Focus

We've been all over the map in recent months getting the next group lined up and ready to go. This was mainly because interest has come from all over the country, though not enough in any one spot to make that one place a gimme for buying a horse. I think that one of the main reasons to get into a partnership is to see your horse race live, visit the barn, be in the paddock before a race. To me, all that is priceless - plus the works on the backside in the morning. That's just a slice of heaven.

However, you can't be all things to all people, so there needs to be a focus and if that keeps some folks from joining us along the way for right now, then so be it. I've decided that we're going to focus on Canterbury Park next summer and drill our focus down to a horse that can run there as well as either Tampa and Remington (if we race with Bernell) or Chicagoland (if we race with Tammy). Heck, if there is enough interest, we'll do both, but the focus is on racing in Minnesota next summer.

There are several reasons for this focus and, obviously, none of them are purse related. Of course just throwing that out there makes it seem like we race for scraps up here and that is not true. I would call our purse structure lower mid-level. We're certainly not rock bottom, but our allowances top out in the mid-twenties. As we proved with Fizzy Pop, though, you can make some money up here if you race where you belong.

Here are the reasons in no particular order:

- You have to start somewhere and rather than be scattered all over, I'd like to start building off of Fizzy with a group nearby. It's easier for me to control the day-to-day here.

- Canterbury Park itself. As many of you already know, I think Canterbury runs one of the most inventive and fun racing meets in the country. Partners that race with us here are going to have a fun summer.

- It's home. There is something about racing at home in front of family and friends that is just over the top. I've been in the paddock at Santa Anita and it's marvelous, but it's not home. Not saying I don't want to do it again, however, because I do!

- Costs. Costs are very manageable here. Training fees are fair and, more importantly, vet fees are fair. I've seen vet bills from racing in NY, NJ and CA and for the same services, you can't beat the Midwest/Florida. It simply makes fiscal sense.

There you have it. My two main requirements are that we run here in the summer and that whatever horse we claim or private purchase can compete elsewhere. I may be cutting off some folks in other locations and to them I say, thank you so very much for your interest. I hope that we'll be racing your way soon, but right now we're going to focus on methodical growth and that starts at right here at home. It's important to do things right and you can only do that if you are focused, not scattered. HBT9WWH64CZH

If you're interested, please drop us a line, I'd like to finalize the group and have a horse in training in January. It takes a while to rev up and get ready to race and trying to get something going three weeks before the meet starts is about three months too late!

Observations of a Rookie

It's been a great weekend at Canterbury Park. We had opening night on Friday and yesterday an even larger crowd turned out for day two of the meet and the Lady Slipper and 10,000 Lakes Stakes events. I showed up a bit later in the card to catch the two Stakes as well as the Upper Midwest 2-Year Olds in Training Sale being held after the races. About 20 horses were consigned to the sale, all but two of them two year olds. Most were Iowa and Minnesota breds, but there were a couple of Kentucky breds in the sale as well as a couple of Florida breds. The Florida breds were of particular interest to me since we race in Florida over the winter, but I was more interested as a casual observer rather than a buyer. If I told you all that trying to get Miss Belle Express to the racetrack and that whole experience didn't leave a bit of a scar, I'd be lying, so I'm going to stick with claiming horses for a while.

I approached this more as a casual observer rather than on any kind of reporting mission. There appeared to be over 30 buyers and with only 20 horses, things were looking up out of the gate. The first gal through the sale was Sunny Silver, an Iowa bred bay filly by Silver Ghost out of Colonial Currency. The gavel went down on her at $21,000. Looking back a few generations - and I have no idea how this all nicks together (in the vernacular of the trade) - she has Mr. Prospector, Pleasant Colony and Buckpasser in her family and I figure that has to be a pretty good thing. Again, how they all work together is beyond my scope.

