The Girls

It has been quite a while since I've mentioned either of my horses, known collectively as The Girls.  They are getting older and it is hard to believe that fifteen years have passed so quickly.

One of them, Callie, my dark bay paint will be seventeen late this year and most likely had a bout of colic last weekend.  While she didn't evidence some of the classic signs: rolling on the ground or nipping at her sides, she was listless and her quiet eyes were dull and hooded.  There was an 11 p.m. call to our vet who prescribed 10cc of Banamine.  She was some better the next morning, but often stood motionless for long periods, her eyes nearly closed or she napped on what little grass there is in a February pasture.

We put her on half-rations which she largely picked at, so with growing concern, a flurry of text messages passed between my vet and me.  On the second night more Banamine was needed, but I had used all I had the night before.  Thankfully the next option was Previcoxx, an anti-inflammatory, that we keep on hand because of Callie's past Navicular problem.  By late the second day she seemed to come around, hassling her sister Stormy and nuzzling me, looking for comfort.

Stormy (Stormy Monday), soon to turn nineteen, a black and white paint horse, has had her issues in the recent past.  Grossly obese at nearly 1100 pounds and standing just 14.3, she began to limp.  Sensitivity and blood tests showed that she is metabolic, unable to absorb glucose and showing the first signs of laminitis.

Life-style changes were made quickly.  Her activity levels were raised significantly (which she hated).  She was started on  a course of Previcoxx and Isoxsuprine, a combination that relieved the pain in her front feet after just a few days.  And her sweet feed became a memory as we transitioned both horses to a Purina Welsolve LS (low starch) feed, which they loved and devoured, always looking for more.

The last box to be checked was getting Stormy fitted for a grazing muzzle.  I'll save the story of how I got her to accept the muzzle for another day.

Today Stormy is a trim 868 pounds and she looks better than at any time since I've owned her.

So now it's time to introduce, or reintroduce them to you as the case may be, but in a most unusual way.

A friend of my wife's, Cris Fee, is an artist, a fiber artist who creates art quilts that are stunning works and have been exhibited in juried shows throughout the country. Some of her work can be viewed on her website: https://crisfee.com/.  This is her latest:

"The Girls" - Stormy on the left and Callie.

Just a few more words about The Girls.  They are friends first and foremost, their likes and dislikes as familiar as my own.  They seek comfort from me when the are scared or uncertain and warn me when things in their world are perceived as a threat.  Sometimes they are lazy and uncooperative and other times playful brats. They give and take on a whim.  Callie, the performance horse, a powerful sweet child, can be guided with just a thought and Stormy, who has tested my leadership for fourteen years and will for another fourteen, I hope.  Her feet barely touch the ground in flight, her tail raised in fluttering salute to her joy in being a horse.

I wouldn't have them any other way.

A Few Desperate Moments

Geronimo had been in custody for 367 days when the second Wyoming Territorial Fair opened on September 6, 1887.  In Sundance, Wyoming, Harry Longabaugh, alias the “kid” (yes, that Sundance Kid) and his accomplice, were busy stealing Tom McCoy’s horse.  In May, Montrose, ridden by Isaac Lewis, beat Jim Gore in the Kentucky Derby.

Cheyenne’s newspapers bannered headlines that ran the gamut from the sensational:  He Will Be Hung, to the mundane: Compulsory Education.   According to one paper it was a world that still lived in fear of Indian uprisings, while it raced headlong into the modern era.

And although the Wyoming Territory had mandated Women’s Suffrage in 1869, it would not become a state until July 10, 1890.

September 6, 1887 was a very long time ago.

Attendance needed a boost after the disappointing opening day crowd in 1886.   The Cheyenne and Laramie Club Cup Race, sure to draw large crowds, would be the highlight of the fair’s opening day. The clubs were comprised primarily of rich cattlemen, those who survived the devastating, cattle-killing winter of 1886-1887 with more than the shirts on their backs.   The eligibility rules were simple: only members could participate.  The horses, themselves thoroughbreds, must all be Wyoming bred, “or (from) so close to the line of the territory as to be acceptable to the committee.”  This was particularly helpful to the owners of three of the mounts entered by Davis and Choate.  N.R. Davis was president of the Cheyenne National Bank and his partner, fellow Bostonian and jockey E.C. Choate, owned the Owl Creek Ranch located 12 miles south of Cheyenne in Weld County, Colorado.

