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Scheinman: Remembering Hall Of Famer Xtra Heat, Horse Of A Lifetime

Xtra Heat was one of the most fun stories of my racing writing career. “Big, old, dumb hillbilly” trainer John Salzman, African American businessman owner Kenny Taylor and partner Harry Deitchman – she was the horse of their lifetimes and one of the greatest sprinters who ever lived. None of them would ever admit they fell in love with her, and they readily sold her when it came time, when they saw fit. Sentimentality did not fit their profiles.

All three men were into fast and cheap horses, and the one that made them more than $2 million didn't turn their minds on how they did business.

They got her for a nickel ($5,000) after a vet told her owner she'd probably never make it to the races, the lesions in her stifles were so bad. She looked runty and was named cheap, after a gas company – not exactly Princequillo, Round Table or Secretariat – but it proved apt. Xtra Heat ran like she was lit by rocket fuel.

Bargain-hunter Taylor dropped that $5,000 on her at a 2-year-old sale in Timonium, Md., and, holy mother of God, she beat pretty much every top sprinter in the country from there on out.

At the start, only the locals knew how good she was. She won her first five races at the lesser precincts – Laurel, Philly and Delaware – like a laser beam, and when she got to the big stage, Belmont Park, for a Grade 2 baby race called the Astarita, the know-it-alls in New York let her go at nearly 8-1 and she beat Gold Mover, who went on to win over $1.5 million.

Next, the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and a route of ground were asking too much for her, and she finished 10th, but that was a mere aberration; they had put her in the wrong game. Once Salzman got that definitive proof she was “just” a sprinter, he never stretched her beyond her limits again. How the hell Cat Chat beat her by a nose at 3 in Belmont's G2 Nassau County Stakes is beyond me, but losing to Victory Ride in Saratoga's G1 Test (at seven furlongs) was legit. Victory Ride was excellent, but even she needed that extra furlong. At six panels, against Xtra Heat, everyone else ate her dust.

Xtra Heat won 26 of her 35 starts, 25 of them stakes races. That's flat-out obscene, so many stakes races, and a modern record for distaff runners. She was named Eclipse Award-winning champion 3-year-old filly of 2001, and taking a cursory glance back through history, she may have been the only sprinter ever to do that. Definitely the only one going back to 1971. The $5,000 bargain earned nearly $2.4 million on the track.

Xtra Heat only won one Grade 1 race, the highest class, and when she became eligible for the Hall of Fame, there was a little too much chatter for my taste about her having mostly built her gaudy record in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania, not New York, Kentucky and California. I vote and I would vote for her until I croaked, but turns out I didn't have to, thankfully. She was one of my three objectives when I was proudly brought into the Hall of Fame voting circle: Xtra Heat, King Leatherbury (who turns 90 on March 26) and Safely Kept. All three are in.

The rider Xtra Heat was most identified with, Rick Wilson, lost the mount on her when he was severely injured in a terrible turf race accident in 2001 at Pimlico. He broke a leg and a bunch of ribs, and it took him 54 weeks to get back. At his lengthy peak, he was one of the bedrock riders of the Mid-Atlantic ovals, good on all surfaces and at all distances, and ranked among the all-time leaders in some categories despite never having the big horses of the more famous jocks.

Xtra Heat was his big horse, and he lost her.

Wilson was replaced by another journeyman, Harry Vega, and, for one race, in the Breeders' Cup, Jorge Chavez. Even Chavez was second tier in New York. Salzman never got jumpy and went after some big hot shot to look like he knew what he was doing. He stuck with the riders he trusted.

I have vivid memories of both Wilson and Vega openly weeping as they guided Xtra Heat into the winner's circle following victories at Laurel and Pimlico. You ride thousands of races and sweat pounds off until you can barely stand up, skip foods you love, and work seven days a week, early morning into the setting sun. You fall off and get back on, and fall off and get back on again, and you do it far, far from the bright lights mostly because you love it down in your core, and then you climb atop that piston hurricane?

You're damn right they wept.

In May 2004, 15 months after Xtra Heat had been retired, Wilson had been back riding, and I was there at Pimlico the day he fell off one coming out of the gate and got kicked straight in the face by his own horse's left hind hoof as he attempted to roll out of harm's way.

I stood up there in the press box looking down – could barely move – with a cup of clam chowder in my hands, watching him lay motionless, face down, as blood pooled around his head.

I snapped awake, in horror, and had to get to work.

Wilson, such a good guy, his head forever ringing, never rode again.

All of this floods back after learning this wonderful, fast and fierce little animal Xtra Heat has died.

If you ever saw the remake of the movie “True Grit” with Jeff Bridges, well, Xtra Heat is kind of like Little Blackie in my mind. She'd run like the wind for you as far as she could, carrying whoever is necessarily strapped to her back. Both put a lump in your throat, and for cynical racetrackers, that's saying something.

Nearing the end, in a stakes race called the Endine in September 2002 at Delaware Park, Xtra Heat rang the bell again, and Salzman, who when riding high couldn't hide his Cheshire cat grin, turned to me and beamed, “She's just like a cash register.”