WARNING SHAMELESS PLUG: Technically it's not shameless because it's not about me, but anyway... When I attend an auction with the intent to buy, I would go to Star of the North Bloodstock. Proprietor David M. Miller (below, left, working the pedigrees with auctioneer Lyle Booster) got me into the partnership business and has a nice eye for horses. The fact that he loves what he does makes him that much better at doing it. This goes back to my philosophy of knowing what you don't know and then either learning or hiring experts for assistance. David buys horses all over the country and travels to the Kentucky sales religiously, so you're not limited locally. When the economy swings a bit, I'd love to put together a bit of a more expensive group and go to Keeneland with David and try to nail down a nice black type runner - take the big shot, if you will. But I digress (and am NOW starting to get a bit shameless!)...

The horses went through the ring without a hitch thereafter. A few friends had their eye on some horses, most notably Allegretto (Posse - Di Graza Girl - Top Account) and Sasha's Fierce (Include - Pareepassoo - Distinctive Pro). Allegretto was sold privately before the sale and Sasha's Fierce was the sale topper at $25,500 (consigned by Wood-Mere Farm). Obviously they have good taste - if not the wallet to grab either of these two.

The quickest worked the day before in the Under Tack Show was Hip # 16, Sheso Dazzling (Dazzling Falls - Wa Sarah - Wa Bert) who went a furling in 10.94. This did not, however, translate into the highest selling price of the day but into a more modest $12,000.

This started a conversation at my table regarding the quick works of young horses leading up to a sale. The analogy I often use is if you push a two-year old to run hard and fast too early, isn't that similar to teaching an 11-year old how to throw a curve ball? A child that young is bound to suffer some damage by the torque created in the throwing motion. Isn't a 2-year old subject to damage if their joints are not fully capable of handling such work? The California Thoroughbred Breeder's Association has published several interesting reports on quick sale workers and the correlation to success on the racetrack.

My friend Janet brought up a really interesting point. It would be great to know who prepped the horse for sale. If you know the mindset of the trainer, you can get to know whether or not the young horse is getting ready at his own pace or if he is being pushed past his limits in order to get the best price. Bernell Rhone has always told me, it's not necessarily the speed of the work, but how they did it and how they came back from it. Another reason why hiring a bloodstock agent or other horse professional is a good idea - this is what they get paid to know.

As the sale moved briskly along, there was only one of the 18 that entered the ring that was no saled. Pretty good everyone at the table thought. Until we realized that there was at least one consignor buying back their stock. Not exactly a sale. I don't have the final numbers on the sale, but they should be posted on the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association's website shortly. I'll be interested to see just how many of the horses were bought back and how many were actually sold.

The steal of the sale - maybe. White Earth (Demidoff - Storm in Sight - Storm Bird). This filly had some issues at the under tack show and was unwilling to be worked for the preview. Folks that saw her performance said it didn't seem like an angry type of bucking, more like an "I don't feel like doing this" kind of bucking. I wasn't there to see it, so I can't comment but with grandsires Mr. Prospector and Storm Bird the $2700 may be a bargain (I don't know about the Secretariat cross, but it was fun seeing him in her pedigree!). She'll go into my stable watch and we'll see how she turns out.

In all, it was a fun experience. I have some horses to watch now going forward and though none will join Fizzy Pop in Bernell's barn, it broadened my horizons just a little bit more.

CANTERBURY STAKES ROUND UP

The Preakness Stakes and the promise of sunnier (though not much warmer) weather brought over 9,000 fans to the race track yesterday to witness the first stakes races of the season: the $35,000 Lady Slipper Stakes and the $35,000 10,000 Lakes Stakes. Perennial leading trainer Mac Robertson and perennial leading jockey Derek Bell joined forces to sweep both races.

In the Lady Slipper Robertson trainees Bella Notte and Thanks for the Tip took the field one-two for all six furlongs. Thanks for the Tip made it interesting in the stretch getting to within a head, but Bella Notte repelled the challenge to win by a length and three quarters.

Bell and Robertson teamed up again to nail down the 10,000 Lakes with 8-year old Canterbury favorite Sir Tricky. Captain Canaveral bolted to the early lead and the Tammy Domenosky trainee had the measure of the field until he started drifting slightly in the stretch under Paul Nolan. That was the opportunity the aging warrior needed and Sir Tricky pulled clear to win it by two.

