Novel, WELCOME idea

[46zilzal]

All horses are NOT sprinters. Why then do they put MOST maidens in short sprints to start out their careers?

A novel way to allow those that have stamina to show it even as a maiden is in the first race today at Woodbine, a TWELVE furlong maiden race.

SomeONE is actually thinking at that track!

[46zilzal]

Through a friend I just received a nice reply:"I passed your message to Steve Lym, our racing secretary, and he was very appreciative of your comments and asked me to thank you. He agreed it is always nice to get favorable feedback because most of the time people are dumping on him."

[cj]

It is a good idea. So good, Saratoga and Gulfstream already implemented it this year.

[Tom Barrister]

Younger horses shouldn't be running longer distances yet.

Many career maidens can't run much farther than six furlongs without needing a rest.

Woodbine has always done strange things.

The maiden races are carded for what stock is available. I'd imagine most of the contestants aren't suited to go twelve furlongs.

[46zilzal]

Originally Posted by Tom Barrister

Younger horses shouldn't be running longer distances yet.

Many career maidens can't run much farther than six furlongs without needing a rest.

Woodbine has always done strange things.

The maiden races are carded for what stock is available. I'd imagine most of the contestants aren't suited to go twelve furlongs.

Every trainer I have spoken to says routes take much LESS out of a horse than sprints due to the inherent slower pace.

[Tom Barrister]

Originally Posted by 46zilzal

Every trainer I have spoken to says routes take much LESS out of a horse than sprints due to the inherent slower pace.

That may or may not be, but that wasn't my point.

What I said is that most career maidens couldn't run past six furlongs without gasping for air. They aren't going all that fast in the six furlong races, compared to open-company horses. Regardless of how much it takes out of the horse when the race is over, if the horse is going to be walking at the end of a route race, the trainer isn't going to enter it in routes.

[46zilzal]

Where was the word CAREER in reference to these on ANY maidens?

[Tom]

In Post #6

[ManeMediaMogul]

It is really about learning.

The trainer's job with a young horse is to teach him the game, preparing him for a career. Learning to break, getting accustomed to dirt in the face, racing in traffic and utilizing speed when the rider asks for it is a process.

A couple of sprint races before stretching out contribute to the learning program and basic fitness. It is the best way to prepare a horse for longer races.

Let's say you wanted to run in a charity 5K race in November and you've been sitting on the beach at Del Mar all summer, drinking Coronas and eating tacos from Robertos. Are you going to wake up tomorrow and run 5K?

Probably not.

You might walk a mile or two for a few days, then a light jog going a mile and work your way up over the next couple of months.

It's the same with a horse.

That's not to say that a maiden couldn't win going a mile and a half first time out through training and preparation...it's done in Europe all the time. But at what cost. A tough race at that distance often knocks a horse out for a while and sometimes it ruins their career.

What is the rush?...I would rather have a horse that I owned and/or trained around for several years.

[lamboguy]

i like the idea of going long first time out with a horse that has that ability. since it is a trainer's job to teach the horses to run it is pretty smart not to go a short distance with a horse that needs to go long. the reason is that you don't want to discourage a horse while he or she is in their learning stages. it does no good when a horse doesn't have enough speed to run short and lose contact with the field.

another plus would be that horses that run long last longer. when you start sprinting and ask a horse to go fast right out of the gate there is more chance of injury. when going long the speed kicks in the latter part of the race when the horses are all warmed up.

also it must be noted that a trainer has to be able to adjust to the horse he has, he has to know what he has and make good choices.

[WinterTriangle]

Let's be honest. We race horses young and in sprints because both are fast money. Distance horses take time to develop.

We have decided that speed is what makes a good racehorse, when for me it's strength, durability, stamina, a great mind, soundness and ability to carry weight over distance....... along with speed. But they don't want to wait for that, or wait for 3 year olds.

IMHO, the way we breed for speed is in essence breeding a sub-strain ..... becuase it's not all the things a racing thoroughbred should be.

I don't play sprint races. If I want that, I play quarter horses.

Any modern thoroughbred should be able to run 2 miles. Yet, when I find a 12F or so race, I start looking at the PPs and find 7/8th of the field has never run the distance. It's like wagering a crapshoot.

Distance races are the bomb, wish we had more. You really get to see the horses apply their skills in so many ways over a long distance.

[gm10]

Very good idea. I don't see why 3yo maidens wouldn't be able to handle it, on the contrary, they are probably better for their long term development that running in 6F sprints as a young 2yo. Horses are very capable of running for a few miles when they reach 3.

[bcgreg]

Doesn't Europe run predominantly longer races? I believe they race very sparingly as 2 YO as well...could be mistaken.

[fmolf]

there are many trainers even with the older horses that like to run there horss into shape....the old two sprints to a route angle....A trainer will usually try his maidens at different distances and on different surfaces to try to discern where the horse runs best.