Field Size and Foal Count in Washington

The Issue of the Declining Foal Crop

The yearly Racetrack Industry Program ("RTIP") Symposium at the University of Arizona is something I always keep a close eye on this time of year because (1) I want to ignore the holidays and (2) a good portion of our industry leaders gather to discuss the pressing topics of the day. This year the main topic of discussion appears to be centering around the declining foal crop, the declining number of horses per race, and declines in handle based because of smaller numbers. As you know from my rantings on this blog, I put a huge emphasis on handle because it is the main economic  barometer of our industry overall. Increase handle leads to an increase in purses, which leads to increase in owners and horses, which leads to an increase in handle, which leads to increase purses ......The CIRCLE OF LIFE! 

Some statistics from the speakers at the symposium that are important for purposes of this discussion: 

*In the last 11 years, handle has dropped by 30 percent

*Over the past 25 years, field size has dropped from 9.0 horses per race to 7.9 horses per race today 

*Field sizes are expected to drop in the next few years because of the foal crop decline from the economic slowdown. 

*Handle could climb as much as 43 percent if we averaged 10 horses per race in the United States. 

*Based on analysis from Woodbine, it is better to add horses to short fields, rather than add horses to already large field (a diminishing returns theory). In other words, from the perspective of handle, it is more valuable to add a horse to a six horse field than a horse to a ten horse field. That is good news for our neck of the woods. 

The first three statistics are nothing new. The last two have been harder to quantify. 

Solutions Proposed 

Because I am not going to be negative without attempting to offer a solution (and I am not being negative, just presenting facts), here were the potential solutions that were proposed during the symposium discussion and proposed by turf writers*:

(1) Cut the number of race days and/or the number of races each day

(2) Changing the distribution of purses to allow some owners to get their money back if their horse runs 6th or worse. In other words, incentivize entries. 

(3) Re-distribution of horses to a variety of different trainers rather than a few. Jim Cassidy stated that 20% of the trainers make 80% of the money. If Todd Pletcher has four allowance-level horses to enter into an allowance race, he will likely enter two and wait on the other two. If those four horses are in the hands of four different trainers, they all get entered. 

(5) Coordinating schedules/conditions with "neighboring" racetracks - Don't have Hastings, Portland and Emerald running at the same time. 

(6) Focusing on the old customer - lowering takeout

(7) Focusing on the new customer - making the game 

(8) Start horses more often - races are getting spaced out more and more.  

(9) Increase the foal count - 

All of these have at least some merit, but they also have drawbacks. 

As a Board member of the WTBOA, I will focus on (9) because every other decision is currently out of my influence/control (See I learned something from all those self-help books: "Control only what is the 3 feet around you." blah.). Recently, I had an email discussion with one of Washington's industry leaders about the current situation and whether there was a way to incentivize the breeders in our state to take the mares that were out of commission because of the Great Recession and/or the current economics of raising a horse in Washington State. This is a question I continue to ponder. Most of the mares that were "taken out of production" during the Great Recession are likely not coming back into the breeding shed. However, the breeders who were taken out of production during the Great Recession may consider breeding one or two horses in the coming years considering the changes in Washington and the change in the overall economy. It is extremely important that we bring them back into the industry.  

Increasing the Foal Count versus The Cost of Raising Horses

Unfortunately, the cost of raising a horse for sale has become prohibitive. Take our WTBOA sale. Some numbers thrown around by the industry's brightest are that it costs $8,000 (plus stud fee) per horse to bring them to the sale.  That is $8,000 for someone who owns their own farm (rough estimate, you may have a different number).  However, it costs individuals like me without a farm me more than that to raise a foal. The biggest factors in this overall cost are (according the Brewer Thoroughbreds Excel Spreadsheets which I never want my financial advisor to see): 

(1) Boarding 

(2) Vet Bills  

(3) Stallion Fees 

There are other costs such as insurance, farrier, transportation, foaling and also nomination fees but those are less significant than the three above. 

So if you pay a $2,000 stud fee you are looking at needing $10,000 to break even assuming you have your own farm. If you don't, you probably need more like $12,000 to break even. The average at the 2014 WTBOA sale was $16,012 (that includes non-Washington-breds). So breeders are making money and should breed more horses right? Well, the $16,000 doesn't take into account the other empty mares at the farm, the foal that came out crooked and sold for $2,000, the foal that had bad x-rays and now is recovering before the horse is put in training by the breeder at $55 a day. Also, I am not including the cost of the MARE in all of this. This is not woe is me, it is just economic fact. I am willing to support this industry even if it impacts me negatively in the short term. 

So you can attack this economic issue in two ways: (a) increase the price you get for foals and (b) lower the costs for production. 

(a) Increase the Price you get for Foals

I have always said that we don't suffer from a lack of horses, we suffer from a lack of owners. If we have the owners, we will breed the horses. The more owners that we get wanting horses, the more the price of those foals increases (supply and demand). In the last year, we have been provided with a "Buy Here, Win Here" Bonus for horses going through our sale and, most importantly, the Emerald Racing Club created hundreds of potential new owners which should have a positive impact on our state for years to come. Every organization needs to sit down and think about how to drive owners to the sport and the breeders need to figure out ways to put foals on the ground. We need to take these new owners and mentor them. Make sure they meet the right people and make sure they get off to a good start in ownership. 

Another way to increase the price for our foals is to make them more appealing to buyers. So an important question that breeders have to ask every year is: What stallion in Washington right now is going to get you, on average, $12,000+ so that breeders are incentivized to add more mares? We had a good sale last year but the average for a Washington-bred yearling sold at auction was below $12,000 up until 2013 (according the 2014 Jockey Club Fact Book). I like some of our Washington stallions but I truly believe it is a priority to get more quality stallions to our state to give breeders a chance to succeed. Having higher quality stallions in Washington also helps lower cost (see below) because transportation expenses to Kentucky and California along with boarding for at least 60 days while your mare is visiting out of state is very costly. Plus, stud fees in Washington typically are less expensive. 

(b) Lower the Costs of Production

So the question is how do we go about reducing the costs of those three items listed above. Boarding and vet bills are hard. The cost of goods is going up so the cost of boarding will continue to go up. I don't see vet bills getting any cheaper (although I wish they would). I lack the economic intelligence to understand ways to decrease the price of goods for people who board horses. I simply need to understand it better. It appears that the only thing I can figure out, for now, is how to get better prices for your foal. 

As industry stakeholders, I would welcome any ideas. Could we have stallion owners incentivize broodmares that are "out of commission." Will breeders pretend their horse is "out of commission" to get incentivized? How do we cut down on vet bills? How do we cut down on boarding costs? How do we get together and bring new stallions to the state? I will put all the legal agreements together to bring a stallion here. I will research the pedigrees. I will recruit mares. I just think we need to work together to get done what we can get done.  

