The job of a thoroughbred trainer is this.

Occasionally the frog of a horse's hoof will shed, exposing healthy but sensitive tissue underneath. If it happens a day or two before a race, the sensitivity can be enough to interfere with a horse's race performance.

Listen to what Jere Smith Jr. did when this happened to a horse he had entered to run, as he remembers the situation from many years ago.

Hear this interview at http://jrsmithjr.com/interview.htm and please read the comments after, which follow up some questions that came out of this interview.

I answered this question on Quora, "How is strategy used in horse racing?"

Posted on Quora, a really interesting forum on all subjects.

"How is strategy used in horse racing?"

As soon as the entries for a race are set and available, the trainers, owners, jockey agents, and the more detail minded jockeys are handicapping the race to determine strategy by examining the past races of each horse in the race. Post position is huge because a horse that usually gets out of the gate early and likes to be close to the front of the race early can get cut off and boxed in. A heavy favorite will be targeted by all the riders who will try to keep him behind horses, down inside or far outside. A heavy favorite that has an outside post position and doesn't need to be on the lead early is very dangerous and more likely to win. The strategy for such a horse is to take his time, ease up slowly and try to get position to make a clear run to the finish. By race day, everyone involved with the horses has mapped out how they expect the race to go and where each horse will be in the race at all times. In the paddock before the race, the trainer, owner and jockey will have a short pow-wow to discuss how they think the race will play out and what the jockey's strategy should be. Despite all this, the best laid plans often go awry and the jockey then needs to fly by the seat of his pants to try to win or at least finish strong.

Long term strategy is also important. Good trainers plan a horse's races carefully, picking out a race to aim for and training up to the race to hopefully have the horse in peak condition on the day of the race. Entering a horse in the right type of race is also crucial because each horse is competitive at a certain level. Most horses are only competitive at a certain distance (short, middle or long) and on a certain surface (turf, dirt or artificial). It's difficult to find the perfect race to fit a horse at exactly the right time he is ready for a race but it's the trainer's job to do that.

Trainers often lobby the racing office to try to make sure an appropriate race will be available for a horse that needs a certain type of race. Trainers have a book from the racing office that lists each race that will be held on each day of the racing meet, but the racing office also adds races to those available in the book in order to maximize the possibility of having a lot of horses in each race. The races that have the most entries for a day will be the ones that actually are run. If less than 6 horses enter a race, the office usually does not use that race and the trainers who entered will have to pick another race to enter. Thus trainers have to be in constant planning and strategy mode in order to find the right race for a horse at the right time.

I agree with California Chrome's owner - but maybe not for the same reasons.

Yes I thought he was out of control after the Belmont but after watching the NBC coverage and promotions leading up to the triple crown races, I actually agree with his opinion, to a degree. I think it might be a good idea to only allow horses who rack up a certain number of points in Kentucky Derby prep races to run in the Preakness and Belmont, as well as the Derby. I would not go as far as saying only the Kentucky Derby starters can run in the Preakness and Belmont but making the other races also fit into the "point system" seems like a great idea to me.

Those who say "why change the triple crown now?" have missed the fact that Churchill Downs has already unilaterally changed it by creating the point system for Kentucky Derby eligibility. By the way, this fact is seared into my mind because Churchill Downs refused to include the Illinois Derby in the points system for seemingly childlike punitive reasons - see http://www.kentucky.com/2013/08/09/2758644/road-to-the-kentucky-derby-series.html for details.

I think it would really help racing if we had a set group of horses and their connections to follow throughout the triple crown media coverage. NBC reached a huge audience but sadly we heard mostly about California Chrome and his colorful connections, while many of the other connections are also very entertaining. Perhaps making the point system apply to the triple crown would narrow the possible contenders to the point where media coverage could help us get to know them better and get behind our favorite. It might help create more long term fans of the sport. So in that regard I agree with California Chrome's owner.

My sense is that in the "old days" the triple crown was more about sporting rivalry and less about maximizing a horse's earning potential - so that is another reason I agree with California Chrome's owner. Don't get me wrong, I have the greatest respect for Christophe Clemont, a great trainer and an interesting person. I would like to have heard more about him in the NBC coverage but since he was a newcomer to the series he was mostly overlooked - I'm sure he is fine with that but I'm not. I would have liked to hear more from him and all the other characters in all three races. Clemont may be one of the very few trainers around who can plan out a horse's campaign so carefully. He has done a fabulous job with Tonalist, a very beautiful horse. But to casual fans it's a big letdown to have an unknown horse and connections turn out to be the spoilers.

