SCOTT: RACING AT TWO NOT A NECESSITY FOR SUCCESS
As Jeff Scott of The Saratogian asks, what do Curlin, Tiznow, Azeri, Mineshaft, Saint Liam, Zenyatta, Pleasantly Perfect and Informed Decision among others have in common? None of them raced as two-year-olds. Before the 2000’s, it was rare for an unraced two-year-old to have much success. But as Scott points out, the first decade of the new millennium has completely changed that trend.
Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think
Tags: azeri, bradford cummings, Curlin, Informed Decision, Jeff Scott, Mineshaft, Paulick Report, Pleasantly Perfect, Saint Liam, The Saratogian, tiznow, zenyatta
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:00 am
The large two-year-old purses of the 60’s and 70’s are long gone, so it makes more sense than ever not to rush babies to the starting gate. If owners and trainers would employ more patience with their young horses—and learn to use each horse’s pedigree as a racing blueprint—they’d see longer racing careers and more profitable investments.
June 22nd, 2010 at 9:43 am
Tiznow, Zenyatta were big horses that were going to take a while to grow into their frame anyway.
But Secretariat, who grew to 16.2 hands, raced 9 times at 2 and that did not diminish his three year old campaign.
Lemon Drop Kid, of similar size, ran six times at 2 winnng The futurity Stakes and returning at 3 to win the Belmont Stakes.
This year Lookin’ At Lucky won a classic after being named two year old champion.
Years ago Swaps race five times from May through July, then started in December to end his three year old campaign. He won the Derby, the Californian at 3 and was horse of the year at age four.
Nashua won six of eight starts at 2 to be named two year old champion, then came back to win horse of the year honors at age three.
It would appear some horses were bred to win at two, if not excel, and then go on to win championships in later years.
The modern classic horse seems bred for less precocity, less soundness, and are handled with more intensive training techniques with greater tendencies to break a horse down through skillfully crafted peak performances.
Or is that statement totally true?
There are still big purses for two year olds to run for: Cash Call Futurity - $750,000; Futurity Stakes $250,000, Champagne Stakes $400,000; Breeders Cup Juvenile $2 million etc.
This year’s Derby winner Super Saver contested the early lead in the Champagne before fading; this year’s Preakness winner ran second in the Breeder Cup Juvenile but still won the diivisional championship. Belmont winner Drosselmeyer broke his maiden in his fourth start at two but his slower maturity rate left him ineligible for the Kentucky Derby.
So the argument about holding horses back seems inconclusive. Some really great horses - Zenyatta and Curlin - did not run at two; Rachel Alexandra, another contemporary great horse did.
Horses which won the Triple Crown events this year all competed at age two. None of them are considered great yet, just useful, one very useful.
If Curlin had run one or two times at two would he have been a bit sharper and won the Kentucky Derby? Was he sound enough to race at two?
Each horse is different and the respondent above is correct that the pedigree is the blueprint.
But I seem to recall Sunny Jim Fitzimmons saying something llke a horse can be held back from competiton but then a hay rack coud fall on him.
Maybe the blue print should be to breed a horse that can win at two and go on to win at three and four and maybe five - and then horse racing will have legends who can be followed year after year to help rebuild the fan base.
Seabiscuit built a fan base because he was durable….
June 22nd, 2010 at 9:47 am
Oops. Those stats for Swaps were for his two and three year old seasons. He of course was horse of the year at four. setting numerous track,American and world records.
June 22nd, 2010 at 10:25 am
Swaps,
Although your namesake is one of my favorite horses of all time, I must disagree with you about the purse monies available for 2 year olds compared to the 60’s and 70’s.
The Arlington-Washington Futurity often carried a $400,000 purse in the sixties (including 1962, the year Ellsworth’s CANDY SPOTS defeated Never Bend). The Hollywood Juvenile Championship was once worth about $250,000. The Del Mar Futurity was worth about $100,000 in 1959—-how much would that be in 2010 dollars?
Not only have 2yo stakes purses (in current dollars) been cut by most tracks, so have the number of them. Hollywood Park once offered five stakes FOR EACH SEX at its summer meet. Now they are lucky to run two stakes. Del Mar carded a number of baby stakes races, as did Golden Gate and Bay Meadows. Even Oak Tree carded more juvenile stakes forty years ago than it does now.
in the east, the spring/summer meets at Aqueduct and Belmont ran a plethora of two year old races. Now its down to just a few. Saratoga has dropped one or two stakes, as has the fall Belmont meet. Arlington Park–once the premier track for 2yo racing—has greatly reduced its stakes program for both sexes. Their Futurity and Lassie–once well funded Grade One stakes–have become almost insignificant Grade 3 events.
And yet the U.S. foal crop has tripled since the ‘golden days’ of two-year-old racing.
While SWAPS and others from that era did indeed race as two-year-olds they were generally spared from the rigors of year-round racing. Swaps was rested from July to December at 2. One exception was HAIL TO REASON, who made 18 starts, all at two, beginning in January at Santa Anita in a three furlong dash. Of course, he broke down in a work preparing for his 19th start–the Belmont Futurity. His stablemate, the great AFFECTIONATELY, also started her career in a 3-furlong sprint at Santa Anita, yet was so tough that she ran until age six!.
