The 2007 colt is on the track because most TB’s are sent to the track to get broke as Yearlings. He just turned 2, so he was most likely broke in Sept/Oct of LAST year (2008) and given December off…then sent back Jan 1 to further his training. Its normal for race training…Not odd at all. I have two LATE 2007 babies…one is a June 3rd foal and they won’t go to get broke until this summer. They both happen to be immature. However, its commonplace for TB’s to get broke as yearlingas and go back into training as early 2 yr olds.
I just can’t believe
i find it so amazing that the Trainers break these “yearlings” . it just floors my mind. But oh well. I guess that is the industry. I just watch in astonishment .
Now on to the sale. Can not wait for 10am . Hope the Live Feed is on time today :yes:
LuvmyTBs/Equinoxfox,
I break my yearlings young because it is MUCH easier (and safer for everone involved) to do then. I usually start breaking in October/Nov/Dec, depending on foaling date and maturity. I get them to where they can do a light jog, then kick them back out in a field until I think they are mature enough to hit the track.
I’m sure they’ll give that guy some time when they think he needs it.
[QUOTE=Equinoxfox;3803428]
HEY
NEVER BEEN THERE BUT JUST DYING TO GO. so do tell . the weather is it as bad there as it is here in Virginia. And it looks to be TONS of horses there.
would you recommend someone plan to come next year and just spend a week there or is it better to wait until the Spring time when the farms all have their tours going ?[/QUOTE]
The weather in Ky is more like NY than VA - if you want to go to a sale, Sept is nice with all the yearlings, but my favorite was always November. the weanlings are just too cute and some of those broodmares are just a class-act. Most have been through the sales atleast once in their lives and are pretty cool about it. The most challenging thing about showing a broodie is trying to keep them from cocking a hip while you stand them up! :winkgrin:
The January sale is just plain cold most of the time - the last year I went we had a heat wave of 15 degrees during the whole week - I stood so close to the kero heater the barn manager thought my pants would catch on fire!
[QUOTE=Equinoxfox;3805811]
i find it so amazing that the Trainers break these “yearlings” . it just floors my mind. But oh well. I guess that is the industry. I just watch in astonishment .
Now on to the sale. Can not wait for 10am . Hope the Live Feed is on time today :yes:[/QUOTE]
The fall of their yearling year is a good time for them mentally, especially if they have been prepped for a sale, so it just makes good sense to start their education then. You are really working their minds much harder than you do their bodies, but there have been studies that some work (not pounding)while they are still growing actually could add to bone density.
You would be surprised by the size of some of these yearlings - they are no babies, trust me! I have been on and around some that were over 16 hands and if you wait to start a colt when they are 2 or 3 you will have a whole lot more issues to deal with. Much better to start the program before their hormones start controlling their minds!
OH did not know that. I come from a Horse Show world where things are done much later and so different. The Racing Industry is so interesting to me!!:yes:
There are so MANY scratches today from the sale ? I think it might go very fast today . especially with the weather and coming up on the end of the week.
So tell me , now that we are getting to the End of the Sale . Do they start the sale with the high dollar horses and work down or is there no specific order for the horses being sold.
Just wondered if there was a Rhyme or Reason behind the order of go ?
Nope, the order is alphabetical.
[QUOTE=KnKShowmom;3806131]
The fall of their yearling year is a good time for them mentally, especially if they have been prepped for a sale, so it just makes good sense to start their education then. You are really working their minds much harder than you do their bodies, but there have been studies that some work (not pounding)while they are still growing actually could add to bone density.
You would be surprised by the size of some of these yearlings - they are no babies, trust me! I have been on and around some that were over 16 hands and if you wait to start a colt when they are 2 or 3 you will have a whole lot more issues to deal with. Much better to start the program before their hormones start controlling their minds![/QUOTE]
I’m out of the business for the time being, but I know exactly what you are saying. Unless a physical issue intervened, we broke our own when they were yearlings, but we also had a couple of clients who insisted on waiting until their horses were two before beginning training. Those were ALWAYS tougher and seemed to be more prone to injury early on.
In my experience, working with race horses is a delicate balance of good horse sense, mental and physical timing and economics. There is the right moment to do something (buy, sell, train, race) with a horse and if you miss that moment, it can be painful for all involved!
