So Long Stevie, We Hardly Knew Ye

- We went what, two or three days without a retirement, so I guess we were due. But the retirement of Stevie Wonderboy is certainly no surprise. In fact, owner Merv Griffin and trainer Doug O'Neill tried to bring him back long after others would have packed it in and sent him off to stud on the merits of his BC Juvenile and two-year championship honors. He'll stand at Airdrie, and the marketing machine is already in full swing. "I really believe the juvenile field he beat, with Henny Hughes and First Samurai, was as strong as any in recent memory, and he was really getting away from them at the end." [Bloodhorse]

First Samurai...remember him? I have to say I was surprised to look and see that he's standing for $40,000.

Brilliant 2YO by Giant's Causeway
WON Hopeful-G1 & Champagne-G1
The ONLY 2yo MG1SW in His Crop

Henny Hughes also gets $40,000. Man, imagine if either of them had shown any attributes other than raw speed? As opposed to those two sons of sons of Storm Cat, Stevie is by Stephen Got Even, a son of AP Indy. He has very odd breeding in that his paternal and maternal grandsires are half-brothers, both being out of the prodigious producer Weekend Surprise. He's free of Mr. Prospector, and has just one instance of Northern Dancer, so expect breeders to have some fun with him.

- On the other hand, there's been no break from news of trainers under suspicion - or worse - of drug violations. Biancone remains under investigation, Gary Contessa gets a week for a Bute violation, five trainers in Kentucky, including Bobby Frankel, are fined for amounts of Lasix Salix far exceeding the allowed limit. So high, in fact, that it's called the testing methods into question.

And in New York, a father-son training team pleaded guilty to injecting a harness horse at Saratoga with cobra venom on one occasion, and Epogen on another. Oh man.

"This restores the integrity of harness racing to the betting public, who need to know the races they are betting on are fair and true contests," [District Attorney James A.] Murphy said. [Albany Times-Union]

Well, I wouldn't go that far!! In fact, it certainly makes one wonder how many people involved with either breed have gotten away, or are still getting away with the same. Indeed, the wiretaps in the case resulted in additional wiretaps at other racetracks and investigations that are still pending. The two pleaded guilty to felony interference with a domestic animal, and though they are not expected to serve jail time, the felony allows the state to permanently revoke their licenses.

Getting back to Biancone for a moment; again, we have no details of what's going on, and we don't even know if this is about medication, though that's certainly a fair guess. But he is listed as the trainer of Itsawonderfullife, the 2-1 morning line favorite in the 4th at Churchill today. Wouldn't it be in the betting public's best interest if the horse was ordered scratched? Bettors now may be wondering what's going on, and thinking, 'hey, if he's under investigation, he probably isn't using any drugs on the horse this time, so we should bet against him.' [UPDATE: He won by five at 3-5. I guess not many people were concerned.] I think that those are the kinds of issues best eliminated from the handicapping equation, and that the stewards should not accept entries from the barn until the matter is cleared up.

Notes - June 26

- Reader Bit Player feels I'm being too harsh on Scat Daddy's owners.

If Tabor et al thought that Scat Daddy was an early bloomer who didn't beat much in Florida, had been bypassed Beyerwise by the leaders of his generation, was never going to catch up, and would only decline in value with more racing, you couldn't really expect them to put that in a press release for broodmare owners everywhere to read. Add in that his issue was a tendon, which might flare up again when they put him back in training and the decision makes sense. Thoroughbred ownership is an expensive game (see Highland Cat) [OUCH! - ed.] and if you don't let the rare winners pay for all of the losers (see The Green Monkey), you'll be out of it in a hurry.

These points are all completely fair. As fans who so dearly love the sport and only want to see what's best for it (and not have to pay for mistakes like The Green Monkey), it's easy to get frustrated and angry, and forget that yes, this is a business. Those who put up their money at considerable risk are certainly entitled to make prudent business decisions; and the reader lays out rationale which seems perfectly logical, even if, as Lenny points out, four of the owners' current sires generate more money each year than some countries. Business is business, after all.

So perhaps the answer is indeed to change the business model that these decisions are based on so that they no longer are prudent ones. Lenny suggests a minimum age for stallions, Bill Finley proposed writing conditions for major races that would specify a minimum age of its runners' stallions. Increasing purses to provide a financial incentive to keep horses in training might help; and working towards making those tracks safe, whether real or synthetic, would reduce the risk of a catastrophic injury. These, and any other ideas, should be fully explored, because I believe that keeping horses on the track and thereby establishing some name recognition and rivalries that casual fans can relate to is crucial to growing the game's popularity.

