No to mention this master plan of paying extra for color with some grand plan to make it back at … OBS?
Don’t get me wrong, I adore Ocala, but isn’t that a bit like buying at Nordies or Needless Markup and trying to pass it off as a bargain to a Macy’s sale shopper? :lol:
VERY interesting … she sold for $14,000.00 … anyone know who got her?
Sounded like they were trying to get to the 15k mark!
Do you think she sold?
I followed the bidding online, the filly looked lovely! And I think she got a good price. When you look at all the others that did not even go for 1000 USD she really fetched a nice price I would say.
It is ironic in light of all the poop poohing race trackers do over color that two colored horses would sell above much better pedigreed non colored horses at one of our elite sales. I don’t know if I want to know what that says for the future of our industry.
I agree LaurieRace - I could not believe how much that filly brought and color is the last thing that is going to help the TB race horse. I was shocked at the price. I was guessing 1700.00 for the filly - although my guess was probably low for a 2 year in training.
And the colt goes back home:
http://auctions.bloodhorse.com/article/48844.htm
White Prince, whose $60,000 price topped the fifth session of the Keeneland January horses of all ages auction in Lexington Jan. 16, did not go to a new home. The transaction was voided because the buyer had not established credit at the level at which the white yearling colt was sold, according to Keeneland vice president Harvie Wilkinson.
White Prince’s breeder, Warren Rosenthal, “very graciously agreed” to take back the colt to settle the matter, Wilkinson said Jan. 17.
The White Prince not sold afterall!
Whoops! The White Prince will be heading home with his breeders. His “purchaser” failed to establish credit with Keeneland…
Looks like we noticed that at the same time!
And an article and picture on the Splash of Vanilla filly as well:
http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/48845.htm?id=48845&source=rss
Pretty pretty filly - hopefully they will give her every chance to be a nice race horse as well … 
… and it sounds like with who has bought her, they have every intention of doing so!
Hey, I know that doctor, his office is about 10 minutes from my house. Small world.
She is a very pretty filly and hopefully she does well at whatever her future career may be.
Caitlin
I will be the first to admit, I adore the colored TB’s. They are absolutely gorgeous and stand out in a crowd.
But I have to go with Laurierace on this one. The dam of the Palomino filly is absolute crap as far as racing goes. Anything of normal color out of that dam on this side of the pond would have brought you -0- no bid. And great, fair dues, I hope she wins some races, it’s just a bit hard to stomach when racing for the most part on this side of the pond is in a very serious situation along with the horses.
Terri
I will be the first to admit, I adore the colored TB’s. They are absolutely gorgeous and stand out in a crowd.
But I have to go with Laurierace on this one. The dam of the Palomino filly is absolute crap as far as racing goes. Anything of normal color out of that dam on this side of the pond would have brought you -0- no bid. And great, fair dues, I hope she wins some races, it’s just a bit hard to stomach when racing for the most part on this side of the pond is in a very serious situation along with the horses.
Fair enough, but is the pendulum swinging over to what gives people real pleasure in owning?
Is a part of owning and racing a filly like this one the fact that she will create a buzz at the track she runs at, friends can exclaim about how pretty she is, and THAT is an important factor in buying, training and owning her and if she wins enough to pay her way (she doesnt have to emerge as the next superstar) THAT will be enough? And then perhaps they can breed “up” through the next generation and get a decent race horse from that cross?
