Racing at the County Fair vs racing at 'regular' tracks

[Obsidian_Fire]

A question, and if you don’t want to answer here but are okay with a PM that would be fine. I have a mare, OTTB, but she was raced at County Fair tracks as opposed to more “normal” race venues such as Portland Meadows or Emerald Downs (those are the 2 tracks local to me).

When I bought her, I was told 'the owners who run county fairs are a whole ‘nother breed of horse owner’ - and this was not said in a positive manner.
Indeed, this mare has some quirks I would not expect of a ‘normal’ TB. For one, she does. not. clip. You can’t even start the clippers (or anything else that makes that sort of noise) anywhere she can hear it, or she will flip her head up and down (it is almost like she has no control over her reaction) and go flying backwards.

Anyway, if someone is willing to share their knowledge with me I’d sure appreciate it.

[2DogsFarm]

I bought my OTTB from a reputable Trainer (Arlington, Gulfstream) as a 6yo & he had no tattoo.
When I asked, I was told the County Fair type tracks are not licensed for parimutuel betting and sometimes are used to test the speed of a youngster. A test my guy apparently failed as a 2yo.
If they show speed they then get tattooed & registered with JC.
Fail aside, they liked & kept him as a Pony horse. Somewhere I have a pic of him ponying at the Arlington Million.

[Obsidian_Fire]

Huh. Well, she’s tattooed. And since one of the tracks she raced at was in Nevada I guarantee you the horses were bet on…

[2DogsFarm]

{shrugs} Different levels of parimutuel tracks?
This was circa 1989, maybe the Rules changed.

The clipper phobia is not necessarily a track leftover.

Hoping someone on this board actively Training/Racing will chime in…

[Obsidian_Fire]

I, and a friend who used to start babies for the track, think she was buzzed with something to make her run faster, which is why she’s so weird about clipper noises (this extends to the zipper on your jacket too).

[Huntin_Pony]

Is her tattoo definitely a TB tattoo? I have a solid-colored appy who raced for four years at the county fairs out west and he’s tattooed (six digits, three above three). Most people thought he was a TB (in fact he was more than half TB, based on his papers).

[Palm_Beach]

AFAIK, anyone can race any horse anywhere; it’s the betting that is regulated by the state and if there is LEGAL wagering on the race, the race falls under the jurisdiction of the state racing authority.

OP, your post does not actually ask a question. Over the decades, I’ve run horses at Belmont and the MD State Fair, so what kind of owner does that make me? I’m not aware of any horse racing at any county fairs near me, other than maybe Shetland ponies.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@Huntin' Pony

Is her tattoo definitely a TB tattoo? I have a solid-colored appy who raced for four years at the county fairs out west and he’s tattooed (six digits, three above three). Most people thought he was a TB (in fact he was more than half TB, based on his papers).

Yes, she is a registered papered with JC tattooed TB.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@Palm Beach in my post I mentioned I was told that county fair owners are a “whole 'nother breed of horse owner”; I guess what I’m asking is about the ‘behind the barn’ methods or the standards of care/training as opposed to more ‘mainstream’ owners…???

Maybe there isn’t an answerable question. ??? I guess I just want to know more about what my mares life was really like before I got her.
All I know is that she quit racing because her track closed permanently, then whoever owned her dumped her at a broodmare farm (literally) which is how I acquired her.

[Palm_Beach]

IDK - people do come out of the woodwork to run at Timonium (MD State Fair) and many of them train off the farm. There is no training at Timonium, they all ship in to run. I imagine the horses running at county fairs are not well bred and not very fast, hence the county fair.

I had to train my non-tb riding horses to allow me to clip them and their heads, most horses are suspicious of clippers. I don’t think you can blame her unknown former owners or handlers. Most race horses get sedated to get clipped, and few of them get their heads trimmed with clippers routinely. I would not conclude that someone lit her up just because she is afraid of clippers.

[Pronzini]

To be honest, I’m not sure about Oregon. However, if the horse raced in California, there is no significant difference from say Golden Gate Fields and the fairs. It’s all part of the same circuit so it is basically the same horses, trainers, jockeys etc. There are folks that wait all year for the fairs because the competition can be a little easier at the same level and the Fairs have “emerging breeds” (I swear that is what CARF calls it). OTOH, Hollendorfer ran millionaire Halo Dolly a couple of times on the fairs and Baffert was a regular at Fairplex so good luck with that strategy. The money is just as green when it comes with ferris wheels and candy apples attached.

As for your horse’s quirks, it’s hard to say that those issues stem from running at the county fair as opposed to anything else.

[Texarkana]

@Obsidian Fire

I, and a friend who used to start babies for the track, think she was buzzed with something to make her run faster, which is why she’s so weird about clipper noises (this extends to the zipper on your jacket too).

I don’t think you can assume this “just” because she raced at the fairs.

Possible but probably not plausible.

A more likely explanation is she was never clipped period, especially if she was “only” running at the western fair circuits in places like Nevada.

But who knows.

A lot of those western fairs (excluding Cali) have races where the purses are extraordinarily low- like $1000. So yeah, I would assume you get a whole 'nother type of horseman, as a traditional racetracker operation would not be able to make ends meet for that kind of money.

http://www.racewithtrs.com/conditions/bkf-book-01.pdf

http://www.racewithtrs.com/conditions/cpw-book-01.pdf

https://www.crookedriverroundup.com/…tions-Book.pdf

[punchy]

@Obsidian Fire

I, and a friend who used to start babies for the track, think she was buzzed with something to make her run faster, which is why she’s so weird about clipper noises (this extends to the zipper on your jacket too).