The jockeys must also be members of the “club,” and weigh a hefty 150 pounds.  The winner’s bounty was $100, bragging rights for a year and a Tiffany trophy, itself valued at $500.   Win the race twice and the trophy was yours to keep!

By afternoon the streets of Cheyenne were all but deserted.  It was “a trifle too hot, but this did not particularly worry those who occupied the reserved seats in the grandstand.  The grandstand “is bright in the interior with sky-blue painting.”

 

The track for the 1-1/8 mile Cup race was “conceded by the horsemen to be in the best possible condition.”  Happily, “the enclosure about the track was lined with carriages and the grandstand was well crowded.  Many of the spectators were ladies who naturally added to the interest of the occasion and contributed to the excitement during critical stages of the racing.”

Three horses were entered by Davis and Choate.  Climax, a sorrel gelding, was ridden by F. M. (Francis Morgan) Ware, son of a prominent Boston Unitarian clergyman.  His silks that day were crimson and purple.  Climax was sired by Huerfaus by an unknown dam.

Resplendent in magenta and black silks, E.C. Choate rode Bashaw, a chestnut gelding. The third member of the Davis and Choate cabal, Wyoming, a bay mare, was ridden by Captain Wyndham Quinn who wore blue and white.

F.M. Ware and Climax September 6, 1887

There were four other entries: co-favorite Endebar, a grey gelding ridden by Sterling Birmingham, Trouble, a bay gelding ridden by G.A. Saportas and Dee Dee, another bay gelding ridden by F.T. Islin.

Betting was heavy on the two favorites, Endebar and the difficult to manage mare, Wyoming.  There was nearly $2000 in the betting pool.

“Cantering” to the starting line, the horses were nervous, even impatient, “evidently understanding that a great struggle for supremacy was about to ensue.”  With Dee Dee on the pole the horses were “off like the wind” as the flag dropped.

 Wyoming drove to an early lead with Dee Dee, Trouble and Climax in pursuit, followed closely by Choate’s Bashaw.  Birmingham, riding co-favorite Endebar, evidently a closer, “pulled his horse and dropped back until the 3/8 pole was reached.”

The race was “for blood.”

Early front runner, Wyoming, gave way to Dee Dee at the half mile while Climax lurked in third place with Trouble trailing the field.  The tough mare, Wyoming regained the lead at the ¾ mile mark.

 At the 3/8 pole Endebar began to close on the leaders with a burst of speed under Birmingham’s whip and spur. But Endebar’s run came to naught, he was just too far back.

 “Up the home stretch it was a race for life.”  Trouble racing from “hindmost” in a headlong charge gained the lead in the stretch.  Nearing the finish-line it was Saportas’ sorrel gelding, Trouble, head and head with Climax.  Both horses were nearly identical in appearance with Trouble being a “trifle” smaller.

In the rhythm of their hooves there were desperate moments as each horse reached its limit, their lungs burning with jagged breath, nostrils flaring and blood red with effort.  It was Climax by “half a neck” at the wire, or was it Climax by a head?  The result was reported both ways.  Many said it was a dead heat, “…there was a decided confusion of tongue.”  Climax was declared the winner and “…the great throng of people on the grandstand rose to their feet and cheered loudly.”

The game Trouble was followed home by Bashaw, Endebar, Wyoming and Dee Dee.  After the race Captain Quinn, who rode the troublesome Wyoming, made it clear to anyone who would listen that it was not his fault that Wyoming finished fifth, because “… he was not acquainted with the peculiarities of his mount.”

And the winner is...

Climax’s race passed in 2:16, a snail’s pace when compared to the North American record of 1.45 flat set in 1988 by a four-year-old, Simply Majestic, who carried just 114 pounds.

 Davis and Choate prided themselves on bringing their horses along slowly over several years, so it is no surprise to find that Climax, born in 1878, was 9 years old when he crossed the finish line in 1887.  Considering his age and the weight he carried, Climax ran a pretty good race.