I have honestly given up trying to pyscho analyze why people purchase what they do…
We have a world class artist in our area that has a beautiful home with gorgeous paddocks out front , lining the driveway leading up to his home. He wanted the most beautiful horses he could find in those paddocks so as guests drove up the driveway they would exclaim about how beautiful those horses were. He was very specific about what he wanted - colour wise, markings wise, etc and he wanted to create a very specific artistic impression for his guests which he did accomplish. Most people would think he was off the wall crazy but you know what? It was his money, his decision and his horses and they gave him ultimate pleasure by just “being there” and he quite frankly had enough money to do whatever “different” thing he wanted to do …
I have one client now that wants to create the first “coloured” Kentucky Derby winner and he wants it in palomino with a lot of white markings. Probably 99.9% of the population will say he is totally crazy but you know what - its his dream, his money (and he certainly has enough of it!) and he will put the very best trainers towards this goal and you know what? He just might succeed at some point down the road and if not, he is going to have a lot of fun trying to get there and will revel in the publicity surrounding this dream
And you know something else? Maybe this is exactly the kind of impetus the racing industry needs to keep it viable and keep “Joe Public” interested in what is going on there, because it sure isnt happening with the 99.99999% of the bay and chestnut horses running out there right now … Joe Public is leaving the track in droves, if it wasnt for the gaming revenues coming in, most of the tracks right across North America would be shut down for good and then there will be NOWHERE for the horses to run - whether they are bay, chestnut or palomino’s …
So- a pretty palomino with a wealthy owner that is after some fun and the ensuing publicity can only help an industry that is being slowly and methodically decimated through both apathy and an ailing economy and heck - if thats what it takes to get people coming back to the track - because they read about this pretty palomino racing today - then I am all for it to be perfectly honest …
Good luck to her new owner and I hope we see more and more of them hitting the tracks in the years to come …
The whole rest of the horse world is geared towards beauty and color, they are called horse shows. The last thing we need in racing is an emphasis on color or anything else that is open to subjectivity. The way it stands right now I can have a horse that looks more like an aardvark but if he gets to the wire first, he wins. I would hate to see anything change that basic premise.
All this attention makes me think this is a horse that will always be valued and well taken-care of for his unusual colour, regardless of its potential in racing or breeding. A fortunate horse indeed.
The whole rest of the horse world is geared towards beauty and color, they are called horse shows. The last thing we need in racing is an emphasis on color or anything else that is open to subjectivity. The way it stands right now I can have a horse that looks more like an aardvark but if he gets to the wire first, he wins. I would hate to see anything change that basic premise.
I am going to respectfully disagree, to a degree … 
In horse shows, the hunter that puts in the round with the most correct jump and the correct hunter type movement, with the flowing hunter type pace, is going to win that class. BUT … more and more people want all of those attributes, plus they now want to get pickier and have a neat colour, or flashy markings or a specific colour to go along with that. Look how many people specifically look for “a grey horse with 4 stockings and a blaze” or “jet black” or yes - even palomino’s and buckskin’s now …
None of those will make the horse jump better or have better movement, but if the client wants that on top of looking for the best youngster for the job at hand - great - everyone is happy …
The biggest problem with these palomino’s and buckskin’s is that from the very beginning - from when Milkie was “deemed too valuable to race and possibly get hurt” very few or none of these horses have ever had the chance to do ANYTHING at all. They have been born and then go directly into breeding programs and thats it. Heck - look at the current state of the coloured TB market - what are the oldest ones that you can actually find in the show ring? Try 5-7 years of age and those you can count on one hand and thats it. Look at some of the coloured TB breeding stallions out there. 9 and 10 years of age and never even broke, let alone sat or, shown or raced.
So - its not as if a whack of these coloured TB’s have gone to the race track and fallen flat on their collective faces because they have no talent and no ability and no desire to run. NO ONE up to now has even bothered TRYING to see if they CAN run at all. So … you look at their pedigrees and say “Yeah right! :eek: There is NOTHING in their pedigrees at all for 5 generations to even remotely suggest they have the talent to run.” Again - not through trying and failing, but simply because for 5 generations, most of them werent even broke, let alone did they do anything except eat and pump out baby after baby … and 99% of those ended up in show homes or back to the breeding shed once again …
So - this is uncharted territory and they are all starting with a virtual clean slate and the ones that are at the track now in training seem like they will be given every chance to succeed through proper training and connections
In a few years time, when a bunch of them have tried and failed, your comments will hold some merit and will have some validity but in these early days, I for one am very glad that FINALLY they are being given the chance to show the world that they very well may have the talent to run and win some races, no matter what colour they may be …
[QUOTE=TrueColours;3813272]
In a few years time, when a bunch of them have tried and failed, your comments will hold some merit and will have some validity but in these early days, I for one am very glad that FINALLY they are being given the chance to show the world that they very well may have the talent to run and win some races, no matter what colour they may be … :)[/QUOTE]
Excellent point, TCF!
