Stolicknaya is entered in a race
Over a year ago, I began the adventure that is owning part of a race horse. Its been a long and winding road that started on a farm in Minnesota. Randy my quarter horse training friend said something which is very true if not profound.
When asked if he gambled on his horses, he replied yes, every day from sun up to sundown, but I rarely go to the windows at the track.
Trainers get a per diem if they train for an owner/owners. If he owns and trains the horse in question, both are running for their lives at least figuratively unless this is a hobby, and it can be a very expensive hobby which is time consuming, worrisome and filled with more failure than success. The victories are remembered, but at the end of the day that stall needs to be mucked out and you hope and pray the horse comes back to the barn in one piece and ready to eat after the hangover from racing passes.
Sometimes even that doesn't happen. Sometimes you just send checks and wait. It goes with the game. Lots of horses are born to race and never get to the races because of injuries or they don't have enough fire in the belly and they are sent to another vocational school to look for another career.
Long story, the short version is that the Moore, Oklahoma tornado was a mind numbing disaster. I've pushed the reset button and am a partner in Thunder Struck Stable. Paperwork pending.
Stolicknaya is scheduled to run 440 yards in the 10th race on Sunday at the North Dakota Horse Park in Fargo. I hope he doesn't mind getting in the van this afternoon/evening and running like crazy, peeing in a cup after the race and getting back in the van for the ride back to Canterbury where he can finally have a good nap. The form says he is running against horses with some good back class and a couple that won their last race.
When asked if he gambled on his horses, he replied yes, every day from sun up to sundown, but I rarely go to the windows at the track.
Trainers get a per diem if they train for an owner/owners. If he owns and trains the horse in question, both are running for their lives at least figuratively unless this is a hobby, and it can be a very expensive hobby which is time consuming, worrisome and filled with more failure than success. The victories are remembered, but at the end of the day that stall needs to be mucked out and you hope and pray the horse comes back to the barn in one piece and ready to eat after the hangover from racing passes.
Sometimes even that doesn't happen. Sometimes you just send checks and wait. It goes with the game. Lots of horses are born to race and never get to the races because of injuries or they don't have enough fire in the belly and they are sent to another vocational school to look for another career.
Long story, the short version is that the Moore, Oklahoma tornado was a mind numbing disaster. I've pushed the reset button and am a partner in Thunder Struck Stable. Paperwork pending.
Stolicknaya is scheduled to run 440 yards in the 10th race on Sunday at the North Dakota Horse Park in Fargo. I hope he doesn't mind getting in the van this afternoon/evening and running like crazy, peeing in a cup after the race and getting back in the van for the ride back to Canterbury where he can finally have a good nap. The form says he is running against horses with some good back class and a couple that won their last race.
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