The winner’s circle photo shows a thirty-year old Ware sitting comfortably astride Climax.  After the style of the day his stirrups are very long, and he appears to be wearing spurs.   The face behind his brushy florid moustache is without emotion.  He seems comfortable with success and in fact success seemed to follow him.   He is a Harvard graduate, Class of 1879, and during his lifetime he will write three books concerning the horse (still available with a Google query) and many articles for magazines such as Outing.  Interestingly, he wrote extensively about harness racing.

He also managed The Brockton Fair Horse Show for 28 years and served as manager, treasurer and auctioneer of New York City’s American Horse Exchange.  These are just two of his many successful enterprises.  F. M. Ware died of pneumonia in 1926.

 It is the brand, ND over a bar raised in scarred relief on Climax’s left shoulder that first grabs your attention.  The brand is a derivation of one registered in 1872 by N. R. Davis, once the largest cattle rancher in Weld County, Colorado.  But horses were his passion and in 1887 Davis owned more than 200 mares with foals at their sides.

Climax is alert, his ears pricked, and he stands rock steady facing the photographer. His features are refined and dominated by a broad white blaze and one white stocking.  He is muscular but not particularly tall.  After another fashion of the 1880’s, his tail is cut quite short which robs him of the length and grace his body possesses.

The voice on the phone belongs to Roda Ferraro of the Keenland Library, “We don’t run into too many dead ends, but on this one we did.”

The Cheyenne and Laramie Club Cup race is Climax’s only race of record. * **

In the horse-drawn world of 1887, horses lumbered over rutted roads carrying us to work, to school, and to war.  That horses could still bring us to our feet, could make us cheer ourselves hoarse, could give us moments of escape from the stifling boredom of humdrum lives and the prison of backbreaking labor is still a thing of wonder.  Climax was one of those horses.

*Confirmed by Allan Carter, Historian, National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

**Climax has been a common name for thoroughbreds.  From 1885 through 1889 another horse named Climax raced along the East Coast from Gravesend and Saratoga to Lexington, Memphis, Nashville and New Orleans. In five years he raced 53 times and was in the money 79% of the time.

Sources:

United States Census 1880, Massachusetts, Suffolk, Boston

Northwestern Livestock Journal 9/9/1887, Pg.4 Col. 3 & 4, #12

Cheyenne Daily Sun 9/7/1887, Pg.6 Col 3 & 4, #173

Cheyenne Daily Leader 9/6/1887, Pg. 3 Col. 1, #173, Pg.2 Col 1, #287

Cheyenne Daily Sun 9/6/1887, Pg.6 Col. 3 #151 (#25)

Cheyenne Daily Leader 9/7/1887 Pgs.3&4 Cols. 2,3,4 #265 & #101

Alan Carter National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

Jennifer Alexander Wyoming State Museum

Linda Fabian Wyoming Historical Society, Laramie City Chapter

Sources Cont’d:

Daniek Long, Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum

Roda Ferraro, Keenland Library

Lenore.Harriman@Greelygov.com, Brand Registration

Molly Countryman, Northwest Livestock Journal 8/19/1887, Pg.4 Cols. 1,2,3,4

John J. Devine, Research Services Department, Boston Public Library.

Two Minutes to Glory: The Official History of the Kentucky Derby, by Brodowsky and Philbin, Pgs. 66 & 67

Photos:

Author’s Collection

Ranger

My friend, Steve Woodruff and his 17-year old horse, Ranger have roamed over every nook and cranny of Montana it seems, all without incident.  But as we know, a horse can find mischief or injury almost anywhere.  And in fact just a few months ago, Ranger did, and to this day Steve has no idea what actually happened to him.

If you have a queasy stomach, you may want to to take a look at a feature I've done on Steve's incredible photos in my post, "Step Off The Sidewalk."

Ranger Gashed.

Steve's vet stitching Ranger up.

Healing.

"What a fine day to be a horse-and a horseman-in Montana."

Ranger in a very recent post by Steve.

And finally:

Steve and Ranger on the prowl.

Steve is retired as a teacher from the University of Montana at Missoula.  His prose are witty and his photography captures light and emotion in incredible ways.  

I  hope you enjoyed this short pictorial essay.

Copyright October 31, 2018 by Loren R. Schmacher

All photos by Steve Woodruff.

Now He's Just Immortal

By the time this post is published I will have been to visit Justify at Winstar Farm in Versailles. Kentucky.  My wife and I will take as many pictures of the horse I've called "the living statue" as possible and add the best ones later.  We'll keep the crappy ones on our computer and no one will be the wiser.

