you are right, not all good runners or jumpers are freaks, a lot of them are very well bred animals. I should have clarified. I just meant that some of the greatest, have just had the heart to do it, not necessarily the breeding.
I thought this post was about Big Brownâs quarter crack???
As long as the race goes to the swift, that is not going to happenâŠ
[QUOTE=Wanderluster;3240100]
I am crazy enough to suggest reintroduction of Arabian blood to add durability to the existing breed.
Wonât happen ever, why ? The industry pushes for speed and immediate return on investments which is a far better enticement to venture capitalists. It is a partnership that rewards owners, trainers, jockeys, with early financial rewards. It makes perfect sense from a business standpoint.
I am sure that the JC would never consider such a radical change and even if the idea was appealing and rational the actual implementation would be impossible.[/QUOTE]
Actually, this idea is nothing new, and like many other ideas set forth to improve TB racing (e.g., starting horses at 4 instead of 2), has been tried with dismal results. Staying sound over 100 miles going (relatively speaking) not very fast, and doing the same going less than 2 miles as fast as possible, are 2 entirely different proposals.
IMO, the only way weâre likely to start breeding those horses most capable of staying sound racing at the classic distances is to stop allowing all the modern veterinary and other treatments which allow more and more horses to continue racing and winning despite more and more seriously damaged feet, limbs, lungs, etc. Wonderful as these advances are when it comes to potential for increasing longevity, etc., of individuals, it seems to me that they very much cloud the principles of selectivity when it comes to perpetuating soundness/toughness as well as speed in the breed.
Actually I think it was Alexander Mackay-Smith who wrote years ago - I think in COTH - about adding Arab blood back into racing TBâs. Of course that wonât happen.
What would be interesting would be races for Anglo-Arabs.
I love TBâs and Arabs - but have never been a real fan of Arab racing.
(Although they were the original racehorse, were they not???!!!).
In regards to BB - quarter crack - I may be all wrong here - but seems to me the horses racing the first two legs - BB and Gayego had the most âsubstanceâ. Point:
Is BB carrying too much weight for his hooves? Is that all muscle? Could he afford to lose a few pounds?
Interesting idea, but that still would not be addressing the root cause of the problem. Everyone is going to disagree with me that I see this as a lifestyle and trimming issue. Hell, even an Arabian with good feet can appear to have lousy feet if theyâre not trimmed properly. Let the heels get tall, bars and quarters overgrown and they too will get quarter cracksâŠ
Just wondering re: Arab racing - granted they donât compare in speed to the TB - but what about their breakdowns? I donât follow Arab racing so really donât know.
Leg/hoof problems training/racing? Casualties?
Also donât know - speed of Arab vs TB. For a distance - say 1.1/4 miles - fastest Arab time vs TB? QHâs and their breakdowns?
I guess it can be said - QH best at 1/4 mile, TB best at one mile, Arab best at 100 miles!!!
The Belmont is a long race for iffy hooves - worried about this.
<<Let the heels get tall, bars and quarters overgrown and they too will get quarter cracksâŠ>>
Funnily enough, one of the traditional gripes against racetrack farriers is that they keep the heel much too short and the toe long, in an effort, I think the theory goes, to improve stride length.
The Dubai Kahayla Classic is one of the richest Arabian races in the world. This yearâs winner, Mizzna, covered the 2000m in 2:14:30.
Curlin won the Dubai World Cup on the same day, over the same course and same distance in 2:00:14, and he did it under a hand ride, not hard ridden.
In other words thatâs 14 seconds slower. Given that Curlin and co are trucking along at 12sec per furlong (1/8 mile, 200metres, or whatever youâre drinking yourself), that means the fastest Arabian around would not even be at the eight pole when Curlin had already crossed the line.
Who in their right mind would cross out to that?
Btw, the Belmont is not a long race.
D - thanks for the info - about what I suspected.
The Belmont is the longest race of the TC series, though, right?
Iâm not the best one to talk, as I have never worked directly in the North American arabian racing biz. But Iâve been around it closely enough to know you more or less have the exact same soundness problems as you see in TB flat racehorses.