If breeders produced racehorses as sturdy as these two champions we wouldn’t be having this conversation. But with the advent of two-year-old in training sales—where buying decisions are based on preview times—too many TB breeders are falling over themselves trying to breed the Quarter Horse types pinhookers want.
Until the insanity of the two-year-old selling process is altered to a common sense approach, we can be sure that early breakdowns will continue to lead to smaller field sizes, and to more owners abandoning the sport.
June 22nd, 2010 at 10:35 am
You named a lot of horses…. how many Triple Crown wins total for these horses ?
June 22nd, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Wholeheartedly agree w/#4 above……..the 2yr old in training sales basically drives the industry…..it’s like the tail wagging the dog. Seattle Slew ran very few races as a 2 yr old, but remained undefeated thru the Triple Crown races. But then again she had a one-of-a-kind trainer who devoted his time and attention to the great Seattle Slew, Billy Turner. I wish more horses were trained in that fashion……….I believe we have the trainers who would bring them around slowly, but it appears most every owner is looking for that “Derby” horse and couldn’t care less about any of the other races no matter how prestigious they are. We need to breed for more stamina, and I believe that’s what Jess Jackson has promised to do, so I guess we’ll see. Hopefully more breeders will go back to basics and breed for the betterment of the Thoroughbred and the “sport of kings” and not just for a shot at the Derby.
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:04 pm
#1 you forgot about the Delta Jackpot thats 1 million.
June 22nd, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Seattle Slew could not figure out how to keep his legs from tripping him up for a while. Billy Turner did a great job with him. When he finally was able to make a turn without running into the barn on the shed row he found out he had himself a racehorse.
Race tracks closed in the winter back in the 60’s. The jockey gold cup and the DC International were the last big races of the season. Horses had time to heal and race again in Fla. in the early spring.
Drugs take the ability from the horse to spring back. They need time to recoup after they have had drugs. Look at your program on any given day and you can’t find ten horses that are not on drugs.
Less racing dates in the winter would help horses in general. Many of these horses could use a little time off say from New Years to Mid Feb..
June 22nd, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Watcher
Thanks for pointing out that Swaps was put away after flopping in the Charles S. Howard. I also recall reading that back in those days some trainers would not race a two year old a mile, and some owners would only race their second echolon horses that far.Many two years olds were turned out for a fall respite, then put back in training. But in those days there were no desperate attempts to get a horse with enough graded earnings to make the 20 horse Derby field come May the following year..
The now $2 million Breeders Cup Juvenile is the big target that can keep high hopes two year olds in training - followed by some big purses in December in California and Louisiana.
I have the book Race Horse Training by Robert W. Collins and his horses got the winter off and were put back in training in late winter.
But way back in Collins day yearlings did not sell in the high six figures or the millions, but today they do and racing is more business than sport - driven by thebig money to be made in the breeding industry. So there has to be year round racing and lots of big money sloshing around so that the big spenders “who deserve to win the big races” can get some cash flow back.
Eskendereya did not get a long racing life but now he will earn back breeding fees to recover capital investment and , in his case, accrued bank interest. Tis will offset the horses that did not win themselves out one way or another. Had they waited to bring Eskendereya out in the summer of his three year old year would he now be in training or still sidelined? It’s always hard to really say.
June 22nd, 2010 at 11:53 pm
Part of the reason that some horses are finding great success as they get older is because their contemporaries get retired at the end of the Triple Crown series, or soon after. When the top horses of the crop are hurt and/or sent to the breeding shed, someone has to be left over to go to the handicap ranks and win races.
June 23rd, 2010 at 6:01 am
Scott brings to our attention some interesting stats but he doesn’t complete the story. Not having the knowledge of a horseman Scott fails to investigate why his list of un-raced two year olds did not reach racing levels earlier. Most horse trainers realize the mental and physical values of light racing at two and do not voluntarily keep them in the barn. Bucked shins, splints, OD lesions all play a role in some babies and sometimes surface at at the peak of fitness negating the opportunity to start. The choice of voluntarily not racing two year olds actually retards progress and is costly! This action as a policy also seriously impacts the industry as a whole, not only in the furtherance of pedigree but by retarding no-price value for public experience and enjoyment. The racing industry is suffering from a dramatic proliferation of claiming races and the declassification of its horse herd. Those individuals who sponsor and promote a “no two year old policy” should rethink their thinking and assert their efforts toward the terrible claiming abuse that is devastating the sport! This is not hypothetical abuse. It is a program that is basically responsible for the loss of public participation!
June 23rd, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Two thoughts:
(1) A horse is ready when a horse is ready. I have a wonderfully talented 2 year old in my barn right now who I think has the potential to win stakes. But she’s nowhere near ready to race, so we’re bringing her along slowly. She might race by the fall, and she might not. The point is she’ll be ready to race when she’s ready to race, and whether it’s at 2 or at 3, she’ll develop as God planned it (with an assist from the training staff). It’s illogical to think that if she doesn’t race at 2, she can’t go on to greatness at 3, 4, and 5.
(2) The Delta Jackpot is $750,000, not a million.
June 23rd, 2010 at 9:44 pm
so many trainers don’t need to put a foundation on their horses, because they have drugs to make up for it in the short term.