None of the photos taken by his admiring fans have captured his imposing size, 16.3".  Nor does the poor light of Winstar's viewing area do justice to the beauty of the copper coat that stretches across his ribs, or the muscle mass gathered in knots beneath skin that threatens to rupture. 

This is Justify.

No, in most of the photographs he seems to slouch, his muscular frame a bit atrophied, his color washed out and his expression dull and lifeless.  Perhaps he is mortal and not the mountain I have seen bolting from a starting gate, dashing to the lead and carrying his speed until that speed breaks the horses in his wake.  His turn of foot reminds me a good bit of California Chrome and like Chrome, the innate ability to turn back the pressure that came to him.  To Bob Baffert the key to each of Justify's six races was the same: Justify had to get away cleanly from the starting gate.  With Baffert the strategist and the tactician, Mike Smith aboard, Justify romped, with strides thought to be longer than Secretariat's, to 9-1/2 and 6-1/2 length margins in his first two races.

Justify jumping tracks in the mud at the Preakness.

But wait a minute, his six consecutive wins were not enough for many.  One of the chief complaints, one most champions have had to reckon with, the caliber of his competition.  Yet those in the know felt the 2018 Derby field to be the strongest in many years.  He is a proven winner on dirt, whether dry or in the primordial glop of Churchill Downs, or the Preakness.  And in the Santa Anita Derby he ran with a sprung shoe (I understand that is not uncommon). Proving that he could run at the front or stalk from just off the lead as he did in the Derby, haunting Promises Fulfilled before leaving him in his wake.

A loose shoe on Justify's right front during the 2018 Santa Anita Derby.

2018 Kentucky Derby

If the lack of quality competition were not indictment enough, here are some comments about Justify's confirmation that appeared in a thoroughbred chat room that I belong to...and sometime wish I didn't.  No names though.  

Lovely shoulder.

I don't like him.  I honestly cringed when I saw it.  Post-legged behind, very upright pasterns...but his front legs seem off.  (Off what, his body?) Nice hip, but I still don't like the appearance of his hindquarters.

I like the length of his neck.  Pretty face.  He is nothing compared to American Pharoah.

Wouldn't pay a cent to breed to him.

...but a horse with confirmation like that, who had physical problems as a yearling, wasn't sound enough to race at two and retired unsound after four months at the track...  I wouldn't send a mare to him even if he was at $20,000.

...it will take an impressive mare to throw a foal that doesn't have some of his more major faults.

...looks like a typical Ghostzapper.

I will add that some of the comments are made by former race track denizens, exercise riders, grooms and several who specialize in breeding and confirmation.

When asked where they would rank Justify among the thirteen Triple Crown winners, the groups were equally unkind.  Most ranked Justify near the bottom of the list and one ranked him ahead of American Pharoah.  This person is usually unhappy if their ice-cream is cold.  One thoughtful person said, "Not bottom, but not top. Still a really great horse who could have probably gone a lot farther later in his career,"

Then I added my wordy two-cents worth: Its all subjective.  He is not number one, but after all he did win the Triple Crown  and I don't care what people say about him, (and I have heard and seen written a lot of sour grapes regarding him lately) he is a damn fine horse. I saw him in person on Thursday and I can tell you that having seen both CC and AP immediately upon their retirement, Justify looks much the worse for the experience. He is not a particularly pretty horse, especially when compared to AP. He is extraordinarily muscular and it is obvious that it will be months before he is no longer a race horse. He is anxious, restive and bores very easily. It is evident to me that there was and may still be a bit of a problem on his left rear. Could be just the hair, but it looked like he may have had a procedure of some kind. I could be dizzy with oxygen deprivation. I was very, very surprised that he was still wearing shoes! To me he looks tired and he may well be. 200 pounds and several months rest will make him a different horse. I really think we should all be glad that he survived. As far as ranking, well, he is in the top 13.

Manage

This is the only good photo (Including mine) that I have seen of Justify taken at Winstar.
I believe the photographer is Delana Harp Bryant.