Hoof problems are still present. Arabs get chips, fractures, bows, soft tissue injuries, too. I donât have any statistics or numbers, but Iâve seen at least one fatal breakdown in an arab race that I can recall. They are not immune. Oh, and theyâre a good bit slower. 
The Belmont is the longest race of the TC series, though, right?
Yup. Itâs the longest at 12 furlongs (1 1/2 miles). The distance is long for North American dirt racing, but not long at all in the grand scheme of racing worldwide.
So⊠back to Big Brownâs hoof problemâ
Iâm curious what people think if he manages to win the TC. Does this make him especially âgreatâ because he did it while physically hindered? Or are we still of the consensus that he has been flattered by lack of competition?
I would really like to see the statistics. Percentage of breakdowns might be an eye opener (or not) as racing Arabs are not started until 3 years old. Might be a good place to look at whether or not starting a race horse later than 2 years old results in less/more? catastrophic or career ending injuries.
However, I seriously doubt those involved in Arabian racing visit this site given the ugly prejudice and breedist mentality often seen. Funny, the forum is titled âRacingâ. I must have missed the part where it is supposed to be confined to TB racing.
Hoof problems are still present. Arabs get chips, fractures, bows, soft tissue injuries, too. I donât have any statistics or numbers, but Iâve seen at least one fatal breakdown in an Arab race that I can recall. They are not immune. Oh, and theyâre a good bit slower.
Only one? Again, without statistics the above statements are rather meaningless. Yes, Arabians are slower at the preferred racing distances but they havenât been bred for 200+ years with precocious speed as the only criteria. Many ex Arabian racers go on to a successful endurance racing career after the track. The Arab has much more bottom than the TB. That is what theyâve been selected for.
Not that this really has anything to do with cracks, but does anyone know how much Big Brown weighs and how tall he is?
[QUOTE=rcloisonne;3241468]
Only one? Again, without statistics the above statements are rather meaningless. [/QUOTE]
Well, the fact that Iâve seen at least one fatal breakdown that I can recall holds some value in my mind considering how few arab races Iâve seen as compared to TB races. DelPark only has one arab race on the card a day and I rarely made an effort to watch it. (I donât have that kind of patience, haha!)
I will agree that you need statistics to know anything for sure. But having worked around racing arab trainers and breeders and having received several off the track arabs, in my experience they are plagued with the exact same soundness issues from racing. Now, I canât say for sure whether they experience more or less of those injuries without statistics. But they are not immune to injury.
North American racing arabs are becoming more and more like little thoroughbreds every generation.
Dons I have been wondering the same thing. How much weight on those hooves?
I donât recall seeing a photo of him looking like a racehorse/greyhound - you know?
The little I have seen - he looks like a dressage horse - to me at least!
rc - It is interesting - now that we think about it - only TBâs are discussed here.
Would be nice to get some input from the other breeds. I, too, would like stats on Arab racing - in regards to soundness/breakdowns etc. And hooves - how much patch and repair there?
I donât have any stats on arab racing other than they are hilarious to watch. They look like wind up toys to me. Anyway, the purses suck big time for arabs so I doubt it there is much, if any patching together going on. I canât see spending thousands getting a horse back to the races to run for peanuts.
[QUOTE=Laurierace;3241540]
Anyway, the purses suck big time for arabs so I doubt it there is much, if any patching together going on. I canât see spending thousands getting a horse back to the races to run for peanuts.[/QUOTE]
For what itâs worth, at New Bolton we had racing arabs admitted for chip removals, nuclear scans, lameness evaluations, etc. Not in huge numbers like the TBs and STBs, but then there arenât that many racing arabs in the area. We also had race-bred foals in our NICU and racing broodmares in our high risk pregnancy program.
They do look like windup toys, hahahahaha!
I voted for racing in Texas way back in the day - and was thrilled that they built Sam Houston Racetrack about five miles from me. I went several times to the races - when it started up - back then - not much âclassâ to the TBâs racing. I was surprised to see Arabians racing!! Of course I watched - but agree - just not the same. Almost difficult to take them seriously - tails up and all. They are not so silly in the Tevis though!!!
That is their element!
http://hoofcare.blogspot.com/2008/04/big-brown-most-famous-feet-in-derby.html
Hereâs some additional info about Big Browns hooves and the care that he has been receiving for the hoof issues.
