This Side Up: Something Missing in the Modern Derby

The fastest two minutes in sport? Maybe. Only sometimes, these days, it feels as though time is standing still.

Last Saturday we had yet another GI Kentucky Derby where the protagonists had already volunteered themselves before the clubhouse turn. For the moment, speed seems to have a lock on the race. You have to go back to Orb for a closer; and beyond, for the flamboyant pounces of Calvin Borel.

This time round, the first four were all in the first six at the first bend. At the quarter-pole, they were already in their finishing positions. Was this a horse race, or a procession?

The paradox is that while everyone wants to be pressing the pace in the modern Derby, that doesn't seem to involve going especially fast. Once you get your position, it seems you don't have to apply perilous levels of energy to hold it.

The most obvious explanation is the starting points system: sprinters are no longer contributing to the pace because they can't earn a gate in two-turn trials. If that's the case, we need to be very careful about what we're doing to the defining examination of the American Thoroughbred. Because we may find ourselves hammering our genetic gold into stallion ingots in too cool a forge.

Obviously a 20-runner stampede round two turns is a pretty brutal test, by the standards of American racing, and possibly jockeys are now exploiting the dilution of the pace. They feel it's imperative to get a position, to avoid the traffic; but they would get a nosebleed even thinking about Angel Cordero's fractions on Spend A Buck in 1985.

To be fair, a fast surface and the indefatigable speed we associate with Bob Baffert has now produced consecutive times more in keeping with the old days than the three preceding years, where you could have used a sundial rather than a stopwatch to clock them on or around 2:04.

Spend A Buck missed two minutes by a fifth after blazing 1:09.6 and 1:34.8. If that was a historic achievement–putting him behind only Secretariat, Monarchos and Northern Dancer–then the fact remains that only Baffert's lionhearted Bodemeister (Empire Maker) in 2012 has recently posted terror fractions. Take him out, and the other 14 Derby fields to clip :46 for the half did so between 1962 and 2005; while the other eight to go a mile under 1:35.5 did so between 1952 and 2001.

But you can't blame the driver for the engine, so perhaps there's another dimension to all this. Perhaps we need to ask whether breeders are limiting the available horsepower?

The whole point of the Derby, as the ultimate measure of the maturing dirt Thoroughbred, is to find an optimal equilibrium between speed and stamina. We talk about “carrying” speed and, in this unique race, that should imply a really punishing burden.

It's precisely for that reason, indeed, that I am always complaining about the myopia of contemporary European breeders in largely neglecting dirt stallions. Combing speed and stamina is the grail at Epsom no less than Churchill Downs, and those Europeans who claim to be helpless against the Galileo (Ire) dynasty should duly come to the Bluegrass for a solution. After all, I could be wrong, but I always understood Galileo to be the grandson of a horse that won the Kentucky Derby in two minutes flat. As it is, commercial breeders in Europe succumb to a childish dread of stamina and instead pollute the gene pool by mass support of precocious sprint sires without the slightest pretension to Classic quality.

But this is a two-way street. If the trademark of a dirt horse is the ability to carry speed, then what do we most admire in a top-class European grass horse? Well, it's a different brand of speed: that push-button acceleration, that turn of foot. Not Frankel (GB), funnily enough: I always said he really ran like a dirt horse. But most of those European champions imported by the great Kentucky farms, to seed the modern American Thoroughbred, were classical turf dashers: Blenheim II (GB), Sir Galahad III (Fr), Nasrullah (Ire), Ribot (GB), Sea-Bird (Fr), Caro (Ire).

And it appears that the European breeder does not have a monopoly on parochialism. Standing a turf horse in Kentucky is becoming close to impossible, commercially, whether indigenous or imported. If many American breeders nowadays reckon their families can do without the kind of “toe” that distinguished, say, Karakontie (Jpn) or Flintshire (GB), then I guess we had better get used to a deficiency of class in the Kentucky Derby closers–and settle for “speed” horses that don't actually run terribly fast.

We need to strive for the best of both worlds. As it is, the benchmark Classics on both sides of the ocean have lately obtained a ceremonial quality: a virtually private contest at Epsom, to establish which of the top half dozen colts at Ballydoyle has most stamina, and a peloton of sharp breakers at Churchill whose pursuers lack the flamboyance to run them down.

Two footnotes on the last closer to win the Derby. First, his finish was set up by Palace Malice (Curlin), forced into a white-hot tempo he could not maintain (:22.57, :45.33, 1:09.8). Second, Orb is by a son of a top-class French filly. Her own dam, also a Group 1 scorer, was by French Classic winner Green Dancer-whose own sire, Nijinsky, bears historic witness to the transferability of speed-carrying dirt genes to the European environment.

