Colonial (and the public meltdown I personally led that I am waiting for someone to post on You Tube), Marq Your Bible is doing OK. The vet has looked him over and X-rayed his front legs. He only has some minor swelling and is doing so well, that he has been entered for this Saturday! (Race 9).

Furthermore, even after all the antics Marcus pulled, his name did not land on the stewards' national list of misbehaving horses. If it did, he would have had to prove to the stewards that he will behave in the future and thus delay any return to active racing. Nonetheless, I have filled an official protest (OK, more like a whine fest) with Colonial Downs. I will let you know what they say.

To say this is a miracle straight from Heaven would be understatement. There was a strong possibility that Marcus' racing career was over. Instead, he gets another chance.Horse racing is a sport where there are no spiritual fence sitters. You either accept and believe in God's message of salvation and accept His help or you hit the bottle and/or start abusing drugs.

Horse racing is among the most spiritually challenging sport around. One does not have teammates to fall back upon, there are no guaranteed contracts, and are thousands of variables that are out one's control. Fortunately, many in the industry have accepted Christ and are very open about their Faith. I reject the notion that horse racing is somehow the ultimate sin and I will explore that topic in more detail later. It is a sport like any other and one that will make you learn real quick how little control you have over Life.

Members of the Sports Media, Listen...For Once

2012-07-20T21:11:00.001-07:00

Is it any wonder that horsemen get mad at the likes of Joe Drape of the New York Times, Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, or Barry at Deadspin.com (whose second post on horse racing in two months simply read "Three Dead Horses at Saratoga) when people like them write insulting, slanderous, and seriously misguided articles about horse racing. What happened tonight at Colonial is an example of why I personally get mad.

After several months of training and waiting, Marcus was being prepared for his second race ever at Colonial. There were some very serious storms in the area, similar to the ones that happened a few weeks ago. He flipped out in the saddling area, kicked the assistant trainer to the ground and took off. .
He is caught 5 mintues later and then somebody did the one thing they shouldn't have done...they brought him back to the saddling area. With only half of a lead line, the assistant trainer (who is an experienced steeplechase rider) had no chance with Marcus. Marcus broke loose again and through the middle of the post parade.

Needless to say, he was taken out of the race. Though the blessings of God, despite all the acting up, Marcus came through with only two minor bumps. He was fit and ready to go. Our trainer had him ready and a fluke storm made the horse act up.
That is why I get mad at you Barry, Sally, and Joe. You have no idea how much we put into this sport and how much we have to put up with.

My Short Tribute to Sham and Pancho Martin

2012-07-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

Word has come out that Frank "Pancho" Martin, long time trainer on the New York Racing circuit has died at the age of 86. I did not know Mr. Martin or his most famous client, Sham, the horse that went toe-to-toe with Secretariat in 1973. Chances are most people's incorrect opinion of Mr. Martin and Sham come via the train wreck of a movie Secretariat. In the movie, Sham, Mr. Martin, Sham's owner, and Sham's jockey, Laffit Picay, jr., were all portrayed as arrogant jerks. Sham in particular was portrayed as a horse straight from the pit of Hell. To say the movie was "Disneyfied," (i.e. watered down plot that removes complex issues from the script and not necessarily because the movie was released by Walt Disney Pictures, Inc.) would be an understatement.

Thus I present a picture of my wife with the evil that is...SHAM!

Yep...real evil. My wife said that when she met him, Sham was about to fall asleep in her arms. It is my understanding that Sham's owner was also a kind hearted person as well as Mr. Martin and well, Laffit Picay has been one of the great ambassadors of the sport.

---------
Equally short Marcus update: We are go for launch on his second race. Race #6, post position 1. Stretching him out to one mile.

The Great Race Name Change Place

2012-07-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

In another MX missile shot to tradition, Santa Antia Park has renamed several of its graded stakes races. The Park's PR Machine stated “This has been an important process for all of us involved with live racing here at Santa Anita,” said Rick Hammerle, Santa Anita Vice President of Racing. “We did a lot of research and tried hard to make sure each name had a tangible meaning, either geographically, historically or culturally." The real reason of course is that Magna...what are they called nowadays since they declared bankruptcy? Magna International Developments? I think? Anyway, Magna Whoever conquered Santa Anita's Fall meet from the Oak Tree Racing Association. Since Oak Tree technically owns the names of the graded stakes races, Magna wasn't about to pay for the rights. So...CHANGE THEM!