Solutions Proposed Redux 

After that quick detour into bookkeeping hell, let's get back to the issue of handle and solutions (1)-(8) that I discussed above. I lack the power to pass any of those solutions through regulation, track, etc. But I will offer a few thoughts. As a person who studies this industry and the behavior of "investors" for over 25 years, I can tell you I (and others) put an emphasis on the following when determining whether to invest: 

(1) Takeout Rate  

(2) Quality of Races - More consistency, better rides

(3) Quantity of Horses in a Race 

(4) Total Pool for Specific Investment (i.e., Pick 5 total pool) - Liquidity 

If I see a 5 horse field of low-level claiming horses I am going to skip the race and even a sequence (Pick 3,4, and 5) entirely. 2500N3L races simply don't appeal to me as a bettor. Sorry, but true. These horses are wildly inconsistent and not fun to watch. It also doesn't make good economic sense for me to invest in those type of races. We really need to focus not just on the quantity of horses in each race but the quality and the investability, for lack of a better (or bettor) term, of each race. 

*Some articles for your edification: 

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/89129/symposium-customer-has-to-figure-in-equation

http://www.drf.com/news/industry-tries-balance-field-size-and-bottom-line

http://www.drf.com/news/field-size-hot-topic-racing-symposium

http://www.paulickreport.com/news/ray-s-paddock/horse-racings-slow-motion-train-wreck/

Always Love Your Animals, 

Will 

Prime Engine - Delta Downs Jackpot

Prime Engine, the Gottstein winner, races in the $1,000,000 Delta Downs Jackpot (G. III) on Saturday. Prime Engine is undefeated from two starts at Emerald Downs.

Past Performances for the Delta Downs Jackpot can be found here:

http://static.boydgaming.net/deltadownsracing/media/downloads/2014-past-performances/race-7.pdf

Prime Engine's race record:

http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=9305640&registry=T

Always Love Your Animals,

Will

Fear and Loathing in Lexington, Kentucky and the La Quinta pool in Ontario, California

Hi, anything happen while I was gone to Kentucky? Any news on the Northwest racing front? Just curious. 

I'm back from my two-week voyage to the Breeders' Cup and the Land of Moonshine and Justified . The last few weeks have been memorable, frustrating, long, a hell of a lot of fun, and very educational. In an industry where you never stop learning (and hence the reason I love it), I learned several things while on my trips which I will gladly share with you: 

(5) Will Brewer is poor, relatively - I'm not complaining. I don't have a bad life or struck with some terrible disease (except Narcissism). In fact, I have a great life. I am extremely good looking, also good looking and am really good looking.  However, I have to admit I was a little frustrated and down at the first-part of the Keeneland November sale. Buying broodmares in my price range for Washington was next to impossible. Out here in Washington, we have a lower yearling average than other parts of the country. So, you can't, from a business perspective, justify spending a significant amount on a broodmare that you are going to have to foal in Washington. As a result, I have a cap on how much I will spend on a broodmare and I, unlike my wife, will not compromise my standards just for the purposes of getting a broodmare (getting married). I didn't compromise, but I paid for it (or actually didn't) by coming home empty handed. 

I have been to several sales back in Kentucky, but this was Keeneland insanity at its finest. I saw many people were overpaying for mares just because they were in foal to a hot sire like Pioneerofthenile or Super Saver. I never care much for who the mare is in foal to. At the end of the day you are buying the mare, not the foal. That foal she is carrying could die, could come out crooked, etc. At the end of the day, you MUST be satisfied with the broodmare you purchased and not who she is in foal to. People were spending $80,000 for a relatively poor mare because they were in foal to a hot sire. If that foal doesn't make it, you have invested a large sum of money for nothing. I can't spend anywhere close to that amount.  Common sense seems to go out the window at those sales. I will only own a handful of horses in my life, I have to get it right...most of the time. So I wait.....

(4) Never name your pony Dick - It leads to terrible dinner jokes. Or just don't go to dinner with people from the "Northwest". And don't bring up Beaver Pelt. Or Horsey. Or Mustangs. Or never-ending Pasta Bowls. Or the 3 year-old stakes races at Emerald last year. You see, you missed a lot by not being at Keeneland. 

(3-Tie) Looks are Deceiving - I can't tell you how many times I looked at broodmares that won over $200,000 only to find horrible crookedness. You wonder how they ran thru all of that. But they did and the examples were numerous all over the Keeneland sales ground. As I learned a long time ago, heart and determination matter so much in this game. I went to several farms while in Kentucky to look at the new stallions that were being offered. I was surprised by some of the stallions I liked. I will recap the stallions I saw, with pictures, in a future blog posting. 

(3-Tie) I am Horrible at Photography - I mean awful. Here is just a sampling from BC and Keeneland: 

Just a bit outside!

Ansel Adams would be proud. 

And now for the Will Brewer Post-Modern collection: 

Because I know your foal will come out of their mom with a blanket on, here is what they will look like if sired by Will Take Charge: 

A great picture if I could put my iPad cover on correctly: 

(2) Always Have a Los Alamitos VIP with You and Always Be Prepared to Survive a Rave- Went with a really fun group of troubled teens to the Breeders' Cup this year. These lovable scamps were a rowdy bunch at times. Lots of stories to tell but none greater than exercise rider Clark "Clint" Jones and his pull at Los Alamitos. You have never experienced the full Clint Jones VIP treatment until you go to Los Al and get into the Vessels Club for no charge (because it's free). Free Past Performances courtesy of taking it off someone else's table (Thanks Ash). Free parking courtesy of it being free. Free entry courtesy of it being free. Dinner cost me like $80 though. Los Al style: 

Um, okay.

Yes, I went from Breeders Cup to Los Alamitos in one day. True fan. 

(This looks like a country band album cover with Chris Stenslie playing the mysterious drummer)

In addition to Los Al, this smaller group (above) had to survive a rave in the Ontario, California La Quinta hotel lobby in order to make it out to Santa Anita to see workouts at 5:30 am. You would think the La Quinta would be empty at 4:45 a.m. However, I walk down stairs to meet everyone and there are seven people on some sort of synthetic drug drinking themselves silly in the lobby of the La Quinta. Repeat, the lobby of the La Quinta at 4:45am. You see, one of the world's biggest raves was being held in Los Angeles (although it seemed like it was being held at the La Quinta Pool) on BC weekend and we bore the brunt of it. There were dudes walking around in just towels at 4:45 a.m. in the lobby of the La Quinta tripping and drinking. Great to wake up to. Regardless, we made it out to see the BC horses gallop around the track. Well worth dealing with the Daft Punk fan club in the lobby. 

(1) There is no such thing as a "Vacation Day" in Horse Racing - The day? Thursday, November 13th. The Event? My final day in Kentucky. The Situation? I was done trying to find a broodmare. No horses on my list. I planned a nice quiet day of looking at stallions and going to visit some retired horses. The Change? And then the news was announced of the sale of Emerald Downs. 

