Miss me? It has been a while since I have posted and people have been asking what is going on with the blog (they don't ask how I am doing) so we will start with a game: Where's Will, yo? (rhymes with Where's Waldo). See if you can spot me in this picture:
Ah, football season at its finest. Did you notice that we had Tom Cruise with us?
It is not just football that has been a distraction but I have been busy opening my own firm (hey, I am doing some equine law, tell your friends!), dealing with cat kidney disease, preparing for Keeneland November, flying a few bombing raids on ISIS strongholds, and watching replays in preparation for the Breeders' Cup. Let's look at 8 positive things that have happened to the industry in the last few weeks:
(1) Washington-bred Winners - Washington-breds went out on a good note winning 48 of 76 races. This was a great year for Washington-breds with the likes of Stryker Phd and Trackattacker.
(2) Prime Engine - Ok, he is not a Washington-bred but this horse is for real. Won a Maiden Special Weight receiving a 83 Beyer and then came back and put away Trackattacker on his way to an impressive Gottstein win. Not sure we are going to see this horse here again. Maybe a Breeders' Cup Juvenile start in his sights?
(3) Vital Signs Stable - What a weekend for the Chinns. They win the Cahill Road Stakes with Daytona Beach who is by Harbor the Gold out of Hit a Star. In addition, they finished 3rd in the Gottstein with the filly Val de Saire versus some very good males. In addition to being the owners, the Chinns also are the breeders on both of the horses.
(4) Blueberry Smoothie - Have a huge soft spot for this filly so I was happy to see her go out on a winning note in a 50k Optional Claimer race on Sunday. I wish the best for her as she enters the next phase of her life as a mom.
(5) Harbor the Gold - Continued his dominance this year. Through today, he leads the list of Sires of Washington-breds by Earnings with a total of $987,811. His closest competitor is Matty G with $361,443. Third place and fourth place go to Private Gold and Cahill Road, respectively.
(6) Emerald Downs at the Breeders' Cup - Could potentially see both Stopshoppingdebbie and Stryker at the Breeders' Cup. Stryker recently recorded a workout on September 21st. Debbie runs this weekend in the L.A. Woman.
(7) Pick 5 Carryover - Forever focused on handle, I was happy to see a two-day Pick 5 carryover of $19,079 going into Saturday September 20th. The investors added another $66,409 to the pool on that day. Not only was this positive for the overall handle number, but was good for investors who beat the takeout rate for that day. More on this later as I have an idea that I think could help handle at Emerald Downs.
(8) Twelfth Fan - Nice to see this well-named horse break her maiden before the season was over. Onward and upward. Twelfth is hard to spell by the way.
In the coming weeks, we will discuss Breeders' Cup, analyze the WTBOA Sale a little more and look at the ways to increase handle.
Enjoy your remaining days of sun, just like our cat:
Cobweb has one question for you: Do you like luxury?
And I would be remiss if I did not leave the season with a Logan "in action" shot from Cannon Beach:
Excellent.
Always Love Your Animals and have a great off season,
Will
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