Eddie D. Stakes (Gr. III)-- Morvich Friday, Sept. 28
FrontRunner Stakes (Gr. I)-- Norfolk Saturday, Sept. 29
Awesome Again Stakes (Gr. I)-- Goodwood Saturday, Sept. 29
Rodeo Drive Stakes (Gr. I)-- Yellow Ribbon Saturday, Sept. 29
Zenyatta Stakes (Gr. I)-- Lady’s Secret Saturday, Sept. 29
Chandelier Stakes (Gr. I)-- Oak Leaf Saturday, Sept. 29
John Henry Turf Champ. (Gr.II)-- Clement Hirsch Sunday,Sept. 30 Arroyo
Seco Mile (Gr. II)-- Oak Tree Mile Saturday, Oct. 6
Santa Anita Sprint Champ. (Gr. I)-- Ancient Title Saturday, Oct. 6

Naming a race the Awesome Again Stakes has nothing to do with his stud duty. Right? Right! As much as I loved Zenyatta, Lady Secert was a pretty good race horse in her own right. I know...too much to pony (hah! I said "pony") up $75,000 to create a new race. The FrontRunner? Who? What? Really? For those who don't know, Norfolk was the name of a very good race Virginia-bred horse in the way back days. I find this to be a personal insult because the horse was named after the City of Norfolk, a place I have called home for the last 18 years.

The only one I can possibly understand changing was the Clement Hirsch. Mr. Hirsch founded the Oak Tree meet when no one else would fill in the gap in the Southern California racing schedule. So, Santa Antia couldn't have that ink blot could they? Of course I am surprised they didn't name it the Frank Stronach Stakes.

Whats next? Selling the naming rights to a whole race course? Oh...never mind....

Marq Your Bible First Race-Take 2

2012-07-11T07:24:00.001-07:00

Marq Your Bible (a.k.a. Marcus) got to race very late on Saturday, July 7, with Ryan Fogelsonger as his jockey. Marcus entered the gate well. He left the gate well. He finished six of eight. Being that this his first start ever, I was nervous that he would refuse to get in the gate and give the assistant starters a hard time. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. Even with one horse flipping out, Marcus stay perfectly calm the whole time.

The race was 5f on the turf and this is clearly not his distance. Given that he was only starting his run at the top of the stretch and that Ryan said that Marcus wanted to keep racing after the finish line, he needs at least a mile.

Marq Your Bible-Countdown on Hold...

2012-07-01T09:14:00.003-07:00

So...everything was going great yesterday...

That's my daughter's stuff horse "Cute" at the near the finish line at Colonial...

Colonial's pony horses and their riders were as gracious as ever...

Checking out the competition....

Then, 10 minutes to post time....this arrived. A tornado touched down nearby along with some of the most surreal weather I have ever seen. There were lighting strikes across the sky about every 10 seconds. Needless to say, management cancelled the rest of the card. So...we wait until later in the week.

Marq Your Bible-All Systems Go for First Race

2012-06-28T08:51:00.001-07:00

June 30, Race 5 at Colonial- Maiden Claiming $25,000. He has posted at 15-1 for his morning odds. Its a full field of 14 horses and there are some good horses in the race. Horse number 7 for example-Big Dutch: By War Chant out of Dutch Girl, by Holy Bull) and #9-Mott: By Artie Schiller out of Divine Diva, by Theatrical (IRE).

The above picture is Marcus' sister Prepare the Way when she made her first start at Laurel Park in 2009. She had post time odds of 70-1 and ran like a 70-1. But she look good doing it! She improved over time.

Thus, whatever happens in this first race, I am happy Marcus has made it to the track. Diana has done a wonderful job getting him into racing condition and we could not be more pleased.

Marq Your Bible-Gates His Gate Card!

2012-06-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

The bay colored horse on the right is Marq Your Bible with his most awesome trainer Diana McClure. The big new is that "Marcus," as we call him, just got his gate card today! The plan, at the moment, is to enter him in a race at Colonial Downs. Marcus is by Marquetry and out of Red Devillette (by Oh Say). Marquetry (now living out his life at Old Friends) is sire best known for producing sprinters. His two best off spring were Squirtle Squirt and Artax, both Eclipise-awarding winning sprinters. However, as my wife continues to remind me, the female side of any horse must be taken into account. A seemingly obvious fact that escapes many in the thoroughbred business. In this case, Marcus' dam, Red Devillette, excelled at long distance races. We currently are racing Marcus under a partnership (hi Mom!). He was born at Perfect Peace Farm LLC and we still have his mom and one of his sisters.

And My Name is Not Chuck!

2012-06-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is blog is more than comments and rants on horse racing. It is also about living in the country and running a thoroughbred race horse & welsh pony farm. The photo here is one such example. This guy/girl, groundhog/woodchuck showed in our backyard, chowing down on white clover and has returned on three other occasions. My children have name the animal "Nutcracker."

Thus far, I have gotten at least four unsolicited offers from people who wish to eliminate Nutcracker with a .22 rifle. Maybe we should get Bill Murray and some plastic explosives? All joking aside, the danger of groundhogs, of course, is that they create holes in the ground big enough to snap a horse's leg, but too small for them to see. Thus far, I have not located his home base.

The issue with using firearms is that it seems everyone who owns a firearms, thinks they have the shooting and hunting skill of a Marine Corps sniper. There are a number of things, bigger, more fragile things, that it could be hit other than the groundhog. My wife (a.k.a the farm's Lone Equine Professional) has come up with a more effective and more humane solution: chocolate Ex-lax. Groundhogs hate dirty dens (don't we all? I hope.) The Ex-lax would cause him to "soil" his soil. He would then get up and leave.