Let me tell you my reaction to this news: Optimism. Next thought: Please, let's open our arms to our new owners. Let's listen to them and assist them in anyway possible. Please, let's allow the new owners of the track some time to figure things out. Let's not make demands. They are taking on a tremendous task of owning a racetrack and trying to make it profitable. It's hard to do. They are smart business people who are successful in the gaming industry. If we help them in anyway we can and they are successful, the (my) dream of having a sustainable thoroughbred industry in Washington for the next several generations will be closer to becoming a reality. This is our chance to make things better. It may be our only chance. Let's listen and open our arms to the new owner. Let's wait 60 to 90 days and see the details of the contract before we start demanding, complaining or spreading rumor. Let's help them in any capacity that we can. Let's use this energy and make this nothing but a positive. 

Always Love Your Animals and Your New Owner of Emerald Downs, 

Will 

 

Breeders' Cup and Keeneland

The rumors of the Military Hawk blog's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Took some time off after the end of the Emerald season to fast on a diet of tea leaves while sitting in a tree in the Renton Ikea parking lot. Although I picked up some Fyrkantigs, a Flardfull and a Gronkulla, I still can't figure out how to use this:

Been preparing for the Breeders' Cup and Keeneland for the last week. Will hope to do some live blogging from Santa Anita (actually, the Ontario Airport La Quinta. Actually, the Ontario Airport La Quinta pool because it appears there is no karaoke bar at the La Quinta....fail. My rendition of Bust a Move by Young MC is generational changing). Also hoping to do some blogging from Keeneland if I can get my business taken care of early enough (and by business, I don't mean the three The Liquor Barns in the Lexington area).

Speaking of Breeders' Cup preparation, you know you have a problem when it is 3 a.m. and you have an strong desire to learn French, not for the sake of learning a new language, but because you want to understand what is going when watching race replays from Longchamp in Paris. And that is the only reason you want to learn French. Why would you want to learn a language for the sake of learning a language? I mean really:

I think he said croissant at some point in there. Understood that. Fell in love with Tarfasha after watching race replays from France and Ireland. Love those white socks on here. She finishes fourth in the race above and wins here:

If anybody from the Northwest is going to Keeneland November, send me a message. The Bar C posse mentioned getting together people for dinner while out in Kentucky. That would be fun. Maybe there is a Waffle House we could close down.

If you are participating in the Emerald Downs Breeders' Cup challenge against me this year, prepare to get completely dominated.

Not one of you have asked about my dog and cat lately. They are doing fine.

Always Love Your Animals,

Will

Top 5 Reasons There is Something Wrong With You If You Are Not Watching Santa Anita At 2:30 Tomorrow.

It is time to rise up Washingtonians! Put away your hookah and ganja brownies (I actually had to look up the correct spelling of ganja) and put on your Washington flag loin cloth. It is time to root on the most excellent Stopshoppingdebbie in the L.A. Woman Stakes tomorrow at Santa Anita:

http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=8879341&registry=T

http://www.paulickreport.com/news/thoroughbred-racing/stopshoppingdebbie-puts-perfect-record-on-the-line-in-l-a-woman-stakes/

George Washington crossed the Green River to protect your freedom. Show him some due respect tomorrow.

This is a prep for the Breeders' Cup. If you are not putting down your apples and taking off your Cody Pickett jersey to watch this race you have 1 of the 5 things wrong with you:

(1) You don't like Tom Wenzel - Simply shameful. It is time for this hard-working, excellent trainer to get his day(s) in the spotlight. He is an excellent trainer who is both humble and caring of his owners and animals. He is what we should be rooting for.

(2) You hate Barbados - Washington has a 10 year tourism contract with Barbados and you are straight disrespecting that contract by not rooting for Rocco "Sizzla" Bowen to win this race. Ok, most of that last sentence was a complete lie but if I was running for Governor of Washington I would run on a pro-Barbados/horse platform. I would lose .3% to 99.7%, but it would be a most excellent concession speech.

If you have read my blog at all in the last 6 months, you would know that Rocco "Sizzla" Bowen is my favorite jockey. He is a fantastic rider and kudos to Jerre Paxton (aka J-Pax) to allow the Sizzla to continue to ride this horse. The winners' circle theme song alone is enough to root for him:

Don't hate on Barbados.

(3) You love state income tax - California charges 9% state income tax. If you are rooting for someone else other than Debbie, then you are required to pay 9% of your income next year to a pro-equine charity of your choice for your insubordination. Either way, we win and you lose.

(4) You love Colin Kaepernik - If you are not rooting for Debbie tomorrow, you simply are a 49ers fan and nothing offends me more, except abuse to animals and disrespect of Pop Rocks. Here is what happens to Kaepernik:

(5) You hate good racing - For the last three years us Emerald Downs track rats have had the pleasure of watching a Curlin, Tapit and Giants Causeway win good races over and over. It is good racing. It is a pleasure to watch. It is what we should aspire to. Good racing with well-bred horses is awesome.

If any of the 5 apply to you I will meet you after school in the parking lot around 3pm.

Rock this party Debbie:

Always Love Your Animals but especially Stopshoppingdebbie tomorrow,

Will Brewer

Speech by Larry Bramlage

A speech that is well worth reading and contemplating. It reflects a good deal of my views on the medication debate.

http://pdfs.thoroughbreddailynews.com/generic_upload/pdf/TCABramlagespeech.doc[1].pdf

Always Love Your Animals,

Will Brewer

Weeks 21, 22 and 23 - Top 8 Things that were Positive for the Washington Industry

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 

Raspberry Road

And then you go and pick your kid up from his first day of school and all the other kids are faster, know how to color within the lines, and don't eat paste.

Raspberry Road - Request to Emerald Downs

I try to provide fair and unbiased opinion about the Washington thoroughbred industry in everything that I do. I go out of my way to promote other people's stallions and horses in order to see this industry survive. (In fact, I am trying to convince the Governor of Washington to invade and annex Hermiston, Oregon and make it apart of Washington. I can't see Oregon calling our bluff and if they do we will happily give them Walla Walla in exchange).

 But not this post. This is a selfish post. This post is about two things:

(1) Emerald Downs Request - My official request to Emerald Downs that every time a Brewer Thoroughbreds, LLC bred or owned horse is going to the gate that Thunderstruck by AC/DC is played: 

Excellent

and 

(2) Raspberry Road - Raspberry Road is the first horse that I bred to hit the track. He races in the 4th race on Saturday, a Maiden Special Weight race. After years and years of waiting, patience and extensive capital, the Brewer Thoroughbreds, LLC domination is set to begin! In all seriousness, I am very proud to see that he has been entered into a MSW race on Saturday. It means that a very good trainer and owners thinks that he has some talent. 

