Zenyatta

Queen of Racing

Z's Diary

Diary Post #375

The Churchill Downs barn area is much more quiet now after the Breeders’ Cup! Photo by John Shirreffs

Good Morning,

It is so hard to believe that another year has passed and Breeders’ Cup 2011 is now over! It is amazing how quickly the horses leave to return to their home bases. I know my pals, HARMONIOUS and MR. COMMONS, returned to BARN 55 the very next day.


It is quite interesting how the flights are scheduled and coordinated. The horse division of the Louisville Airport is very close to Churchill Downs.

My two BARN 55 pals and several other horses returning to California left the Churchill barn area Sunday morning by van around 4 a.m. for their flight. Their Tex Sutton Flight was scheduled to land at Ontario Airport in Southern California…also a special area that is meant for horse planes. The vans then pick up the horses from the plane and return them to their respective barns. The flight takes approximately 4 hours…give or take some time depending on weather conditions etc.

The Sutton Plane then turned around and returned to Louisville to pick-up the next load of horses. They will return to their home bases. I think the next load was going to New York.

When a horse travels like this, he / she must have all of the proper paperwork for safety procautions. Each horse MUST HAVE a current Coggins and also a health certificate stating exactly where the horse is leaving from and the exact destination.

A Coggins is a blood test that checks for antibodies to equine infectious anemia (EIA), a disease that affects horses worldwide. It is a viral disease that has no cure or vaccine for prevention. That is why it is SO IMPORTANT to test for it. Blood is drawn from the horse for the test and sent to a lab for testing to see if these EIA antibodies are present. You want the results to come back NEGATIVE!

Many states require a Coggins to be done once a year. California and other states require this to be done every 6 months. All horses sold at public auction must have one that is no more than 6 months old. The sales company determines this time frame for each sale.

A Coggins is one of the very important things that the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT requires to document that a horse is negative for equine infectious anemia (EIA). As mentioned above, it must accompany the health certificate when a horse is traveling from state to state. It is mandatory by law.

ALL of this is done to protect the horse. It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!

My pal, GIO PONTI, relaxing in the sun! Photo by John Shirreffs

Several of the horses who competed in this year’s Breeders’ Cup did not return to their barns….they were retired! GOLDIKOVA is going to become a broodmare…just like ME! GIO PONTI, COURT VISION and DROSSELMEYER are going off to stud. I’d like to wish all of these horses and all others who are retiring a very healthy and happy 2nd career! From my personal experience, I can say that life at the farm is great FUN and this 2nd career aspect of one’s life is quite intriguing.

With Love,
Hugs to All~(Hollywood Park opens their fall meet today! Good luck to ALL!)
Z

Reader Interactions

195 Comments

  1. / Reply

    THROUGHBRED TIMES QUOTE:
    “The filly Havre de Grace remains the right choice. She finished fourth on Saturday in the [Breeders’ Cup] Classic (G1)after having trouble early, and her connections placed her against male horses in an effort to take away any doubts that she was a worthy recipient.
    —-
    “Drosselmeyer was the longshot winner and Game On Dude was a gritty second-place finisher, but neither can say they won
    five of seven, three of them in Grade 1 company. In fact, another filly and Havre de Grace’s rival, the since-retired Blind Luck, will probably collect the most second-place votes.”
    New York Times Turf writer Joe Drape, in Daily Racing Form, talking about Havre de Grace’s chances of being named Horse of the Year, following her fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1)

  2. / Reply

    THANKS TO YOU ZENNY AND DOTTIE FOR ALL OF THE WONDERFUL PHOTOS AND INFO YOU HAVE BEEN
    POSTING ALL WEEK! IT HAS BEEN AWESOME READING ABOUT YOUR PARTY AND ALL OF THE
    EXCITING RACES AND THINGS GOING ON IN THE
    HORSE RACING WORLD. THANKS TO YOUR JOHN FOR
    HIS GREAT SECOND CAREER AS A PHOTOGRAPHER.
    HEE! HEE! ;)
    WISHING EVERYONE HAVING A BIRTHDAY THIS FALL
    ALL THE VERY BEST! AND ALSO SENDING SOME
    HEALING THOUGHTS TO ALL OUT THERE IN THE
    ZENYATTA NATION, WHO ARE HAVING HEALTH AND
    OTHER ISSUES, AS THIS TOO SHALL PASS. :)
    THANKS SO VERY MUCH TO YOUR JERRY AND YOUR
    ANN (AND ALL THE REST OF YOUR CONNECTIONS)
    FOR BEING THE GENEROUS, THOUGHTFUL PEOPLE
    THAT THEY ARE. :)
    GIO PONTI LOOKS SO VERY CUTE CATCHING SOME
    SUN. LOVE THAT PHOTO! :) LOVED WATCHING ALL THE BREEDERS CUP RACES LAST WEEKEND!
    NOW IT IS ON TO THE NEXT AND THAT WOULD BE
    HOLLYWOOD PARK FOR ME, MY FAVORITE TRACK! PEACE, LOVE & BLESSINGS TO ALL OUT THERE,
    KATHY from SoCal xoxo

  4. / Reply

    Zenny, thanks to you and Dottie for another great educational diary! We’ve learned so much from both of you. Your pal, Gio Ponte looks pretty content…we’re sure he’ll also enjoy his second career.

  5. / Reply

    @Kathy B. – I saw the same about Drosselmeyer – a race the end of this month. The Clark,was it? It’s at Churchill Downs,so they planned to stay there,since it was obvious Drossy liked the track! Read it on Bloodhorse.com Believed one of his connections said depending how he comes out of the BC and this other race,he may race again next year. Hope so! The sport is losing so many “big names” this year,it would be nice to have a familiar name to cheer on, if that makes any sense.

