Racing 101, By Marion Altieri
May 5, 2007
Introduction
Weekly lessons in the sport, a safe place to learn everything you need to know about our equine (Thoroughbred) athletes; the sport; the culture and even where to get the most bang for your buck at the concession stands!
I recently ran into a gentleman on the street, who asked me,
"How'd your filly do?
I responded,
"She broke great, led the entire way. She loved it. After the turn, heading for home, the favorite started to pull up near her. She dug in, and then—he stood up in the irons and pulled her up. Nearly yanked her head off."
It occurred to me shortly after this conversation that our lessons for beginners have to start with the very basics. In that one conversation, I'd used several terms that no beginner would be expected to understand: the gentleman and I had slipped into our "secret" language, that of people who are on the inside of the Sport. The words, "broke," "turn," "home," "favorite," "dug in," "irons" and "pulled up" would have no meaning to those of you who may be new to this glorious game.
"Broke" means that she exited the starting gate. To say that "She broke great" indicates that she didn't trip, or otherwise jeopardize a smooth exit from the gate. The "turn" refers to the two curves at the ends of the racing oval (in this case, a one-turn race). "Home" is the finish line. "Favorite" is the horse whose odds were lowest in the race. "Dug in" means that she kicked it into another gear, determined to win. "Irons" is the vernacular for "stirrups." And "pulled up" means that the jockey took the reins and made her stop, very suddenly. Even the word, "filly," may confuse some: a filly is a female Thoroughbred, up to and including the age of four.
We want to help you feel so comfortable in our Sport that you can conduct many such conversations with ease, confidence and depth of knowledge. So our goal with this section, Racing 101, is to give you all the basics, including the terminology, to learn this sport and feel comfortable around the horses and people who make it tick. You won't learn it all at once—don't stress about it! Take your time. Move on to the next lesson when you're ready. Email us with any questions you may have: we're here to help! By the time we've got 10 or 15 lessons under your belt—you'll be ready for the Saratoga meet!
Week One: Lesson One
What is a Thoroughbred?
This may seem like a silly question, but you might be surprised to know that many people assume that, when we say, "Thoroughbred," we mean a "thoroughly-well-put-together" horse. "Thoroughbred," as in, "Mercedes is the thoroughbred of cars."
We do not. A Thoroughbred, with a capital "t," is an actual breed of horse. Only Thoroughbreds are allowed to race against each other, and at race tracks designated as Thoroughbred tracks.
The Thoroughbred is a domestic horse, a "hothouse" horse, if you will: the Thoroughbred has never lived in the wild. It's not like a day came when suddenly humans, observing the lovely Thoroughbred running free in the woods, decided to rein in these gorgeous creatures and domesticate them.
The breed was intentionally created, between the middle of the 17th Century and the early 18th Century. Three "foundation sires" (fathers): the Byerly Turk; the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian, are the three "daddies" of the breed. These horses were bred with well-bred mares, and the Thoroughbred breed was born, literally, a truly domesticated horse.
All Thoroughbreds—every single registered Thoroughbred, from that time forward—is related on both sides (dam/mother and sire/father) to one of these three founding sires. In fact, in order to register as a Thoroughbred, a horse must be able to trace its ancestry (pedigree) on both sides back to at least one of the founding sires—or it is not considered to be a Thoroughbred.
And, no proof of breed authenticity = no races against Thoroughbreds. No "retirement" as a broodmare or stallion. If you can't prove Thoroughbred pedigree—you may be a lovely horse—but you're not a Thoroughbred.
Now, the fact that the Thoroughbred is a domesticated breed does not, by any stretch of the imagination, indicate that these enormous, lithe, muscular horses are intended to hang around in your living room, silently sitting by your easy chair while you channel surf! Au contraire! Thoroughbreds are the second-fastest animal on the Earth, second only to the Cheetah. Thoroughbreds have been clocked exceeding 47 mph in a race.
Ergo, contrary to fictionalized accounts of Thoroughbreds, as in some movies, a novice cannot just jump on the back of a Thoroughbred and take off for a joyride through the forest. The horse would kill you, albeit unintentionally! If you don't believe me—think about jumping on top of a 1,200-pound car that instantly shifts from 0 to 45, with no upshifting from first to fifth. You just go from a dead stop to fifth gear in a rolling, determined gait. You have no control over the car, AND you've scared it to death because of your sudden leap onto its roof.
Now that we've instilled a healthy respect for the power and potential of the Thoroughbred…you may ask, why and how are they so fast, and so powerful?
Every Thoroughbred is endowed with certain physical (biological) characteristics which separate it from other breeds:
• Thoroughbreds have a neck that is very long, and graceful. Longer than most other breeds, in fact. This long, beautiful neck is functional, not merely attractive. The neck propels the horse forward as it runs, physically pulling the rest of the horse up and smoothly completes the cycle of the stride. You see a Thoroughbred running: the rhythm, "ta-da-DUM, ta-da-DUM," is completed with that, "DUM." The back end of the horse begins that cycle, the neck completes it as it pulls the rest of the horse up for the instantaneous beginning of the next cycle.
