I’ve been following the career of a 4 yo gelding named Crown the Kitten. He has won a couple of races, came in second to last in his first race in California after being claimed from KY, but generally comes in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. Since he’s in the money, is he earning his keep? Will he most likely continue being raced for a few years unless he gets hurt? Just curious. I tried to contact his current trainer but never got a reply. I understand that trainers are busy but how often do the average trainers with average horses get fan mail?
He has $269k in career earnings.
He has made $48k so far this year.
He made $82k last year.
He’s based in CA, so he is probably covering his expenses. He could go to a less competitive circuit and pay his way. No reason he shouldn’t keep racing as long as he stays healthy and covers the bills.
My mare hit the board in seven out of her ten starts. She was reliable, but could never quite break her maiden. She came up a little sore after her last race. That, combined with Colonial Downs closing made them decide to retire her.
Lucky won 4 of 64 starts, but (racing on the less-expensive East Coast) he stayed worth keeping until he was seven and just ran out of conditions. Even then he sometimes hit the board his last year racing. Just not a lot of opportunities for a horse who liked to sprint on grass but wasn’t really competitive beyond the low claimers. As long as they’re not injured or running completely up the track, no reason not to keep running them. Crown The Kitten was only just claimed away from the Ramseys a few starts back at Churchill and he’s moved up a class since (from a $40k tag to AOC, albeit in for a claim for $62500 in California.) He’s not even remotely near the point he wouldn’t be worth running.