Feed to Win

It has come to our attention that there's too many race trainers out there who are skimping on feed. We find this very distressing since the health and well being, not to mention the success of a racehorse, depends on careful management, and there is nothing more basic than the nutritional requirements of the athlete.

Why would a trainer skimp on feed? I would only be guessing but have to assume the reason is money, since feed costs are the second biggest expense a trainer has after payroll. That being said, some trainers have very odd ideas about how to manage their horses.

Owners or potential owners should feel comfortable asking their trainer about how their horses are being fed, and definately ask for information about their trainer's overall feed program. I believe that to protect themselves owners should read up on the basic care recommendations for a racehorse in training. http://www.thehorse.com/articles/10331/feeding-racehorses is an excellent article about the feeding of racehorses from a youngster to full training and racing age. We especially like the quote below, because we see far too many racehorses that are underweight and run down. Owners, ask questions - it is your right to know.

"Although a racehorse will perform to his best advantage if he’s not carrying around any excess body weight, there’s a big difference between being fit and being underweight and run down. Far too many racehorses are the latter, unfortunately, and far too many trainers mistake simple ribbiness for good muscle tone! Like any other type of athlete, a racehorse must have stored reserves to run on, or he’ll run out of gas in the stretch. Be sure to provide your horse with enough groceries so that he’s able to maintain some cover over his ribs and spine. If he’s a picky eater, or the nervous type which walks his condition off in his stall, try making his diet more energy-dense by substituting corn or barley or a high fat extruded or pelleted feed for oats or an oat-based sweetfeed. (Don’t neglect regular deworming and dental care, both of which can have a serious impact on a horse’s ability to maintain condition.)"

Another really useful tool we found is a "feed calculator" at http://horse.purinamills.com/products/feedingcalculator/ which includes recommended amounts of "Purina Race Ready", a feed used by many thoroughbred trainers. For a thoroughbred in race training, use "Performance --- very heavy work" for the "lifestyle setting" and 800-900 lbs for the weight of the horse, and the calculator says this horse should have 10-12 lbs of Race Ready feed per day and a similar weight in hay per day.

How to have success picking horses to claim.

My husband is a successful claiming trainer with over 30 years experience. Recently he has undertaken a project to teach his method to other trainers and owners. In this post I want to summarize his method.

The first thing to know is that it takes a lot of time and due diligence. Before he picks a horse out to claim he attends every race, every day at the target track. He believes it is folly to try to pick a horse based on his race record alone.

So the basic steps after committing to watching every race in person are:

1. Handicap the race to determine which horses in the race are worth the claiming price.

2. Watch each horse carefully in the paddock, check off, in the program, the horses that are sound and look the part of an athlete. Make notes next to each horse in the program about flaws such as tendons and joints that have current or past problems, conformation faults, foot problems, and obvious lameness. He will also note if a horse looks dull, has skin problems, underweight or overweight, bad trimming or shoeing, because these things can definately be improved and may allow him to move a horse up.

3. Watch the horse jog off in the post parade to spot bad movers, bad actors, lameness, etc. and make notes in the program again.

Invariably by the middle to end of a race meet, he has chosen several targets to claim and has put money in the office to cover the projected claiming prices.

When a claim target comes up in a race with the projected claiming price, hopefully dropping down from a previous level, he does not drop a claim until after he has watched the horse walk from barn to saddling paddock, or if that is not possible while it is being saddled and has walked off, to make sure the horse is sound.

The experience to spot lameness, old injuries and conformation faults is crucial to a successful claiming program. I'm sure that many trainers and owners claim based solely on past performances, pedigree and "numbers". This method is NOT recommended for the average small scale trainer and owner.

Workers Compensation Insurance in the thoroughbred racing industry - next target for reform?

We just had a horrific experience trying to help a trainer obtain Workers Compensation insurance in the state of Florida. Despite having a perfect insurance paper trail for many years in another state, it took him ONE MONTH to navigate the process of getting insurance in Florida. It took that long despite a very helpful Florida agent who was the go between for the underwriter and the trainer as she methodically asked for each piece of documentation required by the underwriter.

Trainers are busy people who do not generally spend all day in the office, on the computer and phone to take care of this kind of problem, so I offered to help. What I learned about Workers Compensation insurance was eye opening. I heard from several people that some states/racetracks have an insurance pool for trainers to make it much easier to satisfy track requirements. This is only hearsay, but I heard that the horsemen's organization in Louisiana handles the insurance pool, and trainers just hand over some $ and they are done. If anyone can shed light on this insurance pool and how it works, I would appreciate some information.

