Needles was the first Florida-bred to win the Kentucky Derby in 1956. His milestone led to a flood of tourists to see the champion in the rolling hills of Central Florida.
Visitors found limestone-rich pastures and spring-fed aquifers under moss-draped live oak trees good for growing strong horses, which led to an explosion of farms in the county. More than 750 Thoroughbred farms dot Marion County's landscape today along with more than 38,000 Thoroughbreds.
Needles was inducted into the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce for his achievement. Four more Thoroughbreds would join him before the national Chamber said, “No more horses, only humans can create an economic impact.” The horse world would disagree to the tune of $2.3 billion annual economic impact, 21,000 jobs and preservation of 195,000 acres in the county thanks to equines.
The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association has launched a digital campaign promoting the successful history of Florida-breds born and raised in the Sunshine State.
The series titled “Florida Thoroughbred History Moment” features an opening and closing image of an old-timey newsreel much like those featured in movie theaters in the 1940s. Along with the sound of the whirr of the newsreel, each video is narrated by the distinctive voice of Hugh Kelly giving an even more nostalgic feel. Based in Florida, Kelly lends his voice perfectly to the series.
Each 'Florida Thoroughbred History Moment' vignette highlights a significant achievement in Florida-bred history focusing on the people, the horses and the farms that have contributed to its success since the industry kicked off in earnest after Needles' 1956 Kentucky Derby win.
As anyone who has trained a horse knows, physical conditioning is only part of the equation — the mental side of an athlete's development can be just as critical to their career trajectory, if not more so. A recent virtual session of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Summit tackled questions surrounding learning theory and behavior in horses, and examined the way our understanding of equine learning can apply to retraining off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs).
Our academic understanding of the way horses learn doesn't always mesh with traditional training methods, according to Dr. Robin Foster, certified behavior consultant and research professor at the University of Puget Sound and Dr. Camie Heleski, equine lecturer at the University of Kentucky.
To understand the differences, it's important to know the basics of learning theory. Learning theory refers to the way an organism, from slugs to humans and anything in between, navigates its environment by creating associations between its behavior and its environment. Generally, different species are thought to have different capacities for learning and cognition based on academic research. On a basic level, an organism may learn from positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or punishment. Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, is designed to increase the frequency of a behavior, while punishment is designed to decrease the frequency of a behavior. The term positive reinforcement describes the addition of something the animal wants — in a horse's case, a treat or a scratch on the face or withers, as a reward for a desired response. Negative reinforcement refers to the removal of something the horse doesn't want.
“In the horse industry, we don't use positive reinforcement enough,” said Heleski. “Negative reinforcement is mainly what we use for traditional training. We squeeze the horse with our legs, applying pressure. The horse moves forward, we remove the pressure.”
Of those three choices, horses (and lots of other species) are shown to learn best through positive reinforcement. Punishment is commonly employed with horses, but isn't actually the most effective way to teach them.
“This is not only true with horses but it is perhaps especially true with horses — when horses do something that is unwanted, maybe it's unsafe, it's not a behavior we're looking for, it's annoying — it draws our attention,” said Foster. “I can't tell you how many people will say, 'I just want to stop that behavior.' It we want to decrease a behavior we don't want, we punish it. But there are better alternatives because punishment itself does not provide any alternative for the horse. It's really important to focus more on the behavior you want the horse to do ad make sure you reinforce that.”
It's easy to think punishment is effective, because it often generates a quick response, but Foster said it's rarely a permanent one. Because the horse hasn't been shown what the handler does want, it's likely the horse will repeat the undesired behavior eventually. This is especially problematic with Thoroughbreds, who Heleski and Foster agree are more sensitive to perceived threats and are therefore sensitive to punishment or reinforcement.
Heleski said she tends to encounter a bias against positive reinforcement in much of the equestrian world because many trainers are averse to giving horses frequent treats. The concern for many is the horse will come to expect food, and become mouthy or pushy in search of it. Most experts suggest handlers ignore pushy behavior and focus on rewards in specific instances where a horse is exhibiting desired behavior — keeping in mind that sometimes, the desired behavior is the absence of something, like kicking out or pawing in a grooming stall. Some horses are especially reactive to treats and will get excitable, searching for the food or trying to guess what their handler wants from them (which, at the start of positive reinforcement training, may be unclear to them). In those cases, Heleski suggests putting a gate or stall door between the horse and handler at first, or dispensing treats into a pan on the ground rather than feeding by hand.
