I’m sure there will be crazies outraged, there’s already a bunch of them gnashing their teeth because he’s still racing.
[QUOTE=Lauruffian;8233269]
Appears to already be gone. Boo![/QUOTE]
I bet the admin of the BCH page is very busy deleting all those posts :lol:
[QUOTE=Lauruffian;8233269]
Appears to already be gone. Boo![/QUOTE]
Damn I missed it! Lol
He said it a lot nicer than we did but still called them crazy in a round about way.
http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/13270587/calling-shots
The chromies will probably think that he’s on P.M.'s side. Although it would be nice to see if someone could post that link on their page 
[QUOTE=Laurierace;8233711]
He said it a lot nicer than we did but still called them crazy in a round about way.
http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/13270587/calling-shots[/QUOTE]
Great article. But of course BCH had to stick their 2 cents (if it’s worth that) in.
What the writer does not mention is the fans who followed Chrome since 2014 Kentucky Derby, & who whole heartedly disagree with Martins reckless decisions, are the same fans who agree with Head Trainer Art Sherman, who happens to know more about what’s best for Chrome than either owner. Sherman was actually “in the barn” & knew what Chrome could & couldn’t handle. Sherman was quoted many times about how worried he was for Chrome, saying he would have never sent him to England, that it was just going to be too hard on Chrome, and worried for his horse. Your article is well written, but not the whole story. You make it seem like we pulled our opinions out of thin air, that’s not entirely fair. We have always wanted only what was best for Chrome, just as Art Sherman & Coburn has also wanted. Perhaps there are fans who know more of the actual facts surrounding this situation than you may think.
It looks like the crazy Chromies have caused Sherman’s granddaughter to decide to delete the California Chrome facebook page that she runs.
Why does Facebook not remove the BCH page?
[QUOTE=Madaket;8233845]
It looks like the crazy Chromies have caused Sherman’s granddaughter to decide to delete the California Chrome facebook page that she runs.
Why does Facebook not remove the BCH page?[/QUOTE]
That’s the second time for the CC FB page. Brianne closed it before, somebody else offered to run it and took it over while she was in school. I don’t blame her one bit. Some of the commenters need a good whack for the stupidity of their comments.
The chromies already invaded Taylor Mades FB. T.M. put out a statement saying that for now there will be no visitors at all. Maybe a fan day a couple months out. I hope they really know what they’re about to get into with that. Honestly if I had a farm, I would not want that horse anywhere near my place with all that baggage he has.
I am finding it really hard to understand how all this nonsense can surround a horse who has had absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happen in his life, other than win a few races.
[B]"Calling the shots
[/B]
- Amanda Duckworth.
It is easy to say what is best for a horse after the fact or from thousands of miles away – even if you have never laid eyes on the creature in question. Fans do it, writers do it, we all do it. Quite frankly, it is part of any sport.
However, this week was a study in contrasts, and a lot of it had to do with the popularity (or lack thereof) of the horses and the connections in question. Updates on several major equine athletes were released, and the reactions ran the gamut.
On the bad news front, champion Main Sequence has been retired due to a tendon injury, and Horse of the Year California Chrome’s career is in question due to bone bruising. However, neither of these is a life-threatening issue.
The hardest announcement to take was that undefeated Lady Eli is battling laminitis as the result of a truly freak injury. After winning the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks, she stepped on a nail with her left front foot while walking back to trainer Chad Brown’s barn from the test barn.
In general, the reaction to Main Sequence’s retirement was “thanks for the memories,” and Lady Eli’s was “please pull through.” And then there was California Chrome.
It is no secret that the flashy chestnut has a passionate fan base called the Chromies, and many of them were not happy he spent most of this year overseas. I have read, heard or been contacted about everything from wanting to know if it is possible to sue majority owner Perry Martin for animal abuse since he had the horse leave the country, to people thinking no one in England has ever cared for a champion racehorse before and that is why Chrome’s season has ended in injury.
The short answer to all of this is: “No. Just no. Please stop.”
The longer answer is shipping a horse to another country to race is quite common elsewhere, even if it isn’t for American horses. There are multiple reasons for this, including the fact that our major stars race on dirt most of the time, and many other places focus on turf. Beyond that, though, it is also important to understand that our race-day medication laws are more lax when compared to other major jurisdictions. As a result, some of our horses could not compete on the medication they need to run well, so they don’t leave home.
Secondly, whether you like Chrome’s connections or not, owners are not greedy for entering healthy, talented horses in the most respected races in the world any more than a coach is greedy for expecting his star quarterback to play in the big game. Champions should compete against champions, and horse racing is a global sport.
It just so happens running in the best races usually equates to running for the most money. California Chrome has made his connections more than $6.3 million on the track, and almost a third of that came this year alone courtesy of his second-place finish in the $10 million Dubai World Cup. The only North American horse to earn more than he has in 2015 is Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
Furthermore, sending a Horse of the Year out of the country to race isn’t demeaning or a one-way ticket to injury. The last reigning American Horse of the Year to run in the world’s richest race was Curlin, who won the World Cup in 2008. Far from being ruined by going to the desert, Curlin returned to win three more Grade 1s that year and ran second in a Grade 1 on turf behind a Breeders’ Cup Turf winner.