    Thank you for the lesson today,Zenny and Dottie – I love getting all this “behind-the-scenes” information that most race fans probably never even think about. Makes you look at racing differently-in a good kind of different way!

    Love you,Sweet Zen!

  6. / Reply

    Zenyatta, you are blessed with the nicest people who love you. Of course, we are blessed to have you in our lives. Thanks to John for the nice photos. The travelling info is very interesting and not generally known by other than “horse” people. Learning something new here all the time. Enjoy your day with TT. Bless you all.

  10. / Reply

    I love you Zenyatta. Thank you for all the information. I don’t get to post everyday but I read the post. I always learn so much and feel like part of YOUR world. Hugs and Kisses, Shari XXXOOO
    @ Praying for Kari
    @ Hi to my Z family :)

  11. / Reply

    Hi Zenny: Yes, I would imagine there is a lot that goes into being a racehorse traveling state to state. It must be such a strange sensation to be a horse on a plane as the plane starts to taxi down the runway and takes off. I guess your groom travels with you? Otherwise it would be too scary! How many horses can Sutton take on any given trip? I am sure you travel in style.

    Very nice picture of Gio Ponti!! I am sure he will enjoy his retirement. I found it sad this year because many of the horses I have followed over the past couple of years are saying good-bye. The most difficult horse to say good-bye to was Uncle Mo. I wonder if Big Drama and Ice Box will be back next season.

    Well Zenny another nice day! Enjoy! Love you!!!

  16. / Reply

    @The Kennedys in San Diego: Thanks for the Drosselmeyer link. I absolutely love this horse. I was there when he won the Belmont Stakes and saw him again race in the Jockey Gold Cup on Super Saturday!! I hope he races again. Maybe he will race again at the Belmont. Let me know if you hear anything!!!!

  17. / Reply

    Hi, Zenny, great post…love learning about the “inside” stuff that affects horses’ lives! Thanks so much!
    –
    I’ll be glad for Havre de Grace if she can pull off a HOY, but would also love it if there were room for Blind Luck to get some kind of award. She is so special, her career was nothing short of spectacular. Steve Haskin outlined her accomplishments back in July, and they are amazing. I know the Eclipse awards are for current year accomplishments (however, as we all know, the only ACTUAL requirement is for a horse to have raced ONCE in the U.S.!), but, she did beat HdG in the Del’ Cap. So very, very happy that Mark Dedomenico bought her back for $2.5 Million! She will be going to his farm, I believe in Washington. Happy retirement to BL, a very special and wonderful filly. It’s hard to believe that she is only 4 years old, with only 1 clunker in 22 starts! She raced her heart out and can certainly point to a fantastic career!
    –
    Thanks so much to YOUR JOHN for providing the great video of the sale of your half-sibling by Henrythenavigator! I’m anxiously awaiting your sweet half-sister, E to make her debut. Hope she comes out soon! I’ve thought that it would be fun for her to debut on your debut date of Nov. 22! Take care sweet girl. Big hugs! Ann Maree

  18. / Reply

    And “Good Day” to you, yours and my fellow Zenny Dumplins! Makes for a good day for me to read all your news. As for coggins. I believe if a horse comes back positive he must be quarantined? Is the average horse parent willing or able to do such? The disease is carried by bugs. One bites a positive horse, flies miles, bites a negative horse. Whala! The negative horse is now positive. Think we as horse parents could be brave and responsible enough to put all positive horses down? Wouldn’t that eliminate the disease? I know, almost impossible, but dreams do come true now and then. Happy trails everyone!

  19. / Reply

    @LauraJ — Thanks for the link. Excellent analysis. We will be rooting for HdG. Unless someone puts in a stellar post-BC performance, we think she has HOY.

  23. / Reply

    Thank you for the information. My son and I were discussing the very same thing as we left Louisville for our destinations of Missouri and Nebraska, and we wondered what all went into a horse flying across the country. You are a wealth of information! (As well as being a beautiful lady) Keep enjoying your 2nd career and stay healthy. You are much loved by people all across the country.

  27. / Reply

    Zenny- Churchill sure looks peaceful in your John’s photo, as does Gio Ponti! I also like the view with the U. of Louisville stadium in the background. I didn’t know they were so close to each other until we walked thru the area last Friday. One of the TV commentators said that Corey Nakatani’s son is a placekicker on the Cardinals’ football team! Zenny, I would be willing to have a Coggins drawn on myself if I could fly with Tex Sutton to California. It sounds so much better and faster than how we got to and from CA a couple of weeks ago! I bet they serve more than peanuts, too:)
    I hope your Team has rested up from the BC. I hope you and Tasty T have a marvelous day. Love you, sweet, funny girl <3

  28. / Reply

    Good afternoon Zenny, thanks for the most informative post, I had no idea that so much was involved to allow for horses to travel between states. I suppose that lots more is required for travel between countries. John’s photos, as usual, are great, Gio looks asleep and I would love to know who is shown, wearing the blue leg wraps, in the photo of the barn.
    All your great lessons are going to help Vic when/if she gets accepted to college next year for the Performance Handler Certificate program. We went to the open house in March and the course outline seemed quite extensive and thorough, even down to artificial insemination for other breeds. The more she learns from you Zenny can only give her a head start so I truly appreciate all the lessons, please keep them coming.

  29. / Reply

    Hi Queen Z, Thanks for the great info and photos. Your John takes good pictures. Gio Ponti looks so adorable. I will miss him so much. Have fun outside with Tasty. Love you!

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