Using a machine (electric buzz to make them supposedly run faster) on a horse will generally cause panic when the horse hears clippers. The horse could just not like clippers, too, but if they were zapped with a machine they pretty much lose it. People at regular tracks use machines too - it’s not just a bush track thing.

[Palm_Beach]

I can’t imagine using a machine on a baby anyway - it’s my understanding that they are used on horses that have already learned their job. But it’s not something that I’ve ever been involved with, so I can’t speak from experience!

[NancyM]

“Trainers” and riders can get away with stuff at bush meets that they can not get away with as easily at recognized meets. Because there is less money involved, there is less surveillance, and less officials employed, and a variety of things may be done in a less than professional manner. I have purchased several horses who were “machine horses” (I heard) as sport prospects. The buzzer is held by the rider in his hands, with the reins, the buzz is delivered to the crest of the neck. I’ve never seen one myself, but this is what I have been told. I found that pulling the manes on both of these horses elicited more response than you would think would be normal. I have never been one to do a lot of clipping, but it is possible that clipping may have the same response from a horse with this history. One way or the other, it’s not a big deal, and tends to go away as the horse gets to understand that he is not going to be “plugged in” again, by you, for some reason that he does not understand. But the horse has a history that you need to take into consideration when working with him.

“Plugging a horse in” (shocking him with a battery operated stinger) is done by “trainers” with little understanding of the equine condition, IMO. It is an “old school” practice. Progressive trainers want to make the racing experience as positive and fun for the horse as possible, to engage the horse in the sport. Good trainers want the horse to squeal with joy as he goes to the paddock to be saddled, and wants him to WANT to be a racehorse to the best of his ability. Electric shock during the process is counter productive to this. So “true” horsemen don’t engage in this practice, obviously. When it is done, or has been done, it is done by people who are in a desperate state, trying to “make” the horse run from fear and pain. Not condusive to a long term view of successful horse training.

So that was the meaning of the crack about these low level trainers and what may or may not go on at bush meets. Buying a horse from such a situation can often be considered an “upgrade” for the horse.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@NancyM - that is exactly the scenario my friend (who broke babies for the track) was referring to - a “buzzer” held by the jockey, applied under the guise of fancy whip/hand work.

Given this mares level of panic when ANYTHING buzzes or zips, something was done to her. She can be in her stall eating, no human touching or even talking to her, somebody in the grooming bay 20’ away can turn quiet clippers on, and her head starts flipping up & down and she just cannot “get over it”.
I was on her one day, talking to the BO’s husband, who had a tape measure in his pocket that he pulled out, she flipped out and went backwards with me.
Now that I’ve had this mare for awhile, she does trust me and while I cannot clip her bridle path (I just use scissors), she’s come a very long way in trusting me that these trigger noises are not going to hurt her.

Anyway all of that was not my question, it was just an example of a very abnormal reaction. But I think you answered my question about the “type of owner”. Thank you.

[jvanrens]

Some horses just seem to have been born with a fear of the sound clippers make. Back in the day a young QH I rode would not let you within 2 feet of her with clippers. She was born and bred on the farm I managed and had no reason to fear them other than she just did. She was otherwise pretty bombproof about everything, but clippers sent her off the edge.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@jvanrens

Some horses just seem to have been born with a fear of the sound clippers make. Back in the day a young QH I rode would not let you within 2 feet of her with clippers. She was born and bred on the farm I managed and had no reason to fear them other than she just did. She was otherwise pretty bombproof about everything, but clippers sent her off the edge.

This is actually true, and strange!

Years ago I worked on an Arab breeding farm. There was a couple of youngsters - full siblings (same sire, same dam) and BOTH of them had a weirdness about clippers AND bridling. You could halter them, no problem. You could put a hackamore on to ride, no problem. But a bit? Forget it. And clippers? Next county. BOTH of them. And since I broke both of them, it wasn’t something someone else did to them.

I’ve always thought it was the strangest thing I’ve encountered in my years of horses.

[Texarkana]

@Obsidian Fire

I was on her one day, talking to the BO’s husband, who had a tape measure in his pocket that he pulled out, she flipped out and went backwards with me.

I’ve had lots of horses with this fear! I thought I was going to lose a horse once when he flipped over on the cross-ties because I pulled out a tape measurer! Although I’ve never observed any connection between tape measurer fear and fear of other noises.

I’ve always heard the machine hurts less than the whip.

I’ve also always heard you plug them in in the morning, then just buzz the machine during the race, normally without actually shocking them.

Also that the type of horse you plug in is the lazy/sore/older horse who has been under-performing but otherwise has some speed.

But I’m just repeating what I’ve heard; I can’t say I’ve ever been privy to the knowledge that someone was plugging in a horse.

Some of the worst horses I have ever known around clippers were otherwise bombproof QHs and evil ponies, neither of which ever saw a racetrack, that’s for sure.

[ASB_Stars]

@Texarkana

I’ve had lots of horses with this fear! I thought I was going to lose a horse once when he flipped over on the cross-ties because I pulled out a tape measurer! Although I’ve never observed any connection between tape measurer fear and fear of other noises.

American Saddlebred show horses are “scared up” with a tape measure. The trainers fold it back against itself, and rattle it. Who knows what your guy had seen and done!