At the end of that year, Curlin retired as the highest-earning North American horse of all time and was named Horse of the Year again. The very first winner of the World Cup was none other than the mighty Cigar, who also repeated as Horse of the Year the same season he went overseas and is the horse Curlin displaced as the highest-money earner.
While Dubai is a fairly common destination for American horses, aiming Chrome at a top grass race in Europe was out of the ordinary, but it certainly wasn’t unheard of. Animal Kingdom, who won the 2011 Kentucky Derby and the 2013 Dubai World Cup, ran the last race of his career at Royal Ascot before entering stud. His retirement was planned, as he was taking up stallion duties in Australia, which breeds on Southern Hemisphere time. Not to mention, the reason Curlin ran in the Man o’ War Stakes on the turf is because his connections were considering racing him in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, which is one of the most respected races in the world.
Finally, athletes get hurt. It happens. One doesn’t have to look beyond the luckless Lady Eli to see that. She stepped on a nail walking home, not in some faraway land. Meanwhile, another fan favorite, two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan, has just now returned to full training after fracturing his right front leg, and he also missed training last year after a colic scare. Plus, let’s not forget about 2004, when another beloved Derby winner, Smarty Jones, was retired due to bone bruising, and he never even shipped to the West Coast, much less to another country. To date, I haven’t been asked about suing any of their connections.
Special horses bring in new fans, and that is great, but I wonder how many of those complaining about California Chrome’s 2015 campaign will also complain when American Pharoah is retired after the Breeders’ Cup? They race too much, they don’t race enough, they should ship more, they should ship less. Do I wish things had turned out better for Chrome? Of course. But I will never complain about a healthy 3-year-old colt being allowed to race on at 4.
In the end, while we all have the right to discuss anything we like, unless we are the ones in the barn every day or the ones signing the checks, we don’t really know. Healthy debate is one thing, false accusations and willful ignorance are another."
[QUOTE=spotted draft x filly;8233947]
The chromies already invaded Taylor Mades FB. T.M. put out a statement saying that for now there will be no visitors at all. Maybe a fan day a couple months out. I hope they really know what they’re about to get into with that. Honestly if I had a farm, I would not want that horse anywhere near my place with all that baggage he has.[/QUOTE]
Spotted draft, what is the link to TM farm? I’m getting lots of hits but not the one in Kentucky.
It was announced on their fb page
Here try their website. In the news section they have a copy of the announcement on FB http://www.taylormadeadvantage.com/
[QUOTE=spotted draft x filly;8234033]
It was announced on their fb page https://m.facebook.com/?_rdr#!/taylormadeadvantage?tsid=0.3615653077241614&source=typeahead[/QUOTE]
That link isn’t working for me. 
ETA: Nevermind, I found it. Taylor Made Sales Agency, the one thing I didn’t think of searching.
[QUOTE=spotted draft x filly;8233947]
The chromies already invaded Taylor Mades FB. T.M. put out a statement saying that for now there will be no visitors at all. Maybe a fan day a couple months out. I hope they really know what they’re about to get into with that. Honestly if I had a farm, I would not want that horse anywhere near my place with all that baggage he has.[/QUOTE]
As far as I know, the general public hasn’t been allowed to visit Zenyatta at Lane’s End (someone correct me if this is wrong). Taylor Made might have to do the same thing with Chrome.
I enjoy dipping into that page for a bit of crazy, but it’s really overwhelming after a while. And why can they not spell? It’s very irritating lol! And BCH continues to call Taylor Made “Taylor Farms” despite repeated corrections. Sorry, pretty minor considering all the craziness there, but it’s plucking my nerves.
I had a look at the Taylor Made Farms website. Wow, that is one impressive operation. I had a long read out of interest about the various people on their team, and what it takes business wise to run that kind of operation. Very impressive.
[QUOTE=axl;8234458]
I enjoy dipping into that page for a bit of crazy, but it’s really overwhelming after a while. And why can they not spell? It’s very irritating lol! And BCH continues to call Taylor Made “Taylor Farms” despite repeated corrections. Sorry, pretty minor considering all the craziness there, but it’s plucking my nerves.[/QUOTE]
And the weird affectation of calling him “Our” Chrome or “Our” Champion. What’s up with that? I don’t even say that for the actual horse I own, let alone some horse I’ve never even seen in the flesh.
Good luck to the folks at Taylor Made. They’re going to need it with those fans.
This should bring some interesting reactions from BCH, the ones on Blood Horse (Fb and their site) are pretty interesting already…
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/93090/california-chrome-to-return-to-racing-in-2016
^^ They’re still confused.
It begs the question, whatever happened to that Perry guy who supposedly had all of this figured out in his ingenious plan?
I’m glad CC will be back in the care of a horseman who cares and who really does have a clue how to do what’s best for the horse.
My understanding from everyone was that he was always going to stay with Sherman…really guys. It never sounded for a minute like Martin was going to take him anywhere else if he was going to stay racing. And Martin is still there…
Most seem pretty happy that he’ll still be with Art Sherman…because again, he was clearly going to be leaving him.