For Florida, no less than 15 emails were exchanged between trainer and insurance agent, and no less than five long phone calls to the trainer's "old" insurance company to obtain documentation required by the new insurance company. Part of the problem was a certain amount of obstruction by the "old" company, which is such bad business. After all, the trainer will need his old policy again when he returns from Florida in the spring.

Another thing that I discovered in Florida is a company that provides WC insurance to a trainer if the company is hired to run the stable's payroll. Good idea except for the requirement of this company that the trainer turn over control of his or her checking account. Plus the trainer must sign a contract giving the company the right to withdraw funds at any time in any amount with no binding terms for ending the agreement. Before doing something like this I'd say get a lot of references from the company's current and former clients.

Worker's Compensation insurance is incredibly expensive, and varies depending on the size of the stable and number of employees. All aspiring trainers should beware that a PERFECT paper trail showing that payroll is done "by the book" is mandatory. So before considering a career training horses at the track, carefully consider how much $ Workers Compensation insurance - and a reliable bookkeeper - is going to cost!

What is the Keeneland September Sale really like?

The Paulick Report (paulickreport.com)and Indian Charlie (indiancharlie.com) provide the most compelling accounts from the Keeneland Sale, here's just a small sample, "Spot On" >>

It's not easy to get a trainer's license in some (or most) states

Recently a question came up at RaceHorseTrainers.com, "I would like to know how to get the license for race horse trainer in Florida. I have not found any information about this."

So I set about getting the information. It's a little easier if you show up in person at the racing commission office at the track in Florida during a live racing meet. The office will be staffed at that time and ready to provide and process applications.

But if it's the off season, you can find some information at the Florida Department of Business Professional Regulation web site, on the page there for PROFESSIONAL INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE.

Fingerprints are required. You can get fingerprints taken at the local police station, or some cities may have private services listed in the yellow pages.

If you have any kind of criminal background, you will be called to give details about that. If you have been convicted of a felony, you will not get a trainer's license.

If you have never had a trainer's license before, you will have to take some form of test, and in our experience this testing will vary from state to state. You must inquire at the state racing commission office to get testing details. Racing Commission contact details can be found at OwnerView.com.

You may be wondering about the reason for the stringent requirements of the background check and extensive information required on the trainer license application. This came about when racetracks started hosting casino style gambling. We believe that with the spread of casino gambling at racetracks, the rules of racing and licensing requirements must be standardized nationally.

Joe D. captures the beauty of mornings at the track.

Here is a really nice piece from Joe Drape of the New York Times, about a visit to Saratoga during training hours. Joe captures the beauty of mornings at the track. Every owner should come out regularly in the mornings, and every fan/handicapper should have the opportunity to hang out on the "backside" in the mornings occasionally. There is a wealth to learn and understand about the "game" that is only possible during training hours, up close to the horses and the people who care for and train them.

From Good to Bad in a Blink of an Eye - this is how it happens

I saw this article mentioned on LinkedIn today: From Good to Bad in a Blink of an Eye

This caught my eye because it brings back so many memories of the considerable number of people that I saw get injured over the years of working with horses. There are so, so many. It is important to make sure young people who want to do any job with horses knows the considerable risks so they are properly trained and always aware.

For instance, at an arabian breeding farm I saw the manager pinned against the wall by a stallion that had her back in his teeth. I saw a co-worker hit in the head by a yearling thoroughbred colt that reared up in the stall and came down on him with a hoof. That man had to have a part of his skull removed due to a fracture. My husband was run over by a stable pony at Gulfstream Park while he was standing on the rail during training hours, hit in the head with a hoof and rolled on - he was not seriously injured. So many exercise riders slammed into walls by horses walking under tack in the shedrow, and exercise riders fallen on, rolled on. I don't want to think about the all the jockeys. Oh yeah and many hotwalkers and grooms dragged down to the pavement by horses running off while on a lead shank as their handler bravely tried to hang on - this happened to me once or twice when I was green and just starting as a groom.

Farriers are not only skilled at taking care of hooves but they also have to be incredibly skilled at avoiding injury. I remember the incredible Sam Jorris who trimmed all the yearlings while they were turned out in a big pasture. I was there just to keep the other horses off him and try to keep the horse he was working on fairly stationary. I marveled every month that we got that job done without mishap.

We talk so much about the horse injuries that can happen in and out of competition but it's important to remember the risks that all the people involved take because they want the honor of working with horses.

thinking about horse auctions

The article I just read at The Paulick Report, "YEARLING SCOPES MAY NOT REVEAL ISSUES AT EXERCISE" inspires a few thoughts. I always thought that buying horses at auction is not smart and I wonder why so many people do buy horses this way.

