Good Morning, Everyone,
Here we are starting another week with so many different activities scheduled. I do want to take a moment and CONGRATULATE my Barn 55 Friend, NEREID, on her Grade 1 victory in the American Oaks! Her sire is ROCK HARD TEN, who just happens to be on our stallion roster here at Lane’s End Farm. Needless to say, everyone at our farm is also pleased to hear this news.
YEAH, NEREID! I AM VERY PROUD OF YOU!
To win a Grade 1 race is the ultimate victory in our sport. In our country, a total of 123 Grade 1 races will be offered throughout 2011. This number is further defined in the following manner. There are 112 Grade 1 stakes races offered throughout the year at various racing venues which are designed to incorporate and appeal to the 1) sex of the horse 2) a variety of distances, and 3) different racing surfaces as dirt or turf. Then, additionally, the Breeders’ Cup offers 11 GRADE 1 races on their 2 days of Championship Racing. Thus, to win a Grade 1 race at any time during the year is truly a wonderful achievement and a fabulous addition to one’s pedigree page.
A horse’s pedigree page is a detailed history of the horse’s family. It notes the horse’s race record as well as that of family members. It is outlined through the female members of the family….as 1st Dam, 2nd Dam and 3rd Dam etc. Their names are written in ALL Capital Letters…and whether in blacktype or not depends on the dam’s racing accomplishments. There is an industry format that has been created to note all of this information in a clear and precise manner.
If a horse is unraced or a winner…the name is listed in normal print.
If the horse has achieved in stakes competition….1st, 2nd or 3rd…. BLACK-TYPE print is used.
For example, I will use my name to further illustrate the manner in which this information would be provided on a horse’s pedigree page.
Zenyatta…………written in lower case letters and normal print….means 2 things…that the horse is either “UNRACED” or “WON” some type of race whether it be a maiden race, maiden claiming, and /or additional races at either claiming or allowance levels.
Zenyatta………written in ‘blacktype’ letters in this format indicates the horse has placed (2nd or 3rd) in a stakes race
ZENYATTA……written in BLACKTYPE letters and ALL CAPITALS…indicates that the horse WON a STAKES RACE.
ALL BLACKTYPE ACHIEVEMENTS are very, very important to a horse for many reasons. Firstly, it truly enhances the value of the horse at the breeding shed. Secondly, the trickle down aspect of stakes activity and ‘blacktype’ also extends to the rest of the horse’s entire family.
On the pedigree page, after the horse’s name, they list other pedigree information, the number of races won during the horse’s career, the total amount earned by the particular horse, and the names of the stakes races and their ratings: as G1, G2, G3, (L) which means listed…etc. Further details as this are provided. It is almost like a coding system which is highly monitored to specifically make all of this information readily available to all aspects of the industry.
To further illustrate all of this for you, I’d like to share MY PEDIGREE PAGE which is current in the details through my 18th victory. I’d like to thank the Thoroughbred Daily News for this pedigree information!
Click here to see my pedigree.
With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z
The Kennedys in San Diego
Most Southern California trainers move “a string” of horses to Del Mar if they plan to race them there leaving the others with an assistant at their “home” barn. There are no immediate plans to close Hollywood Park — hopefully that is years away.
Jeanie
Dearest Z,
I was so happy to see that Judy included the great Brown Bess in her post as well. There is an article about this little girl that I love by our own Debbie Arrington of the Sacramento Bee. I know you will all enjoy it and, FYI, it is included in Brown Bess’s posting on the Pedigree Online Thoroughbred Database. Check it out at http://archive.ctba.com/04magazine/aug/BrownBess.pdf.
Your humble J
Pat Beck
What a beautiful, athletic-looking girl she is!
LauraJ
@Barbara Wood, b = bay, ch = chestnut, dkb/br = dark bay or brown (like the Queen!), gr/r = gray or roan (sometimes just gr for gray), blk = black, w = white, pal = palomino. Bays make up the biggest group, followed by dark bays, followed by chestnuts, followed by grays. There are relatively few true blacks, and fewer still of other colors. Some dark bays look black in most lights; Ruffian was such a one, and I think Eblouissante looks black in most of her pictures (she’s registered as a dark bay). Dark bays have brown hair at the muzzle and sometimes on their undersides, whereas blacks have none. Oddly, some true blacks can fade from sun and/or sweat and can look sort of bay-ish. TBs also come in true white, palomino, cremello, dun, and in pinto-type patterns, but these are usually bred for the halter and/or sport horse market. There is a true white horse in Japan, Yukichan, who is actually a very good race horse. She retired recently, and is popularly considered to be the prettiest racehorse in Japan. Most “white” race horses are a very light gray.
