Hibiscus Stables is forming horse partnerships now for the 2008 racing season.
The process of purchase all the way through race-readiness is straightforward. Once a horse is purchased at the sale it’s shipped to a farm to relax and decompress from all the stress of the sale process. Sales can be very stressful on a horse. Two-year-old horses are still babies. Not only do the consigners need to make the horses look as physically presentable as possible, but the horses are also asked to run as fast as they possibly can during the breeze shows. Imagine a high school athlete working himself into prime physical condition then putting on a physical display on the field over the course of a week just in hopes of getting drafted by a top college. After that week he’d be ready for a vacation. The same holds for a horse. We send it to a farm where it can wind down, relax, and just be a horse for a few weeks before we bring it to the track for training.
Once the trainer feels the horse is ready we’ll ship it to the track to begin training toward its career as a race horse. The horse is slowly conditioned burning off any fat and getting it into condition for running. The horse is worked over the track every morning and once every 7 to 10 days the horse will be breezed. Typically the first breeze is 1/8 of a mile. Every 7 to 10 days the horse will breeze again and as soon as the trainer feels that the horse has handled the distance he’ll stretch out another 1/8 of a mile. The horse will continue to work until the trainer feels that its stamina has reached a level where it’s ready for its first race.
There are many types of races with the basics being Maiden, Allowance, Stakes, and Claiming. Maiden races are for horses who have never won a race. This includes, obviously, horses that have never raced before. Those are called “first time starters”. Horses will continue to run in maiden races until they win and then will move to another level of race. The typical progression is into allowance level races unless the horse is very good in which case it will move to a stakes. Allowance races have certain conditions such as non-winner of 2 races, non-winner of 3 races, etc. Horses can progress up the allowance levels. If they display superior talent they will move into stakes races. If they display inferior talent and can’t break out of an allowance level they’ll be moved into a claiming race. Claiming races are races where a horse is entered with the possibility of being claimed by another owner. So, for instance, a horse may be entered into a $50,000 claiming race. Another owner may claim a horse away from its current owner. If it’s claimed the new owner takes ownership as soon as the race is over. If the horse earns any purse money it will belong to the old owner. If the horse suffers an injury during the race it’s the problem of the new owner. In most claiming races a horse is not claimed away but it’s a possibility any time a horse is entered into this type of race. Stakes races are for higher-level horses and typically have no conditions other than a horses sex or age. Winning a stakes race is sometimes called “black type” and is very prestigious.
Horses typically run in a race every 25 days or so. It’s not unusual for a horse to run in races for months and then get tired or suffer an injury and require a few weeks or months on the farm for rest. We’ll continue to race a horse during its career until we feel it’s no longer productive as a racehorse. We will never race a horse if it’s not fit to run. Although horse racing is a business we love our animals and will never jeopardize a horse’s wellbeing for the sake of running it in a race if the horse is not sound. Once a horse’s racing career is over it can have a career in breeding if it showed outstanding ability on the racetrack, or it can be retired to the farm to live out its days is peace and comfort. We never dispose of a horse simply to get it off the books. We take great care to ensure that our horses are placed in the best hands and will receive quality care for the rest of their lives.
Each year the Hibiscus team will return to the 2-year-old sales adding to the stable and to the excitement of the partners as hope springs eternal that we’ve just purchased the next great race horse.