If handlers are really concerned about “mugging” for treats, Heleski said research shows scratching on a horse's withers is a hugely impactful positive reinforcement. The attention, which mirrors mutual grooming, has been shown to decrease heart rate. Foals are also well known to enjoy scratches to their foreheads or the undersides of their necks.
One question Heleski and Foster are asked often is what to do about stereotypic behaviors like cribbing and weaving, which seem to be a focus for some horses no matter what type of reinforcement or punishment is used to stop them. Foster explained that although it may not feel this way, horses aren't doing these things to frustrate the humans around them.
“These repetitive behaviors that bother us — and they really bother people — they are very soothing to horses,” said Foster.
On a biochemical level, many of those behaviors have been shown to provide an enormous stress relief for the horse. It's a coping mechanism for anxiety about something around them. If the horse isn't doing significant harm to themselves, Foster suggested, it may be better to let these things ride. Otherwise, you're trying to take away a coping mechanism that could be very important to the horse, probably without providing alternate stress relief.
The good news for OTTB owners is not only that Thoroughbreds are known as a breed to be quick learners, but they also come off the track knowing a lot already. The racetrack routine includes lots of different stimuli that a horse wouldn't necessarily get in a riding barn.
“If I were to adopt a 3-year-old of another breed, most of the time they would not have had anywhere near the number of experiences that a 3-year-old Thoroughbred has had,” said Heleski. “I think that's a huge selling point to adopting these horses.”
Sharp Azteca was one of the top dirt milers of his generation, and now the son of Freud will aim to pass that talent on to future generations.
In this week's episode of In The Stud, we speak to Tom Hamm of Three Chimneys Farm about the five-time graded stakes winner whose first foals are weanlings of 2020.
Sharp Azteca was a road warrior during his on-track career, with all six of his career stakes wins coming at different racetracks. At three, he took the Grade 3 Pat Day Mile Stakes at Churchill Downs and the non-graded City of Laurel Stakes at Laurel Park, adding an in-the-money effort in the G1 Malibu Stakes.
His best season was at age four, when he claimed the G1 Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct, the G2 Gulfstream Park Handicap at Gulfstream Park, the G2 Kelso Handicap at Belmont Park, and the G3 Monmouth Cup Stakes at Monmouth Park. He also finished second in that year's G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar and the G1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont.
Sharp Azteca is out of the unraced Saint Liam mare So Sharp. He hails from the family of Kentucky Oaks winner Seaside Attraction, as well as Canadian champion Key to the Moon, Grade 1 winners Bowies Hero and Gorgeous, and Kentucky Derby runner-up Firing Line.
The In The Stud series, put together by our friends at EquiSport Photos, features up-and-coming names in the stallion ranks, with a focus on those whose first foals are weanlings of 2020. Paulick Report bloodstock editor Joe Nevills interviews farm staff about the stallion's appealing qualities and what mares might work best with them, while giving viewers and potential breeders a chance to see the stallion on the walk and on the racetrack.
The Paulick Report editorial team – publisher Ray Paulick, editor-in-chief Natalie Voss, news editor Chelsea Hackbarth and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills – takes a look back at this strangest of Triple Crowns in this week's edition of the Friday Show.
From the minute Churchill Downs officials announced in mid-March that the Kentucky Derby would be postponed until Sept. 5 because of the coronavirus pandemic, we knew this year was going to be different. I don't think any of us knew how different.
Kicking off with a distance-shortened Belmont Stakes June 20 and ending with a Preakness on Oct. 3 that may be remembered as one of the most exciting renewals in recent history, the Triple Crown had its share of highs … and lows. We may have learned a few things – some takeaways – from this year as well.
Watch this week's Friday Show below and let us know what your favorite memories were from the 2020 Triple Crown.
The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association has launched a digital campaign promoting the successful history of Florida-breds born and raised in the Sunshine State.