My wish is that breeders would sell their horses direct from the farm and skip all the sales prep and commissions to sales companies. I've noticed that sellers nearly always price their horses at double what buyers are willing to pay, so objectivity is definately a barrier to successful sales. If breeders can sell their horses objectively they can be successful doing it themselves. Expenses will be controlled, mob hype will be eliminated from the process, the horses will be better off, buyers will learn by seeing horses in their natural environment and by doing the research that they should do before buying a horse. Vet exams and scopes of horses for sale should be planned and negotiated between buyer and seller on a case by case basis.

I know that industry insiders like the big sales because they meet up with other insiders there and these meet-ups often drive their business, but the people who are paying for the horses rarely benefit from attending and buying at auctions versus private sales.

I haven't written a lot in the last few months because frankly not much is going on in racing for the average joe trainer and owner in the U.S. Many are out of business as purse money fails to keep up with the expense of keeping a horse in training. This spring 2013, my husband and I are not involved in racing directly. Instead we're growing a racehorse quality hay crop on the farm of an Illinois thoroughbred breeder. We started the experiment last year, offering to cut and bale the hay in exchange for a percentage of the resulting bales. We would not have made it through the whole racing year in 2012 without the savings we had with this hay deal. So this year we reseeded the hay fields early with what we consider the perfect racehorse hay - mostly timothy with some clover, orchard grass and alfalfa. We are currently anticipating the first cutting late May.

So we've learned a lot about hay. I remember being on the racetrack back side back in the 1990's, walking by the famous stables at the track like D. Wayne Lukas, and seeing brightly colored and very uniform bales of timothy hay. I don't know how that hay gets the unnatural hue, but I do know it was very expensive. This expensive hay never had any sign of weeds in it. I think owners should know that feed and bedding is the 2nd highest expense that most trainers have, only after payroll. Fancy looking hay can only be considered superior in superficial appearance to less expensive but thoughtfully cultivated, cut and cured racehorse hay that may include a few weeds.

On the subject of weeds, we only removed those weeds from the hay fields that horses won't eat or are harmful to eat. Horses know which weeds are bad for them and usually won't eat them unless they are starving. In addition, if you have ever watched a horse graze in the midwest USA, he will often go to two weeds, the dandelion and the plantain, before eating the grass. The dandelion flowers, leaves and roots have health benefits, and many "old-timers" know that dandelion is a natural diuretic - possibly a natural alternative to lasix/salix.

The plantain herb is said to have a myriad of medicinal benefits including speeding cell replacement. The photos show the dandelion and two common varieties of the plantain weed, one broad leafed and the other narrow leafed, both edible and beneficial.

What we believe is that racehorses are finely tuned athletes that require finely managed daily care in their diet, training, competition and recovery routines. The most expensive routine is not necessarily the best, so we have to constantly keep learning while trying to make the best decisions for our horses.

Here's a couple interesting links for information on health benefits of dandelion and plantain:

about plantain >>

about dandelion >>

Oh boy did the Daily Racing Form come up with a great educational article about the racing business, trainers and jockeys. Click here to read this article >> It's long but is a must read for new owners. The problem that keeps on raising its ugly head is owners who can't face the high cost of owning racehorses. Too often an owner thinks it's ok to gamble that a horse will be able to support himself with purse money, but this kind of gambling always leads to disaster for everyone involved.

This is an insightful article and comments about how skilled exercise riders and jockeys really are - READ THIS!

Tax issues that thoroughbred racehorse owners should consider

reprinted from: Catanese & Wells, a Law Corporation, provides a quarterly newsletter to the equine industry of and concerning legal, tax and business issues for participants in the horse business or sport. www.cataneselaw.com.

The issue addresses the general question of the "Hobby Loss" provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.

Section 183 provides that losses from a horse activity cannot be deducted against income from other sources unless the horse activity is a business and not a hobby. The IRS has issue various regulations interpreting Section 183. Generally, whether a horse activity will be treated as a business is determined by the facts and circumstances of the case. The critical inquiry is whether the activity has an objective of making a profit. Nine factors are normally considered by the IRS when it determines if the taxpayer has a profit objective.

The nine factors which are considered include:

(1) How you carry on your horse business;

(2) Your expertise;

(3) The time and effort you spend on the business;

(4) Whether you expect appreciation of your assets (horses) used in the business;

(5) Your success in similar businesses;

(6) Your history of income or losses in the horse business;

(7) Whether your horse business has profits during its history;

(8) Your financial status; and,

(9) How much pleasure or recreation is involved in the horse activity.

Even though these factors seem easy to answer, case law indicates that there are nuances regarding each factor. How these nuances are addressed many times is the difference between success in a Section 183 audit or failure. For example, even though personal pleasure may be a factor against finding the business to be for profit, if other facts and circumstances show the business is operated for a profit, the IRS will allow the horse business deductions. See Foster v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo 1973-14).