Being businessmen, he and Taylor and Deitchman sold Xtra Heat in a private deal after she finished sixth a month later in the Breeders' Cup at Arlington Park, which is now gone to the wrecker and the Chicago Bears for a new stadium.

New owners Classic Star Stable campaigned her three more times under Salzman before sending her off to breed, and Xtra Heat went out of top with back-to-back stakes wins, the finale at home, in the G2 Barbara Fritchie Handicap at Laurel.

Who was back aboard the last three? Rick Wilson.

Toward the end of her run, because it was part of my job, I kept pestering Salzman and Taylor about whether they'd sell her. I was going to make sure it didn't happen without me writing it first.

As I put it in one piece, they wanted to “get out while the getting is good.”

First and foremost, Salzman was practical, and a damn smart hillbilly, but through his rascally veneer, I could see – even if I was projecting a little – he was amazed to be tied to this almost mystical animal.

“How long. do you think she can last?” he wondered aloud to me one day.

Turns out she made it to 24, John.

RIP, Xtra Heat.

John Scheinman is a two-time Eclipse Award-winning writer and former Turf writer for the Washington Post

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The Pandemic And Horses In Need – What Are The Facts?

You may have seen the comments on Facebook: “Shelters are full from pandemic adoptions being returned now that everyone's gone back to work!”

Or maybe you saw someone who needed help but were told not to call their local shelter because “they're all full.”

So what's the truth?

Well … it's complicated.

But—and you may be surprised to hear this–it's mostly good news. At least for equid sector of shelter operations.

Let's start with the pandemic fact: During the pandemic the demand for horses (and other animals) skyrocketed. While prices in the private sector shot up, and supply shrank as equids of all types were purchased. Adoptions at animals shelters also went through the roof. In fact, many cleared their paddocks…at least temporarily.

The Equine Welfare Data Collective (EWDC) Fourth Report, which details intakes and outcomes among welfare organizations across the country, tracked changes in intakes and adoptions from January 2018-December 2020.

Shelter intakes and overall surrenders of equines went down sharply from January 2019 to June 2020. Like way down. Good, right? Well, this is where things get complicated and why we may feel like surrenders are now increasing drastically, as well.

Because in all honesty, they are.

But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

During the pandemic many shelters had to close their doors to owners seeking help. Local ordinances forced shelters to limit operations to strictly animal care. In areas without restrictions, shelters needed to protect their staff and limit contact with the general public. That meant shelters were not able to coordinate nearly as many intakes of equines in need.

So what happened to all of those equines and owners that needed help during the pandemic? They had to wait. Now shelters have opened their doors again and those owners are reaching out for help in what looks like a crisis level surge. While this new surge of desperate owners might seem like it can overwhelm the welfare community, in reality it hasn't yet met pre-pandemic levels.

Are you following along?

Overall intakes and adoptions both dropped, though adoptions far outpaced intakes, resulting in what felt like a mad rush to bring home a new horse. This was both good and bad. Intakes and outcomes have not yet rebounded back to pre-pandemic levels, as of the most recent data from 2021. The EWDC Fifth Report that details information for all of 2021 continues to demonstrate that welfare organizations are working hard to accommodate owners in need. The data from 2022 is currently being analyzed as you read this and will be published at the end of the year. However, it is likely to continue to tell the same story.

Let's look at some numbers, thanks to data collected by the EWDC and the United Horse Coalition (UHC):

There are over 900 equine welfare organizations operating in the United States.
Those 900 equine welfare organizations have a daily capacity of about 47,000 equines.
These have historically operated on any given day at about 85% capacity.
Which means there is room for roughly 10,000 equines in need.

When the pandemic first began there was fear within the equine industry and welfare community of a repeat of 2008.

What happened then?

There were anecdotes of horses starving in paddocks, being set free on the side of the road and owners in financial crisis. All of these were calling on overflowing rescues for help, only to be turned away. The conversations surrounding the pandemic were focused on avoiding a repeat. I think the industry as a whole managed to do it. And that should be celebrated.

The financial crisis of 2008 inspired the growth of assistance services within the equine industry and welfare community. These services include hay banks, husbandry support, veterinary support, euthanasia and disposal support, mini grant programs and more. All of this with the goal to help owners in need keep their horse when appropriate.

Flash-forward to 2020, and COVID support was found everywhere, including the horse industry. The UHC's own COVID-19 support page saw over 15,000 hits in nine months. Owners across the country felt the need to be proactive and planned for the worst, while hoping for the best.

We can't yet anticipate the future, and things like rising hay costs, diesel prices, and continuing inflation have the industry once more on alert. Rising intakes may not mean there are more horses in need. Instead, it may be that we're getting better at intervention before things get bleak. We can identify and network with horses and owners in need and offer a hand before it becomes a critical neglect case or worse.

There will always be horse owners in need and the equine welfare community is doing an extraordinary job to support them. It's important to continue to discuss equine welfare with facts and not rely on anecdotes. While anecdotes may be true, heard in isolation they propagate a half-formed narrative. They're not the whole story. We can't effectively develop programming with anecdotal evidence. It's important to zoom out and view things on a bigger — more national — level.