The racing industry gets bashed for starting their horses so young, but most of the time that is the “right moment” in the big scheme of their careers - just not evident to those who haven’t been there.
Why are some of these going for peanuts? Even those with good pedigrees and are gorgeous aren’t being sold at a high price.
Yeah I noticed the same thing .? It is strange sitting here watching the prices it makes me want to go so I can pick up a couple to make Show Prospects. they are beautiful and look to have great conformation. Boy a Horse Show Trainer could go and really get some nice ones…:yes:
[QUOTE=Equinoxfox;3806652]
Yeah I noticed the same thing .? It is strange sitting here watching the prices it makes me want to go so I can pick up a couple to make Show Prospects. they are beautiful and look to have great conformation. Boy a Horse Show Trainer could go and really get some nice ones…:yes:[/QUOTE]
The best potential race horses/broodmares sell first so if you go towards the end of the sale, you can find some nicely put together individuals who will sell for less because of their “page” i.e. not much bold type or a weak bottom line.
Then there will be some who look great on paper but have some physical faults which will cause a low price, especially in this market.
There are usually quite a few people at the end of the sale who want to resell as hunters if the price is right.
Unless you guys are there, how can you tell they are ‘gorgeous?’ There’s a lot you can’t see on a computer screen.
Well there is the little thing called a “live video” that you can get full screen and you can get a pretty good look at the horses.
I can see them very clearly. Besides what I think is gorgeous might not be to other people.
I have seen the live video and I don’t think you can see them that well. If you could, then I can tell you that no one would be out there freezing their tails off, they’d be phone bidding! I was DOS for one of the largest and most prestigious consignors and have looked at (and sold) thousands of horses. I can tell you that there are things that you just cannot see unless you are there looking at the horse. You are only seeing the horse turning circles in a ring. Unless you are seeing the horse walk in person (this applies to the mares also), you have no idea how it moves. Not to mention that you can’t see subtle hoof angle differences, blemishes (such as splints, firing, etc), or the radiographs (for the babies/race prospects). You may be able to see a nice body, but the body means nothing without the legs underneath it.
There’s usually a reason for an otherwise well pedigreed individual to sell cheaply. You cant really tell without being there to see them in person.
[QUOTE=Las Olas;3806198]
Nope, the order is alphabetical.[/QUOTE]
Absolutely, to a certain point. But as you know it 
also goes class/alphabetical. Which is why the better horses always go at the start of the sale.
Assuming the horse(s) is all that one thinks one can see on the live feed , it’s because of the horrible economy. If you’re in the top 0.00001% of the Thoroughbred market, you’re not bothered by it. If you’re like the rest of the world, you’re going to be thinking really, really hard before buying another horse, particularly a broodmare. No one wants to have a horse (or foal of that horse) that no one else wants.
The TB market worldwide has been heading this direction since the summer sales. (It’s also the reason that someone on this very BB was able to pick up a GORGEOUS yearling son by the same sire as one of the leading 2009 Kentucky Derby contenders – who was recently sold for millions to one of those sheiks we all hear about – for, well, let’s just say she considered it beyond a steal, and that her now 2-year-old is gonna be kicking some serious warmblood butt in the hunter ring in a few years.)
There was a reason Keeneland sales folks were reaching out to sporthorse people to try to get them to come look at all the bargains that would be there. There are many, many people in the TB racing world who think far too many marginally bred and marginally producing horses have been produced for the buyers who want them.
And that’s a hard lesson I think anyone breeding horses needs to learn, and most likely will in the long months ahead.
It’s not like I am bidding to buy these horse, just looking and seeing what I think is gorgeous. I’m fully aware that if I was serious about getting a horse from the Keeneland Sale I would be there to see the horses that I would like to buy. I would also have a consultant with me to point out the anything that I may have missed and to give me his/her opinion.
What’s wrong with having a little fun? 
Not to mention that you can’t see subtle hoof angle differences, blemishes (such as splints, firing, etc), or the radiographs (for the babies/race prospects)
So they do have raidographs of the babies/raceprospects? Neat. Is that one reason why some of these weanlings/yealings aren’t going for much money?
Well, Beezer, I think the lesson will be learned in the long months ahead, but as soon as the demand goes back up, so will the production. You know how it goes