Raspberry Road's first steps

Chilling with Marva Jean  

To me, it is like proudly watching your kid go off to his first day of school (not that I would know). 

He is against a salty group of first timers including two horses from Pegasus and a Doris Harwood first time starter by Harbor the Gold, so the race came up tough. My thoughts have always been that Raspberry Road will get better with age (just like Marva and Bellamy Road). Would be very happy with a top 3 finish in this race and to show a glimpse of talent that will bring him back next year. Also excited to see that one of my favorite jockeys, Ronald Richard, is on board. 

I am more nervous for this race than any other race I have been involved in, even of horses that I have raced myself. You see, my goal from the very beginning has been to breed quality (not quantity) horses to sell and, hopefully, race in Washington. To improve the breed and show the world that Washington is still here. This is the start of that goal. I wish the very best to the Spooners and am glad he is in their and Dan Markle's capable hands. 

There is also something special about putting new life on the earth and watching it grow (are these paternal instincts coming out in Will Brewer that have been dormant for decades? Never!)

I always thought that once you sold the horses that you bred that maybe you would lose that connection with them. I now know this is not the case. I have been going back and feeding him carrots all year at the barn. I couldn't be more excited than if I was a 100% owner of this horse. 

Growing up 

And being a kid

 Raspberry Road with Sarah

My favorite picture of him

At the sale 

Oh the imagery!!!!

Always Love Your Animals and Go Raspberry Road!, 

Will 

Broodmares of the Week - Sponsored by Brewer Concrete Demolition LLC

By far the biggest complaint I get about my blog, besides complete lack of mastery of the english language, is that the ladies would like to see more pictures of me with power tools. Your wish is granted. I take complaints very seriously, which is why I decided to do some jackhammering of concrete from the backyard to make way for my cat racetrack (first race in the condition book is for 4 year old and up female feral calico cats, but it requires 7 entries to go)

                                                           (Photos by Disenchanted Wife)

Please note how well I do matching fence colors. It's called wanting to be at the track rather than staining.

Washington Cup Day was last Sunday and the good news is that I don't have to do very much work to account for every single broodmare that won a Washington Cup Stakes Race last weekend. Why, you ask? Because I have written Broodmares of the Week for all of these horses already with the exception of Chu and You's dam, Bronze Charmer. I am prophetic.

(1) Chinook Pass Stakes - Won by Noosito, who is by Harbor the Gold out of the prolific Basket Weave mare, Julia Rose. She needs no introduction. The mile was ran in 1:35.13. Noosito is a full to Noosa Beach and Music of My Soul. Noosito is still a colt so you have imagine that he might have a future career in the Northwest.

(2) Dennis Dodge Stakes - Won, predictably, by Trackattacker who ran 6 Furlongs in 1:09.27 geared down. Would be interesting to see what the numbers for this horse came back at. Here is the link to my article on Eclatante, Trackattacker's dam. Again, a very good Harbor the Gold:

http://militaryhawk.blogspot.com/2014/06/broodmare-of-week-eclatante-sponsored.html

(3) Pegasus Stakes - Won by Madame Pele who got to avoid the Northwest Farms contingent this time. I wrote extensively about the dam, Striking Scholar, earlier this year because she is also the dam of Longacres Mile winner Stryker Phd:

http://militaryhawk.blogspot.com/2014/06/broodmare-of-week-striking-scholar.html

(4) Northwest Farms Stakes - As a side note, the dishonorary steward for this race was Darrin Paul who got a rousing ovation from the crowd when his presence was announced.

Won by Seattles Best Copy. By Demon Warlock out of the Supremo mare, Premo Copy. Wrote about Soft Copy, Premo Copy's dam earlier this year. Seattles Best Copy ran the 6 Furlongs in 1:10.18:

http://militaryhawk.blogspot.com/2014/07/broodmare-of-week-soft-copy-sponsored_24.html

It was nice to see Fine Red Wine get second. Dancing with Effie, unfortunately, got out of the gate poorly which took away her one true weapon: speed.

(5) Comcast Sportsnet Stakes - Won by the You and I filly Chu and You. Out of the Volponi mare, Bronze Charmer, Chu and You controlled the pace and was able to put away Mylast Sweet Pea. Bronze Charmer was purchased by Halvorson Bloodstock in November 2005 for $22,000.

(6) Muckleshoot Tribal Classic - K-Swag brings it home with his homebred Mike Man's Gold. By Liberty Gold out of Chedoodle, Mike Man's Gold got some good competition to run against at Del Mar and came back for this nice victory. My story on Chedoodle and K-Swag is here:

http://militaryhawk.blogspot.com/2014/05/washington-broodmare-of-week-chedoodle.html

Always Love Your Animals,

Will

Washington Cup Day Picks

It is Washington Cup Day. A day to celebrate the greatness that is Washington. And I have got some great longshot picks for you tomorrow: Trackattacker and Noosito. You may only get a 5% return on your investment but that is just as good of a return as Ferndale Municipal Bond and less risky because you never know when Canada will invade. So here are my unbelievably chalk eating picks for the day:

Race 2 - #4 Preachinatsagoi - Remember from my earlier post, always bet Preachinatthebar first timers at Emerald. My place pick is #6 Silver Ovation who has some experience over these.

Race 3 - #1 Fisher Creek - This is my favorite handicapping angle: always bet on the horse off a 4 year layoff. My deep affection for Kris Kross makes me pick #3 Hip Hop City for second.

Race 4 - #2 Noosito - Do you have a better alternative? He is still a colt so you have to wonder if they are thinking stallion down the road being a full to Music of My Soul and Noosa Beach. I am going to pick #1 Hoody for second because I don't want people to think I am the marketing arm of Bar C (So I leave off Trick or Retreat).

Race 5 - #1 Trackattacker - Ok, I am the marketing arm for Bar C. Any better ideas? Second, I will pick #5 because the Search is Over was a Survivor song. Great video.

The lead singer of Survivor died this week. RIP.

Race 6 - Hold on, there are no Harbor the Golds to pick? What to do? I will go with #2 Madame Pele because, despite the layoff, she has been working up a storm and there is nobody named Debbie, Smoothie or Window in this race. My second pick is #4 Stephanie Plum. I have tons of respect for the #1 Castinette Dancer, but it seems like she is not the same horse she used to be. I studied the form on #5 She's Top for a while and gave tons of credit to the Prineville and Tilamook races but couldn't see her hitting the board.

Race 7 - Going with #6 Dancing with Effie for the minor upset. I think she is getting better at the right time. Also, have a soft spot for #5 Fine Red Wine (and also just wine) so I will pick her for second.

Race 8 - Have to pick #7 Chu and You who has a decisive pace advantage in this race. #4 Mylast Sweet Pea for second. The best thing for G-Mitch to do is to ride this race like the Kent Handicap and put pressure on Chu and You. If he does that, I say Sweat Pea may pass Chu and You deep in the stretch. Basic and chalky. Soft spots for Chrissy's Wedding and Sunpenny.