But we are where we are. And, that being so, let's hear it for Baffert. Forget bloodlines, here is a genius who is single-handedly impacting the breed–not least, in this context, by loading Quarter Horse speed into his works. If he seldom bothers with turf pedigrees, then at least he's maximizing class and dynamism in the modern dirt horse.

There seems to be some kind of nebulous mainstream agenda against Baffert, who has just saddled the first Derby winner with no raceday medication since 1996. But our own community has been too ungenerous to one of the greatest achievers in the sport's long history. Since 2000, Baffert has been recognized by one Eclipse Award as Outstanding Trainer. One! That was in 2015, when he had just ended our 37-year wait for a Triple Crown winner.

He's a confident guy and doesn't need to be told how good he is. (Actually I sometimes wonder if something of that rubs off on his horses, too). All the same, he's only human and absolutely entitled to feel affronted by this. With zero disrespect to the fine practitioners honored in the meantime, it's preposterous to suggest that Baffert has been professionally outperformed in 20 of the past 21 years.

Of his seven Derbys, he has won now four with horses who came under the hammer at various times–Medina Spirit (Protonico) $1,000 ($35,000 pinhook); Real Quiet (Quiet American) $17,000; War Emblem (Our Emblem) $20,000 RNA; Silver Charm (Silver Buck) $16,500 ($100,000 pinhook)–for a grand total of $54,500 between them. Maybe that's why Baffert is resented. He has made it impossible for other horsemen to complain that all they lack is opportunity.

By the same token, the greatest achiever of his generation has given everyone hope, wherever they are starting out. And that deserves gratitude from us all.

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: $1,000 Derby Dreams Ignite For Breeder Gail Rice

She's been the wife of racehorse trainer Wayne Rice, the mother of one of the country's top apprentice jockeys in Taylor Rice, and the mother-in-law of Eclipse Award-winning jockey Jose Ortiz. This year, however, Gail Rice is finding herself in the limelight, earning well-deserved recognition for her role as the breeder of a Kentucky Derby contender.

“It's kind of fun, now people are coming up to Taylor and saying, 'Oh your mom, she bred a nice horse,'” Rice said, laughing. “I just can't ask for a dream to come true any better than this.”

Rice, who turns 60 this year, bred Santa Anita Derby runner-up Medina Spirit. The 3-year-old son of $5,000 stallion Protonico is out of the winning Brilliant Speed mare Mongolian Changa, trained by her former husband. While it isn't until the fourth dam that a stakes winner can be found on Medina Spirit's page, Rice — and small-time breeders everywhere — know that black type is just not the most important factor when it comes to how a horse will perform on the track. 

“The mare was just beautiful, even though she had no pedigree,” Rice said. “She bowed a tendon, but she was a really good racehorse. That's something that you know from the inside, but you can't see it on paper. When you have the animal in your hands, though, you can see it.

“I kept telling people, 'This horse can run!' Just his body and his leg, and the intelligent attitude he had, I always thought he was special.”

Medina Spirit is the first foal out of Mongolian Changa, and his entry into the world on April 5, 2018 wasn't nearly as smooth as Rice would have preferred. 

“She was overdue and didn't build her bag of milk at all,” said Rice. “I was watching her thinking, 'She's gonna show signs, get her milk, and be all good.' Then one afternoon I drove in the driveway and she was down in the field, and I saw feet sticking out!

“All I was thinking was, 'But she doesn't have any milk!'”

Luckily, Rice had prepared ahead of time. Her only other broodmare at the time, Scribbling Sarah, was a great milker with strong colostrum, so she'd frozen some of that when she'd had her foal a month before.

The new-to-the-world Medina Spirit got his first dose of colostrum courtesy the milk of Scribbling Sarah, and Mongolian Changa started to produce her own milk about four to five hours after delivering the colt.

Mongolian Changa lost her 2019 foal, and Rice ended up giving the mare away when she made the decision to get divorced later that year. Her colt, the future Medina Spirit, was sent to the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company Winter Mixed Sale, bringing just one bid for the bottom-dollar price of $1,000. The colt would later bring $35,000 at the OBS July sale in 2020 before heading to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Rice let him go; she really had no choice. She could only keep one horse at the time due to the divorce, and she'd decided on Scribbling Sarah since the mare's filly by Mr. Speaker brought $65,000 at the 2018 OBS Winter sale.

That filly, named Speech, would go on to win the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland in July of 2020, then ran third in the Kentucky Oaks held in September. Rice sold Scribbling Sarah right after the Ashland victory, but still has her 2-year-old colt by Unified and is pointing him to the OBS June sale this year.

Speech winning the Ashland Stakes under Javier Castellano

“His nickname is '9 and 4,' so I hope it comes true,” Rice said. “You gotta call it, you gotta speak it; you gotta speak it to have it. It's funny because his sister is Speed, (Niall) Brennan has the Upstart, named Uphold the Law (in training with Michael Stidham, won debut on March 18), and I named this one 'Disruptive.' He's a really fun horse and does little things that make you laugh, like dumping the water tank, curls his lip up when you touch him. He's just incredibly smart, really sweet, and nothing bothers him.”