These are my comments after seeing Justify:

I saw Justify today and I was not as impressed as I thought I might be. He is not as massive as he appears to be in most photographs, or when he is underway. The irony is that several others on the tour felt exactly the same. He also looks a little worse for wear to me, there is the cinch rub that you can see in this picture and you can tell something has been going on in the left hind. He is fit to the point of being almost too trim, perhaps a bit over trained, who knows? His muscularity is incredible however and his hind quarters are massive. His back legs have been criticized as "post legs" and having pasterns that are too upright. I looked and I looked again and I don't believe there is a major problem back there. He does have foot problems and Winstar are allowing him a lot of r & r. He seemed very restless, but you would expect that with his having so recently been in training. Part of what I observed may be answered by a comment made by the tour guide. When asked if he were being ridden, as half of the Winstar stallions are, she said that if he were saddled today he would mentally return to his last race, The Belmont. And then there is that biting thing. But when he puts on a couple of hundred pounds and is rested and begins to relax, he will be spectacular. By the way, his coat shimmers in the light. I saw both AP and CC shortly after they retired and just thought they came out of their careers in better physical shape. Mentally, who knows? They can't tell us what they are thinking or how they feel and that is the shame of it. All in all Justify is the Champ and I am still a fan.

As a horse racing fan, I am sure you have your own opinion regarding Justify and his place in horse racing history.

Listen to Larry Collmus' call of the last race of Justify's gloriously undefeated and all too short career. Pay attention to what he says of Justify as he crosses the finish line.

 "And now ,he's just immortal."

2018 Belmont Stakes with Larry Collmus' call.

Copyright September 17, 2018 by Loren SchumacherAll photo rights belong to the photographer.I will post my own shortly.

At The Post

This was a post I did for Facebook's Justify Fan Page  yesterday, July 12, 2018.  I was profoundly surprised by the overwhelming response to what I had written, and doubly surprised by the class shown in the two or three "criticisms" posted in response.

"I happened to see a picture of Barbaro yesterday and was struck by the similarities between him and Justify.  Perhaps it is just an illusion, or I've lost my mind, you can tell me, I won't mind.

Both are chiseled, ripped into elemental muscle and the sinew that holds all things together and cloaked in burnished, hand rubbed beauty.

The legend, Barbaro at the Preakness.

The living statue, Justify.

I could find no reference to Barbaro's height, although Edgar Prado, his jockey, said he stood 17 hands high, while Justify is an inch shorter at 16.3.  Even their records are the same.  Justify is undefeated at 6-0 at this point in his career.  Barbaro was undefeated with six wins entering the 2006 Preakness where he broke his right hind leg leaving the gate.  Ironically, it was the magnificent Bernardini who won the race.

Barbaro's Agony with jockey Edgar Prado.

Even though there was never a chance that Barbaro would race again, no expense was spared by his owner, Roy Jackson, in trying to save his life.  While the leg healed, it was laminitis that made euthanasia necessary after an eight month struggle.

A nursery rhyme sums up the effort expended in trying to save Barbaro's life, "...all the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty together again." 

His trainer, Michael Matz said, "I think the mystery will always be how good could he have been?  I'd like to think he'll be remembered as one of the best.  He certainly brought a lot of people together."

We can all hope that this is where the similarities between Barbaro and Justify end."

In the fog, Justify leaps tracks in the turf during the 2018 Preakness.

Justify.

Copyright July 12, 2018 Loren R. Schumacher

Credit for all photos goes to the photographers.  The author makes no claim to them.

A Tale of Two Horses: Arrogate and Gun Runner

Before the 2017 Breeder's Cup Classic, Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey said that Arrogate, the swashbuckling hero of the Dubai World Cup, had left his best races behind him.  Bailey, for the second time on national television, mentioned that the race had taken the measure of Arrogate, had gutted him.  Fans of the horse they call Big Blue were enraged when Bailey also declared that the powerful chestnut horse Gun Runner had surpassed Arrogate.

Arrogate training at Santa Anita in February of 2017

After finishing second to to Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup, Gun Runner reeled off three consecutive GI wins, including the Stephen Foster and Whitney Handicaps and the Woodward Stakes, while Arrogate stumbled to a fourth place finish in the San Diego Handicap and a much improved second in the Pacific Classic.  Before the Breeder's Cup, Gun Runner's career record stood an 10 wins in 17 starts, but he had never won at 10 furlongs (1-1/4 miles).  His trainer, Steve Asmussen said, "He's had a lot of travel, a lot of fast races, and he is better today than he has ever been."