Race 9 - Going outside the box a little with #5 Dare me Devil. Should be able to close on a duel between Mike Man's Gold and I Keep Saying. Mike stays on for second.

Race 10 - #7 No Claim Will Do wins by 20 and is sold to Godolphin for $40 million and is subsequently ungelded. He becomes the most legendary sire since Northern Dancer.

Race 11- #7 Agoodlawyer Willdo. If you want a great lawyer, equine or otherwise, consider the Law Offices of William Brewer, PLLC.

Over/under on Harbor The Gold stakes wins tomorrow is 2.5. I am going with over.

See everyone tomorrow.

Always Love Your Animals,

Will

Ten Positive Things for the Washington Industry - Week 18 and 19 - Momma Lynch!

Before we begin, let's recognize that the Seahawks season is about to begin. I have been a season ticket holder for 11 years now and am looking forward to the game.  More importantly, let's recognize the contribution that Marshawn Lynch's mom has made to the Seahawks. Most importantly, let's recognize the importance of having a Winners' Circle photo with Momma Lynch and Joseph DiPietro:

We got this picture after buddy Darrin Paul won a race with his filly.

I have no idea what I am doing in this picture. Maybe this is an Enumclaw gang sign I am throwing up. Respect.

(1) Washington-bred Wins the Mile - Best news for the Washington industry is when a Washington-bred wins the Longacres Mile. Stryker PhD ran a tremendous race to win. Congrats to Sharon and Larry Ross on what a fine job training they have done this year. Congrats to the Hours and congrats to the breeder Char Clark. Also, a congrats to the Hansens who now own the mare.

Local owner Dr. Rodney Orr's Boyett ran a great second.

(2) WTBOA Sale - Average, Median and Gross were all up at the sale which is good for our industry and getting races filled. Sales topper was a Washington-bred by Tribal Rule out of the Slewdledo mare Bella Campana.

(3) Spooner Blueberries - Ok, I don't like fruit. This is hard for people to believe since I am a vegetarian. But if the vegetable does not include cheese and bread, I don't like it. However, I tasted a blueberry grown by the Spooners at the Markle barn a month back and my life was changed. Best damn (or dam, depending on your horse industry relation) fruit I have ever tasted. Then I was informed that they have a fruit stand near my house in Seattle. Score:

And of course everything is better in syrup and pancakes:

At this point you may be asking yourself, how is the positive for the Washington industry? Well, you see, me eating fruit may extend my life a few years and I am, arguably, good for the thoroughbred industry....I think. Seriously, taste these blueberries.

(4) Northwest Triumvirate - Stopshoppingdebbie, Goin to the Window, and, my girl, (Spooners) Blueberry Smoothie finished 1, 2 and 3 in the Emerald Distaff. An amazing feat for the trainer and owner to continually finish in the top 3 in the majority of the Stakes races. A few amateur photographs from the Winners' Circle:

Best of luck down south girl. Represent us well.

(5) Herculette - This was a great Maiden Special Weight race. By Indian Charlie out of a Seattle Slew mare, Herculette was purchased for $230,000 at the Keeneland January, she looked like it by winning a Maiden Special Weight by 8 and 3/4 lengths. This is a filly with an unbelievable potential.

(6) Hall of Fame Dinner - Raise your hand if you have ever been mistaken by an ex-President's brother of being a Hall of Fame jockey? I noticed nobody raised their hand but me. At the Hall of Fame dinner Roger Clinton, Bill Clinton's younger brother, mistook me for a Hall of Fame jockey. He was attending the dinner because his good friend Ricky Frazier was being inducted to the Hall of Fame (he certainly got my vote). I was standing in line to get my beverage of choice when I noticed the person behind me looked very familiar. After I made my order of Bourb.......Kool-Aid (my mom reads this) I slid to the right. The person behind me moved up to the bar to make his order. As he was waiting for his drink he turned to me and congratulated me on my Hall of Fame career and how I put my life on the line everyday (which is actually true, paper cuts from contract and legal briefs hurt like hell). About 10 seconds into the conversation I realized it was Roger Clinton. Because I read his brother's autobiography I was able to ask him questions about Hot Springs, Arkansas and time he spent at Oaklawn Park with his mother. Who am I to tell Roger Clinton he has mistaken me for someone else? The conversation ended after about three minutes.

A few minutes later, Roger found out who I was (I am somebody, right?) came over and apologized for mistakening me for somebody else. We both had a good laugh and I told him no worries. Frankly, when you are my height and hang out at the track, you get mistaken for a jockey all the time.

(7) Longacres Mile Draw - This was the first year that I went to the Longacres Mile draw and I have to admit it was a fun event to attend. The room was packed and the draw was fun to be a part of:

(8) Rocco Bowen - On Monday Rocco Bowen went down with an injury. The good news is that the Sizzla only seems to suffering from severe bruising rather than having broken anything (I got this from sources close to Rocco). Get well soon Rocco, we want to see you down south the first weekend in November.

(9) August 24, 2014 Maiden Special Weight - Great MSW race on August 24th, Old Fashioned Grit squeezed out a win against the very promising Legion of Boom. Good win for the Spooners and it won't be too long before Legion of Boom gets his first win and their first interception.

(10) Washington-breds won 30 of the 52 races ran in the last two weeks. In your face New Hampshire.

Always Love Your Animals and Go Hawks,

Will Brewer

WTBOA Sale Review - And a call out to Victor Bahna, Jr.

Be warned Victor Bahna, Jr., watch your back. You stole my girlfriend at the WTBOA Sale. Hip 48 went for $28,000, which was $6,000 more than I was willing to go for her. Look at this girl:

In all sincerity (if I am ever sincere it is now), I wish Victor the best of luck. He is a good guy and I know she will be treated well.

I would be mad at John Maryanski but he kicked my rear for Hip No. 56 so badly, I can't complain. Wish the Maryanskis all the luck with her too:

Ok, Ok, I took the picture from the wrong side.

Let's get to the basics first. Median ($10,500), gross ($1,297,000) and average were all up ($16,012). That is nice for the breeders and shows that maybe things are continuing to turn around. The sales topper was $57,000 which was $13,000 short of the sales topper last year, Legion of Boom. Here is a picture I took of Hip No. 102, the sales topper, at the farm:

Being a filly guy, most of the horses on my short list went for more (sometimes, much more) than I would have liked to pay. Life goes on and it's good for the WTBOA and breeders in the state.

I want to focus on our local sires but it is hard not to give a shout out to Tribal Rule who sold 5 horses for $57,000, $52,000, $51,000, $26,000 and $8,000. Nice for the recently deceased sire. Stormin' Fever sold two for $30,000 and $28,000. Also, Flatter got a $51,000 from Alaskan born, but Oregon breeder/owner/lover Jody Peetz. The Flatter:

He is pretty much saying to me: "I am a bad ass."

