Opinions
Scroll down the page for - Earle Mack / Sid Fernando / Arnold Kirkpatrick
The Alan Balch Column
If memory serves, the first for me was Swaps, that mind-boggling California bred, winning the one in Kentucky in 1955. I didn't even hear of Santa Anita's until years later, and Kentucky's was on the radio. Who knows why I was listening to it, but I guess that winner stuck with me because of the "funny name."
I became more and more horse crazy as the years went by, so the Kentucky Derby was mandatory listening for me, and then watching on television. I particularly remember Carry Back in 1961, probably because I had him in one of those barn-pools and won some cash, when he beat Crozier ... but there was also that fascinating pedigree (by Saggy out of Joppy) and, later, all the ridiculous moves of his owner Jack Price that somehow he survived. No wonder Red Smith, the legendary Pulitzer Prize winning sportswriter, loved racing above all others: "there are more stories at the track than anywhere else."
In our sport -- the greatest of them all -- we have many creatures of various descriptions and talents who actively join together in the teams competing in each race. Unique among them is the amazing non-human who naturally and instinctively competes.
Does advertising work? How can you tell? What makes it good? How much should we spend? Why should we spend anything at all? Whatever we budget, how should we spend it?
A horse trainer without a high school diploma based his entire and considerable success on one aphorism, and relentlessly reminded his students and peers: it’s what you learn after you know it all that really counts.
With the closure of iconic Hollywood Park, the sport is relying on hope even more. This year could be critical.
Earle Mack Opinion
The Sid Fernando Column
Plot: An ambitious two-pronged plan is hatched by some guys in Hong Kong, to take a local horse from Sha Tin Racecourse to the United States with the aim of winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on dirt in early November. First, though, they'll prep in a Grade 1 race on dirt at Santa Anita in California in early October as a practice run for the main event.
Read Sid Fernando's excellent column on how race tracks across North America are shedding the All Weather tracks and returning to Dirt surfaces. But just why would they want to do this?
His like is endangered nowadays. I was jolted by thoughts of this while watching the HRTV broadcast of the Eclipse Award Ceremony from Gulfstream Park on January 18. Wise Dan was the equine star of the evening, a "people's horse" in the same way as Curlin. He, too, is a two-time Horse of the Year and top older horse, plus top turf horse. But Wise Dan is a gelding, and he's by the unheralded Wiseman's Ferry. And he's a turf miler - the weakest division of North American racing.
The Arnold Kirkpatrick Column
The story of Black BessNot to toot my own horn, but, in 1973 when I was
editor of The Thoroughbred Record, I was invited to Panama for the
Clasico Internacional del Caribe, because the organizers wanted a
"distinguished journalist" to cover the event for an international
publication.
Arnold Kirkpatrick (October 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 22)
When
Pope Gregory I consolidated the eight 'evil thoughts'of the 4th
Century Christian monk Evagrius Ponticus into the Seven Deadly Sins, he
perpetuated what I believe may be one of the classic errors of all times
by excluding "Arrogance"from the list. In my opinion, "Arrogance"
should not only be on the list, it should be .
Arnold Kirkpatrick (11 December 2008 - Issue Number: 9)
The Members of Congress were clearly bored and frustrated.One
commented, The six members of this panel can't even agree on what to do;
why should you expect us to believe that racing can handle this problem
on its own? Another yawned.
Arnold Kirkpatrick (14 October 2008 - Issue Number: 10)
It was just a small item buried in the middle of the Thoroughbred Times
TODAY, last November 19, but it aroused in me a deep sense of foreboding
as an omen of a dark future for racing:;Mountaineer Race Track, the
Chester, West Virginia, track officially has changed its name from
Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort to Mountaineer Casino Resort
and Racetrack."
Arnold Kirkpatrick (14 February 2008 - Issue Number: 7 )
Among the myriad of adages that aficionados of the Thoroughbred game
have devised over the years in an attempt to explain our complex and
often perverse sport, one of the most enduring is "It's not the size of
the horse that’s important; it’s the size of the heart in the horse".
Arnold Kirkpatrick (01 December 2007 - Issue Number: 6 )
As this issue of The Trainer reaches its readers, the Thoroughbred
industry will be approaching its single most important day of the
year-not January 1, not Derby Day, not Breeders' Cup Day - I'm talking
about the beginning of the major yearling sales season.
Arnold Kirkpatrick (01 October 2007 - Issue Number: 5 )
I've been to the Kentucky Derby 27 times -16 as a member of the press as
part of a team of writers and photographers who covered it for the
Thoroughbred Record, and the others in every capacity from a drunk in
the infield to the ultra-exclusive box reserved for heads of state and
some of the biggest bigwigs invited to the race.
Arnold Kirkpatrick(01 July 2007 - Issue Number: 4 )
">Pan•a•ce•a [pànnə sée ə] (plural pan•a•ce•as) noun. supposed cure-all: a supposed cure for all diseases or problems.
Arnold Kirkpatrick (19 May 2007 - Issue Number: 3 )
It ain't gonna happen - not in this country, not now. . .and, most likely, never.The week prior to this year's Breeders' Cup, Daily Racing Form and Washington Post columnist Andrew Beyer launched a gratuitous missile at the US racing operation of the Maktoum Family in an article where he claiming that they are trying to "buy the game" and that .their domination of U.S racing will harm the sport in an important, if intangible way.