However, a filly this pretty and well conformed would have sold for more $$$ to a show horse home, IMO. I give the consignors a lot of credit going this route with her and wish the new owner the best of luck.
You’re entitled to your opinion since you help create these kind of horses but color me skeptical. The only reason right now that color TBs get decent money at Keeneland is that they are still a novelty and it seems you can always find a fringe of people to invest in novelties. But other than a very small handful (Candy Spots anyone?), there hasn’t been a single one that most people would actually want to own as a racehorse. I watched the first wave of white horses come in last by a football field at maiden 25 and 32 in Southern California and they were in no danger of being claimed. Are these really horses that people want to spend the $30K-$40K a year it takes to keep in training at one of the destination tracks? Will it really be enough for most owners in racing to say “Can’t run a lick but he sure is pretty?”
My guess is no. Also, I look at the breeding that creates these colors and it’s difficult to imagine a racehorse coming out of that. Finally I can’t help but think of the plain ones coming out of programs like this because they probably have no value whatsoever.
My 2 cents as someone who has paid a bill or two in the past and you couldn’t give me a palomino to campaign at the track based on past performance to date.
Pronzini - of course we are all entitled to our opinions and everyone will not all agree with each others viewpoints and/or opinions, but I do take exception to this comment:
But other than a very small handful (Candy Spots anyone?), there hasn’t been a single one that most people would actually want to own as a racehorse.
TOTALLY and completely disagree …
What about:
The lines of Halo, Explodent, Vice Regent, Northern Dancer, Marquetry and Naevus? All “coloured” sabino producing TB’s and some of their offspring sure looked like they could run “a bit”, didnt they, regardless of their funky colouring???
Take a look at this section I created on my website and you can click on the various links at the bottom to see some wildly coloured, wildly marked TB’s that yes - even won a few races or a LOT of races as well
http://www.angelfire.com/on3/TrueColoursFarm/Cool_and_Unusual_Thoroughbreds.html
Showmethemoolah, Contrary Rose, Dance Spot, Halo Dawn, Looks Expensive, My Darling One, Paint Ballado, etc - all had more colour than Candy Spots did and I would have any of them as race horses, in a heartbeat …
Being wild looking and being unique, certainly didnt mean that they had no talent or didnt belong on a race track. FAR from it …
No dilutes in that group simply because - as mentioned - its brand new, early territory for them out there
Give them time. You will start seeing more and more of them hitting the tracks in the next few years and hopefully a nice percentage of them can be successful race horses and make people want to take a chance on something that is pretty and unusual AND has some talent as well
Nice dodge. We started this discussion with palominos not with high white–which has been part of the TB genome and in some quality animals since the beginning of time. Color breeders had nothing to do with The Minstrel bringing $200,000 as a yearling and no one bought him because he had a lot of white on him or that he was “pretty”. He was an athlete and proved it on the track.
Get back to me when the palominos start running or one is born that doesn’t need its color to market it. Its damned expensive to keep a racehorse in training and real talent is rare–believe me a plain bay that pays its way and holds value is a beautiful horse to most owners I know. I haven’t detected any great interest in the novelty colors in the racing trenches or anywhere except for places like here.
More power and great luck to you. Personally I have found it tough enough to do this game conventionally. I have no idea why someone would want to make it tougher–which of course is what you are doing when you are racing horses with obscure pedigrees that produce color. I suspect after several months of losing – and badly–the owners of the white horses I alluded to may have gotten a little battered financially. I’ve done both show and racing. I may want my show horse to be pretty but I need my racehorse to be fast and I doubt I’m alone.
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