With respect to local stallions, Harbor the Gold, as expected, did exceptional with horses selling for $45,000, $40,000, $32,000, $30,000, $20,000 and $17,000. I made an early offer to buy Hip 98 for $1,000, but was rejected. Seems unfair. I mean really, what are they going to do with an extra $44,000? Hip 98:

El Dorado Farms stallion Abraaj did really well selling horses for $25,000, $18,000, $15,000, $6,000 and $4,500. Nationhood sold 7 for $30,000, $15,000 $8,500, $7,200, $2,000, $1,800 and $1,000. Raise the Bluff sold three including one for $13,500.

First year sires did solid. Coast Guard sold 5 for $15,000, $7,500, $6,000, $5,500 and $2,200. Rallying Cry had two sell for $5,000 and $3,200. Gold Aly had two sell for $4,000 and $2,700. The Gold Aly that sold for $4,000 had a very beautiful body and looked very athletic, so I thought that was a good buy.

As far as my sale went:

I made my short list before the sale even began. I am able to do this because (a) I am looking for fillies only and (b) I am looking for pedigree so they could be part of my broodmare band at some point and (c) I saw most of these horses at the farm before the sale. I also knew I couldn't afford a couple of the fillies (No. 98 and 102).

So my short list at the sale came down to 25, 48, 56, 64, and 94. By the end of my analysis, x-rays and thoughts on what horses would cost I got it down to 48 and 56, but the prices were simply too high. Bad for me, good for the breeders.

However, good for Keeneland November as I will now stick to the original business plan I drafted and try to bring back a couple good broodmares to improve the thoroughbreds in our state. Lexington, I will see you in November.

Always Love Your Animals,

Will

Northwest Stallion Spotlight: First Edition

New publication from the WTBOA: Northwest Stallion Spotlight. These articles are on stallions who have their first yearlings in this year's WTBOA Sale: Coast Guard, Gold Aly and Rallying Cry.

http://www.washingtonthoroughbred.com/magazine/NWStallionSpotlight/NW%20Stallion%20Spotlight_Aug'14.pdf

Please let me know if you have any thoughts on how to improve these articles. Thank you.

Always Love Your Animals,

Will

Longacres Mile Rankings #5 thru #1

****Youtube Video so go to the website.

First off, if you are out at the track on Saturday the second race is a very nice Maiden Special Weight. I am very interested in seeing Herculette run for the first time. Herculette is by Indian Charlie out of the Seattle Slew mare Seattle Shimmer. Herculette was a $230,000 Keeneland January short-yearling purchase.

So now let's begin the countdown of my top 5 picks for the Longacres Mile. Please hold your applause until the very end.

#5) Title Contender (9/2) - This four-year-old Pulpit gelding has a few things going for him. First, he got the #7 post, which I think will benefit his style of sitting right off the pace and making a move around the turn. Second, he is one for one at the distance and has already won at a mile and a sixteenth. Third, Title Contender is in good form as he has not been worse than second in five starts this year. But here is the question: Who has this horse beat this year? He was beaten by Taylor's Deal and Mr. Bowling (at Hastings for that matter). He was able to beat Twistgrips twice but Twistgrips was not able to come close to Stryker Phd or Mr. Bowling in the Budweiser Handicap. Twistgrips is also 20-1 on the morning line. By the way, Twistgrips is trained by John Snow and I find it amazing that his both able to do the Night's Watch and train horses. I would include on the bottom of Trifectas and Superfectas, but 9/2 is a little low for my taste.

#4) Dontmesswithkitten (20-1) - I can hear the cries of "Homer"** everywhere. But first let me say that (1) I did not write the Iliad and the Odyssey, (2) this blog is completely fair and objective, (3) I am never talking to you again if you think I am a homer.

In the last ten years, I have correctly picked three Mile winners (not bad, but not good either), one of which was No Giveaway (the other two were logical favorite-type picks in The Great Face and Wasserman). I liked No Giveaway because if you looked at his form he was an improving horse who seemed to be primed to put in the best run of his life. This is how I feel about Dontmesswithkitten. He is ascending the Beyer Number ladder and is beginning to take to the Emerald Downs surface even though he is by Kitten's Joy out of a Lemon Drop Kid mare. His last run in the Mount Rainier, albeit assisted by a speed bias that day, was impressive as he was pulling away from a good horse in Disruption at the end. Plus, he has the "Sizzla" Rocco Bowen on him and he gets to ride the rail all the way around because Jebrica will drop back at the start. At 20-1, it is worth an include.

His knocks are that he did not run as well in the other two handicaps at Emerald Downs and he suffers from a case of seconditis. Ok, fair enough, but I am putting him in my vertical investments. Go Rocco!

#3) Shooting Jacket (20-1) - Ok, now I am talking crazy right? Want to put me in a straight jacket? Remember my Commanding Curve warning in the Derby? He is hampered by the post position, but he is not going for the lead anyway. All of the speed will get away from him early and I expect he will be no worse than three wide in the first turn (yes, three). Then he, Jebrica and Stryker Phd will hang out and talk about oats and hay for 6 furlongs in the back before getting to work. Everyone talks about how great Stryker Phd closed in the Mt. Rainier on a speed biased day but so did this horse. He passed several horses in the stretch including Jebrica and Mr. Bowling. He is a closer in a race with a decent amount of speed. I like long shots because daddy needs to get paid.

#2) Stryker Phd (5/2) - Now we start tasting the chalk. How can you knock him? He is perfect this year. Larry and Sharon have done a wonderful job with him. He got a great post for his style. The pace looks to favor him. He is just a solid horse and I would like to see the mile won by a local horse, but I have to be objective in my handicapping so I am putting him at #2. Here are some pictures of the Stryker taken by Terra Lee:




And again Stryker C.A.T.



#1) Prohibition (3-1) - This was a real struggle for me not because he is not a local horse (although he actually is now considering he is trained at Pegasus and owned by Dr. Mark) but because it was my least favorite time in American history. How could you live through that? I will take the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl or the Hot Pants Era over Prohibition. I simply think Prohibition is the best horse in the field. First, he has put up high Beyer figures (98s) in two races this year. He also seems to possess the ability to come off the pace. In addition, he has an excellent post position. His one bad race this year came on the turf so you can throw that out.

His last race was the Commentator Handicap at Belmont Park where he finished fourth. He finished fourth to Zivo, Big Business and Weekend Hideaway. Zivo came back from the Commentator to win the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap beating horses such as Moreno, Prayer for Relief, Ever Rider, Romansh, Mylute and Last Gunfighter. Big Business came back to win an Allowance Optional Claimer and has finished second in two stakes at Saratoga. Weekend Hideaway has since won two in a row including an Allowance race and a stakes race at Saratoga.