Ah Chicago...

"That toddlin' town. City of the broad sholders. Hog butcher to the world. Home of the pig-sicle."

- Hawkeye Pierce, M*A*S*H*, "Adam's Ribs" (November 26, 1964)

Chicago and I have been flirting now for a few months. We're up, we're down. We're together, we're not.

Before the economy really went south last fall, I had touched based with Tammy Domenosky, an accomplished thoroughbred race trainer to see if she would be interested in training for a group I was trying to put together to run at Hawthorne and then here at Canterbury over the summer. I had met Tammy here at Canterbury a few times and I really liked her commitment, style and skill with horses. She had done right by several folks I know already and was really starting to make a name for herself. A young trainer on the rise. It was a great opportunity.

As the fall turned to winter and the market kept a tumbling and folks' 401(k)s became 201(k)s, our core group of potential partners whittled down to next to nothing. There is no question that disposable income was hard to come by. We all know that this business is not for the faint of heart. You don't get in to make a fortune, you get in to have some fun, watch your horse run and be a part of one of the greatest games on the planet. We've all heard all the marketing angles:"Own your own sports franchise"; "Be a part of the sport of kings", etc. I've even used some of the trite expressions in my own advertising. The bottom line is, though, you're in it for the love of the game, the beauty of the animal, the thrill of the race. Ask my wife, I'm a nervous wreck before a race, but it takes me back to the same kind of nervousness I used to have before I ran in a race or before a game - and I'm addicted to it. I want to bring that kind of thrill to as many people as I can and, yes, our goal is to make money for our partners. It's hard to be successful, but it has to be your goal. Know the risks but do what you can to make money.

I digress. As Chicago and I flirted through the winter, we never quite got close enough to consumate the deal. In the interim, we purchased a controlling share in Minnesota-bred Thoroughbred Miss Belle Express and a small (12.5%) stake in Standardbred I Am Woman through VIP Stables. In addition, we continued to watch Fizzy Pop's progress back to the races. Missy and Fizzy were in Florida and I Am Woman was back East prepping for what we thought would be a season of racing at the Meadowlands or Yonkers. As for the Hawthorne partnership, I pulled the plug about a month ago and took down the offering from the website. "Nice try", I thought, "but bad timing." It happens.

As you've read here, I Am Woman qualified at the Big M, but it was thought that she may not have what it takes to compete there just yet. She's a smallish filly and she looked like she needed some seasoning and time to mature - if that was to come at all. So where does she get shipped off to? Chicago! And what does the little lady do when she gets out here? She reels off three straight wins and garners a good deal of attention - mostly thanks to Janine Starykowicz and the exposure she has given this blog over at Chicago Barn to Wire the last few weeks. I am extrememely grateful for the readership and welcome to those of you following thanks to the links. Readers unfamiliar with Barn to Wire may want to click and take a look - you will not find finer or more complete coverage of Illinois racing as you will there.

After a tough fall meet at Hawthorne, what does Tammy do the first weekend back racing? She goes three for three including winning the Merry Colleen Stakes with Mongoose Gold at nearly 7-1, sits near the top of the trainer standings and has compiled over $53,000 in earnings. Not a bad weekend of work and a testament to her ability to get horses ready to race.

Now I'm torn. Do I start beating the drum for Hawthorne/Canterbury again or just leave it alone? The business has to grow, but are we just spinning our wheels at a time when folks just don't have the money to get involved, even if they really want to? I don't want to just throw spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks, but if there is truly an opportunity here, I don't want it to pass by. After removing all mention of Hawthorne and a new claiming group there from the website just a month ago, is it just flaky for me to put it back up again? That is a real concern, too. I don't want us to be seen as a group that is running around everywhere with no real plan. But when opportunity knocks, can we afford to ignore it and not change up the plan a bit?

Oh, Chicago - you are SUCH a flirt!