• At the other end of the horse, and the cycle (literally), is the rump. How do I approach this topic delicately? the…rump of the horse is its engine. You'll often hear bettors, watching a Thoroughbred in the paddock (saddling area at a track), referring in one way or another to a horse's butt. A big butt really does, generally, indicate a powerful runner. Why? Because the butt, I swear to you--is the engine. From the first leap out of the starting gate, the horse pushes off on its powerful legs, using that large, muscular butt to propel itself forward. The first "ta-" of the rhythmic cycle of the gallop. Even foals (baby Thoroughbreds), with butts that seem higher than the rest of their bodies, are marked as potential Champions. Foals may look gawky with their little hineys up in the air, but every seasoned horsewoman and –man knows that the withers (shoulders) will grow up to the butt. Good height in the butt indicates the probable height of the horse in full growth. A Thoroughbred who does not have a high, or large butt, even as a yearling, may not succeed brilliantly on the track. It sounds like a crazy, or disrespectful, thing, to look at a horse's hind-end with such interest, but it's like looking at the engine under the hood of a Ferrari. The bigger the engine, the more horsepower the car generates—ergo, the more powerful the car.
The difference between a Ferrari and a VW Rabbit is the engine, its quality and size. Same with Thoroughbreds. When I see my horse in the starting gate, I want to see her butt push her out of that gate with a mighty thrust—and that thrust can only be attained with strong, sturdy back legs and a mighty, large, muscular butt.
• A Thoroughbred's legs—well, we could take pages and pages to discuss the perfect conformation of the legs! For now, we'll say that a Thoroughbred is endowed with very strong, powerful legs and hooves that are perfectly sturdy, in spite of their relatively delicate appearance. Many people mistakenly believe that a Thoroughbred is brittle: they are not: God made their legs evolve to fit their needs. If you think that a Thoroughbred's legs are skinny, light or otherwise delicate—try lifting one!
The breed is intellectually very brilliant, and has remarkable awareness of its own body space. A Thoroughbred will never intentionally step on you—they're too aware of the space they take up, and know where their hooves are at any given moment.
• It's easy to distinguish a Thoroughbred from other breeds by looking at the head and face:
· The eyes are round, bright, and placed on the side of the head. (Don't worry: a Thoroughbred can move its eyes, and see almost 360 degrees!) Unlike humans, horses see with monocular vision: that is, a Thoroughbred sees the horse running on its left, and that on its right, independently of each other—AND can process the movements of each horse, and respond. We humans have binocular vision: our two eyes see one image, whereas the Thoroughbred sees a "split screen." Humans must shift our eyes first to the left, then to the right, to figure out who's gaining on us, and do the calculations. A Thoroughbred sees two different scenes, two different horses—and can quickly decide the course of action to get ahead of said horses. Amazing.
· The head of a Thoroughbred is long, with a flat, graceful profile. While many breeds feature a more curved profile, our breed is profoundly straight, curving only at the nostril area of the nose.
· The ears are high on the head; relatively slim; perky and attentive. You can read a Thoroughbred's mood by watching her ears: if the ears are straight up, the horse is happy, or at least in a good mood. Flattened back, the horse is angry, or at least not in the mood to deal with you. Leaning forward, the horse is racing, and very-much at attention.
(Interestingly enough, if you gently rub a Thoroughbred around their eyes or ears, they'll start to doze off, right in your hands! They love being touched in this nurturing way: it relaxes them, and the trust between you can grow almost immediately.)
· The nostrils of our Thoroughbred friends are on the sides of the nose; this allows the horse to, among other things, flick away dirt that comes at their faces and out of their nasal cavities. Their nostrils are long and oval-shaped, and flare out a great deal when they're running. This gives the horse as much oxygen as possible to stoke that magnificent engine.
· And the lips—I'm sure that you've seen photos of a horse with her lip curled up, looking like she's enjoying a big ole' horse laugh? The horse is smelling its environment. Many breeds, but most notably Thoroughbreds, have olfactory glands under their lips: a Thoroughbred who's curled her lip up, looking like she's just being goofy—is really taking in all the scents around her—and up to two miles away!
And speaking of their keen sense of smell: when you first meet a Thoroughbred, you'll hear them go "fft," "fft," "fft," as they sniff you, all over. They're figuring out who you are. Fish or foul? Friend or foe?
If you lift her face under her mouth, and blow into her nostrils—she'll never forget you. Your next meeting with your new Thoroughbred friend will be a reunion with a horse who's already approved of you, and thinks that you're OK. They don't accept just anyone—unlike humans, Thoroughbreds have a keen sense of who's a good person, and who's bad. They can sniff a bad person a mile away—literally!
And, to be honest—I value Horse Approval far above that of any human I've ever met. I figure I'm all right as a person, because I've never met a horse who didn't think I sniffed OK.
That's it for Lesson One. I don't want to completely overwhelm you with facts and figures. If you have questions, please email them in. Otherwise, we'll proceed with Lesson Two next week, "Conformation of the Thoroughbred." With this lesson, we'll get more in-depth about the musculature and bone structure, and you'll learn how to tell a really-well-put-together Thoroughbred. You can go to the Sales and sound like an old pro, even after Lesson Two!
Have a great week! Remember, you're learning a whole new thing: be good to yourself, and give yourself a treat for all you know. How 'bout a peppermint or carrot?
|
