Australian racing - Mitchell Lamb introduces us to the tough Australian racehorse
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Heat - how racehorses handle summer temperatures
Although it can be safe to run in the heat, high temperatures combined with high humidity can have profound effects on a thoroughbred’s performance and health.
How would you like to win a $1 - million Grade 1 stakes race and not have a win photo to hang on the wall? The intense heat and humidity the day Big Red Mike won the 151st Queen's Plate at Woodbine Racetrack is why there is no "official win photo" taken by photographer Michael Burns. Trainer Nick Gonzalez, winner of more than 1,000 races, still recalls that day in 2010.
"It was 100 degrees in the shade. We had the Queen and a big crowd. Mike is a very excitable horses, so it was stressful even before the race began" says Gonzalez, who trains primarily out of Woodbine and Fort Eire with his assistant, wife Martha.
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - EUROPEAN TRAINER - ISSUE 38
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Author: Stacey Oke
How do the Australians do it?
Frankel apart, all the talk has been of Black Caviar, the Australian super filly who has swept all before her, winning 21 successive races prior to her Royal Ascot engagement. The five-year-old hopes to join the impressive band of Australian horses that have made waves on the European stage.
Elite athletes - equine or human - need to be structurally sound with the power to perform. Feed them well, keep them fit and ready and will get them on to the track to do what they were born to do - win races. It's the method that saw the legendary Australian trainer Tommy Smith win 34 Sydney training titles and a world record 279 Group One races - "bone and muscle" was coined to describe how Smith's runners would invariably seem to be rock hard fit, in superb condition and always hard to get past in a tight finish.
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - EUROPEAN TRAINER - ISSUE 38
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Author: Mitchell Lamb
Harmonising the rulebook - how can racing be improved?
A harmonised rulebook across the globe would benefit racing, writes Katie Roebuck, but with the world unable to agree on more pressing issues such as climate change or the economic crisis, how easy would it be to implement?
Katie Roebuck (European Trainer - issue 29 - Spring 2010)
Swedish Racing - the head of Taby Galopp suggests inner-city racing
Imagine a handful of race meetings every summer in Richmond Park in London or Central Park in New York, writes Geir Stabell, on turf strips that have simply been rented by the racing authorities, to show off the sport to a wider audience. A sort of a science fiction idea, far removed from the realities of horseracing? Not necessarily.
Täby Galopp, the principal of three racecourses in Sweden, sits less than 20km from the centre of the capital Stockholm, and is thus closer to the heart of the nation than most other racecourses in Europe. Still, plans are in motion to move the racecourse. There are both fascinating and interesting plans, based on new ideas, as Täby Galopp's new managing Director Dag Johansson explains: "We may one day have one venue right in the middle of the city, for three to four big events per year, supported by a 'bread and butter' venue further away from the city.
Geir Stabell (European Trainer - issue 29 - Spring 2010)
NYC OTB: The fight for survival
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Sid Fernando First Published: (14 April 2010 - Issue Number: 16)