Sharon Call
@The Kennedys in San Diego. Thanks for the quick reply. I agree, hopefully, it will be years before HP is demolished. I live in GA and will never get to see it, but I feel a kinship for that track since it was Z’s home track.
Sharon Call
@LauraJ. The way I’ve always been able to tell a white horse from a gray is the color of the skin on their muzzles. If it’s pink skin, the horse is probably white. If it’s “black” skin, then that horse was probably born almost black but lightens up over the years. Most grays are almost totally white by the time they’re 7 to 8 years old and older. Sometimes the manes and tails will remain gray or “mixed”, combination of dark gray and white. Witness the Lipizzaners – the babies are born black and these horses are totally white by the time they’re about 10 years old.
Sheri
Thank you LauraJ! That will help me a bunch! :)
tony and sue
Zenny, thank you for your continuing education on the sport of horseracing. You were the ultimate achiever as evident from your paper. There will never be another like you…when God created Zenyatta he broke the mold!
judy berube
Dear Jeanie:
Thanks for the great link on Brown Bess. She really was a sweetie. Hugs, J.B.
judy berube
Dear Terry Crow:
Thanks, but it won’t work if I don’t get Top Billing. I’m thrilled by your wild guess (NOT). Ha, ha. Hugs, J.B.
judy berube
Dear Laura J. and Sharon Call:
Thank you for your always interesting and informative posts. Hugs, J.B.
judy berube
Dear Kathryn Cogswell:
Very well said. Hugs, J.B.
judy berube
Dear Z Fans:
A slideshow of Blind Luck. Hugs, J.B. http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/thoroughbred/blind-luck/2007/
judy berube
Dear Z Fans:
A Profile of 1943 Triple Crown winner Count Fleet. Hugs, J.B. http://horseracing.about.com/library/blcountf.htm
Pam Zacek,
Wow, Im glad your friend won the grade 1 race, and thanks for all that information, now that is so interesting, never figured all that, but like a show horse to get all the way to the big shows, I guess, have to get the big shows, and win, anyway, that to me is so interesting, and hey, what pedigree for you, Queen Z, your the best, have a fun night, also, I thought I missed today diary glad I didn’t, somuch great information,
judy berube
Dear Brenda:
Hope you have a wonderful time in Kentucky. If you, by some wonderful chance, get to see Z, please give her a hug for me. Hugs, J.B.
Debbie G
Thank you for the information, Zenny. I never knew that about the print. I pretty much know the basics about reading a program, but there’s still a lot I don’t know. Not only are you beautiful, but you’re also smart. I love you, Zenny! :-)
judy berube
Dear Z Fans:
For all of you who enjoy investigating pedigrees, this is a link someone posted many weeks ago. For those of you who may have missed it, here it is again. A profile of Z’s Gifted Ancestors. Just keep scrolling down and you will see all the photos and a little background on each one. Hugs, J.B. http://community.tvg.com/t5/History-and-Photos/ZENYATTA-quot-S-GIFTED-ANCESTORS/td-p/424235/page/2
Lil from KY
@DJ—So good hearing from you, yes, first time we have communicated.
@Sherry–You are so right, beat their butts to the winners circle, boy will that sting them!
@Judy berube—-GOOD JOKE
@Barbara Wood–I saw TizNow at WinStar, he is very impressive!
@Trisha–I’m with you, hate the stock car races, give me a good horse race, any day.
@ Laura–Laura, WOW, you are a walking enclopedia of horse knowledge!!! So interesting, I love it, thank you
@Dottie & John, thank you so much for the great pictures & info. I love Nereid’s conformation, good-lookin girl!
@DJ–Forgot—thank you for the meaning of Nereid, I didn’t know this.
Debbie G
@Brenda – I hope you have a wonderful visit to KY. I’m going to miss you by a week. I’m going to Lane’s End on the 28th. I can’t wait! I know I won’t get to see Zenny, but I’m hoping to see Curlin, Rock Hard Ten and A.P. Indy. Have a great time Brenda!
Cynthia H.
Thank you, Dottie, for yet another entry which broadens our knowledge and thus greater appreciation of the Sport of Queens. Horse-racing 101, via Zenyatta’s Diary!