Thinking back to the fact that Medina Spirit benefitted from the colostrum of a Grade 1 producer, before going on to become a Grade 3 winner himself, Rice is still a bit shell-shocked. 

“It's just crazy to think about,” she said. “I haven't had many broodmares in my whole career, only ever one or two at a time, just playing around. And to have this happen in back-to-back years? It's crazy.”

The daughter of a schoolteacher and a carpenter, Rice was born in Pennsylvania and actually went to school with her future husband. The pair met back up when she was 21 and she started learning about racehorses at Penn National, and has been hooked ever since.

The pedigree side of the business is especially fascinating, Rice said, though she enjoys being hands-on with the young horses as well.

“I love doing the matching,” said Rice. “I might need to make that my new business, but I also like to be outside! It just gets me excited to see the crosses, A.P. Indy here, Storm Cat, Unbridled… it's like craziness and it's nuts and then I don't sleep!”

Sleep will also be hard to come by next Friday night, before the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit steps into the 20-horse starting gate for the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

“Maybe this is when the bridesmaid becomes the bride,” Rice joked, referring to Medina Spirit's trio of second-place finishes in graded stakes company. “If anybody can get him there, though, Baffert can.”

Medina Spirit (inside) fought off Roman Centurian and Hot Rod Charlie the length of the stretch to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes

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Slow Down A Speedy Eater By Adding Chaff

It has long been suggested that domestic horses be managed so they might live a life that closely mimics their wild ancestors—this includes the ability to eat nearly continuously in an effort to prevent issues like colic and choke, reports The Horse.

A recent study has found that adding chopped forage (also called chaff) to a horse' feed can prolong consumption time and reduce health risks. The scientists involved in the study report that blending at least 15 percent chaff with a horse's feed can limit the risk of gastrointestinal, metabolic and behavioral problems. Chaff requires less chewing than longer-stemmed hay, but when mixed with grain or pellets, it can slow down a horse that eats rapidly.

A series of studies out of Australia investigated factors that may affect the rate of ingestion, including the addition of chaff to meals. They used two different chaff lengths and considered each horse's breed, weight, gender, meal size, amount of exercise and palatability.

The scientists determined that adding 15 percent chaff to oats prolonged feeding time by up to 50 percent. They note that this addition is based on all-oat meals, so the amount of chaff needed to slow down a horse that is gobbling pelleted or textured feed maybe different.

No difference in feeding times between chaff length were denoted, but longer chaff may slow horses even more. The amount of exercise had no significant effect on feeding time, nor did meal size, age or gender.

The team suggests that horse owners and caretakers slow their horses rate of intake early in the meal, whether by adding chaff to grain meals, providing forage first, mixing feed with hay or extending mealtimes with things like a slow-feed hay net. Additionally, feeding fast eaters first or separating horses to feed them may prevent a horse from bolting his feed and improve equine welfare.

Read more at The Horse.

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Study: Whip Use Doesn’t Improve Steering, Finishing Times In Races

Researchers say a new study published in the open-access journal Animals fails to support the most common justifications for whip use in Thoroughbred racing. The research team was led by cultural anthropologist Dr. Kirrilly Thompson and its third author was Dene Stansall, horse consultant for the animal rights group Animal Aid in Britain. The team set out to examine whether whips improved a rider's ability to steer, prevent interference, and to ride horses out to their best ability.

Whip use is believed to give every horse, jockey, owner and trainer an equal chance of winning. Researchers say that the idea of whip use being critical to racing integrity is a cultural belief and that its actual impact on steering and safety have not previously been scientifically studied.

For the study, the team looked at stewards' reports for 125 British flat races that included 1,178 jockeys and their horses. Of these, 67 races were considered “hands and heels” races, where whips were carried but not used, and 59 races where whip use was permitted.

The team compared stewards' reports between hands and heels races and conventional races and determined there was no significant difference between the two groups as far as interference or drifting on course or reported incidents of jockey misbehavior. Steward reports in both categories indicated an urgent need to improve steering, which prompted the team to suggest racehorses be better trained to respond to weight shifting or opening a rein to prevent drifting.

The team also found no statistical difference between finishing times in hands and heels versus conventional whip races, which researchers interpreted to mean that horses were no more compelled to maximum performance by use of the whip. The study did not appear to examine differences in an individual horse's performance in races with and without conventional whip use.

The team recommends whipping-free races could be adopted without compromising racing integrity. They also note that any costs to introducing whipping-free races would be exceeded by the benefits to horse welfare and public perception.

Read the full study here.

Read more at HorseTalk.

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