Again, I think what really annoyed me about this one is the casual way it was announced. I was only half-kidding when I wrote that I'd prefer if they lied and said that Scat Daddy had an injury that would prevent him from racing. I used to sense more guilt on the part of owners who rushed their horses off to stud, usually in the form of the fake injury, or by issuing no elaboration on the reason at all. Just maybe, a sense that they'd be doing wrong by the sport has contributed to some horses staying in training even for the short time that they have. Perhaps that's at least partly why Discreet Cat is (allegedly) coming back, and why Street Sense is too - does Darley really have anything to gain at this point by permitting the latter to race this fall? Isn't the tag of Juvenile and Derby winner in itself far far more than sufficient to commence a lucrative stud career?

Winstar was the first outfit that I noticed being so completely shameless in this matter when they started running stud ads for Bluegrass Cat last summer before his retirement was even announced. Now, by being so damn honest, I fear that Smith/Tabor are contributing to a feeling that it's OK to retire your horse to stud at three; that it's no longer the least bit taboo, and y'know what, we're not even going to bother inventing an excuse for it.

- Here's an interesting article on the aforementioned The Green Monkey that ran recently on Ireland's Independent.ie. Check out these comments by one of Pletcher's assistants:

Tristan Berry, an assistant trainer with Pletcher, said The Green Monkey's problems go beyond an aggravated glutteal muscle cited as the horse's most recent setback or any other physical ailments.

"For $16m, you'd expect a wow every time he'd breeze, and he never did it for me," Berry said recently. "And I don't know why that would be."
.....
"The horse really didn't have any problems," Berry said. "He just didn't show to be fast enough to run in a maiden race where he was going to win. And if you were going to run him, that would have been the only result that would have been good enough." [Independent]

That's quite a bit of candor, probably a lot more than the horse's owners would like to see from one of their trainer's employees!

- A commenter at Pulling Hair suggests that the explanation of Scat Daddy's retirement was a lie: I think the 90 days is spin. From the reports I've received, the horse is crippled. Now, as opposed to a relatively harmless white lie, that, if true, would be a malicious lie, designed to deceive broodmare owners who think they are breeding to a sound colt.

Tale of Two Retirements

- In some ways, I'm far more upset about the retirement of Scat Daddy than that of Invasor. Of course, the loss of the champ is far more significant to the game, and potentially a cruel blow in the short run considering the disheveled state of the handicap division. But I feel mostly disappointment rather than anger. He was back racing at five after all, whatever the motive, and even though he perhaps could have come back, I don't think you can really question the decision give the nature of the injury, and the fact he'd had a similar one in the past.

I also don't really know what else he would, or could have proven in his last three scheduled races, the Suburban, Woodward, and Classic. He didn't figure to be remotely challenged unless and until one or more of the three-year olds were able to step up late in the season at Monmouth. In another era, all that would have been left was for him to carry 136 pounds and give away 12 to 20 pounds or so to talented thoroughbreds. We won't be seeing that again anytime soon.

Scat Daddy had become one of the forgotten three-year olds as Street Sense, Curlin, Rags to Riches, and, OK, Hard Spun took center stage in the Triple Crown races. Something obviously went wrong in the Derby, and indeed, Pletcher made a case that it was in that race that he originally sustained his current injury. If you throw out his two races at Churchill, his record was pretty damn good - seven races, two Grade 1 wins, two Grade 2 wins, and two in the money finishes in graded stakes. He showed versatility, and a helluva lot of heart, as he demonstrated in the Fountain of Youth.



So his retirement is frustrating on several accounts. For one thing, he's not badly hurt; 90 days rest is what Pletcher said he would need.

We also don't know how good he could have been; and given his record, he could have been pretty good. We've recently seen examples of three-year olds who failed badly on the Derby Trail go on to improve enough to be players in the handicap division; Flashy Bull and Hesanoldsalt come to mind. Most, and I say, most horses that are on the Derby Trail are there because they've shown some serious ability. Just because they're not really ready for the Triple Crown route doesn't mean they won't develop as they mature into four-year olds. Horses like the two mentioned above remind one that three-year olds in the spring are still very young horses. And since Scat Daddy did a lot more than just show potential, it's a pity that we won't see him as a mature racehorse.