Furthermore, having the capacity to help means nothing if we're not willing to network and support each other.

So, how can we all improve horse welfare?

We, as an industry, need to increase owner support. If you're a business or industry association, this could be done directly through funding assistance programs, or indirectly via educating customers and association members on where they can find help. We also need to do better with elevating our fellow equine welfare communities at the national level. Owners can't reach out for help if they don't know where to ask, and welfare organizations can't supply help if they aren't able to access owners.

Supporting good welfare means meeting horses in need at the source – their owners in need.

If you know an owner in need, please direct them to the UHC Equine Resource Database. This is a free to use, searchable directory of all the known equine welfare and assistance programs available in the United States. The database can be found at www.unitedcoalition.org The UHC is always happy to partner in education and outreach initiatives to help owners understand options if they ever find themselves in need.

Lastly, this article was only made possible by the data supplied by the Equine Welfare Data Collective. The EWDC is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive industry driven data collection, analysis and reporting initiative. Formed in 2018, the EWDC collects, analyzes, and reports data on equines in need, organizations supporting them, and owners seeking help. The EWDC is a grant-funded program that relies on industry support to operate. To learn how you can support the EWDC, reach out to the United Horse Coalition at UHC@horsecouncil.org You can view all of the EWDC reports for free at www.unitedhorsecoalition.org/ewdc-reports

Emily Stearns is the Health, Welfare, and Regulatory Affairs Liaison for the American Horse Council.

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The Friday Show Presented By Walmac Farm’s Core Beliefs: Colebrook Duo Hits The Derby Trail

Trainer Ben Colebrook can be forgiven if he wasn't in the Aqueduct winner's circle following last week's Gotham Stakes victory by Andrew and Rania Warren's Raise Cain, a Violence colt who rallied from off the pace on a sloppy track to win by 7 1/2 lengths at 23-1 odds. With the win, Raise Cain earned 50 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, virtually assuring him a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May.

Colebrook, who saddled Raise Cain and gave jockey Jose Lezcano a leg up, watched the race in an Uber en route to nearby Kennedy International Airport for a flight to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport and a short drive to Turfway Park to saddle Scoobie Quando in another Derby prep that night, the John Battaglia Memorial.

Scoobie Quando, an Uncle Mo colt also owned by the Warrens, ran well over the Tapeta synthetic surface but could do no better than finish second to Congruent under jockey Luan Machado – earning eight points. To qualify for the Derby, he'll likely need to come back with a top three finish in the March 25 Jeff Ruby at Turfway, where the stakes will be much higher: 100 points to the winner, 40 to second, 30 to third, 20 to fourth and 10 to fifth.

Colebrook, a former Christophe Clement and Fred Seitz assistant who took out his trainer's license in 2012, is looking forward to his first Kentucky Derby starter – and maybe even two in the same year.

Colebrook joins Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills on this week's Friday Show to talk about his big day at Aqueduct and Turfway, and what's down the road for both Raise Cain and Scoobie Quando.

Watch this week's episode of the Friday Show below:

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Newsday: New York State Is Right To Help In Belmont Renovation

It was a case of dueling editorial boards at two New York newspapers last week on the subject of rebuilding Belmont Park with a $455 million loan from the state to the New York Racing Association that was included in the budget proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The New York Post, which for many years had extensive horse racing coverage and several members of its management team that enjoyed the sport, was first out of the gate with a scathing Feb. 26 editorial. Under the headline “Time To Douse NY's Horse-Racing 'Burn Pit,'” the editorial board wrote that the public “supports the tracks to the tune of $200 million.” That statement is in reference to the revenue from VLTs at the Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct that was part of an agreement approved by the state legislature in 2008. The deal had several elements: renewal of the racing franchise with the New York Racing Association that runs until 2033; an agreement for purse money, capital improvements, and NYRA operating expenses to come out of VLT revenue at the casino built at Aqueduct; and transfer of ownership rights of racetrack property to the state.

Three days after the Post's editorial, Newsday – which serves Long Island where Belmont Park is located – countered the anti-Hochul, anti-horse racing narrative with a commentary headlined, “State Is Right To Help In Belmont Renovation.”

The Newsday editorial focused on the economic impact horse racing has, saying the track and stable area “form their own mini-city, housing more than 80 training-related small businesses, employing up to 2,000 people at the busiest times of year, and featuring a health clinic, day care facility and more.”

Newsday also highlighted the benefits the state would get out of selling or developing the 115 acres of prime real estate on which Aqueduct sits. The proposal to rebuild Belmont calls for Aqueduct shutting down once construction is complete.

The editorial outlines how NYRA would pay back the loan, earmarking about $26 million from its annual capital improvements budget over 20 years. That's from the VLT revenue all parties agreed to in 2008.

Newsday said a reimagined Belmont could bring more people to the track and improve flagging attendance, but it also said the state needs to make sure NYRA maintains its commitment to prioritize safety of horses and those who work with them.

“This version of the Belmont Stakes can be a win,” the editorial concludes, “if Hochul and the state legislature get the redevelopment across the finish line.”

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