Arnold Kirkpatrick (19 October 2006 - Issue Number: 2 )
CTT Opinion
Are any of us old enough to remember a time when the training of
Thoroughbreds was about providing enough care and enough exercise to
obtain optimal performance? I suppose such a time existed, but not in
recent memory. Hands on therapy and horsemanship have been replaced by
fast acting and less labor intensive drugs and medications. By way of
example, in the last decade we have seen the elimination of equipment
such as the whirlpool tub.
Edward I. Halpern, CTT Exec - (14 October 2008 - Issue Number: 10)
There was always an air of levity at Bob Baffert's barn when Eoin Harty
worked there. Not that the game they played wasn't serious. It was.
Preparing 1,000-pound equine athletes with spindly legs to perform at
their peak on the world's stage is not a job for anyone in short
pants.During the seven years Harty was Baffert's assistant, they won the
Kentucky Derby twice - with Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet in
1998-and missed by a heart-breaking nose with Cavonnier in 1996. But in
between the regimented tedium, there was always time for a good hoot.
Fact is, it was and still is part of Baffert's DNA.
26 June 2008 - Issue Number: 6
The Federal Government has stepped up enforcement and prosecution of
EMPLOYERS who hire undocumented workers. Felony criminal prosecution and
fines are being imposed for employers who cannot show they have taken
the steps required in the hiring process.If as an employer you have a
perspective employee fill out the Form I-9 (U.S. Department of Homeland
Security Employment Eligibility Verification form), and you examine the
required documents, you will not be fined or prosecuted, even if it
turns out that the documents were falsified and the employee turns out
to be an undocumented alien. Of course, if you knew the worker was
undocumented, you can still be fined or jailed. Therefore, it is
strongly recommended that you follow the procedures that are outlined
below.
Edward I. Halpern (14 February 2008 - Issue Number: 7)
The appeal by the "Save Bay Meadows"Committee was heard before the
1stDistrict Court of Appeals on September 19. By all accounts, a
decision is due by the Court before the end of the calendar year of
2007. If successful, the citizens group will push that the Bay Meadows
development be put to a vote by San Mateo residents as to whether they
want the proposed project to move forward. If the appeal is denied, it
basically ends any hope that Bay Meadows will not be developed in the
near future. It seems almost certain that Bay Meadows Land Company would
start their project in the fall of 2008.
Charles E. Dougherty, Jr. CTT Deputy Director (First Published: 01 Dec 2007)
Warren Stute has changed barns. If he can hear me, I know he will smile.
I always took his smiles as more than just smiles. They were messages
of approval. Warren exercised horses for as long as he was able. When he
no longer could do that, he rode his pony until he could no longer do
that. For the last few months, he would walk back and forth to and from
his barn. Near the end, his son, Glen, would almost have to carry him to
the track and back. But Warren wouldn't give up. He was a horse
trainer. Nobody who gives up is a horse trainer. Everyday with every
horse is a new challenge and a new inspiration to keep trying.
Edward I. Halpern, CTT Exec - (01 October 2007 - Issue Number: 5)
As the summer fair racing circuit of 2007 starts to wind down, the
anxiety as to what Northern California's overall racing circuit will
look like starts to grow. By all indications, Bay Meadows will not race
after 2008.While many horsemen held out hope that Bay Meadows would be
spared of their development plans and continue to race, that scenario
looks less likely each day. In fact, the Bay Meadows Land Company (BMLC)
is telling the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) that they would
only like to race until July of 2008. It is very disappointing that BMLC
has taken this position, as they made such an issue of not originally
being granted an exemption for the synthetic surface mandate. The CHRB
granted the waiver, with BMLC now saying they can't race past the summer
months. Go figure! The CTT is very involved in negotiations in trying
to get Bay Meadows to commit to a stabling program through the fall if
they do not race after July of 2008.
Charles E. Dougherty, Jr. CTT Deputy Director (01 October 2007 )
California is racing into the future, or maybe not. As of writing, there
is turmoil and uncertainty as to how racing will develop in the
immediate future. A long-term prognosis is even more uncertain. The
California Legislature has placed a stranglehold on funding for the
California Horse Racing Board.
Edward I. Halpern, CTT Exec - (01 July 2007 - Issue Number: 4)
Twin Palms in Pasadena was jammed with 400 guests on April 23 to honor
Joe and Barbara Harper of Del Mar at the annual Edwin J. Gregson
Foundation benefit hosted by California Thoroughbred Trainers.
About $100,000 was raised for the foundation, which since its inception
seven years ago, has raised close to $1 million specifically for
educational purposes for backstretch workers and their families.
Steve Schuelein (01 July 2007 - Issue Number: 4)
The New Year Brings New Benefits to California’s Trainers and Their
Employees.This edition brings news of two Christmas bonuses for trainers
in California. The first is an accident and disability policy that will
be provided without cost to trainers who are in the CHSA Workers’
Compensation Program. Trainers who are injured at the workplace are not
covered by workers’ compensation because employers are routinely
excluded from such coverage. Fortunately, because of the financial
success of our program, we are about to announce a policy that will
provide accident and disability coverage for trainers. This coverage
will be at no cost to participants and will provide up to $500,000 in
medical benefits and $200 in weekly wage loss indemnity for up to two
years. It is anticipated that additional coverage will be available for a
very small premium. We are hoping to announce the rollout of the
program by January 1, 2008.
Edward I. Halpern, CTT Exec - ( 01 December 2007 - Issue Number: 6 )
Alan Balch looks into the hope that every cloud currently hanging over California racing has the silver lining every race follower is praying for. With more racetracks closing and trainers unable to make a living the long term future of California racing is looking doubtful.