To conclude, it is very important to understand Section 183 in the organization and operation of a horse-related business. We recommend that persons engaged in the horse business be familiar with and understand how Section 183 applies to their business. In doing so, if the IRS does audit the horse business operator, they will have a better chance of obtaining a no-action result.

New or prospective racehorse owners should know this

If you are a new horse owner with not a lot of hands on experience with horses, you should read this article about suitability of horses for certain careers - http://www.thehorse.com/articles/30795/equine-performance-and-psychological-factors-linked

Before investing a lot of money buying horses, owners should understand that an expensive, royally bred and physically perfect horse is not a guaranteed race winner. Also, if an expensive, royally bred and physically perfect horse is not able to win a race, and if that horse is part of a "mega-stable" that makes an individualized program for one horse difficult or impossible, you might want to try a different trainer for a few months before giving up on your horse's racing career.

Of course all this assumes that an owner who buys an expensive horse can afford the huge ongoing expense of maintaining a horse. It's always good to remember that the maintenance cost of a horse is almost always more than the purchase price.

On the subject of how much to spend on buying a racing prospect - if you are buying a horse that is currently racing and ready to run, your best chance for success, in my opinion, is with a horse that can be purchased in the price range of $10,000-$100,000. In other words, please don't buy a horse for $1000 and please don't buy one for $1,000,000.

how to become a trainer - UPDATE

here is the general answer I gave about "how to become a trainer" in my blog a few years ago (www.thoroughbredracingworld.com) -

"In general there are not "courses" for learning how to become a trainer, most trainers work for another trainer starting at the bottom level job (hotwalker or groom) and working up to assistant trainer. Then you take the "trainer test" in the state where you wish to train when you feel that you are capable. If you already know horses and good horsemanship in general but you are not familiar with racing, you could possibly achieve this goal within several years, about the time it would take to get a university degree."

here is my update to that answer:

There are some ways now to do it a little differently but the old fashioned way is by far the best road to success. There are organizations that offer training for grooms and also trainers but I'd say it's mostly geared toward understanding the rules and regulations. You just can't learn good horsemanship by taking a course, that only comes with real world experience.

There are university degrees for racing related jobs offered by university of louisville and I think university of arizona but a degree is not needed to get a trainer's license - experience is really the key.

Some rich owners and children of influential/wealthy people have been known to "buy" a license without having any significant prior working experience with a licensed trainer, but in my experience these people don't stand the test of time in the business - this road to becoming a trainer is not recommended.

The "racing commission" in each state is the organization that licenses trainers and the racing commission will have an office at any actively racing racetrack, so you can visit that office at any track where you are interested in basing your business - please note - if you go there when there is not a racing meet going on there will generally not be anyone staffing that office. The racing commission will give you information about the licensing forms and tests required in that state.

If you want to know what's really going on in Kentucky racing, subscribe to Indian Charlie

I haven't been writing much in this blog because I just don't have much to say right now, but I'm so happy that Indian Charlie is still around to sum it all up as only he can. The latest Indian Charlie newsletter is a great example: READ INDIAN CHARLIE TODAY FROM KEENELAND >>

THANK YOU TO PSY for promoting horse sports!

Gotta watch it - http://youtu.be/9bZkp7q19f0 - everybody will have their own take on this Korean hit "Gangnam Style". Maybe Psy's making fun of the rich who show off expensive horses among other things, but I like to think he's promoting the idea of horses for all, and the horse dance will certainly get you in shape for riding!

The Racetrack as a Microcosm

Microcosm - a community or other unity that is an epitome of a larger unity. If you've ever worked on the "backside" of a track like Churchill Downs, then you know it's a world of it's own. I think it's a lot like the bigger world outside and if you start looking at the economy of the racetrack from top to bottom, you'll find a lot of things similar to the problematic US economy.

The basics are: the giant racetrack corporations (CDI) boast record earnings and are flush with cash, while racetrack laborers including hot walkers ($5/horse or $200-$300/week), grooms ($100/horse/week or $400-$500/week), and exercise riders ($15/horse or $500-$700/week) are making EXACTLY the same wages as 15 years ago. The vast majority of the laborers do not own a home, do not have health insurance and do not have any savings.

This problem is not all due to high employment taxes, and it's not due to trainers being cheap because most trainers are as broke as their employees. Of course there are exceptions with the few stables at the highest end with the "star" horses, but I'm talking about the proverbial 99%. I don't mean to pick on Churchill Downs and CDI but those are the racetrack entities that I am most familiar with.