This past weekend’s racing was stellar on both coasts. I believe that we are and have been blessed to be living in an era which will be known to future generations of race-goers as a Golden Age of magnificent fillies and mares, centered around Zenyatta, and encompassing brilliance in the likes of Goldikova, Rachel Alexandra, Blind Luck, Havre de Grace (and other wonders whose names I cannot now recall). Rising stars Harmonious, Zazu, Nereid and more are shining brightly on the horizon. Both the Hollywood Oaks and the Delaware Handicap were phenomenal races!
There is something about the exquisite beauty of these magical creatures which brings one to the realization that the human heart has the capacity to absorb only so much splendor. What is there left, but to weep with joy at the sight of their grace.
Neva Rae Powers
Lots of good info here! Congrats to your team’s win with Nereid.
Charlotte Farmer
@Terry Crow – It is OFFICIAL, I received the entire amount needed today. To quote JFK, “Let the word go forth . . .” I just got home and needed to let everyone know. This Friday I will be going to Loma Rica. I have scheduled one more sweep of Noor’s grave with the Ground Penetrating Radar. Tom Nicholson, who lives in Grass Valley, has graciously agreed not to charge for his services once again. It shouldn’t take as long as the first time, almost 2 hours. I just want to make sure we have the markers in the right spot outlining the grave. I am expecting maybe 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.
The materials for that which will hold Noor will be bought later this week. I could sure use a cowboy joke about now.
@Karen Gogue – Your words from yesterday’s post brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much.
Kim S
Thanks for the view into your pedigree Zenny. Very interesting.
@All animal lovers–the truest statement that I keep coming across in my head for the last several years or so is: Birds of a feather, flock together. I have to say we seem to be a flock, a Dumpling Flock.
I’ve done my share of cat rescue, had 11 at one time in my home. Love animals of any kind and can’t stand to see any mistreated or harmed. Can’t watch the ASPCA or Humane Society commercials, I turn the channel and my daughter will do it for me if she’s closer to the remote. Absolutely can NOT watch a horse go down. Even if they just stumble, I’ll shut my eyes until it’s not being shown.
@Terry Crow–I think we’re all adult enough and close enough that you can tell your jokes, especially since you do forewarn us.
@Charlotte Farmer–Congratulations! Hope Noor’s voyage will be a movie or documentary.
@Lucia & Susan in TN–did get to see Harry Potter. Now I want to read the books again. :)
Zenny & Dottie, again you are to be commended on this wonderful website where such loving and caring people can gather to share. Have a wonderful Monday evening.
Lotsa love to all.
Kim S
@Charlotte Farmer–had just finishing posting and saw your “official” announcement. WAY TO GO!!! I know you are very excited and very drained. Zenyattashpere and the Z Dumplings are behind you, let us know if you need anything.
Charlotte Farmer
@Terry Crow – The Derby – Even though a lot of Seabiscuit and George Woolf’s memorabilia is gone I still love the place. I have only been there once and it was after the auction. I must say, they make a mean Whiskey Breading Pudding. When the waitress brought it to the table you could smell the whiskey from across the table and the size could have fed 4 people. My boyfriend just looked at me and said, “are you sharing?” Of course I did.
Barbara Wood
@Cynthia H–amen!
@Laura J and Sharon Call–thanks for the extra info. I learned about grays fading to white when we met Monarchos. I guess our Appendix Quarter Horse (who is 3/4 Thoroughbred) is a dark bay/brown because he has the brown on the muzzle, etc. One that has always appeared to me to be black and isn’t, I guess, is Einstein.
@Brenda S–I’m wondering what gives. I thought LE wouldn’t allow visits through this month because of breeding season. They told me November is best because of the fall sales, etc. I think that might be too cold (the reason I went to last year’s Apple Blossom rather than the BC).
Charlotte Farmer
@Dear Zenyatta – Your pedigree page is very interesting and thank you for sharing. Congratulations to Nereid on her victory in the American Oaks, and what a beautiful picture of her.
LauraJ
@Sharon Call–so true!
–
I once read a humorous essay that purported to give advice on claimimg horses. One suggestion was to claim gray horses. That way if they don’t win, you at least have the pleasure of hearing people at the paddock talk about how pretty your horse is.
–
Speaking of white horses, do any of you remember reading about Arctic Bright? He’s the white TB who ran a couple of times at Turfway to no effect, but was spotted by trainer Rex Peterson and whisked off to a career in show business. He is sooooo beautiful!
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/60149/all-white-thoroughbred-is-hollywood-bound
LauraJ
@Barbara Wood, LE resumes tours in July. TB breeding season in the northern hemisphere ends in June. Pretty soon the shuttle stallions will be off to their southern hemisphere destinations.