Hi! Does anyone know of any Thoroughbred trainers, owners or jockeys in Texas?

Question

My Questions are:

Main Thoroughbred diseases or injuries?

If I should buy a Thoroughbred and race him/her, what important things would I need to know?

What sets Thoroughbreds apart from other horses?

Why is horse - racing called " the sport of Kings?"

Questions for trainers:

What can you tell me about your career?

What do you think is the most important thing to know about the Race Track and its Horses?

How did working in this field change your life?

What do you think future racing will look like?

I'd also like to learn a little about how the breed began?

Answer 1

I was involved in Racing with the family business for over 19 yrs. We raced in Ohio, Pa, ky,ILL, and La. I got to meet some famous people as a Kid. Joe Louis the Heavyweight champion  of the world in boxing  that was before your time. How about George Forman, Ali, Jimmy Ellis,Ken Norton and a actor named Roy Rogers, Dale Robertson and Ny Governor and Vice President Nelson Rockafeller. So much for me I groomed horses. Lets get to your questions. Main Injuries ankles and knees are they swollen, feel the entire leg to see if they are hot their legs should be ice water cold, Back injuries rub you thumb and first finger down his back if he starts to towards the ground his back is sore, Teeth make sure that he has been to the dentist and the feet look for thrush and in the heels have the legs x-rayed look for chips in the ankle and knees use your vet not theirs. Make sure you have horse checked out on his Coggins test and it is up to date so that he can be transported to another state that is required. The main thing is to buy a good horse that is all ready making money learn to read a Racing form. Also you need to know if the horse is gated that means will go into the gates ok and his temperment  horses are like people  some you can give a hug and a carrot others will bite you and hurt you on their paper work it describs them exactly. The throughbred was bred for distance races and is very fragile in some cases. I like the older trainers such as friends in California like Jack Vanberg, Cole Norman is in chicago or Ky, Todd Plecther is young and knows his stuff all these men can be very trust worthy or Donna Rice in Fla she has a website she raced out of Portland, Wa. Pick atrainer and ask around at the track people will tell the truth. Racetracks the surface of the track and the purses. You need to if its sandy surface and how deep its for coution and the purse the money you have to pay you bills. The future looks fine for racing. The breed began with a horse named Aristocrat in 1876 all throughbreds can trace their bloodlines to him. Reading material get the Blood horse magazine.  Remember instead of talking with the trainer thats fine but the groom and hot walker is the most important people  and remember to call these people off on the side. Make sure they given 1% of the purse. If you take care of the peoplewho take care of your horse they will work to see you and the horse gets you in the winner circle. From old Groom    GOOD LUCK.

Answer 2

It sounds to me as if you would benefit from attending one of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) "new owners" seminars.  There's one being given in Texas on the 27th of April, and this would be a good place to start to get answers for some of your questions.

Here is the site with the information:

http://www.texasthoroughbred.com/tta/Des...

This is the URL for the TOBA site, which gives some information:

http://www.toba.org/programs/seminars-an...

To answer some of your questions:  

1.  How the Thoroughbred breed began:  it began in England, with the importation of Arabian, Barb, Turk and other eastern stallions to cross with the native English breeds in the late 1600's-early 1700's.  The intention was to promote the breeding of horses suitable for light cavalary, and the infusion of eastern blood was intended to bring some stamina and refinement into the native English horses.  

Racing was conducted as a means of identifying the superior members of the horse population;  over time, some bloodlines became distinguished for speed, and these became the horses that formed the foundation of the English Jockey Club Stud Book.  All Thoroughbreds in the world trace their male-line descent to one of three stallions:  The Byerly Turk, the Godolphin Arabian (or Barb), and the Darley Arabian.

2.  Racing is called "the Sport of Kings" because, initially, of the promotion that Charles II, the "Merry Monarch," gave to the sport.  For at least the first hundred years or so, organized racing in England was conducted by and for Royalty and the nobility-- nobody else had the money to compete!  Purses were offered by the King and nobles, and racing was more of a "match" type contest, wherein participants would get into a "my horse can beat your horse" mode, but over time it became the custom to offer races with fixed conditions:  i.e., for 3-year-old entire colts and fillies, at 1-1/2 miles at Epsom Downs, to be nominated as yearlings, sustaining payments to be made on a specific schedule, race to go on the first Wednesday in June and so forth.

3.  Most important thing you need to know about participating in Thoroughbred racing:  most participants never ever make a nickel of profit from their stables.  Not one red cent of profit.  And only about one in three Thoroughbreds born ever wins a race of any kind at any recognized track.  Most horses that make it to the races are make less than 20 starts their entire careers.

If you go to the TOBA seminar, be sure to pay attention to the information they give you about racing syndicates.  This is the easiest and lowest-cost way to get involved in racing:  you participate as part of a group of people who own a horse or several horses together as a syndicate.  There are a number of entities that put together racing syndicates;  Country Life Farm in Maryland is one, there are a lot of others.  Typically you have a buy-in price that sometimes includes all costs for racing the horse.  The contract specifies the terms and conditions of dissolution of the syndicate-- usually with the sale of the horse or horses involved.  You have a racing manager who handles all the day-to-day stuff, so all you have to do is show up on race day to watch your horse run.

The TOBA seminars are a good start.  Since you've got one going on the 27th in Texas, this would be a great way for you to get answers to your questions from people who really, really know what racing is all about.  Good luck!