Gun Runner

Arrogate had shown blinding speed, the ability to race on or off the pace, and to win from anywhere on the track surface, regardless of the distance.  But the Del Mar turf was his bugaboo.  Arrogate had already lost twice on the Del Mar surface and his jockey, Mike Smith said that he had difficulty getting a hold of the track. Many looked askance at his world's number one ranking yet still made him the 2-1 co-favorite with Gun Runner entering the Classic.

Dana Barnes aboard Arrogate

While training well at Del Mar, there was guarded optimism in the Arrogate camp, but Bob Baffert, seeming to hedge his bets, arrayed a four horse juggernaut against Gun Runner.  Up and comers Collected, who won the Pacific Classic this summer, West Coast, winner of the Travers Stakes and the Pennsylvania Derby, along with the improving Mubtaahij, winner of the Awesome Again Stakes, would enter the starting gate as well.

Racing from the number one post position, Arrogate veered sharply toward the rail while Gun Runner broke smartly, taking the lead with Collected in hot pursuit.  Reaching Gun Runner from his outside post position and early traffic may well have robbed Collected of the speed and stamina he would need later in the race.

On the back stretch the leaders, having run a half mile in 46 and change were never more than a half length apart.  Rounding the far turn, Collected and Gun Runner began their furious assault on the Del Mar turf, where, according to Jay Privman in a Daily Racing Form article, the jockeys, Martin Garcia on Collected and Gun Runner's Florent Geroux, began shouting at one another.  Garcia turned to Geroux and shouted, " I have a lot of horse."  "Me too," Geroux replied.  And at the quarter pole Garcia said, "Let's go."

Garcia pushed Collected away from Gun Runner because he knew "Gun Runner likes to fight."  But Gun Runner's speed, power and will proved too much.  Garcia said, "I know (knew) he'd respond.  My horse tried.  I couldn't do anything. Gun Runner is a really good horse.  He got good position, and I let my horse run a little early to get position."

A fantastic photo of Gun Runner in training.

Fighting off Collected's bid, Gun Runner pulled away to an expanding 2-1/4 length lead, winning his fifth race in six starts and earning a 117 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest of his career.  By winning the Classic he assured himself of the Horse of the Year and Champion Older Dirt Male titles.

Baffert's horse West Coast finished an improving third, while Mubtaahij drifted back to a disappointing eighth place.

Arrogate, never a factor, finished in a dead heat for fifth place with Gunnevera and afterward was lead away to begin a stallion's career.  Once his sperm was worth millions of dollars, but his fall from grace eroded his fee to $70,000.00, still a healthy price by any standard.

Perhaps Arrogate was never a great horse, but just a very good one.  Maybe our expectations for him were more than he could have ever hoped to deliver.  In a Facebook chat room early in 2017  I wrote, "There is not a horse living today that can beat Arrogate."  It is likely that when all is said and done, the only horse to beat Arrogate was Arrogate himself, broken by his herculean effort on a stifling desert night.

There is a saying, "The king is dead, long live the king."  The old saw speaks of respect for what has gone before and an orderly and respectful succession.  Arrogate is gone, but but Gun Runner remains.

Gun Runner, the Breeder's Cup Classic Champion

Copyright December 30, 2017 by Loren R. Schumacher

All photo credits belong the photographers

Today is the 17th anniversary of my father, Edward C. Schumacher's death.  This article is dedicated to his memory.  Thanks dad.

Lilac Fire/San Luis Rey Training Center/Will you help?

In recent days California has been stricken with devastating wildfires, one of which, the Thomas Fire, has consumed nearly 200,000 acres.  Almost everything in its path has been destroyed, but thankfully as of now, there seem to be no human casualties.

But in San Diego County near Bonsall, California a catastrophic wildfire struck the San Luis Rey Training Center, with tragic results.  

Trainer Martine Bellocq was critically burned trying to save her nine horses from the flames.  To date there have been 46 horses killed and most assuredly there will be more casualties in an area littered with horse farms and facilities.

Sadly one of those horses trained by Peter Miller, 3 year old California Diamond, who in 14 starts won 5 stakes races and finished second in 5 more, succumbed.