But what angers me the most is way the retirement was announced.

"Our vets told us he would need 90 days rest, so we would have run out of time to get him back for the major races this year, and the decision was made to retire him to stud." [DRF]

Personally, I would have preferred that they just lied, and said he had a career ending injury; it certainly wouldn't be the first time. This way is just so straightforward and cold. 'There's nothing seriously wrong but we're just gonna go ahead cash in at stud...Thanks for stopping by,' is basically what the connections are saying. Better for them to just go through the motions, make something up, and at least make an attempt to make it seem like something other than the outright self-serving money grab that it is. It feels like a big screw you to the fans and the sport. This just a couple of weeks after part-owners Smith and Tabor gave us Rags to Riches in the Belmont out of their "sporting nature." Maybe they just wanted to remind us that it's all about the money after all.

Tabor Scats With Scat Daddy

- Scat Daddy has been retired due to a minor injury.

"Our vets told us he would need 90 days rest, so we would have run out of time to get him back for the major races this year, and the decision was made to retire him to stud," Pletcher said. [Daily Racing Form]

Reader Hawken, who gets a hat tip for alerting me to this story, asks incredulously: What on earth are they planning to get at stud for this horse!

Well, we recently took a look at Friends Lake, who commands $15,000. While Friends Lake has only the Grade 1 Florida Derby on his resume, Scat Daddy, in addition to winning that race, also won the Grade 1 Champagne, and the G2 Sanford and Fountain of Youth. Scat Daddy, as a son of Johannesburg, is not by an already proven sire of sires, as Friends Lake (by AP Indy) is; and the latter, being free of Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector whilst Scat Daddy has close-up inbreeding to Mr. P, may be a better fit for more mares. But between the four graded stakes wins, and being by a son of a son of Storm Cat out of a Mr. Prospector daughter of Grade 1 winner Likeable Style, I imagine his stud fee will be at least as much as that of Friends Lake and probably more. It's fine to give Michael Tabor some credit for sportsmanship for running Rags to Riches in the Belmont; but this is a reminder that his racing decisions are generally determined by the bottom line.

- Patrick over at Pulling Hair and Betting Horses has helpfully compiled videos of all five of Invasor's U.S. races, plus his win in the Dubai World Cup earlier this year. I had a little fun clicking the 'play' button on all of them simultaneously and listening to the cacophany of race calls, which includes one in Spanish of one of his wins in Uruguay. If that proves to be overwhelming for you, just read this snoozefest by Haskin in Bloodhorse.

Because his craving for mints had gotten out of hand over the winter, Dianne was asked by assistant trainer Artie Magnuson, with whom we had become friendly, to refrain from giving him any, sticking to carrots only...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Oh sorry. New Jersey racetracks are getting ready to go back to Atlantic City with their palms opened wide when negotiations with the casinos on a new subsidy are expected to begin over the summer. In 2004, the casinos agreed to pay $86 million in subsidies to Monmouth, the Meadowlands, and Freehold over four years to compensate them for the fact that they won't let them have slots. That of course was before Pennsylvania, and before Yonkers; and the latter is absolutely killing the Meadowlands, which is racing only four days a week during what is normally their peak season right now.

“The Casino Association of New Jersey is unanimously opposed to VLTs,” said Joseph A. Corbo Jr., the president of the trade group that represents Atlantic City's gaming halls. [Press of Atlantic City]

The casinos claim that the 1976 referendum which permitted casinos in AC barred the institution of any other gambling. Except lotteries, I guess. The state promised a fair and stable tax rate and an operating environment that limited gaming solely to Atlantic City.

That, of course, has not prevented Harrah's from opening a racino at Chester Downs in Pennsylvania, which is far closer to Atlantic City than the Meadowlands, so the hypocrisy of the casinos' stance is clear. The tracks have proposed that Atlantic City interests could operate the VLT parlors and share in the proceeds, but their opposition remains firm thus far.

- Lava Man will carry 124 pounds on Saturday when he tries to win the Hollywood Gold Cup for the third year in a row.

Seven other older horses are considered probable for the Gold Cup, topped by Mervyn LeRoy winner Molengao. Second to Lava Man in the Santa Anita Handicap in March, Molengao will carry 120 pounds.

Among those also expected to enter Wednesday morning are My Creed (117), A.P. Arrow (116), A.P. Xcellent and Wilko (115), Big Booster (113) and Mr. Splash (112). [LA Times]