Two big drawbacks: (1) He has not raced since May and (2) His last three wins were all wire-to-wire victories and I don't think he will get the lead in this race (Scat daddy baby). Plus, his wire-to-wire victories were on the inner dirt surface at Aqueduct which favors closers because of the tighter turns and his other one was at Parx. However, he has come off the pace to win this year.

Let's rock the handle number this weekend. Would love to hear others opinions. Put your comments below.

Should be a fun day and a great race. Good luck everyone and go Northwest!

Always Love Your Animals,

Will

**Definition of homer for you old people out there: Someone who shows blind loyalty to a team or organization, typically ignoring any shortcomings or faults they have.

Longacres Mile - Post Positions and Odds

Spent the morning at the draw for the Longacres Mile. First time for me, surprisingly. It was a good time and the venue was packed. My rankings will come out soon but first:

(1) Jebrica 15-1
(2) DontmesswithKitten 20-1
(3) Prohibition 3-1
(4) Twistgrips 20-1
(5) Disruption 12-1
(6) Boyett 12-1
(7) Title Contender 9/2
(8) Scat Daddybaby 15-1
(9) Stryker Phd 5-2
(10) Mysterious Soul 10-1
(11) Mr. Bowling 8-1
(12) Shooting Jacket 20-1

Ten Positive Things for the Washington Industry Week 17

The thoroughbred racing world is a funny thing. I find myself saying and doing things that the public would never find appropriate. Take for instance my farm tours for the last few weeks. I looked at probably 35 females and made comments out loud such as "nice hind end", "like that hip on her", "very nice long forearms", "pretty head", "she looks a little chunky", "pretty nice loins", "look for the point of her buttocks", and "nice rump".  Yet I still am married despite the fact I have described some of these females in great detail to my wife and told her I have fallen in love with a few. If someone was recording me I could never run for Senator....or is that a requirement for running for office?

Then there was that time in December 2009 where I stood in the freezing cold while a local bloodstock agent, who shall remain nameless, in her early 70s (but looks like in her 40s) explained the intricacies of a broodmare's vagina and how the birthing process works. Seemed pretty normal at the time but what would my friends thing. Plus, Freud would have a field day with me.

But then last weekend I was out doing the farm tours for the Emerald Racing Club and I walked by a white bucket with the word "placenta" on it and thought nothing of it. And then I stopped and I thought "I just walked by a white bucket with the word placenta on it and thought nothing of it. Am I out of touch with reality? Shouldn't I be concerned that there was a bucket of placenta laying around?"

                            Picture by William Brewer Selfie, LLC. Placenta provided by ?

Such is the life of the addicted horse industry man.

Well, let's get to racing and the positive things in our sport for this week:

(1) Harbor the Gold on the Attack - This stallion just simply gets better and better. He is, like me, aging extremely well. After a weekend in which one of his offspring shockingly did not win the Emerald Derby, he makes a comeback winning both Stakes Races last weekend with Trackattacker winning the Lads and Pippa Bou Peep winning the Shinpoch. Not only that, Harbor the Gold finished one-two in the the sub-feature with Trick or Retreat and Stikine Slough. Also, another Harbor the Gold filly, Val de Saire, got 3rd place in the Barbara Shinpoch Stakes.

(2) Washington-Bred Winners - 18 of the 23 thoroughbred races were won by Washington-breds this last weekend. That is an outstanding 78%. It was also accomplished by a variety of different sires (noted below). Go Washington.

(3) Mile Nominations - The nominations and weights are out for the Longacres Mile. I will be at the Longacres Mile draw tomorrow and tweeting the Post Positions as they are announced. You can follow me @WilliamPBrewer on Twitter if you would like live updates. It appears that Stryker Phd is the likely favorite for the race. I will have my rankings of the contenders posted here on Thursday. Come out on Sunday and let's raise the handle.

Commander-123
Stryker Phd-121
Title Contender-121
Handsome Mike-120
Rock me Baby-120
Blue Tone-119
Prohibition-118
Boyett-117
Dry Summer-117
Floating Feather-117
Mr. Bowling-117
Disruption-116
Dontmesswithkitten-116
Jebrica-116
Mysterious Soul-116
Scat Daddybaby-115
Shooting Jacket-115
Twistgrips-115
Downtown C.T.-114
Go for Guiness-114
I Keep Saying-114
Mike Man's Gold-114
Assessment-113
Dare Me Devil-113
Perfect Night-113
Home Run Kitten (3yo)-112

(4) Emerald Distaff Nominations - A smaller group of nominations with the presence of Stopshoppingdebbie. Will be interesting to see if Scarlet Strike and Wando Woman show up in the race. Still have a huge soft spot for Blueberry Smoothie.

Stopshoppingdebbie-124
Scarlet Strike-119
Goin to the Window-118
Wando Woman-118
Blueberry Smoothie-117
Madame Pele-116
Castinette Dancer-115
She's Stella Marie-112
Inquiry Miss-110
Cheeky Stone (3yo)-109

(5) WTBOA Yearling Sale  - The WTBOA Sale is on Tuesday August 26th at 2:00pm. Plenty of good updates provided by Sue Van Dyke for these horses which you can get here:

http://www.washingtonthoroughbred.com/Sales/2014%20Summer%20Sale%20Updates.pdf 

Obviously another strong update this weekend for Hip No. 16 who by Lucky Pulpit out of Eclatante making him a half brother to Trackattacker. You can read more about the Eclatante family here:

http://militaryhawk.blogspot.com/2014/06/broodmare-of-week-eclatante-sponsored.html

An update for Hip No. 22 as her half-sister Val de Saire (which is either an area in France near Normandy or is French for Will is dreamy. Look it up.) finished 3rd in the Barbara Shinpoch on Sunday.  Here is a picture of her from the Washington Thoroughbred website provided by Blue Ribbon Farm:

Very pretty.

Hip No. 31 got an update when Private Boss finished third in the Lads behind Trackattacker. Hip No. 31 is a filly half sister to Private Boss by Yes It's True out of Irene's Bonus Baby.

(6) Claudia's Cahill - This was a cool victory as both Candi Tollett and John Parker get a win with a horse that was named after bloodstock agent to the stars (but not George Steinbrenner) Claudia Atwell Canouse. By, obviously, Cahill Road, Claudia's Cahill is out of the Free at Last mare Mizzo.

(7) Leadership - Nice win by Leadership in the Friday night feature. It seemed that the only way this horse would win is if got away from Bud Fox Stables.