California Diamond

In their panic, a small group of horses broke through a "knockdown fence" and vanished into the surrounding hills.  Spokespersons are confident that they will be located and returned to their owners.

Panic stricken, horses flee the flames and smoke.

A volunteer tries to calm an approaching horse.

There were nearly 450 horses at San Luis Rey, and those that have survived owe their lives to the grooms and volunteers who walked into the inferno in order to save them from a hideous and tortured death.

But as always, those who have the least lose the most.  Nearly all of the grooms and other backstretch workers lost all of their possessions trying to save their beloved horses.  Many funds and truckloads of supplies and clothing have been rushed in to assist in the human recovery.

Taylor Made Farm have donated a no-guarantee season with California Chrome and will donate the booking fees before they have been collected.  The money will be used to help the track workers get back on their feet.

Panic in the alleyways of San Luis Rey (SLR).

At one time 260 of the approximately 500 horses were housed at the Del Mar race facility.   Sixty more moved just across the street from SLR to the Trifecta Equine Athletic Center, an equine rehab facility, and in recent days more have been distributed to Santa Anita and Los Alamitos.  While they wait to be reclaimed by their owners, those that need medical attention for burns receive immediate attention.  It remains to be seen what effect smoke inhalation will have on them.

Horses being loaded into trailers at San Luis Rey Training Center.

In the midst of this chaos, we should remember to say a silent prayer for the home and business owners of California, whose lives have been forever altered by the fires.  We hope that they will recover their balance and find the emotional and financial resources to jump-start their lives once more. 

In the ash and rubble of ruined dreams, some smaller stables will cease operations.  Grooms and trainers will find other jobs in the racing community, but they will never again be in charge of their own futures.  But for others, like Peter Miller, sad news was offset by good news.  Miller's horse Calculator, who ran second to American Pharoah in both the FrontRunner Stakes GI and Del Mar Futurity G1, was reunited with the trainer after being missing.

Calculator

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Santa Anita Park, The Stronach Group (owner of Adena Springs Farm) and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club have created a GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/thoroughbredcare.  To date more than $598,000.00 have been donated.  No amount is too small and donations are desperately needed.  

I've donated and I hope you will too.

Copyright 12/11/17 by Loren R. Schumacher

All photo credits belong to the photographers

Update 12/15/17

The news is both good and bad with regard to the monstrous wildfires plaguing California.  

The Thomas Fire, already the fourth largest in California history at 250,000 acres, will no doubt grow in the face of Santa Ana and Sundowner winds from Thursday the fifteenth through Sunday the seventeenth.  Sundowner winds are unique to the Santa Barbara area and originate off-shore with wind speeds reaching those of tropical storms, 60 miles per hour.  The Santa Ana winds are expected to range between 15 and 25 miles per hour with gusts to 40 miles per hour.  Not particularly encouraging.

Still more sad news regarding the death of San Diego area firefighter Corey Iverson, 32 years of age.  He leaves behind his wife who is expecting their second child in the spring of 2018 and a 2-year old as well.  Our condolences, of course.

A filly by Grazen x Chelcees Hope, named Scathing, is the first horse from the San Luis Rey fire to race and to the delight of everyone. she won.  Racing last to first in a five furlong race, a distance which is a bit short for her, she split horses in the final furlong to win by one and one-half lengths.  

Symbolic win for Scathing

Scathing was claimed for $8000.00 at Santa Anita on October 6 and had been training well since her removal from San Louis Rey.  Her barn was never threatened and she remained in her stall while panic overcame those who had to be freed in order to save their lives.  By the way, my vet's tech told me that she heard the heat was so intense in the recent fire at San Luis Rey, that the horse's red blood cells exploded among those who perished!

Scathing

Scathing was cleared for competition after an "auscultation of the lungs and airways" by attending and state veterinarians.  All horses stabled at San Luis Rey will undergo similar tests before being cleared to return to racing.

Scathing at the wire

Finally, Juddmonte Farm auctioned a "no-guarantee" season with Uncle Mo.  The winning bid of $110,000 was matched by Juddmonte.  The money will be donated to Thoroughbred Charities of America's Horses First Fund.

Update copyright 12/15/17 by Loren R. Schumacher
Photo of Scathing copyright belongs to the photographer or race facility.