(8) Stallion Earnings of Washington-breds to Date:

Harbor the Gold $733,860
Matty G              $290,745
Cahill Road        $279,051
Private Gold       $276,016
Raise the Bluff   $226,808

(9) Broodmare Sire Earnings of Washington-breds to Date:

Basket Weave     $340,288
Slewdledo           $233,577
Demons Begone $214,081
Game Plan          $152,379
Free at Last         $126,379

(10) Stallions with Washington-bred winners - Harbor the Gold lead with 4 winners this last weekend. The only other stallion with more than one win was Cahill Road with 2 wins. The love was spread around with other rest of the winners coming from a variety of different stallions: Polish Miner, Devine Cozzene, Peachinatthebar, Jimalator Cat, Tribunal, Grindstone, Nacheezmo, Nationhood, Waiting Game, Matty G, Devil on Ice, and You and I. 

Happy Mile Week and Always Love Your Animals, 

Will 

WTBOA Allowance Race

Attention Owners and Trainers

Next Saturday there will be an $20,000 Allowance race for all horses who went through last year's WTBOA Sale. It was not put in the original Condition Book and will be listed as an extra only. However, this is an excellent race with a great purse.

Please consider entering your horse if they went through the WTBOA Sale last years. Lots of money and no Trackattacker!!!! :) Please consider entering this race.

Top Ten Positive Things that happened for the Washington Industry Weeks 15 and 16

Did you miss me? I didn't think so. However, I am still posting anyway. Spent the last few weeks sitting in a tree in Bonney Lake feasting on tea leaves hoping to change my whole perspective on life. However, I picked a tree with a view of a Dairy Queen so it just made me want a Butterfinger Blizzard for three weeks.

In reality (By Intentionally out of My Dear Girl), I have been working on some articles on our new stallions Coast Guard and Gold Aly (they will be posted soon and sent out by the WTBOA), starting a few new companies, hitting the farms and looking at the yearlings in the upcoming WTBOA Sale (about 70 of them), and I spent a few days on the Oregon coast celebrating Logan's 8th birthday: 

It has been duly noted that none of you bought him a birthday present.

Let's catch up on the positive things that have happened to Washington for Weeks 15 and 16.

(1) Dancing Yodeler - I have spent the last several weeks secretly acquiring stock in Reed Palmer Photography. I figure if Yodeler keeps winning, Reed Palmer's revenue could reach about $50 million by the end of the year. Again, Yodeler won in dramatic fashion. It was nice to be able to spend several hours with these new owners earlier in the day and then later watch them get their picture taken in the Winners' Circle (or the Winners' track). Kudos to Sophia, Larry and Sharon, and all the owners.

(2) Emerald Farm Tour - On Saturday August 9th, we took about 30 members of the Emerald Racing Club on a farm tour of Blue Ribbon Farm, Griffin Place, DiPietro Thoroughbreds and El Dorado Farms. The tour went really well and there were several enthusiastic new owners. The WTBOA footed the bill for this and thanks to all the farms who helped educate our new owners on how to prep yearlings for a sale. We invite all people to come to the WTBOA Sale on August 26th with no pressure to buy. Also, thanks to Darrin Paul and Will Brewer (especially Will Brewer) for being chaperones and taking the individuals around and Terra Lee for taking pictures.

Some of the pictures from the stop at DiPietro Thoroughbreds:

(3) Shandra Smiles - On August 4th, a filly by Gio Ponti out of Shandra Smiles (Cahill Road) sold for $500,000 to Sheik Mo at the Saratoga Yearling Sale. Shandra Smiles is the dam of Smiling Tiger and two-year-old filly champion She's a Tiger. Owner by Dr. Orr who is based in Oregon but races in Washington often. Congrats to him and Dana Halvorson on this score. Smiling Tiger, sold at the WTBOA Sale, made over $1.4 million on the track and now stands stud in California.

(4) Washington-bred Winners - 32 of the 51 races during Week 15 and 16 were won by Washington-breds. I would tell you what percentage this is but shouldn't you do some work for once? Plus, I am a lawyer and it is my understanding that only a protractor can help answer that question and I don't know how to use one.

(5) Emerald Downs Derby - What a race. The three top finishers; Mebossman, Del Rio Harbor and Noosito ran great races. With all due respect to the winner, Del Rio Harbor ran an unbelievable race. To do all the work, get headed by Noosito, and then drive back to pass him,showed what a fighter this horse is. More on Peaceful Wings in the future but a very nice win for Mebossman. Mebossman has a half brother by Liberty Gold at the WTBOA Sale that is Hip No. 61. Here is a picture of the yearling I took this week:

(6) Claiming activity - Some good claiming activity recently at Emerald Downs. Jebrica for $50,000 and Hetty for $25,000 were the big claims recently. I really liked the claim of Hetty and it will be interesting to see if Dr. Mark and Glenn Todd run Jebrica back in the Mile (he is nominated). Both Hetty and Jebrica won the races they were claimed in.

There were several other claims at lower levels in the last few weeks. I like to see some claiming because it shows that people are interested in owning horses again, things are getting healthier economically, and it also keeps owners and trainers honest with the placement of their horses. When we keep dropping horses further down the ladder we are left with low level claiming races. Hopefully the trend will continue.

(7) O B Harbor versus Legion of Boom - A great race between these two on August 2nd in a Maiden Special Weight race that I guesstimate will have Stakes implications down the road. Legion of Boom is bound to be an excellent horse based on that race first time out. Hopefully, these two come back in the WTBOA Allowance race next Saturday. O B Harbor is an Oregon-bred owned by Jody Peetz, who is the poster girl for Oregon breeding and racing. Legion of Boom is out of the excellent mare Bahati which has been a Broodmare of the Week:

http://militaryhawk.blogspot.com/2014/05/broodmare-of-week-bahati-sponsored-by.html

Bahati has a full sister that is Hip No. 98 in the WTBOA Sale. Both O B Harbor and Legion (not Legend) of Boom are by Harbor the Gold.

(8) Bee Dees Bid - Bee Dees Bid won a Maiden Optional Claiming Race on August 3rd. Bee Dees is by Tapit out of a Seeking the Gold mare. Exceptional breeding which we do not get a chance to see that often out here. Love to see these horses in our Emerald paddock.

(9) Preachinatthebar - New Handicapping Rule: You must include all Preachinatthebars when they start for the first time. They have been crushing it first time out. Nice to see this Washington stallion getting off to a good start. I was out at the races last night to watch my horse run and included the Preachinatthebar first time starter in my investment and it paid off. Excellent for the Pulses.

(10) Stallions of Washington-Bred Winners - Raise the Bluff had 5 wins the last two weekends. Harbor the Gold had 4 wins. 2 wins a piece for Nationhood and Parker's Storm Cat. Other stallions with Washington-bred winners: Matty G, Jazzing Around, Malt Magic, Liberty Gold, He's Tops, Outing, Stolen Gold, Klinsman, Devil on Ice, You and I, Preachinatthebar, Lucky J.H., Southern Africa, Aptitude, English Channell, Petionville, Vitesse, Cahill Road, and Kissin Kris. Nice variety.

More catch up to follow but I have to head to the Hall of Fame dinner.

Always Love Your Animals (but you forgot Logan's Birthday),

Will